This article is a reprint from Dave Panas, an SCCA Northern New Jersey Region member. Dave passed January 20, 2020. This fall the SCCA Northern New Jersey and Southern New Jersey Region will hold a rally weekend, with Rallymaster’s Jim Wakemen and Peter Schneider. Peter will be sharing news of the upcoming October 9-10, 2021 co-hosting weekend in our August 2021 edition, which is in-part, a tribute back to rally days past. The RReNews Clan is in awe of 189 cars at those early events! Note: This post is one of two on the NNJ history of the Jersey 500.
For several years before and after 1963, NNJR conducted the Jersey 500 Rally. The ’63 event was run over three days and did account for around 500 miles of rallying. The first car was flagged off at 2 PM on Friday, July 12. Forty-four cars started. The Friday course accounted for about 150 of the 500-mile event and had a total of 10 checkpoints. Participants included Hank Mann, the National Rally Board Chairman, and Stew Blodgett, the official SCCA Observer. This stellar duo took Friday’s 2nd place behind a couple from Springfield, Va.
The Saturday route of approximately 250 miles jumbled the Friday’s scores, with several highly placed Friday teams suffering major checkpoint penalties. The Virginia couple still led, and our erstwhile Nat’l Rally Board runners dropped to the bottom of the top ten.
The Saturday route took the contestants to northwest Jersey for a buffet lunch at the Newtonian Inn in Newton. Supposedly the meatballs were a hit, as was the lemonade stop in mid-afternoon. The afternoon run took the cars along the country roads of Sussex and Warren counties. A comment from the time said that “the roads there are fast, lightly traveled and offer unequaled conditions for rallying in the ‘prompt’ manner.”
The final 100 miles were run on Sunday morning. The Rallymaster designed a regularity run with loops. The three days runs were appropriately titled “Straights, Curves, and Circles”. Apparently, that was enough to trip up enough folks that the results were scrambled again!
Part of the enjoyment of the event was the FREE gas and oil provided by Gulf! Two of their representatives were on hand to lend whatever assistance they could and had more fun than some of the contestants. One even rode in the sweep car. AND they also provided lighter fluid, household oil (sewing machine oil), and sewing kits for distribution. [I hope that didn’t affect their local gas prices.]
I do not eat fast food mastercard generic viagra Prices or any kind of refined food. The generic cialis viagra beverages are all available for purchase, in any combination you like, in cases of 48 8.4 oz cans. Tadalista is one of the most popular medicines used for kidney disease treatment also cause erectile free levitra samples dysfunction. How Should You Eat Kamagra? You should eat one sachet at least 30 minutes before the intercourse* Don’t take heavy or fatty meals cipla tadalafil when planning to engage in sexual activities.Representing the NNJR were the novice class winners, Dave and Mary Latto. First novice and seventh overall.
For being the closest of all predicting the final score, the winner, Jo Murray, was presented with a Heuer watch, compliments of that company.
It should be noted that the Course Marshall for the event was Roger Bohl, a name that became familiar in National rallying circles for years to come, as were the second place overall winners, Dennis and Sally Anne Koelmel. It should be noted that the Koelmels drove for the Renault factory rally team in 1962, and in ‘63 are part of the Chrysler rally team.
As an aside, in approximately this same time period, the Jersey Sports Car Club also ran rallies and started the Jersey Monte Carlo Rally. I was part of the team of four that put on this rally for nine years. It was simply a one-speed (thirty mph) drive of about 10 hours driving duration with two hours of rest stops built-in. All you had to do was follow the orange line marked on an Esso (before it became Exxon) map of NJ. Of course, it was conducted on the most moonless Saturday night we could find in February. At its peak, it attracted 189 cars – believe it or not.
I only mention this because many years later when I was working as a Steward at our Mother’s Day double Regional race at Pocono, there was a knock on the trailer door that we were using for race Control, and someone asked for me. Turns out it was Dennis Koelmel saying “hi” after all those years and commenting on what a wonderful rally the Monte was.
Connections, connections…..by Dave Panas
