New Adminstration Building Completed 

The management and staff here at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch and Spring Mountain Advanced Driving School would like to invite you to visit our staff at our BRAND NEW Administration building.  Our staff members have just moved in and we are putting the finishing touches on the new headquarters. 

L-R Spring Mountain group outside the new facility: John Morris, Trasi Pillman, Dave Roberts, Dave Petrie, Kiffany Tate, Justin Johnson, Lara Steinbacher, and Donna Hammontree

Located just west of the main entrance along the newly paved service road, the 5,000 square foot executive building includes space for administrative personnel, a large classroom facility for Advanced Driving School classes, a break area for our students and guests to enjoy catered lunches, and a large warehouse for servicing our vehicles.  Around the perimeter of the building are parking spaces for our growing fleet of high-performance Corvettes, including 5 NEW Z06’s.  A helicopter pad is situated alongside the building where co-owners John Morris and Brad Rambo can land when making their regular visits to the motorsports ranch.

With construction completed on time and under budget by Classic Homes, the staff is thrilled about the project completion.  “After the track extension this fall, the administration building was next on our agenda.  Our new building allows us to serve our customers better, with beautiful new facilities for our Advanced Driving School classes, more room to grow and a more professional environment for all of us.” says Dave Petrie, General Manager of Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch.  He continues, “This is only the beginning.  We are looking forward to additional improvements that will be revealed in the near future, including a Clubhouse, storage garages and an industrial park.”

The management is currently working with Architects to create a Master Plan for the 193-acre Motorsports Ranch, with a Clubhouse, Starter Building, Storage Garages, Condominiums, and a Business Center. 

Exciting things are happening here, and we will keep you posted through this newsletter about the latest and greatest changes here at the Ranch.  As always, we sincerely appreciate your business and support…you have all made our continued growth possible.  We’ll see you at the track this season!

Corvette Track Days Receives Rave Reviews

Z06’s in front of the new Administration Building
Photo by Charles Adamson

It was party time at the Ranch!  Corvette Track Days were held on February 4-5, 2006, and over 80 Corvette drivers were on hand to test their Corvettes and their own driving ability on the recently completed 3.1 mile road track course.  The drivers on this highly technical and exhilarating track had the opportunity to see what both they and their Corvettes were capable of achieving. Five generations of Corvettes were represented on the track, ranging from the 1963-1967 2nd generation Corvette, to the current C6 Corvettes including 9 new C6 Z06s.  We had everything from daily drivers to full blown race cars.

Our dedicated Spring Mountain staff were all present at this exciting event, along with volunteers who helped coordinate the dinner party and ensure all of the participants had a fabulous time.  Over 100 people joined us for dinner on Saturday in the brand new administration building. On both Saturday and Sunday Spring Mountain instructors rode with drivers and also gave rides in School cars to demonstrate the proper driving line to those new to road tracking. 

Tim Greenshields from a group of Corvette enthusiasts from Colorado reports on his experience. 
 
“What a blast! What fun and what a group of Corvette drivers!  You have definitely earned all of the accolades that you deserve!  You are racers!  I’ll race with anyone of you anytime.

Let me say that if you haven’t been to the NEW track at Spring Mtn….go and do it!  The venue is a 3.1 road racing track that is one of the best in the country.

It’s twice the length of the older track, more challenging, faster, more technical for trail braking and heel and toe braking skills, stunning G-Forces, and griping speeds that really get your attention.  It’s better than Texas World, Phoenix International, the late PPIR track in Springs, Hallett, Heartland in Kansas (site of the SCCA nationals!), and Mid-Ohio.

There are three straights on the new track where drivers can hit 100 mph (the downhill area from the west going east through the esses), 110 mph (the east straight leading to the pit area), and 100 - 125 mph PLUS going west into the new track area.  Believe me (!)….it was a blast going side by side, fender to fender (!) at 115 with other drivers.  Great stuff!

And, yes Steve Yaninek was right…the g-forces of the C5’s, C5 Z06’s, C6’s and especially Bryan’s double turbo-charged silver bullet C5 Z06 machine was really something to feel.  Wow, 750 HP…it was like a CAN AM car from the 70’s! I loved driving his car at 100 mph plus on the straights mentioned above and then diving into those corners at the last minute to hit those apexes.  All of it reminded me of driving at the Sebring track in the 90’s.”

We would like to thank all of the participants for attending this event, and a special thanks is extended to our incredible staff for their hard work and dedication.  All of the attendees agreed that it was a fantastic event, and we are looking forward to celebrating with you at the next Corvette Days celebration. 

Our next Corvette Track Days will be held on April 1-2, 2006.  The February event sold out and we had a waiting list, so don´t hesitate, sign up now!  

Corvette Happenings  
by Janet Curran

The Spring Mountain staff has had a busy fall and winter season with Corvette-related activities.  In November, we had a large booth at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. On display was our brand new 2006 Automatic Paddle Shifter Corvette and a beautiful Radical. Both cars certainly drew attention to the booth. It was great to see so many old friends and students. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to visit.

In November, Pratt and Miller Engineering, builders of the C6.R Corvette American LeMans GTS entry, brought some of its team members to Spring Mountain to participate in a Safe Driver Car Control Class. Pratt and Miller members Robin Pratt, Lynda Fellows, wife of race driver Ron Fellows, and Alexa Atkins, teen aged daughter of Mike & Lloyetta Atkins, were the students for the two day class.

Pratt & Miller contracts with General Motors for the ALMS & 24 Hours of LeMans Corvettes, also the racing GTOs and Cadillac CTSVs. Ron Fellows is a professional race car driver for the Corvettes and occasionally NASCAR and the GTOs and Cadillacs.
 

Pratt & Miller Class
Back row from left: Lynda Fellows, Ron Fellows, Instructors Victor Resendiz, Dave Roberts, Barry Yost and Dave Petrie
Front row from left: Janet Curran, Robin Pratt, Alexa Atkins, Gary Pratt, Lloyetta Atkins, Mike Atkins, Instructor Jordan Yost.

There was a brief classroom session and then the ladies proceeded out to their chosen Corvette while Mike Atkins, Gary Pratt and Ron Fellows took off for the golf course across the highway.

Taking a break from the Corvettes, the ladies got a chance to learn the operation of the Segway, a two wheeled, personal transportation vehicle. To operate the Segway, you need to keep your head and eyes up to see where you are going. This is a good exercise for visual scanning and further reinforces good habits behind the wheel of an automobile.

At the end of the two-day class the ladies took their men out for some laps of the track to show off their newly acquired skills- Lynda Fellows and Robin Pratt took hubbys Ron and Gary while Alexa Atkins drove her Dad, Mike. Not only did this class give the ladies some very good lessons on surviving on the streets and highways, but it gave them a new appreciation for some of the skills used by the Pratt and Miller race team drivers.

Pictured at right are Instructor Victor Resendiz and student Alexa Atkins on the Segway.
Photo by Ray Barbour
 
On January 9 the brand new Camaro Concept Car was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.  GM invited only 250 Camaro enthusiasts to this very special event, and Dave Petrie and Janet & Mike Curran were thrilled to be among the invited honorees.  Spring Mountain currently uses 2002 Camaros for our Instructors.  We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the newest generation of the fabulous Camaro to the Spring Mountain Advanced Driving School within the next couple of years.

Dave Petrie and Janet Curran flew back to Detroit again on January 26 for a quick visit to Pratt & Miller Racing and to attend the General Motors retirement party for Corvette Chief Engineer and Vehicle Line Executive, David Hill.  David has been a great friend to all of the Corvette Community and has assured us that his replacement, Tom Wallace, will also be a great friend to all of us. We wish David the very best in his well earned retirement and can´t wait for him to come visit the new and improved Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch.

Dave Petrie in the Pratt & Miller Racing Trophy Room

Stay tuned for more Corvette Happenings in the next Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch newsletter. 

Upcoming Events
We are pleased to announce that Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch will be represented at the following upcoming shows and events during the next few months.  It’s always a pleasure for our staff to visit with students and clients from across the country at these exciting events, so be sure to stop by the Spring Mountain Booth and introduce yourself. We would like to thank you for your support of our schools with a free gift … just for stopping by.

March 17-19, 2006 Gamblers Classic, Primm, NV
April 1-2, 2006 Corvette Track Days at Spring Mountain
April 20-23, 2006 National Corvette Museum, Birthday Bash, Bowling Green, KY
May 20, 2006 Corvette Dreamin’, San Diego, CA
May 21, 2006 Plastic Fantastic San Diego, CA
 
Our busy Spring Mountain staff will be traveling across the country to MORE shows and events during the summer and fall of this year, and we’ll keep you updated with our schedule in this newsletter.  We’re looking forward to seeing you at one of the events, or at our own Spring Mountain track, very soon!  

 Advanced Driving School News
Spring Mountain WEEKEND Driving Schools are Well Received

Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch offered its FIRST NEW WEEKEND Driving Schools last month, and they were a huge success. Our weekend schools were created to accommodate your busy schedules during the work-week.  Please call us for additional information about our weekend curriculum, costs and schedules. 

Our 2-day weekend schools are scheduled for the following dates in 2006:
 
April 29-30, 2006
 June 10-11, 2006
 September 9-10, 2006
 October 7-8, 2006
October 21-22, 2006
 November 25-26, 2006
 December 9-10, 2006 
Due to high demand, our weekend schools will fill up quickly - call us TODAY to reserve your spot so you won’t be disappointed!   Our TOLL FREE number is  800.391.6891.  We’ll see you in class!

NEW!  Rent a Z06 to Drive on the Track!
Exciting news!  We’ve got several brand new Z06’s that are available for rental for 1 day, 2 days or 3 days during your Advanced Driving school.  The rates are reasonable, and the reviews are fantastic from our clients who have driven this exciting new high-performance vehicle around the Spring Mountain track.  Call Trasi for additional information about our new rental program TOLL FREE at 800.391.6891.  

Thank you for reading the latest Edition of Spring Mountain Motorsports News.  We appreciate your business and support, and look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events!

Along with our valued clients and class participants, we’d like to keep other motorsports enthusiasts on top of what’s happening here at the track and of all our great events.  If you have a friend or family member that you think might enjoy our newsletter, just send their names and email addresses to info@springmountainmotorsports.com and we’ll include them in all of the exciting things happening here at Spring Mountain!

Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch always welcomes and appreciates any feedback.  Please let us know what you would you like to see in the future.   What can we do to improve our service to you?   How can we make Spring Mountain YOUR play place?  Tell us what’s on YOUR mind!  Please email your comments or suggestions to info@springmountainmotorsports.com and THANK YOU for taking the time to help us make Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch a better place for YOU! 

Call us TODAY Toll Free at 800.391.6891
Or, visit our website: 
www.SpringMountainMotorsports.com

Email us at
 Info@springmountainmotorsports.com