SAAC-30 CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY

SAAC-30
CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY
June 30 - July 3, 2005​

HQ HOTEL ROOM RESERVATION INFORMATION
SAAC-30's headquarters hotel is the Mission Inn (3649 Mission Inn Ave, Riverside, CA 92501). SAAC's group rate is $79.00 single or double-additional guests $15.00 per night. One night's deposit is required - refundable until 30 days prior to arrival. When you make your reservation you should identify yourself as a member of the Shelby American Automobile Club. Call 800-843-7755 or 951-784-0300 XT 850. Complimentary shuttle service to and from Ontario International Airport for registered Mission Inn guests is available with 24 hours notice; contact guest services 951-784-0300 ext 5036. When the Mission Inn fills up we have back-up hotels near by. The Mission Inn will direct you to these other facilities. The Friday evening dinner and auction and Saturday evening dinner and program will be held at the Riverside Convention Center which is within walking distance of the Mission Inn. The Mission Inn is about a 20 minute drive from the California Speedway.

CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY PADDOCK GARAGES
Only 60 are available and half were taken within one week of the first announcement of convention details. If none are left by the time you contact us we'll put you on the waiting list but don't count on that many people canceling before the event rolls around. Cost is $300 for all 3 days. each garage holds one car and has electricity and compressed air.

SAAC-30 COBRA & GT350 VINTAGE RACES
We are expecting the largest field of Shelbys and Cobras ever. We've gotten word that about two dozen of the fastest cars from back east will be making the trip to the west coast - and they aren't coming all that way to be back markers. If the field is larger than 50 cars we will split it and run two separate races. Practice is on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and racing on Sunday. Cobras and GT40s will run in one class and GT350s will run in another. Cars must be period-correct in appearance. Engine blocks must be correct (no killer 351s or Winston Cup motors). Drivers must have comp licenses and experience. Drivers: contact SAAC HQ for details and an entry form.

SAAC-30 TRANS-AM VINTAGE RACE
But wait - there's more! Shelbys and Cobras not enough for you? Then catch this: we will have a full-tilt vintage Trans-Am race group - Camaros, Javelins, Cougars, Challengers, Firebirds, Barracudas as well as Mustangs, 1966 through 1971. Practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and racing on Sunday. Drivers: contact SAAC HQ for details and an entry form.

THURSDAY BUS TOUR OF LEGENDARY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SPEED SHOPS AND DREAM CAR GARAGES.
We've put together an all-day bus tour on Thursday which will be making a circuit of the southern California area, stopping at some of the places where hot rodding was born: the SoCal Speed Shop, Blair's Speed Shop, Moon and Edelbrock. We've also planned stops at a couple of Dream Car Garages owned by SAAC members which will leave your head spinning. And for lunch - how about a bowl of chili whupped up by Carroll Shelby? His chili supremacy is being challenged by SAAC member Don Lee who promised scorched tongues and fire breath for anyone brave enough to attempt to ingest some of his "napalm in a bowl." Cost of the tour is $65 per person and also included will be a nifty collection of enameled pins commemorating each stop. Limit: 300 people.

THURSDAY NIGHT CRUISE
Anyone who wants to join us on a drive to Temecula (about 30 minutes from Riverside) is invited. We'll park on the town's main street and everyone can have dinner in one of the dozen or so good restaurants there. This area is called "Old Town" and has been restored to the way it looked in the late 1800s. Girls who wear poodle skirts will receive a special gift. No registration required - just show up.

SCHEDULE

THURSDAY JUNE 30, 2005.
7:00 AM BUS TOUR - Buses leave Mission Inn - return approx. 5 pm.
6:00 PM CRUISE NIGHT - cars leave Mission Inn and drive to Temecula's "Old Town" district. Park on main Street; dinner on your own in town.

FRIDAY JULY 1, 2005 CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY
10:00 AM REGISTRATION
TECH INSPECTION
SWAP MEET
10:30 AM VINTAGE RACE DRIVERS MEETING
11:00 AM - 6:00 PM VINTAGE RACE PRACTICE
12 NOON - 5:00 PM DRAG RACING

2:00 PM CONCOURS JUDGES MEETING
6:00 PM TRACK CLOSES
RIVERSIDE CONVENTION CENTER
6:30 PM SHELBY REUNION AUCTION VIEWING

7:30 PM SHELBY REUNION DINNER
9:00 PM SHELBY AMERICAN EMPLOYEE MEMORABILIA AUCTION


SATURDAY JULY 2, 2005 CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY
8:00 AM REGISTRATION
TECH INSPECTION
SWAP MEET
9:00 AM DRIVERS MEETING
9:00 AM CONCOURS JUDGING

9:30 AM OPEN TRACK
VINTAGE QUALIFYING
1:00 PM POPULAR VOTE CAR SHOW
6:00 PM TRACK CLOSES

RIVERSIDE CONVENTION CENTER
6:30 PM COCKTAILS
7:30 PM DINNER
9:00 PM EVENING PROGRAM SUNDAY


SUNDAY JULY 3, 2005 CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY
8:00 AM REGISTRATION
TECH INSPECTION
SWAP MEET
9:00 AM DRIVERS MEETING
9:30 AM OPEN TRACK
10:00 AM POPULAR VOTE SHOW
11:00 AM COBRA VINTAGE RACE
11:30 AM SHELBY VINTAGE RACE
12 NOON TRANS-AM RACE
1:30 PM OPEN TRACK
6:00 PM TRACK CLOSES


REGISTRATION EXPLANATION

REGISTRATION FEES ARE PER PERSON/PER DAY.
$25 per person/per day. Everyone 16 years or older must pay the registration fee - either in advance or when you arrive. There is no charge for children 15 and under.

PRE-REGISTRATION CONFIRMATION.
After we receive your pre-registration we will send you an acknowledgement by mail. It will include a confirmation letter, event schedule, map to the hotel and track and car show information. Also included will be open track information, in the event that you later decide you would like to participate.

THURSDAY BUS TOUR. Bus tour of legendary Southern California Speed Shops and Dream Car Garages. Buses leave the Mission Inn at 7 am sharp. 300 Seats only, first come/first served. $65 per person includes lunch (chili cook-off: Carroll Shelby vs. Don Lee - vote with your tongue). Also includes set of collector enameled pins commemorating each stop.

CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY OPEN TRACK spots will be allocated on a first- come, first-served basis to pre-registrants who are SAAC national members, driving Ford-powered cars only (exception: Shelby Series 1 cars). If you would like to run your car but are not a member of the national club you will have to join. No exceptions. Open track cost is $100 per car for each half day (two morning or afternoon sessions). Two drivers may share a car (entry fee is based on the car - not the number drivers; additional drivers need not be SAAC members). All drivers must attend the 9:00 a.m. Drivers Meeting prior to going out on the track and all cars must pass SAAC's safety inspection. The open track is NOT a competitive event. Please understand that. If you are undecided about running there may be slots available on the morning of the event, and if so they will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis after the driver's meeting. However, we cannot guarantee that spots will be available at that time so we strongly recommend pre-registration. By pre-registering you will also receive advanced information which will help you to understand how the event will be run and exactly what will be expected of you when you arrive with your car at tech inspection. You may run your car as hard (or as easy) as you feel comfortable doing. We will run rain or shine; there will be no refunds in the event of less than perfect weather. We will be using a combination of the NASCAR banked oval and the infield road course - 2.8 miles total. Race gas will be available at the track all three days.

VINTAGE RACES will be held on Sunday; race practice on Friday afternoon; qualifying on Saturday. There will be three classes: Cobras and GT40s in one class, GT350s in one class and Trans-Am cars in the third class. Registration and entry for this event is separate and different from the open track. There will be four 20-minute practice sessions each on Friday and two 15-minute qualifying sessions on Saturday. On Sunday each class will have a warm-up and a 10-lap race. Drivers must have a current competition license issued by a recognized sanctioning body and cars must appear-period correct and pass a typical vintage race safety inspection.

DRAG RACING will be on Friday between 12 noon and 5 pm. The strip is right outside the race track. There will be vintage drag car exhibitions - Cobra Dragonsnakes, GT350 drag cars, Thunderbolts and Galaxies as well as grudge racing for convention participants. Cost is $30 per car. Contact SAAC HQ for details and an entry form.

SHELBY AMERICAN EMPLOYEE REUNION DINNER & AUCTION will take place at the Riverside Convention Center on Friday evening. Dinner tickets are $80 each. Each dinner ticket sponsors one former driver, crew member or employee. Some of these guests will be seated at each table. Following dinner we will hold a live auction for memorabilia and apparel owned by the former Shelby team members. Non-ticket holders will be allowed into the ballroom following dinner and items may be viewed prior to dinner.

POPULAR VOTE CAR SHOW - we'll have two. One on Saturday afternoon and one on Sunday morning. There is no separate registration fee or paperwork required. All you have to do is show up and park in the correct class. The car show area will be in the track's infield. The number of trophies per class (maximum of 3) will be determined by the number of cars in each class. If there are not enough cars to form a class, those cars will be folded into the Special Interest Class. All trophies will be engraved with the winners' names and mailed to them after the convention.

JUDGED CONCOURS will be held on Saturday morning. Entry into the Concours Car Show is by pre-registration only, open to SAAC National members only. The entry fee is $50 per car and spaces are limited to 8 cars per class (due to the time it takes judges to evaluate each car). You cannot register for and enter the concours after you arrive. There will be concours classes for the following cars: Cobras (CSX2000 and CSX3000 cars only), Shelbys (all years), Bosses, Tigers and Competition Cars. There are 3 levels: Division I (stock/original cars); Division II (non-NOS cars); Division III (original/unrestored "Survivor"). All other cars are eligible for the Popular Vote Car Show. The same car cannot be entered in both concours and popular vote shows. Concours entry is on a first- ome/first-served basis. Judging guidelines will be sent to all entrants. All trophies will be engraved with the winners' names and mailed after the convention.

PARTS SWAP SPACES will be assigned on a first-come/first served basis out at the track beginning on Friday. It will run through Sunday. There is no pre-registration for parts swap spaces. Once you set up there will be no need to move. The track will close each evening at 6:00 pm so once you set up, all you'll have to do is secure your belongings before you leave. There will be a one-time swap meet space fee of $10 per frontage foot (spaces are approx. 20' deep) - payable after you set up. This charge will cover the entire convention. Complete swap meet details will be mailed to anyone who checks the appropriate spot on the pre-registration form. All swap meet vendors and staff must pay the daily registration fee.

REFUND POLICY. REGISTRATION REFUNDS (less a $20 service charge) will be made if we receive written, fax or e-mail notification of your cancellation prior to June 15th, 2005. Telephone message cancellations cannot be accepted. There will be NO OPEN TRACK REFUNDS once all slots have been filled. In the past we have attempted to issue refunds to those who signed up in advance and then, at the last minute, found that they would not be able to participate. In the meantime all slots had been filled and we had to turn people away. In some cases not being able to run meant those people either did not bring their cars or did not attend the event. When slots became available at the last minute due to these eleventh-hour cancellations, those people who had wanted to run were not in a position to do so. The whole situation strikes us as unfair, so we have adopted a strict open track refund policy. No refunds will be made the day of the event or after the event. Credit for future convention open track spots will be issued. DINNER TICKET REFUNDS will be made prior to June 15th when written notice of cancellation is received. Refunds cannot be made after that time as we will have left for the convention and also because the final number of meals will have been confirmed with the caterer.


CONVENTION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

If you've never been to a SAAC convention before you're in for a real treat. To make the event even more enjoyable we've put together this list of most commonly asked questions by first-timers. We've held 29 national conventions prior to this one, and everyone was a first-timer at some point. Don't be bashful - we're all here for the same purpose: to have fun and enjoy these cars. You will find SAAC members especially friendly and receptive.

Do you have to be a SAAC member to enter a car in the popular vote car shows?

No. There is no entry fee. The pop vote shows are open to members and non-members alike. On Saturday afternoon and/or Sunday morning you will be directed to the car show location, inside the track. If your car is there on both days you can enter both days. You will be given a windshield card and an envelope for the ballots and told where your class is parked. Once you're parked, fill out the card and place it under your windshield wiper. Tape the envelope to your car's windshield and between 1 pm and 3 pm on Saturday and 10 am and 12 noon on Sunday, people will vote by placing ballots into the envelope of the cars of their choice. All owners must turn in their envelopes to Car Show Central when voting is over. Winners are determined by the largest number of votes in each class. Winners' names are posted at Car Show Central as soon as the results are determined. Trophies will be custom engraved and mailed out following the convention.

Do you have to be a SAAC member to drive on the open track?

Yes. However it is possible to join the national club at the convention (annual dues are $47.00). Don't get your hopes up, though. Most of the open track spots are filled by those who have pre-registered. Occasionally there are last minute cancellations and these openings are filled at the Driver's Meeting, first come / first served. If you want to drive, you'll have to attend the driver's meeting at 9:00 am (location will be posted in the Tech Garage) and find out if any spaces are available. All cars must be Ford powered and must pass a strict technical inspection. In some cases the technical requirements are very specific (roll bars for all convertibles, dual throttle return springs, radiator coolant overflow catch can, Snell SA 95 or newer rated helmet) so for this reason we strongly suggest pre-registration. Driving on a race track at high speeds is something that should be planned for in advance - not to satisfy some spur-of-the-moment urge. Most would-be drivers who decide to participate at the last minute can't get their cars through tech inspection. You need to plan ahead to avoid disappointment.

Can I get a ride around the track?

In the past we allowed drivers to take passengers in the last session of the day, but due to the demand that we offer open track participation in half-day increments the schedule no longer allows it. A second consideration against rides is that in the event of an accident resulting in the injury or death of a passenger, it is almost certain that the club and its officers would be sued, and we'd rather not, thanks. Our risk just isn't worth your reward.

Can anyone attend the dinner and evening programs?

Yes. Dinner tickets are sold in advance but if any are available by convention time you can get them at SAAC registration at the track on Friday or possibly Saturday morning. We must give the hotel an exact number of the dinners we will require in advance, and tickets are usually sold out by the morning of the dinner so we can't make any promises. Occasionally we get last minute cancellations. If you have not pre- registered and would like to join us for dinner, check at registration to see if tickets are available. Dress is casual.

If dinner tickets are not available, can I still attend the Friday night Auction and Saturday evening program?

Of course you can. Dinner tickets are collected as each person enters the dining area. Once the meal is over and the tables are cleared the program will begin. At that time anyone can get a seat. We expect the Friday night auction to begin about 9:00 and the Saturday evening program of guest speakers to begin about 9:00 pm and run until 10:30 pm.

What can I expect when I attend the convention, beyond seeing all the cars?

The SAAC national convention is a perfect place to do some first-person research. There are usually a good selection of parts for sale at the swap meet, and this provides an excellent opportunity to evaluate or confirm prices (whether you are buying or just wondering what something you have or need might be worth). Many of the Shelby parts suppliers who advertise in national publications are there. You can talk to them and also compare parts side by side. If the part you are looking for isn't there, chances are you can turn up a lead on where to find it.

Beginning a restoration project?

You can look at a wide variety of cars, comparing them for details and examining production deviations. Talking to their owners will provide information that is simply not obtainable through books or video tapes. You can also take pictures or videos of your own, capturing specific details which then become invaluable aids in restoring your car when you get back home. You will be able to talk to owners and get references for people and businesses who did the bodywork, paint, mechanical work or detailing. In many cases they will also be there, and if so, you can talk to them in person. You can see examples of their work and then make your own judgments. You'll also be able to pick people's brains for restoration tips, car care methods and automotive products. Concours judges will be there and nobody knows the cars better than they do. They are always happy to share their knowledge.

Buying a car?

A national convention will probably have at least one of the year and model you are looking for for sale right there - and usually a lot more. Instead of answering individual classified ads and traveling long distances to look at one car at a time, you'll be able to see several cars and compare them, side by side. You can also talk to owners of cars which are not for sale; they will be happy to provide you with their opinions as to condition, price and value of the cars which are. And you can compare the cars for sale with dozens of others just like them to help you determine if they are fairly priced.

Selling a car?

The convention is the perfect place to expose it to a large number of potential buyers. A fair number of convention attendees show up looking to buy a car. It's also not uncommon to find dealers selling cars. There is a minimal charge to park a car in a special area of the swap meet where it will get maximum exposure. Otherwise, you can put a sign on it, park it in the special corral area we will have, cross your fingers and hope the right person sees it.

Interested in factory showroom literature, memorabilia, books, magazines, posters, models and collectibles?

There are usually a half dozen vendors who specialize in this area of the hobby and they have a wide selection of things. Stuff you never dreamed existed. Instead of responding to a classified ad, you will have the chance to hold an item in your hands and examine it before you buy it. And if you want to sell, this is the perfect place. Bring your stuff along with a canopy, comfortable lawn chair and a folding table. If you just want information about literature and collectibles, the convention attracts the most knowledgeable Shelby memorabilia collectors in the country who will be happy to talk about this stuff until long after the sun goes down.

Do I have to sign up in advance for a space at the swap meet?

No. All spaces are parceled out on a first-come, first-served basis. You don't have to be a SAAC member, either. Spaces cost $10 per frontage foot for all 3 days - Friday, Saturday and Sunday, payable on Friday after you set up. This year all spaces will be on asphalt. Swap space cost is in addition to the registration fee each individual pays to enter the track.

How can I get Carroll Shelby's autograph?

Mr. Shelby has said that he plans to attend this year's convention and he always makes himself available to sign autographs. The trouble is, we never know when or where - and usually neither does he until he gets there. Shelby American will have a large tractor trailer in the paddock area. Just ask someone with him. They should know.

What about camping?

California Speedway does not allow overnight camping inside the track. There are acres and acres of parking outside the track but there are no electrical, water or sanitation hook-ups for campers. RVs will have to move back into the track's interior each day.

What will it cost to attend?

Registration is $25 per person per day. Kids 15 and under are free. There is no need to register in advance. All you have to do is show up. There is no special entry fee to enter your car in the Popular Vote Car Show on Saturday or Sunday.

Check the SAAC Website for more details.