RENO, NV (Feb. 7) – As usual Reno Cars & Coffee got the month rolling with its first weekend car meet. The event was blessed by great weather and a huge turn out.
Reno C&C head Lance Freitas said it might be the largest meet they’ve had. There were cars of ever type in fact one row was mainly Corvettes while another had a good selection of Subarus while others had a mix of many different cars.
One of the exotic cars is a 2020 McLaren LT600 Spider owned by Kurt Fehling.
“I’ve had this one almost two years. Had a 570 before but it was a little problematic, it was in the shop a few times, actually a few too many times,” he said.
He related that McLaren swapped him out for the 600, which is a better car.
“It’s basically the 570 chassis so they both start out with the basic carbon fiber tub. This model however is designed more fore track use so they’ve upped the horsepower, which is 600 metric or 592 SAE,” he said. “They put the 720 brake system on it, did a few tweaks to the front and rear suspension, made a top exit exhaust that saved about 200 pounds and a couple of things like that. This made a car that’s pretty much a beast out there on the track.”
At the meet he McLaren was sitting on Goodyear F-1 3R racing tires but he’s also had it on Hoosier racing slicks. Asked about g Forces he said using Hoosiers on a banked turn it pulled about 1.7 G’s. He’s also had it on the track at Thunder Hill.
“I came from a C6 Corvette but this car handles so much better, it’s night and day,” he said. “It’s phenomenal out there, hooks up, exits the corners really, really well and the handling is probably the most exciting part for me because things are sublime out there.”
In addition there were a few Lotus cars, one was for sale as well as other makes. A few of the cars were the nearly or latest mid-engined Corvettes.
One car based off a Corvette is owned by Sam Britt, it’s an N5 GTM and would be another exotic vehicle.
“It weighs 2,500 pounds, it’s a mid engine LS30 with a Mendeola transaxel and has a 5-speed in it, C6 Corvette suspension and power train. The C6 and C8 Corvettes weigh about 3,500 pounds,” he said.”It pulls amazing G’s and we’re looking doing Thunder Hill this spring.
“This is the first time you see it all the way up and running. It’s not quite ready for the track yet as it needs a 5-point harness to replace the standard seat belts. Then it will be a weekend warrior.”
Another part of any car meet is people displaying the motors in their cars. Some could qualify as pieces of art so many have the hoods of their cars up to show their motors.
In addition to the exotic and not so exotic are vintage cars that will show up. One vintage machine is a 1968 Volkswagen owned by Nick Law. He’s visiting from Southern California to help a friend and drove it up here.
“Everything is original apart from the engine as it’s a 1641. When I bought the car everything was redone,” he said. “The luggage rack I built myself as it was a really cheap kit from China that I ordered on EBay. It started rusting a few months ago so I redid everything. Painted the rack, stained the wood and clear coated it,” he said.
Right now the car is getting around 20 miles a gallon and he feels the carburetor needs to be adjusted. He’s also added some styling things like hub caps that one might find on a Porsche as well as fog lights and mud flaps.
“I’m from Torrance, California and this is my daily driver. I used to work in San Diego every other week so I’d drive the car like a 100 miles there and back,” he said. “I’m a student at University of California Irving, drive it back and forth and for everything as it’s my only car.”
With the good weather and great turn out everyone was having a good time looking at cars, motors and meeting other like minded people. These meets are becoming a great social event.
Next week,both Sparks Cars and Coffee as well as Carson Cars and Coffee will have meets on Sunday. The following week Reno Cars and Coffee will have their second meet of the month in the northwest.
REPORTER’S NOTE: There is a photo gallery after the sponsor’s list. For other pictures please check the Reno Cars & Coffee page on Face Book as Lance Freitas has many more there.
OTHER RACING NEWS:
• Big news is that the 50th anniversary Virginia City Grand Prix won’t happen at the end of April. Due to the restrictions it has now been moved to the weekend of October 23/24 and hopefully the restrictions will have lifted by then.
• This year the usual NASCAR Speedweeks at Daytona has been compressed into Speedweek. The NASCAR Clash happens Tuesday, starting at 4 p.m. on Fox Sports 1 and this year the event is on the road course.
Wednesday is when qualifying starts at 4 p.m. on Fox Sports 1 and when it ends only the first row for Sunday’s 500 will be set. Depending on where a driver ends up they will race for their actual starting spot in the Duels at Daytona, once again starting at 4 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.
The rest of the schedule will be in Thursday’s preview article.
• Tuesday, from 2 until 3 p.m. is when Teresa’s Garage Radio Show is on the air. It can be heard on 1060 AM or in a Podcast at amm.streamon fm.
The show can be seen live on Face Book. Co-host Emily Cook is a woman racer building her career. She also had a website, www.emilycookracing.com and sells merchandise to help fund her efforts. She would welcome any company wishing to sponsor her efforts.
SPONSOR LIST:
• If you enjoyed this article please “like,” and share it as widely as possible. Comments are welcome.
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We now have seven very appreciated sponsors supporting this site. Please patronize them as they not only support your sport but they help nvracingnews continue. Please let them know you heard about them through this site.
Our newest sponsor is G.I.S.L Land Services that, while having a global client base it has a Western U.S.A. Focus. Owner Greg Ekins is a long time off road motorcycle racer competing in the MRANN Series as well as the AMA National Hare and Hound series.
Among the services offers are Surface and Mineral Title Reviews and Cartographic Services. The website is www.gislandservices.com.
Another great sponsor is General Transmission and Power Train Specialists. The shop is located at 2515 Sutro Street in Reno, a few blocks below Hug High School.
Former motorcycle racer Pete Attashian is the owner and they not only service older and newer transmission but now have a section dealing with high performance units including those used for towing.
The phone number is 775-786-5888 and the shop’s website is www.generaltransmissionreno.com.
Another sponsor is fantastic race photographer Melissa Coker. If you have raced at Summit in Elko, Battle Mountain, Lovelock, Rattlesnake Raceway or Diamond Mountain Speedway she probably has a photograph of your car on the track.
She’s also been at the IMCA Duel in the Desert was well as the Wild West Tour and IMCA Super Nationals in Boone, Iowa. Melissa not only has photos of the cars, and many times drivers, but she can produce hero cards and even a book covering from your season.
To see her collections or to place an order please check her website at www.melissasoutonalimb.smugmug.com.
Two of our sponsors are first class motorcycle shops located in Reno.
Our first sponsor is Reno Motorsports (RMS). Not only do they have about anything a rider might want or need and the store also has a full service shop.
Their location is at 964 Terminal Way, by the intersection with Mill Street. Store’s phone number is 775-322-1499 and the site is, www.rms-renomotorsports.com.
The next shop is Moto-Source located at 3180 Mill Street. Once again they are a full service shop plus about any thing a rider might need or want.
The phone number is 775-856-3855 and the website is, www.moto-source.com.
The next sponsor is an excellent place if you need collision repair on your car or truck. It’s Concours Body Shop, located at 250 Telegraph Street in Reno and has a long history of first class repairs.
Brian Saul is the owner, a car enthusiast himself and he’s committed to continuing the shop’s reputation of quality work. Phone number is 775-329-4557 and the website is, www.concoursbodyshop.net.
Hungry, want a great place to eat, then try PJ&CO for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and it’s a great place to watch your favorite sports. If you’re a rider, well Wednesday evening is Bike Night, always a great time to see some great looking bikes and meet like-minded people.
The location is 1590 South Wells Avenue, just north of the round about. Phone number is 775-323-6366 and their website is www.pjandco.net.
Have a business targeted toward motorsports or an off road demographic? We are always looking for more sponsors and will expose your business to the racing and off road community in this area.
You can contact us either through the comment section of this site or on our Face Book page.
PHOTO GALLERY:
Kurt Fehling stands by his 2020 LT 600 McLaren. 
Bright yellow Z28 Camaro with yellow accents on the motor. 
Motor with silver intakes. Sam Britt points to the N5 on the nose of his car. Nick Law sits in his 1968 VW that he uses as a daily driver. 
Motor with red on the intakes. Many people at a car meet want to show off the motors in their cars. McLaren LT60 owned by Kurt Fehling. Two different model of Lotus cars were also on display. This is only a tiny portion of the cars that showed up for the meet. 
A group of Corvettes. 
Customized car with Carbon Fiber hood. 
Car with a Camo paint job. Sam Britt points to the Corvette power plant in his N5.
