President's Report

John Draneas

FOPIR was organized in mid-October of last year, just about seven short months ago. But we've done so much in that time that it sometimes seems a little like we've been around forever. I'm pleased to report that we have been effective on a number of fronts, and we are getting noticed. As a little bit of proof, I was pleasantly surprised the other day when I pulled off I-205 and a fellow I didn't know pulled up alongside, noticed my little orange FOPIR sticker in the back window, and waved and gave me a thumbs-up sign as he hollered hello and thanks. By the way, if you don't have one of those stickers on your car, pick one up and stick it!

So let me give you a little recap of just what we have accomplished in this short time.

Neighborhood Relations

Our prime directive is to establish a working relationship with the neighborhood groups near PIR. We've done our best to build goodwill by working with SOLV on the Kenton neighborhood clean-up on Earth Day. We have attended the Noise Review Board hearings regarding the racetrack and have offered thoughtful input. And recently, we met with the PIR subcommittee of the Noise Study Group to search for some middle ground. I can't say we made them love the track, but we have impressed them with a sensible and fair-minded attitude. We are working with this group to move past the "yes-it-is-no-it-isn't-too-loud" debate, and into a mode of searching for ways to build infrastructure that will actually contain track noise. The goal is to commission a study that would identify ways that PIR improvements could be designed to lessen its noise generation, and then work on ways to find funding to build them.

Government Relations

We have built good relationships with the Parks Bureau and Parks Commissioner Saltzman. There are tremendous opportunities here to provide valuable support to the City in connection with PIR. City personnel readily acknowledge that they don't know much about the business of running a racetrack, and our input has been welcome. That should continue as long as we offer constructive assistance.

Our bicycle racers hosted Commissioner Adams at a recent race, and showed him around on what may even have been his first visit to PIR. We trust that he has seen first hand how important PIR can be to our community.

PIR Management Support

We assisted the track in selecting a new food concessionaire, Ovations. If you have eaten at the track lately, I'm sure you noticed an improvement in food quality without a significant price increase.

We are supporting PIR with its improvement plans, including the upcoming repaving project. As you might have expected, that has run into some cost and timing issues, and the bridge, track reconfiguration, and Broadacre lot paving does not look like it is going to be happening this year, although the repaving of the existing track is still looking good for this fall.

An ordinance to authorize a streamlined bidding process is currently under review by the City's bond management staff. No problems are anticipated, and it is expected that the ordinance will soon be adopted by the City Council without opposition. We are monitoring the situation in case any need for input develops.

Champ Car

As you know, we have been working with Champ Car to help bring spectators to the race. This is the last year of their contract, and there will have to be a serious renegotiation for them to return next year. We plan to do all we can to help that process along to a successful conclusion. This is a very important race series to PIR, and I urge all of you to show your support by attending the upcoming race.

We are very excited about the Champ Car - Portland Public Schools internship program that we created. We will be bringing a number of Portland high school science and automotive students to the Champ Car race. They will be assigned to various Champ Car teams for a day, and will spend time with the crew chiefs, mechanics, etc., and learn about the science behind how the cars are made to perform. Champ Car and the School District are very excited about this program. The students are ecstatic, as you might imagine.

Membership

Friends of PIR needs all the Friends it can get, and our membership drive has been absolutely remarkable. We now have over 5,000 Friends, and we are adding about six per day. I turned heads when I told people we had 2,000 members. Just think what will happen soon.

As reported last month, our Friends have been very generous with their contributions. We are being very careful about how we spend our funds, and are trying to get the most mileage we can out of each dollar spent. We have a long road ahead of us, and it will take a significant amount of money to accomplish our goal of preserving our track for the indefinite future. But with your continued generosity, it will happen.

Bad Stuff

Honestly, there isn't any. I keep expecting it, but it hasn't come yet. We really do seem to be the right organization, with the right concept, at the right time. A little scary, you think? Not for me, and not for the rest of your Board. We're just keeping our heads down, charging forward with good work and ideas, keeping our eyes on the target, and taking every good thing we can. And being very grateful for all the wonderful support we've been getting.

Membership Breaks 5,000

Gary Bockman and Verne Naito gave themselves a goal this year: that FOPIR would have 5,000 members by the end of April.  They missed  their goal, but not by much.

Now they have set a goal of 50,000 members by the end of the racing season.

Impossible?

Maybe, but with your help, we can do it.fopir logo

You don't need to be a track user or racer to join FOPIR and show your support for this great resource.  Many businesses benefit from PIR and the over 100,000 tourists it brings to Portland every summer.  The economic benefit from PIR is enormous and many local businesses can see the PIR impact on their bottom line at this time

of the year. It's up to each of us to encourage our friends and co-workers to return something to this great asset - and it's easy to do. By joining FOPIR, each new member helps to preserve and protect our track.

Anyone may join online at www.friendsofpir.com

It's free, fun, and the right thing to do.

If you are a member of FOPIR, but you aren't getting the newsletter, it's likely that the e-mail server chewed up your application.  Send another e-mail with your preferred e-mail address to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and we'll re-register you.

Remember to pick up your membership sticker at

• A n T Tires - Portland
• The Bike Gallery - All 6 locations
• Beaverton Honda Yamaha - Tigard
• Competition Motors - Portland
• Grand Prix Imports - Wilsonville
• Motocorsa Ducati and Lotus - Portland
• Cycle Gear - Portland and Salem stores
• Sunset Porsche - Beaverton
• Monte Shelton Motors - Portland
• Motor Sports International - Beaverton
• Portland Motorcycle Company
• River City Bicycles - Portland
• Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo - Sales and Service locations

Bicycle Racing Heats up for summer at PIR on Monday and Tuesday Nights

Racing continues at PIR on Monday and Tuesday evenings through the end of August. Racing for all levels - novice to women! Its a great place to learn the sport. Registration takes place at race.

Come check it out some Monday or Tuesday evening.

Learn more about bike racing in oregon at the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association's website: www.obra.org

Online Clubhouse Covers

"Everything Automotive" for Portland

www.pdxracer.com is a new "online clubhouse" for local and regional automotive activities and information.

The site is free to join and use, and includes an event calendar, classified ads, discussion forums, event reports, news, and new car reviews. "The goal is to have a one-stop shop for the car hobby in Portland," says creator Jeff Zurschmeide.

www.pdxracer.com supports FOPIR and features a link to FOPIR on every page.