Goodbye 2019: Our December Track Day

What’s one of the best ways to close out the year (and the decade)? A track day, of course.

It has been quite some time since we hosted our own private track event, so we thought it would be a good idea to bring them back. We serve so many enthusiast drivers that it just makes sense to provide the opportunity for some quality seat time.

Back in December, we decided to host our premier event at the Thunderhill West 2 mile course, where we faced some challenges due to the weather. The schedule ended up working out nicely at the end of the month, and we had a very manageable number of cars throughout the day. A lower driver count meant that those who attended could take advantage of a widely open track, with minimal distraction.

While we did end up getting hit with rain halfway through the day, everyone still had a great time—and got to round out 2019 doing something they love. Please enjoy the gallery of photos from the event below, and stay tuned for our announcement of our next private track day. We hope to see you there!

Holiday Food + Toy Drive 2019

Each year that we host donation focused events, we are blown away by the support that we receive from our community of enthusiasts. You might remember last year that we hosted two separate events: a food drive, then a toy drive. This year, we decided to combine the two in an effort to extend the time to collect donations for the holiday season.

For this year’s event, we set up a vehicle display inside our shop, while most of the outside space was dedicated to our customers, friends, and family. We are thrilled to have received an enormous number of donations, ranging from bulks of canned and dry foods to brand new children’s bicycles and stuffed toys.

When we see the community show up for a cause like this, it reassures us that we are in the right place with the right people. The holidays are not an easy time for so many, and we aim to make even a small impact on our local community. Achieving this goal is largely thanks to you, the people who come out and support. So, we want to extend a huge thank you to those who donated this year. If you didn’t make it to the event, that’s perfectly fine; donations can still be made independently to the Alameda County Community Food Bank or the Fremont Fire Department.

Below, you’ll find a gallery of images that we shot during the event. We hope you enjoy the photos, and please feel free to share them (remember to tag us!). We thank you again for your support, and hope that you have a warm and happy holiday season.

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FemPowered Tech Talk: October 4, 2019

Back toward the start of the month, we hosted FemPowered for a Laguna Seca tech talk at the shop. This was the first event of its kind for us, and we had a blast opening up our space for an evening of food, education, raffles, and community building.

The ladies at FemPowered were featured in their own blog (see our last post) and are on a mission to make women in the automotive world feel more “at home,” while spreading awareness and building their own network of drivers and enthusiasts.

As you can see in the photos below, we organized the shop space to accommodate the large group of attendees. In addition to the presentation area, there was a helmet try-on station, a kitchen filled with spreads of snacks (thanks to our resident chef and food expert, Nate), a raffle table, and Recaro seat demo area. Attendees were welcome to bring their cars and park in the lot in conjunction with the staged cars we had prepared.

Our service shop served as the “classroom” for the tech talk, and as you can see, it was a full house! Before the talk began, drivers had about an hour to chat and hang out in the shop and kitchen areas. While the focus of the event was on the tech talk, what good would it be if we didn’t have a chance to get to know each other?

Once the talk began, Erika and the rest of the founding members from FemPowered welcomed everybody with an introduction of the group, and a warm thanks for the support. Then, Martin Umeh, BMW CCA driving instructor, took the floor to begin the class. The focus of this talk was running your car at Laguna Seca, and what to expect. Martin covered everything from basic car control to a turn-by-turn breakdown of the track, and he proved to be a wealth of information. His presentation was interactive and informative, and even if you’re a seasoned Laguna Seca pro, there were valuable takeaways for everyone in the room.

We would like to thank FemPowered, Martin Umeh, and all of the attendees of this wonderful tech talk! We enjoyed getting to meet everyone, and we look forward to the next one. If you are interested in hosting an event of your own—tech talk or otherwise—please don’t hesitate to reach out to us to discuss your ideas!