By Anita Tavakley
Audi Club Lone Star members converged on the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex for the annual state meet on June 17-19, 2016. The action-packed weekend began Friday night with check-in and registration at the Embassy Suites in Grapevine where each attendee received an ACLS swag bag which included a raffle ticket for the 2017 S3 – good luck y’all! Members came from all across the state, from Houston and San Antonio to Austin and the DFW area. Registration was followed by a casual dinner and some friendly competition at Top Golf in The Colony. The relaxed atmosphere allowed members to greet old friends and start making new ones.
Saturday morning brought the somewhat low-key start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with breakfast provided by Audi Plano (those wonderful folks got up extra early to open just for ACLS!). After watching the first hour of racing, the group set off on a 2-hour scenic fun drive through the DFW countryside in their beloved Audis. The drive concluded at Alamo Autosports in Arlington, where members enjoyed a pizza lunch and had the opportunity to run their cars on the dyno in Alamo’s garage.
After a little rest and recharging, part of the group visited the nearby AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, for a fabulous (air-conditioned) tour that included restricted areas like the locker rooms, press box, and suites. During the tour, attendees learned about the specs and design details of the stadium, and had a photos op overlooking the field.
While the last few dyno runs were wrapping up, part of the group headed for Audi Fort Worth to catch another hour of the Le Mans race and take advantage of free car washes and refreshments. The day concluded with dinner at Edelweiss, a German restaurant in Fort Worth, where members enjoyed traditional German food, beer, and live entertainment (the waiter could actually sing!). Some folks went straight to bed after the long day; others stayed up to socialize and catch up with the race.
Sunday started early for a few Audi-faithful members who ate breakfast in the hotel dining room and caught the last few laps of the race. They were rewarded with a surprise last-minute podium finish by Audi!
After a leisurely BBQ lunch at Hard Eight in Coppell, the group caravanned over to the Dallas Karting Complex to commence the 2016 Annual ACLS Karting Grand Prix. It was a sweaty and busy Father’s Day at the complex, but ACLS was able to slot in between other groups, driving two 10-minute qualifying stints and a final “race.” Congratulations to the proud winner of this year’s karting grand prix, Raymond Chen, and to Darren Rich as runner up and Matthew Welch taking the final podium place. Their rewards were (1) bragging rights until next year’s GP and (2) driving home in a pool of sweat like the rest of us.
Thanks to all the members who attended this event – you make the club awesome! Thanks to Audi Plano and Audi Forth Worth for their generous hospitality!
A special thanks to outgoing board member Benson Ray Jr – your contributions are appreciated, and we wish you and your family well on your move to Georgia (just in time for the ACNA national event)!