m73m95

Hello,

I've been looking at the Las Vegas chapter of the PCA's site, and it looks interesting.

Should I join? What are the benefits? Club meetings fun? I know there are a lot of track days that are PCA only. I haven't tracked my car yet, but I do plan to in the future.

Basically, just give me the rundown of the PCA.

Would the PCA be better than the SCCA?

Showing up to a meet in a 944, in Vegas, would be like Chelsea Clinton showing up for the Miss America Pageant . Hot P-cars are not rare here. I know of 2 GT3RS's that live within 8 blocks of my house......

Rogue_Ant

Lol - late night thinkings huh?
From what I've seen the main benefit is track days...

m73m95

Yeah, my days and nights get all turned around sometimes...... why are you up?


Yeah, everyone always talks about the track days. I'd like to know if there is any other reason to join.

I was half thinking that if my car ever got stolen, it would be nice to have a lot of other people looking for it.....but then I remember they're Porsche owners. Porcupines and Porsches.... right? Porcupines have their ****** on the outside.

Rogue_Ant

Yeah I'm finishing up some work, and trying to get other work started...
I should have something for you in a bit.

xsboost90

ive been in the PCA for over five years now- originally joined when i started autox'ing w/ them and slowly started going to their other events. Some of the social activities are ok, ive met alot of great people. Then i started doing track events with them and now im a PCA national instructor. That said not all regions are the same and ours is a wine cheese/track event region- split down the middle.

jpk

The best way to get a feel for the type of crowd out there is to just go to an event or two, be it a monthly meeting or whatever. I don't know of any region that wouldn't welcome guests or prospective members.

shiners780

Depends on the region. Some are very active and have much to offer; others not so much. I've met some great friends through PCA, and it's a great networking tool.

Keep in mind different people go to different events, they're not always the same crowd. Like any large group, you sometimes need to hit several different types of events to find people who share your interests. PCA'ers are definitely not all wine and cheese people.

Try it out for a year.

pontifex4

I'm trying it out this year for the DE, on the recommendation of a couple of guys who were standing around a race shop in town. I'm not sure quite what to expect, yet, but I don't think my region does much in the way of wine and cheese.

ritzblitz

I was a member and didn't renew. It's kind of a "what you make it" type of thing.

roman944

I say join both

PCA would most likely have more Porsche's

SCCA would be everyone thrown in together

around here, between PCA, SCCA, BMWCA and local shop sponsored events there is something going on every weekend - you'll get to meet a ton of people too

M758

I have been PCA (Arizona Region) for 10 years. I have never had an issue about being 944 driver in PCA. (Well I did once, but that just one guy). I met alot of nice people and PCA is where I started track driving. I used to have PCA Club Racing license, but let that expire years ago. I just race NASA now.

As for events I have not been doing many lately, but that is just a factor of time I have. My wife and loved certain events. Did not care for others.

I probably will be PCA for life as I see us doing more PCA things our daughter grows. (She is almost 4 now).

aj986s

I say join. My wife, sons & I have been members for about 4 years now, and thoroughly enjoy it. Our Region is active in a lot of stuff, Social and Track. I'm the Autox Chair, and a PCA DE Instructor. Every Region is different, but often focused around the interests of their locals. The National HQ folks are a great bunch (their HQ building is located within our Region). And the monthly magazine, Panorama, is very good; many say that alone is worth the cost of membership.

You don't need to be a member for many of our events, although you often get a discount. But it is a nicely focused Club, as opposed to SCCA or NASA, which are both good organizations, but much more of mixed bag. Plus if you really get into P-cars, PCA's annual Parade event is worth attending, especially if near your part of the country. To attend Parade, you need to be a PCA member. PCA has lots of history, lots to do, and lots of good people!

Potomac-Greg

In my region, PCA offers the cheapest track days and very well run. A 944 is almost like a bootleg ticket to the PCA show (and sometimes it feels that way). The non-track events are of no interest to me due to limited time, and I have not done them.

For pure enjoyment and great people, NASA events cannot be surpassed. I actually like the vehicular and cultural variety.

I should add that I started in Audi Club events and really enjoy that crowd (techie, down to earth, youthful but not immature).

User 52121

Ditto to what most others have said - it is what you make it, and you might need to try a few events to find your "clique" of people.

I've only been a member of the Chicago region for ~8 months and I wouldn't trade it for anything. My wife and I started out with an Auto-X event and met a TON of people. We were both blown away by the absolute fact that more people came up and introduced themselves at our first PCA event, than at all other non-PCA Auto-X's *combined* over the several years we've been doing Auto-X. (And we did a lot with the local Audi club, local VW club, and local SCCA chapter.)

We also do Rallyes and have done a few social events as well. We haven't participated in any DE's yet (too much $$ at this point for me) but have gone up to just hang out and watch the cars zip around. There are a few people who cross over into different events, but for the most part, each event type has its own set of "regulars." We even attended our first board meeting last month and it was quite entertaining. We've jumped into all these different events thanks to encouragement from other members to attend them.

My wife and I have made some very good, close friends in the very short period of time we've been members... and we actually hang out with some regularity outside of PCA events. A group of us did a weekend away up at the Kohler resort about a month ago with 2 other couples we met through the club and had a total blast together. This weekend one of the guys and his wife invited us (and a group of others) over to his place for a BBQ and to watch the Grand Am races @ Barber.

Not sure about the LV region - but the Chicago region was nothing like I expected it to be. A few folks might fit into the "wine and caviar" set... but for the most part it's a lot of just "real" people. Most of the events we've been to *haven't* been full of newer cars. 90% of the cars at Auto-X's, Rallyes, and social events we've been to have been older air-cooled cars and lots of Boxsters.

JnJNY

I have membership with both groups. SCCA and PCA offer similar interests with differetn approaches...

I have been a SCCA member for much longer, but I enjoy both clubs and their activities. That is the advantage of joining both in your region... You will make friends that are members of both clubs. Allowing you to pick and choose which events you want to attend.