April 2018 Member Spotlight – Joe Kamman

April 2018 Member Spotlight – Joe Kamman

Name (yours not the car’s): 
Joe Kamman

Car(s) presently owned (and their name?):
Porsche Cayman

Years Owned:
Going on three years.

Modifications (i.e.interior/exterior, engine, chassis):
My Cayman is completely stock. Lots of modifications on a Mazda/Ford (shown below) that was my first autocross car/ techie project. The Cayman is a great fun to drive car in it’s stock form, and I’m happy to keep it that way.

How long have you been racing, and what types of racing do you do?
Did my first autocross event in the late 1990s. Had about 10 years after moving to Oregon where I spent no time playing with cars. Then volunteered to work on a pit crew at PIR for EKR Porsche. That was my intro to the Porsche 968. Liked the engineering on the car, which led to the purchase of my first Porsche. Loved the 968 while my term lasted and enjoyed autocrossing with it.

How did you get into autocross?
Was surprised when my wife-to-be asked me if I wanted to go to a car show. Turned out she really wasn’t into cars, but as a photographer, likes shooting cars. While there I was drawn to an original, just restored AC Shelby Cobra. The gentleman mentioned an autocross event that was going on at a local community college just a mile away and suggested with my interest in cars that I might want to check it out on my way home. I did, and a month later, equiped with helmet, I did my first autocross in my Probe GT in G stock. This also became the driving factor for the techie project mentioned above, as I caught the need for speed bug.

How do you get focused before/during an event?
Don’t have any specific routine, just relax.

What future plans do you have for your racing career (new car, new mods, new types of racing, etc.)?
Will finally do my first HPDE day this year. In the past, every time I planned to get on the track, something has gotten in the way. Found out a couple of weeks before the event that I couldn’t fit in my 3000 GT, VR4 with a helmet, had to cancel. Drunk driver totalled my sweet 968 weeks before I was going to do an HPDE event. And, I failed the tire wear test last year with the Cayman. But, just got a set of the Pilot Sport 4S’s installed on the Cayman and looking forward to having some fun with it this year, little autocross, HPDE, and maybe back to the Maryhill Hillclimb again. Hope to get some fun video’s with a newly purchased Garmin Ultra 30 action cam.

 

Outside of racing:

Where are you from, and how did you end up in Oregon/Washington?
From Cincinnati, Ohio where I lived virtually all my life. Sister moved to Oregon in the 1970’s when a lot of midwesterners migrated here. Was exposed to Oregon through her. Decided when I retired to move here, fortunately my wife agreed. We love the people, the enviornment and the culture. It’s a great place to live.

Do you have a favorite hobby outside of racing?
Favorite sport is competitive volleyball which still play a few hours a week. Lot’s of other interests from birdwatching, reading (fantasy fiction and historical novels fiction or non), repair/restoration of almost anything (as an engineer, a strong drive it as a problem solver), volunteer work (Engineer’s Without Borders, and currently coaching a girls 7th/8th grade volleyball team), home remodelling, etc., etc.

What is/are your favorite food(s)?
Love pastries, but my aged metabolism doesn’t support it very well anymore. Oh for the good old days of being able to freely indulge.

The favorite car that you have owned?
My first fun car was a Triumph TR-3. Each of my fun cars have been my fav at the time. But I have a lot of good memories associated with the TR-3 when I was in college.

Your dream car(s)?
A car that I always thought would be a fun/raw car to play with is the Ford GT. Always had an eye for them since their win streak at Le Mans.

Fact(s) that you are dying to share about you?
More so what I’d like to say in the way of thanks to BCA. I appreciate how much they have gone out of their way to accommodate a rare autoimmune disorder that I have that means I have to avoid getting cold. This is almost impossible in Oregon with cold overnight temps that spill into the day. I wouldn’t be able to come out even the few times I do if it wasn’t for their consideration.

 

Meaning of life:

If you could be any animal in the world, what animal would you be, and why?
Because of my love of volleyball, I’d likely pick a breed of dog that had great leaping ability. I look with amazement at dogs and cats, and … that can leap many times their height. My dog Murph surely seems to know how to make the best of life, and I still love him even though Murph can’t leap worth a darn.

What was the best thing before sliced bread?
I’m with Mina on this one, coffee. Give me a good cup of jo.

We hacked into your computer and downloaded your music list. I don’t want to be the one to spill your most embarrassing song, so why don’t you tell people what we found?
Don’t have a music list on my computer, but regularly listen to Pandora. I like variety in my life, so my music runs the gamut from Beethoven String Trios, to Blues with most everything in between.

On a final note on the Meaning of Life, I almost lost my life in that TR-3. It set the stage for me to appreciate the fragility of life. What we do with our lives, and our Family and Friends, in the end, are the only things that really matter.