February 2019 Member Spotlight – Larry White

February 2019 Member Spotlight – Larry White

Obligatory questions:

Name (yours not the car’s):
Larry White (AKA Lorenzo Blanco)

Car(s) presently owned (and their name?):
Toyota’s all the way: 2014 Prius 4 (“Wives car”), 2014 Avalon Limited (“Ava”), 2017 Toyota 86 Base model (“Dreamweaver”).

Years Owned:
All since purchased new.

Modifications (i.e.interior/exterior, engine, chassis):
No modifications other than Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R’s for the 86.  The 86 is used almost exclusively for Autocross and to the track and back.

How long have you been racing, and what types of racing do you do?
Autocross one fun day and two race days with BCA beginning in the fall of 2017. Before marriage in 1966 I raced ¼ midgets, Go Karts, Motorcycle desert racing, Drag racing street legal (kind of) modified motorcycles and cars. I raced high end bicycles in my forties and into my late fifties. Funny, I would race anybody with anything, footraces, horses, boats, slot cars, model boats, on and on yada, yada,yada.

How did you get into autocross?
After I sold my Sport bike and my Corvette, the need for speed was stronger than ever. I had a passion for motorcycles most of my life. It was really hard to give them up, but I knew with the aggressive way I was riding at age 72, it was time to give up the bikes or die on one (My life is not just my own to loose.)  I went to PIR at almost every event for a year and researched different types of racing to try to find something I thought I could do, would be fun and would not drain my children’s inheritance. I decided on autocross. I thought it would be loads of fun and easy for me to do. I was half right. In the past I could jump in, or on just about anything at any speed anywhere and start right off competitive and at ease. “Autocross is the most difficult sport I have ever attempted”.

How do you get focused before/during an event?
I try to relax, walk the course as many times as possible saying to myself: go! left, right, Go! crossover, brake go! left sweeper look at exit, Go! slalom enter left, Go, brake, Stop! Etc. The last few runs I have been calling out the actions during the run. I have learned not to try to go to fast on my first two or three runs. I don’t try to memorize what line to take, it is just to much for me. I may learn and develop good lines on some features of the track as the day goes on. If I go to fast to soon I get lost as everyone knows. If I bring out a red flag it is really hard to shake of the guilt and embarrassment, so I try to socialize a little before the next run to clear my head. When the starter says go, I pause, take a deep breath and think of nothing but the first two or three obstacles ahead.  When I am on the track my mind is purged of all things worldly.  What’s coming next and after that is all my mind’s eye can see.  It’s like a 35 second vacation.

What future plans do you have for your racing career (new car, new mods, new types of racing, etc.)?
I plan to stay in class DS, I may at some point make a few legal mods. My priority is not to win but to have fun, be a good club member and work on my memory and driving skills. I am tempted to buy the new Supra coming out this summer, but 55-60K probably not. I may take a driving course so I can experience the track at PIR, but I don’t plan to race or do track days. I will be 75 in June. Autocross will be my one and only racing sport until either I am a risk to the safety of others or I ascend into the Great Autocross Course in the sky.  You could say: “Autocross into infinity and beyond.”

 

 

Outside of racing:

Where are you from, and how did you end up in Oregon/Washington?
I am a Southern California native. I was an executive at a medical equipment and device manufacturer.  I planted the seeds and supported our move to “The Great Northwest”.  I moved from Diamond Bar Hills to Camas Washington July 1, 1993. There are a lot of really nice people in the Northwest. If I stay here long enough maybe I can become one of them.

Do you have a favorite hobby outside of racing?
Hiking and taking short rides on my mountain bike. Detailing my cars. I like too go “catching”, but I become bored “just fishing”.  In my younger years: it was Surfing, Water skiing, and California Girls. The Beach Boy’s song is factual.

What is/are your favorite food(s)?
I am really not very picky. Will eat most anything not moving. I like everything Mexican except Menudo. A Porterhouse steak now and then is a treat, and show me somebody that doesn’t like Apple pie.  I also make a mean Blueberry pie from my garden berry’s

The favorite car that you have owned?
I have been a car nut since the ¼ midgets and I have owned some really iconic cool cars. My favorite is the least cool of them. The first car I bought was a black on black, three on the tree 1956 Ford custom coupe. It had a 57 T-bird 312 c.i. engine with Isky cam, solid lifters, high performance exhaust system and clutch. I did all of the wrenching on the car and most of the customizing. It was light for the time and a blast to drive, some people would say: “It looked Bitchen”. A lot of good memories come to mind when I think of that car.

Your dream car(s)?
It changes all of the time, but it usually comes back to Corvettes.  They haven’t made a Corvette I wouldn’t like to own.

Fact(s) you’re dying to share about you?

My father raced dirt and asphalt oval tracks and some road race tracks. He taught me car control and lit the fire in my belly for race competition.  I haven’t met a BCA member I didn’t like.  I enjoy the camaraderie and laughter as much as the sport.  I come home from race day tired, sometimes exhausted, but in such a good and invigorated mood.

Meaning of life:

If you could be any animal in the world, what animal would you be, and why?
The American Bald Eagle. I would rather be predator than prey. Beautiful, respected, fast, long life, and free to just “BE”.

What was the best thing before sliced bread?
Procreation: It is almost as fun as Autocross. Having a wife, children, grandchildren, and great grand children brings joy and purpose to my life. There will always be someone close to me. I will never be truly alone.

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?
“Miserlou” By Dick Dale (AKA King of the Surf Guitars). I can’t resist playing air guitar when it is cued up on my Ipod. That’s a sight none of you will ever see.