Autocross Update
Steve Kidd, Autocross Chair
This article is dedicated to long time GCR member, BJ Fuller, who recently passed away in Sebring Florida. “YEAH PORSCHE” Who can forget that yell every Bay Bottom Crawl award ceremony when a Porsche/Porsche driver was recognized. BJ was the perfect example of a true Porsche enthusiast and it was most apparent during Bay Bottom when BJ was in top form. First a little about the Fullers, and then about the Bay Bottom Crawl for those that never heard of this King of all Autocrosses. The following is a recent excerpt from the Key West Citizen newspaper. “B.J. attended Key West High School and Scottsboro High School in Alabama, graduating from the latter in 1952. Later in life, she achieved a master’s degree in counseling in 1996, then a doctorate in Psychology in 2010. B.J. married Jack Ronald Fuller in Key West on July 8, 1956. They had 64 wonderful years together and were blessed with three children. She and Jack opened Fullers Insurance in 1977. She had a great love of Porsches, and along with Jack, spent countless hours involved with Ecurie Vitesse Sports Car Club and the Porsche Club of America. She was one of the organizers of the Bay Bottom Crawl at Loop Road on Sugarloaf Key, which was one of the longest-running annual events in the history of the Keys. She also loved traveling in their motor home across the USA. She was a proud member of the Frustrated Maestros singing group, which she joined on their travels. Jack and B.J. retired and moved to Sebring, Florida in 2016. They moved again to Lake Placid, Florida in 2020. She passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 27, 2021, after 86 years of a vibrant and happy life.” Jack & B.J. Fuller joined PCA Gold Coast Region in 1966, making them the 3rd longest standing active GCR members. The Fullers were extremely active in the early years and were even recognized as National PCA Family of the Year in the early 70’s. The Fullers had at least one example of just about every Porsche sports cars…including 356’s, early 911’s and 914’s and more recently Boxsters and Caymans. My favorite of the Fuller fleet was what Jack referred to as “Old Ugly” a Yellow and Blue 914/6, that had an assortment of various parts, and used primarily for racing, DE and AutoX. Needless to say “Old Ugly” would not win any concours, but was well sorted and functional. B.J.was quite the ladies hot shoe and competed along with Jack for many years. The Bay Bottom Crawl was synonymous with the name Fuller, and for much of the 50 + years the Bay Bottom Crawl existed, they were the heartbeat of this event. For those that never heard of the Bay Bottom Crawl, it is not a PCA event. Its run by the Ecurie Vitesse Sports Car club headquartered in Key West, and might be described as a high speed, 2+ mile AutoX thru a mangrove swamp. In the years I attended, the Fullers were always instrumental in seeing that the event went smoothly and donated their RV to serve as the command post that monitored car movement thru each section of the course, and constant maintained radio contact with the 10 +worker stations. The Bay Bottom Crawl developed a number of traditions over the years but clearly the most memorable for Porsche owners was B.J. and her shouts of “Yeah Porsche” at the Saturday and Sunday awards ceremonies. Next month we will report on the Parade AutoX and hopefully some insight on where AutoX is going on a National level and best practices other regional AutoX programs utilize. Also important to mention is our request, again, for new autoX site locations. Please… if you have an “in”, or even a suggestion to a big parking lot, sports area, please let Steve know …Call me at 954292-3915
Tentative AX schedule for the remainder of 2021 Summer break....June-August Event #4 10/09/2021 @ Sebring or ??? Possibly a 2nd AutoX school with Suncoast Event #5 Tentative Mid November. Location TBA Event #6 Tentative early December possibly FAU or ??? Most of the above dates & sites are subject to change due to weather, availability and factors beyond our control.
