Member Profiles

Autocross Update

PCA Gold Coast – Member Profiles

Mark Johnson, staff writer

We continue this month with our member feature by presenting two PCA Gold Coast members. Get to know these wonderful Porsche owners! This month we feature Jay Weigle and Ruben Fuentes.

Jay Weigle, his wife Haley, and daughter Millie James (MJ) live in Dania Beach, FL. Jay is a long-term member of PCA and has been involved with multiple events within our club over the years.

His current Porsche is a 2010 Boxster S, which is in bone stock condition. The Boxster is the fifth Porsche he has owned, having acquired the S about five years ago. Leading into the current Boxster, Jay has also owned two 944 NAs, and 2 “hot” 944 Turbos. All told, Jay has been driving and enjoying PCars since 1993 when he acquired the first 994 at the seasoned age of 14, a full two months before he turned 15! He has jockeyed a Porsche around almost every year since.

Having a cabriolet, the Boxster S in silver, makes it fun and easy to use the vehicle on date nights and weekends. Jay also enjoys driving this machine in High Performance Driver Education (HDPE) events to improve his skills and confidence. The game plan is to participate in future Porsche Rallies, PCA travel events, and perhaps a Porsche Parade or Werks Reunion. He and the family are also considering the next 48 Hours of Porsche for early 2022, and a Rennsport event or several others. Options are open as we all move back to a bit more normalcy in life. Porsches and Pancakes have returned so you may also visit with Jay at the Flashback Diner (Davie location) at a future first Saturday of the month.

When not driving the Boxster, Jay is employed by the US Health Group in health insurance sales. He has been with the company for four years joining US Health after selling his insurance agency in Augusta, GA. He was born Augusta and has lived throughout the southeast. He has generally always returned to his birth city and the home of the Masters Golf Tournament. Even after graduating from Clemson University with a major in Marketing, and a minor in Economics, Augusta called him back. Jay eventually made the move to Florida in 2017.

One of Jay’s memorable Porsche-related experiences was a visit to the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta. The trip was taken in 2017 and during the experience he drove the 718 S. “It was a blast,” says Jay. While at the PEC, he also participated in driving the Porsche 919 Hybrid in the simulator room. He selected Road Atlanta as the course and the Porsche 919 Hybrid, a LMP1 class racecar, as the vehicle. With Jay’s HDPE skill and experience he placed 11th out of a few thousand people. That is quite an accomplishment given the challenge of sim racing!

The other highly significant Porscherelated event for the Weigles occurred nearly five years ago, and it was an absolute game-changer for both Haley and Jay. On November 5, 2016, they celebrated their engagement with a photo shoot on the track at Road Atlanta! They made a request to the folks at Road Atlanta to hold a photo event at the track to celebrate their betrothal. The Atlanta track team was impressed. It was a highly unique opportunity as they were the only couple to ever ask for such an accommodation. Needless to say, Haley and Jay were shocked and thrilled when the Road Atlanta management team said yes! Haley said “YES” as well!

Jay is no stranger to Road Atlanta, as he has been attending the Petite Le Mans racing at the track since its inception in 1998.

Haley & Jay at Road Atlanta for their engagement, as great a place for a very important question.

Jay specifically remembers when Don Panoz bought and created the American Le Mans Series and moved it to both Road ATL and Sebring. While he may have missed a couple, he has been to most every Petite weekend since the start of the event. During his wild collegiate days, Jay and some buddies were at the track and noted some “over-served” fans driving a golf cart on the track. Not to be outdone, they dared a friend to strip naked and take his moped on the track, and do a lap . . . HE DID! The friend, upon returning to great applause and laughter, discovered that his clothes were missing. Great times, probably never to be repeated.

Jay and Haley have been married four years. They recently added to the family with daughter MJ, who is eight months old. In this respect, there is a significant need for a Porsche with rear seats! The 2-seat Boxster doesn’t quite have the family capacity they currently need. Hence, as Jay suggests: “If someone has a hot modern 911 for sale, I’m interested! I’m looking for a ‘sporting’ build out, and a SKITTLES color if possible.” Jay also noted that car prices are borderline crazy:yep – agreed.

Apparently, the young Ms. MJ Weigle is already a fan of Porsche, with an appreciation for the style, performance and especially the lateral G’s! The passenger seat of a Boxster S can do that to a person.

As for a favorite Porsche model, Jay goes with the Carrera GT! The GT has the Porsche reliability and capability but with a screaming mid-engine V10! “What a Car!”

Ruben Fuentes, our second member this month, is a Miami Shores resident.

Ruben was born in Puerto Rico and landed in Miami in 1974. With a college degree in the hospitality industry he worked for three distinct high-end resorts as Convention Manager, and later as Director of Conventions, totaling thirty years’ experience. He also became a meeting planner at the University of Miami, organizing educational conferences, and was part of the team that opened the Knight Center in downtown Miami in 1982, which is part of UM.

Señor Fuentes retired in 2013 and is now living the dream with his hobbies: cycling, his classic Porsche, two classic Ford Mustangs, and a bit of landscaping. Ruben enjoys being active and getting his hands dirty! Ruben has a daughter, Natalie Pizarro, who lives with husband, Erik, and their four-year-old Ana Sofia in West Kendall.

His Porsche is a 1994 RS America, and he drives it! He acquired the car from a friend who had purchased the vehicle new from the Ft. Lauderdale dealership. His buddy was told by the dealer salesperson: “A brand new 911 is going to cost about $65,000. However, I still have a cheaper version in the showroom and if you don’t put the emblems on the car no one is going to know it is the less expensive version.” Who knew, salespersons selling features and value? Not only that, the values of the limited production run of RS America makes the car incredibly sought after.

Ruben’s friend kept the car for five years and 14,000 miles and was ready to trade it to the dealership for a new Boxster. Ruben bought the car rather than giving it to the dealer. That was 21 years ago. The ’94 RSA is Midnight Metallic Blue and one of 17 in that color of the total of 84 RSA’s built in 1994. Through the ’93 and ’94 model years a total of 701 RS models were constructed. As a 1994 year model, Ruben’s Porsche has two small seats in the rear, and the VIN includes “RS” embedded in the 17 alphanumeric ID number. Ruben made two modifications to his RS: an exhaust system enhancement and a performance chip addition.

Driving the RS America, Ruben has been involved with multiple PCA events, and other related Porsche specialty groups. He is frequently enjoying the PCar camaraderie with the Miami Vintage Vices guys, and the PCar Illuminati, a Broward County Porsche group of beer drinkin’ buddies. Beyond these fellowships, there are weekly Cars & Coffee meets, multiple breakfast and lunch drives, and several charitable events. According to Ruben, the awesome Porsche cars have helped create many new friendships. And this is of course a testament to “It’s Not Just the Cars, It’s the People” mantra of PCA.

A couple of years ago Ruben began setting up a few “Ruben’s Runs.” While not official PCA-sanctioned drives, he found that his RSA had its tail wagging after a cars/coffee event, or some other static meet. The car wanted to get out and get moving. After all, a Porsche is certainly not a couch/garage potato. Hence, Ruben began setting up these drives to exercise his and other friends’ Porsche vehicles. Now called “Ruben’s A&W Runs” the events involve a spirited drive to a location or two within a couple of hours drive of Miami-Ft. Lauderdale. They collect anywhere from 10 or 15 to over 30 cars and drivers/passengers per drive. As Ruben explains, “The cars need to be run and we’re the guys who do just that!”

Along with the Porsche ’94 RSA, he also owns a couple of Ford Mustangs, both 1967 convertibles. The first one was acquired in 1975. These classic Fords have been used in a multitude of photo shoots, music videos, and special events. Kurt Russell drove one of these Mustangs for his characters’ part in the movie “The Mean Season.” Several of Ruben’s friends lament him missing either a

Porsche or Mustang event, so he suggests he’s really a “Porschtang” guy, and can’t be in two places at once.

Beyond a love for cars, Ruben in also involved with a passion for bicycling, or cycling. He started on two wheels in 2010 and bought a road bike to celebrate his 65th birthday in 2013. Since then, he has been heavily involved with the Everglades Bicycle Club. He is a ride marshal for the Dolphins Challenge Cancer Event benefitting the UM Sylvester Cancer Center. Ruben also participates in the MS Challenge, Fighting Diabetes Cycling, and the Florida Tour de Force. The Florida Tour is a five-day ride from North Miami Beach to Daytona Beach Shores. Funds raised by this charity ride go to support the families of fallen law enforcement officers.

As for dream Porsches, Ruben suggests there are two for him, either a 993 GT2 or a 964 Turbo. Given his 21-year enjoyment of the RS America, we are not surprised that these air-cooled Porsche models would be in Ruben’s dream garage!

Look for Jay Weigle and Ruben Fuentes when you are out and about with your PCar. You’ll enjoy their stories, their car(s), and their “it’s the people” personalities.