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.
