Western States Cobra Bash 2008 - Blast Off At The Cobra Bash!

Duane Cooney, president of the Cobra Bash, and volunteer friends kicked it up a few notches this year in the fun department. WSCB '08 consisted of a track day with driving instruction, and two live bands: a great rock and roll band Friday evening, and a dance group on Saturday evening to close out the festivities. There were multiple group drives, with a Show 'n' Shine on Saturday afternoon in the Victorian Square, all adding up to great times for all the participants.

The three-day event began on Thursday, May 15, with registration, a tech inspection, and a meet and greet. By early Thursday evening nearly 75 percent of all the participants had arrived at John Ascuaga's Nugget. The track day meeting, held Thursday evening, was orchestrated by John Marsey and several friends from the NASA crew, including Eric Wheaton, Karen Salvaggio, and several driving instructors from the NorCal/River City Shelby club. After instructors were introduced and John Marsey and his team explained the schedule, some key words were spoken by track and driving instructor Eric Wheaton. Eric told everyone to remember that "nothing you do tomorrow on the race track will add value to your Cobra, so be safe, and have fun." This may not seem funny now, but to a room full of amateur, nervous, and anxious drivers, it put the room into laughter.

Friday Was Track Day At Fernley Race-Way In Fernley, Nevada,(Road Course). John Marsey and his crew held a full on-track day complete with instruction to help participants maximize their fun and stay safe. Track day has always been a highlight of the WSCB, and this year things went extremely well due to great planning by the WSCB track team and crew. Instructor cars were Mazda Miatas and Mustangs, helping participants differentiate the instructors on the track. By playing lead and follow/cat and mouse with instructors, participants were able to recognize the track's driving line and increasingly pick up the pace around the road course. When participants came off the track, there were many smiling faces in the pit areas.

Friday evening, the party got off to a great start with a live band in the garage. Picture this-five floors up in the garage, the Cobra Bash had a participants-only private party. Howlin' Alan Rock & Roll Band played while spectators danced and drank, and best of all, the celebration took place surrounded by all the WSCB cars. Mother Nature graced us all with perfect weather for the outdoor party. Being five floors up, we had an awesome bird's eye view of the spectacular sunset over the Reno sky. The Sierra Nevada mountains glowed orange as the sun sank into the horizon. Combining friends, great rock and roll music, dancing, munchies/snacks, awesome cars, and a warm evening-it just couldn't have been any better.

Saturday morning was the 100-mile drive. The day began with a scenic drive over Mount Rose and then down into Incline Village North Shore Lake Tahoe. We motored around the east side of Lake Tahoe and over into South Shore Tahoe. Our destination was the Mont-Blu Hotel/Casino. We all parked at the Mont-Blu and walked for lunch and shopping. If you haven't checked out the Tahoe South Shore area lately, it's much improved. There are many new shops and great restaurants, all in a fabulous setting to spend some quality time. The return drive back to Reno took us through Carson City, Nevada, and back into Reno. We enjoyed a spectacular day for a scenic drive in our Cobras, GT40s, and Daytona coupes.

That afternoon/evening was the Show 'n' Shine in Victorian Square. It was a bit warm, but it was mostly perfect weather for showing off the cars to the public. Everyone had a great time checking out these awesome replicas of the world-beating Shelby cars of the 1960s. Cameras and cell phones were being flashed all over to grab a shot of these wonderful cars.

After the car show came the blockbuster party, featuring the band Back-2-Back. They performed in the Poolside Terrace room at the Nugget Hotel. The goal was to make sure participants had a wonderful WSCB experience. Duane Cooney and the WSCB team achieved this lofty aim for the fourth year in a row. This year's WSCB had it all. Thanks, Duane, for all your efforts. Cobra enthusiasts around the United States look forward to whatever event you produce next.

Some Final And Closing Words From Duane Cooney: "This year's Western States Cobra Bash was over the top. I'd like to think we went out with a bang! Our participants once again came from all over the United States to participate in three full days of the Bash, starting with a great track day, followed by fun parties with live bands, dancing, drinking on Friday and Saturday nights, another great Tahoe drive, and closing out with a hot car show on Saturday. Let's not forget that there was lots of good old hanging out in the corral, checking out some absolutely fantastic cars once again. It seems the bar on car quality is getting raised every year, too. There wasn't one marginal car in the entire WSCB corral this year. This was by far the best bash ever. At closing time, the comment cards and notes dropped off were all received and very much appreciated. Part of this decision is to take a break while figuring out how to get back to the basics, and looking at some new ideas together. As many of you can imagine or already know from your comments, putting something like this on is high risk and high reward, and it takes a lot of time to make something like this extra special, new, and somewhat different each year. We were fortunate to enjoy great weather and fun times each of the four years that the WSCB has taken place. The promoters believe WSCB has started to take on a mind of its own.

For now, the Western States Cobra Bash itself will be mothballed as it was. Who knows, maybe we could do a Super Bash reunion in 2012, pending a few logistics and details to be worked out in the future. In closing, this was the right thing to do for now while considering a number of different factors involved on a variety of different levels. However, the Western States Cobra Group of friends and family who evolved from WSCB is alive and well, chatting on various Cobra club websites. Many of you are still reaching out, looking for our next drives and meets together somewhere, with many great friendships now developed among attendees."

Final Comment From Dan Lepage: "In closing, a huge thanks to Duane Cooney, Bob and Linda Haustein, John Marsey, and the entire WSCB crew. What awesome events the Western States Cobra Bashes from 2005 through 2008 were!"