Rudy’s story about his Jai-Alai life was posted on August 31st, and a picture followed on October 30th. Now Rudy has bought a new car and written about his adventures driving at supersonic speeds.

Hey Ira,

I could not resist putting my new Porsche Carrera S on the track. This was last weekend, November 7-8, at Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIC, formerly called Moroso). Here I am in front of the much faster Porsche Turbo cars.

Rudy Kellerman Zooooooooms ahead of more powerful cars—11/7/09

Rudy Kellerman Zooooooooms ahead of more powerful cars—11/7/09

I have never been on this track before. I had just bought the car, as you know, and wanted to see how it handled. I joined the local Porsche Club of America (PCA). They hold events throughout the year for enthusiasts. The majority of the cars are Porsche. They are some vintage cars and some outright track cars such as the Porsche GT3.

In the beginning when they don’t know you, they assign you an instructor to guide you and show you the proper fast line. I have to say, I was very comfortable driving on the track and extracting the potential of a great handling car. You pull almost 1G when you go around the corners. And when you stomp on the brake after a long straight doing 140 mph, your eyes feel like they are going to pop out of your face.

Passing slower cars is allowed provided it is on the straights and the driver ahead of you gives you a signal. No passing on the curves for safety reason. It is not a race, but more of a driver’s education event. I had a great time until someone noticed that my tires had worn down to the cord. It was lots of fun, especially when you overtake a much more powerful car like the Porsche Turbo or the GT 3’s with your Carrera S.
Here is a link to photos of the event.
http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/thumbpage.aspx?e=5600910

Palm Beach International Raceways road course

Palm Beach International Raceways road course

There are no prerequisites for entering a car. You do have to take it to an approved garage to check out some of the essentials, such as your brakes functioning properly, etc. This Club does not require you to have a fire extinguisher in the car. Nor new tires. Some of the participants have two sets of wheels. One with stock tires for the street and the other set with Sports Cup or racing tires for the track. Brakes wear out very quickly, and some folks use racing pads that take up a lot of heat. For more information about how to be in these events, go to the Porsche Club of America (PCA) web site: http://www.pca.org/Regions/RegionDirectory.aspx?Zone=All

My car has some modifications. It is lowered, mostly to look good. It has a Tubi exhaust system and other computer modifications upping the power from 345hp to 385hp. Plus it makes it sound nice.

Kids will be kids. Fast cars have been my passion since my youth. I remember when I was seven or eight walking to 23rd St. and Collins Ave. on Miami Beach to the news stand on the corner and reading all the car magazines. I still get those car magazines.

1956 Oldsmobile Super 88 Holiday 4-door coupe

1956 Oldsmobile Super 88 Holiday 4-door coupe

Sometimes, I go to Barnes and Noble and stay for hours reading the foreign car mags. Maybe it was a wasted youth. My parents did not know where I got this trait. They did not even know how to drive a car. That is why they bought me a car, when I was so young—just 16 years old—to drive them around. Instead I would take it to Amelia Earhart Field (now Miami Dade Junior College north campus) and drag race it on the weekends. It was my black and white ‘56 Olds Super 88 four-door Holiday coupe. I found a picture of what it looked like in a different color.

I have a Hot Rod magazine that we found at a Rhinebeck, NY car show that has a picture of me along with all the winners of the event, including the famous Don Garlits. It was such a fluke how we found the magazine. I had told my wife at the time (Melody) that I would love her to find the magazine that was published 40-years prior, but I told her it was practically impossible. She picked up a magazine at the vendor’s stand and turned to the exact page where my photo was. It was like magic. Here are some pictures. I was included in it for becoming Florida state champion in my dragster class.

Rudy Kellerman

Hot Rod Magazine, March 1959

Hot Rod Magazine, March 1959

Florida Champions article—March 1959

Florida Champions article—March 1959

Rudy is second from right—1959

Rudy is second from right—1959