Car Enthusiasts
The Car Enthusiast group meets to discuss past and present changes to automotive styles, features, and advancements. We also take Rally Drives, have Poker Runs, and just enjoy each other’s love for automotive history. Our events also include local trips to car shows and other automotive related venues.
We meet in at Round Table Clubhouse Pizza, 2960 Treat Blvd. Concord, CA (corner of Treat and Oak Grove) @ 12:30. Arrive a little early to get your food and drink ordered prior to the meeting. Meetings last about an hour. Come join us and see what Car Enthusiasts is all about.
Round Table Pizza Meeting Room
2960 Treat Blvd.
Concord, CA
Chairman: Chick Lowry
Clowry2845@gmail.com
925-932-4886
Asst. Chairman: Tom Hodgson
tomehodgson1945@gmail.com
925-818-1533
Scroll down to see event schedules, reports and photos:
July 2025
Eighteen Car Enthusiasts participated in this year’s Annual Poker Run on July 19th. The route took players through Concord, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, and a stop in Port Costa, finally ending up at Sauced BBQ, in Walnut Creek, for a lunch and awards ceremony.
New CE member Joe Karg and had the most correct answers to the Quiz posted at the start point in the Sun Valley Mall parking lot with 7 out of 9 questions correct. His share of the pot was $33. He also held a full house poker hand at the end of the run, but it wasn’t enough to beat another new comer to the CE group, Greg Konsavage, who also held a full house of Aces and 10’s, winning the $98 balance of this year’s pot. Nice going guys. Fun to participate and profitable too.
Lunch was great and the group had a really good time for a $10 entry fee and 4-1/2 hours of their Saturday gathering with good friends.
The next CE adventure will be in early August to check out a possible K-1 Kart Racing event in Dublin. We had selected this idea earlier in the year, but it hasn’t gotten full group approval as yet. If it doesn’t materialize we will find something else to do.
The next CE meeting will be Tuesday, August 5th, at 1 PM. We will meet in at Round Table Clubhouse Pizza, 2960 Treat Blvd. Concord, CA (corner of Treat and Oak Grove). Arrive a little early to get your food and drink ordered prior to the meeting. Meetings last about an hour. Come join us and see what Car Enthusiasts is all about.
If interested in joining the Car Enthusiasts Activity, please contact Chick or Tom.
June 2025
Ten Car Enthusiasts participated in the Rail Explorer event near Ione, CA on May 24th. We stayed overnight at local accommodations and had a great time pedaling an extremely heavy (750 lbs) bicycle configured railroad car. We were concerned that it might be too much, but the advertising was right on, stating that senior folks could handle it. An electric motor actually powered the vehicle and pedaling was a breeze as we were just keeping the motor energized. We had a great time rolling through the golden hills of Amador County. A group dinner following the event was held at the Murphy’s Historic Hotel Saturday evening was most enjoyable. Some members went home early while others stayed an extra night or two. You all missed another terrific CE outing opportunity.
On June 21st, 19 CE members participated in a Rally Drive through the Livermore Valley. If you have never driven Mines Road and Del Puerto Canyon Road (CA Hwy 130) from downtown Livermore to Patterson, you have missed some of the most circuits roads in the state. We traveled 166 miles round trip from Concord and back with a stop for a group Picnic along the way at Frank Raines Regional Park. Temperatures were very comfortable with a light breeze making for a beautiful day. We stayed a bit longer at the park making the day’s planned return home later than planned. No one was upset by the delay. All are ready for another drive later in the year.
The next CE event on Saturday, July 19th is the Annual CE Poker Run through varying local roads with clues, questions, and obtaining a playing card that with the best 5 card hand at the end of the run will promise a monetary payout. A short quiz at the beginning of the event also has an award. A group luncheon and awards ceremony follows the driving portion of the event. Give Tom or myself a call if you are not a CE member, but want to come and play. Always a fun event.
The next CE meeting will be Tuesday, July 1st, at 1 PM. We will meet in at Round Table Clubhouse Pizza, 2960 Treat Blvd. Concord, CA (corner of Treat and Oak Grove). Arrive a little early to get your food and drink ordered prior to the meeting. Meetings last about an hour. Come join us and see what Car Enthusiasts is all about.
If interested in joining the Car Enthusiasts Activity, please contact Chick or Tom.
May 2025
On May 13th we finally found some common time for a group of 10 Car Enthusiasts to travel to San Ramon’s Shift Arcade to participate in a racing simulation event. We were able to try out several different tracks and drove a group qualifying race and then several racing events. The simulators were outstanding as it felt like we were really racing around the track. Gary Palhegyi proved to be the best driver as he qualified pole position for several races. The simulation also proved to be a bit unsettling as several participants experienced motion sickness problems with stomach queasiness. We literally owned the venue for 1.5 hours as we had a private party session. Chris Wehling and I had some really great head to head racing with many lead changes and the venue rep said we really did well for a couple of beginners. Neither of us had ever done any of this type racing. It is way more than a video game. Most CE members said they may do it again sometime. Since we all seemed a little uneasy about going for a group lunch, we elected to call it a day and head home. The experience was truly worth the wait as we needed several attempts to get a date set to do it.
Our Saturday, May 24th event at Rail Explorers in Ione, CA is going to be another great experience for the 12 CE members planning to participate. We will peddle a motor assisted rail cart around the Amador County hillsides with a short layover halfway while they turn around the vehicle, so we can peddle back to the start. We’ll visit some interesting acreage where the gold miners sought their fortunes during the gold rush period. Following the rail event, we will travel to our reserved accommodations, freshen up some (the temps will be in the high 80’s), participate in a hospitality room session to get to know each other better, and then share a group dinner at the Historic Murphys Hotel, in Murphys, CA. We’ll all stay the night and some will head for home on Sunday and others will stay a second night going home on Monday. It’s sure to be another time well spent for Car Enthusiasts.
Our Saturday, June 21st Rally Drive is wrapping up planning efforts and participating CE members will travel back roads through the Livermore Valley for a couple of hours, have a group lunch and drive home at a leisurely pace for the +/- 4 hour event. If you’re interested in taking a fun drive followed by a NO HOST group lunch with some really nice folks, give Tom or myself a call and reserve a place in the convoy. We’d like to see some additional Branch 8 members come have some fun.
The next CE meeting will be Tuesday, June 3rd, at 1 PM. We will meet in at Round Table Clubhouse Pizza, 2960 Treat Blvd. Concord, CA (corner of Treat and Oak Grove). Arrive a little early to get your food and drink ordered prior to the meeting. Meetings last about an hour. Come join us and see what Car Enthusiasts is all about.
If interested in joining the Car Enthusiasts Activity, please contact Chick or Tom.
April 2025
Car Enthusiasts are ramping up the fun as our event schedule delivery improves. The group participated in the Sonoma Speed Tour on Saturday, April 26th and went even with threatening showers. The Car Show, Racing events and specialty vendor displays promised an excellent opportunity to enjoy “all things Car.” Special thanks go to Sir Ray Pixton for taking the leadership role for the event as I was unable to attend this one.
Our planned Driving Simulation event scheduled for May 6th will be rescheduled as CE member schedules changed enough to prevent us from reserving a private party session with unlimited access to the simulator machines. An alternate date in May will be selected and we will go have some fun.
We have 12 members and partners signed up for the May 24th “Rail Explorer” event in Amador County where we will travel the countryside in an electrically powered rail cart (you need to pedal to activate the battery powered motor) on rails used during the gold rush era. We will stay overnight in accommodations available in the Jackson, Sutter Creek, Ione Triangle, and Angels Camp. Lodging was a bit difficult to acquire as the holiday weekend was highly booked. The 2 hour ride should be an exciting adventure. A group dinner will be scheduled as part of the event. My hope is we will see a few more members join the event.
June was going to Include participation in the LDL festivities but, it has been modified to be only a December Holiday activity. We do however; have a CE Rally Drive Event scheduled for Saturday, June 21st. A drive though the Livermore Valley on Mines Road which will include a luncheon stop at the drive’s completion. These events have proven to be a truly enjoyable adventure for CE members and guests. Come join us for the fun. Contact Tom Hodgson or myself to be included.
The next CE meeting will be Tuesday, May 6th, at 1 PM. We will meet in at Round Table Clubhouse Pizza, 2960 Treat Blvd. Concord, CA (corner of Treat and Oak Grove). Arrive a little early to get your food and drink ordered prior to the meeting. Meetings last about an hour. Come join us and see what Car Enthusiasts is all about.
If interested in joining the Car Enthusiasts Activity, please contact Chick or Tom/
March 2025
Car Enthusiasts visited the Blackhawk Museum’s Auto collection on Saturday, March
15th and enjoyed the best auto show event we have experienced in some time. We
started out with the expectation we would be in a tour-it-yourself mode as the early tour
start excluded us from having a scheduled docent guide through the collection. By a
stroke of fate, we met a gentleman named Tim passing through the auditorium
preparing himself for a tour he would deliver the next day. He was off the clock, but he
spent almost 2 hours sharing back stories and details of the many cars on display. It
was outstanding. We spent so much time in the auto collection venue that we will need
to return to the museum at a future time to view the additional collection exhibits.
Many of our members had additional schedule commitments and could not continue on
to lunch so my two newest CE members joined me for a BBQ lunch at Hazy BBQ in
Alamo and we got an opportunity to get to know each other better. Overall the outing
was a great success.
The next CE adventure is Saturday, April 26th – Sonoma Speed Tour at Sonoma
Raceway. Admission cost is $35 per person, We could car pool to save on parking ($30
per car) fees and the number of vehicles required to make the trip. If tickets are
purchased in advance we save $10 per entry ticket. More details will be provided to you
if you have an interest in joining us. Contact Tom or myself for info.
Our plan to visit the Driving Simulator venue has been changed to Tuesday, May 6th
as the venue location has moved from Concord to San Ramon. Estimated cost per
driver is $45 in addition to No host lunch costs. Event details are yet to be completed so
if you are interested, please contact Tom or myself to be included.
The next CE meeting will be Tuesday, April 1st, at 1 PM. We will meet in at Round
Table Clubhouse Pizza, 2960 Treat Blvd. Concord, CA (corner of Treat and Oak
Grove). Arrive a little early to get your food and drink ordered prior to the meeting.
Meetings last about an hour. Come join us and see what Car Enthusiasts is all about.
If interested in joining the Car Enthusiasts Activity, please contact Chick or Tom as
noted below.
Activity Chair – Chick Lowry – Clowry2845@gmail.com
Assistant Chair -Tom Hodgson – tomehodgson1945@gmail.com
February 2025
Car Enthusiasts have had a slow start this year due to problems with setting event dates and venues to visit. We now have an agreed upon schedule that has target dates following member survey submission. Our program for the year will be posted on our web page. Have a look and see if there is an event you are interested in participating. Better yet, come to a monthly meeting and see what we are all about.
The next CE event will be a visit to The Blackhawk Automotive Museum in Danville. We have been there once before but the venue has changed significantly.
When: Saturday, March 15th (Meet at on the entry plaza at 10:30 AM)
Duration: We will require at least 2 Hours to view the various exhibits. (efforts to obtain a docent to guide us will be made but not guaranteed)
Cost: $15 per person (Seniors) Pay at the door.
Free parking
We will visit a local restaurant for a NO Host lunch following the museum tour. (restaurant choice is yet to be determined at the time this article was written)
Please contact either Tom or I if you wish to attend so we can plan for group size.
Our annual year long schedule will be posted on the CE webpage. Days listed and venues are always subject to change due to weather, member schedules, and just changes in general, as it is a dynamic document. Give us a call if you find an opportunity to join us.
There is an event each month during the year and we have a couple of overnight travel type events planned. Have a look and see if there is one you like.
The next CE meeting will be Tuesday, March 4th, at 1 PM. We will meet in at Round Table Clubhouse Pizza, 2960 Treat Blvd. Concord, CA (corner of Treat and Oak Grove). Arrive a little early to get your food and drink ordered prior to the meeting. Meetings last about an hour. Come join us and see what Car Enthusiasts is all about.
If interested in joining the Car Enthusiasts Activity, please contact Chick or Tom as noted below.
Activity Chair – Chick Lowry – Clowry2845@gmail.com
Assistant Chair -Tom Hodgson – tomehodgson1945@gmail.com
January 2025
Car Enthusiasts met in January to attempt a completion of the 2025 event schedule. Unfortunately, we were missing some key players of the activity so the attempt did not result with an approved schedule. I am preparing a survey of possible events that can be used to complete the schedule at the February meeting.
Some of the suggestions discussed in January include:
- Overnight travel trip to Amador County (Ione/Jackson area) to tour the countryside via self powered (pedal) rail car with an electric motor assist. I’m looking into how much actual human power is required to propel the vehicle. Rail Explorers might be an outstanding adventure.
- Another trip to consider is to Redding, CA to attend the Kool April Nights Car Show. A truly overwhelming event that spans 10 days (we would pick a one day, two night) period for the visit.
- Another suggestion was the 29th Toyotafest in Long Beach with a combined Rally Drive to get there and back. More effort will be required to make this idea work.
Local possibilities:
- Classic Car Racing at Sonoma Raceway is coming in April. Ray Pixton is looking into how we might make this event happen.
- The Silicon Valley Auto Show in San Jose is a possibility for February on Feb 21st.
- The Fuelfest Car Show at the Alameda County Fairgrounds is an event we haven’t visited in the past. It occurs in May on Saturday, the 31st.
- Two Rally drives are proposed for 2025 one in April another in October before the rains. Locations TBD as the year progresses.
- Our Annual Poker Run will be staged again in June. We will make it a little less difficult to find the check points this year.
- I am looking into a driving simulator activity that allows members to virtually drive various Race Facilities. The event location is in the same shopping center where we meet monthly.
- Monster Jam (monster truck show) will get a repeat visit if we can find an outside location as the indoor event is kinda Ho-Hum. More review for this event will be required.
- The Blackhawk Museum in Danville and the Stock Car Races in Antioch are also possibilities.
- We will also attend various local car shows over the summertime months giving members an opportunity to fit them into busy schedules.
We hope to attend all the various Branch 8 events like Ladies Day Luncheons, Oktoberfest, and our own CE Holiday Luncheon/Dinner event in December. We have an abundance of suggestions and will determine which ones the group wants to pursue. We kind of missed our January event opportunity due to my delay in getting the line up ready before our 2025 start.
The next CE meeting will be Tuesday, February 4th, 2025 at 1 PM. We will meet in at Round Table Clubhouse Pizza, 2960 Treat Blvd. Concord, CA (corner of Treat and Oak Grove). Arrive a little early to get your food and drink ordered prior to the meeting. Meetings last about an hour. Come join us and see what Car Enthusiasts is all about.
If interested in joining the Car Enthusiasts Activity, please contact Chick or Tom as noted below.
Activity Chair – Chick Lowry – Clowry2845@gmail.com
Assistant Chair -Tom Hodgson – tomehodgson1945@gmail.com
Recent event photos:
Annual Poker Run on July 2025
Calaveras Trip – August 2024
Last updated 07/27/2025 by MLF
