BARONE'S C&CM

  On May 12th I participated in Women’s Day at Scottsdale Maserati .  I was to discuss my great enthusiasm for the marque and how I’ve loved all my Maseratis.  Well, when I got up to speak, I was totally caught unaware… it was a ruse to get me to come to the event (which I helped organize).  The dealership presented me with this beautiful crystal piece engraved with the Maserati Logo and name and says, “Honorary Brand Ambassador Award”, “In recognition of knowledge and commitment to increase brand awareness among women”.   To say the least this is a very meaningful recognition especially since I really do love my Maseratis. My first Maserati led me to join the Ferrari Club 9 years ago which is a fun part of my life.  I continue to make so many wonderful friends.    Investment Advisory Services offered through Mutual Advisors, LLC DBA Biltmore Advisors, an SEC registered investment advisor.  

  Rob Mains is a photographer based out of the Phoenix area with a great eye for shooting cars. We caught up with Rob at one of the valley’s biggest and best Cars & Coffee events at Alpio’s in Troon. The show is from 7am-10am the second Saturday of each month, but as you can see from the photos, good parking spots close to the coffee are filled before sunrise. Rob’s interest in shooting cars goes back a long time. “Performance-oriented mechanical art seems to be in my DNA.   As a kid, I always liked having a car, airplane or boat in my pictures, and that hasn’t changed much over the years.   I appreciate the personal drive and high-quality craftsmanship that it took to create the classic cars, as well as modern exotics.   Although I prefer race-designed autos, I can always find a certain beauty in any vehicle, from hot-rods and motorcycles to trucks,” Mains explained. “One of my joys in photography is sharing time with an automobile’s ‘human family,’ and learning...

  Recently, I bought a new set of tires for Francesca, my Maserati GranTurismo Sport. Nothing is more important on a high-performance vehicle than good tires and brakes, and equally important is having a trusted relationship with a qualified professional. Your life is literally in their hands. Which is why I took Francesca over to my friend Ryan Castro of Discount Tire on Camelback Road in Phoenix. Although Discount Tire is one of the country’s largest tire and wheel retailers, the company is headquartered right here in Scottsdale, and I feel takes that extra bit of care with local customers. Ryan advised a new set of OEM Pirelli P-Zero with a 187-mph “Y” speed rating to accommodate Francesca’s –ahem – upper performance limits. He explained that the high silica inner liner and wide longitudinal grooves help in wet driving conditions while maintaining comfort. With our rainy season upon us here in Arizona, his advice was a great reassurance. As a 25-year customer of Discou...

  Eight-time land speed record holder Valerie Thompson and her sponsor Barby Barone are teammates in the truest sense of the word. Each helps the other in their mutual quest for excellence. Barone and other sponsors make it possible for Thompson to compete by underwriting some of her expenses in salt flat streamliner car and motorcycle racing. Thompson in turn helps Barone’s personal financial advisory firm, Biltmore Advisors, reach its goal of visibility in the world of motorsports through signage on the vehicles and team uniforms. In the case of Thompson – the World’s Fastest Woman on Two Wheels – the goal is nothing less than shattering the current land speed record of 376 mph for a streamliner motorcycle. But the sponsorship is only the beginning of this rewarding relationship, as both women draw inspiration and motivation from one another. “I’m totally impressed with who she is as a person, and the complete mastery of skills she exhibits. This sport is fraught with da...

  Irish-American racer Derek Daly quickly ascended to the heights of automotive road racing, but not without his fair share of hardship. Sustaining a 17-year professional career in racing is a feat unto itself, but bouncing back from numerous life-threatening crashes required an inner commitment and strength of vision that forges champions. For Daly, it all started at the age of 12 when he spied a racecar hauler marked “Sydney Taylor Racing” around the corner from his father’s vegetable stand in suburban Dublin. The elder Daly noted his son’s interest, and arranged with the lorry driver to give him a look at the Brabham BT-8 inside. It’s likely this car was chassis #SC-6-64, which had been successfully driven by Denny Hulme throughout 1964 before heading to Ireland for the Leinster Trophy and Phoenix Park races in July of 1965. Young Derek was completely gobsmacked by the sight of the Brabham, and his father followed up by taking him to the races that weekend, cementing in him a ...

  Well, I thought it was about time I introduced myself. My name is Francesca, and I am Sophia’s younger sister. I arrived on the scene this summer, and like Sophia, I am a spectacular Maserati GranTurismo Sport. I have the same technical specifications, I’m super-fast and sound amazing. I do look quite different than Sophia.   Whereas Sophia had a very flashy red leather interior and shiny black exterior, I have a completely different look! My exterior is Granito Grigio and my interior is Cuio which is a totally elegant camel color.   I do think I’m quite sophisticated. Barby agrees, and several of her friends say they like me better than Sophia!   Well, this is not a “one is better than the other” situation. Although related, we are different. Think of two sisters in the same family – one with a slightly more outgoing personality, and the other a bit more refined and somewhat restrained. As a matter fact, Barby has said that she actually drives slightly slo...

  Last Saturday we went to Sean Conyers’ last local race of the season out at Arizona Speedway in San Tan Valley, AZ. Exciting down to the very last turn, Sean grabbed the win in his main event race. Congratulations Sean! Not only was it my first dirt track race, my assistant Jennifer and her family were there. Autographs and Halloween treats were just the beginning for her grandsons Brayden and Ben, who got to chat with Sean and check out his ModLite car close up… both claimed it was the highlight of the night! Barby presented Sean with another sponsorship check. We look forward to a great season next year. You can follow Sean here: facebook.com/seanconyersracing       The Barone’s Cars & Capital Markets Crew, from left to right: Brayden, Sean, Ben, Barby, Steve and Jennifer #seanconyers114 #racing #dirttrack #dirttrackracing #modified Investment Advisory Services offered through Mutual Advisors, LLC DBA Biltmore Advisors, an SEC registere...

  Recently we received this shout out from The Queen of Speed Valerie Thompson.   Although her latest world record attempt was postponed due to COVID19 related travel restrictions, we know Valerie hopes to race in Australia in March 2021. Follow her here: http://www.valeriethompsonracing.com             Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/ValerieThompson             Official Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/ValerieRacing             Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valeriethompsonracing/   Investment Advisory Services offered through Mutual Advisors, LLC DBA Biltmore Advisors, an SEC registered investment advisor.

  A recent guided tour of the Phoenix Art Museum’s Legends of Speed exhibit – conducted by friend and legendary racer Lyn St. James – introduced me to the amazing career of Dan Gurney.   A successful racer who became both a car constructor and team owner, Gurney competed at the highest level in Formula One, NASCAR, IndyCar, Can-Am and the Trans-Am Series. On display at the exhibition was his famous Eagle Gurney-Weslake V12 that won the 1967 Grand Prix of Belgium. It was and remains the first and only time that an American citizen built and raced a car of his own construction and put it into the winner’s circle of a World Championship F1 race. As an aside, many consider the Gurney Eagle to be the most beautiful race car of all time. I have to agree. After a crash killed a spectator at the 1960 Dutch Grand Prix, Gurney became distrustful of engineers, and later constructed his own cars to better control his level of risk. He was quick to adopt the latest tools in s...

Valerie Thompson is a woman after my own heart. At the age of 32, the Tacoma, Washington, native bought a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and the world would never be the same. A need for speed propelled her into the world of motorcycle drag racing. Suddenly comfortable at over 200 mph, she pushed further into Land Speed Record attempts. In March of 2018 at the age of 51, she became the world’s fastest woman on two-wheels by going 328 mph in a motorcycle streamliner. Only days later she had a horrific crash at 363 mph, sliding for nearly a mile on an Australian dry lake bed, but luckily walked away. This March, she’ll be returning to Lake Gairdner in Southern Australia to attempt new speed records on four wheels piloting the Treit & Davenport Target 550 Streamliner at two premier land speed racing events. Her goals include breaking the 415.867 mph class World record for a four-wheel blown fuel streamliner powered by a piston engine. As a woman in the predominantly male-...

Last August, I had the great pleasure to meet Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Chief Judge Emeritus Ed Gilbertson. Ed has been involved in the classic car and motorcycle hobby for over 40 years, and still serves on the very prestigious Pebble Beach Concours Selection Committee. He also serves as the Chief Judge Emeritus for the Palm Beach Cavallino Classic and the Ferrari Club of America, as well as having been the Chief Judge for the Legend of the Motorcycle International Concours. To say he knows his stuff is an understatement. When Ed began judging the Ferrari Club of America Concours in 1985, he found the judging criteria inconsistent from meet to meet. That led to the adoption of scoring sheets and the 100-point system, a formal standard he continues to champion as Chairman of his group the International Chief Judge Advisory Group ( icjag.org ). For those not familiar with concours protocol, the judging duties are usually split between Chief Judges and Class Judges. Th...

I’m just back from a whirlwind trip to Amelia Island, Florida, for the 2019 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, meeting with friends and collector car industry leaders in what has become the premier concours east of the Mississippi. A weeklong schedule of parties and seminars culminated in a warm and sunny show-day event, and I couldn’t resist snapping some photographs of some of my favorite cars on the lawn of the Ritz-Carlton. Take a look and see if you agree with my choices! Don and Carol Murray brought this gorgeous 1956 Ferrari 250GT Speciale from Laguna Beach, California. One of four prototypes built, this example was first owned by a Mr. Nassi; a director for Fiat and member of the Agnelli family. Built as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” this demure Ferrari features a competition-style engine tuned to TDF specifications and was raced at the Nurburgring in the late 1950’s and 1960’s. Lionel and Karen Bessudo brought this 1953 Jaguar XK120 FHC all the way f...

Scott Utter of European Motorcar Studio shares the merits of this 1974 Lamborghini Espada with me at the Scottsdale Jet Center reception during Arizona Car Week.   My week began by hosting with a fundraiser for the RPM Foundation with president Diane Fitzgerald (left). My friendship with IndyCar racer Lyn St. James (right) inspired me to make a multi-year financial commitment to the foundation in her honor. Two of my good friends and traveling companions, Jim and Sandi Weder, who share my passion for fantastic cars. We connected through the Ferrari Club ofAmerica – Desert Region , and attended the Monaco Grand Prix in 2016. This replica Porsche 917 sports racer was a standout favorite of the week. Tagging along with the RPM Foundation students at the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction, and witnessing the power of mentorship firsthand. My Sophia had plenty of company from her cousins down the road in Maranello. Sometimes the week ...