Porsches being shown off, driven hard this weekend in Fontana

FONTANA, Calif. (KABC) -- Most people know the shape and the unmistakable sound of a classic Porsche.

This weekend, the Porsche faithful are gathering for fun in Fontana. To both honor the timeless 911 model, and drive their 911s and other Porsche cars on the Auto Club Speedway track.

"Porsches are driver's cars, there's no doubt about it. People who buy Porsches love to drive them," said Tom Brown, who runs the California Festival of Speed as a member of the Porsche Club of America.

While relatively few Porsche owners actually use them for track duty, the ones that do are hooked on the idea.

"I do it for the adrenaline rush, it's fantastic," Cathy Young said.

She brought her Porsche Boxster to the event and already did several hot laps by Friday afternoon.

"These cars will hit about 140 or 150 down the main straight, and you're trying to keep it pegged the whole way. But then of course you've got to back it down for Turn 3, which is a 2nd-gear turn," said Dan Carusillo describing the experience of lapping the track.

He runs a heavily modified Porsche 911 from the 1970s.

"There's not nearly as many of us as you might think, who actually drive them the way they were intended to be driven. Most people just have them on the 405 stuck in traffic," Cathy Young said between driving sessions.

The California Festival of Speed is one of many events put on by the Porsche Club of America around the country. As long as you own a Porsche, you can participate.

From novices, to semi-pros, all are welcome at this three-day festival of fun. It's a great way to exercise your car, though you do have to budget for things like tires and brakes, as you will wear them down. Many owners bring spare sets of special tires just for the track sessions.

If you're familiar with Auto Club Speedway's banked oval from when NASCAR races here, that's only part of where the Porsche owners run. After Turn 2, they detour off onto the infield road course portion of the huge complex. The combination of the road course and the oval have been nicknamed "The Roval."

This is where these cars, and their owners, are happiest. And while the main theme is racing, there are lots of other things to do.

"A lot of great race cars to see, and a lot of great street cars in the car corral, and of course our special timeline display," Tom Brown said.

The timeline will showcase the various years of the 911 model, which first went on sale in 1965 and is still Porsche's hallmark sports car today.

The only charge to come to the event as a spectator is $15 for parking. Spectator admission is free.