Porsche Club of America, Suncoast Florida Region

Eight counties around Tampa Bay

The Suncoast Region’s history page dates it to January 1961, with Edward McDowell as its first president, and an area that then reached from Citrus County down to Collier. Today the home page lists eight counties: Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota, which takes in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Lakeland, Bradenton and Sarasota. The About page counts more than 2,700 members. The Florida regions became PCA’s Zone 12 in 1985, and the region’s magazine, the Profile, took its name in 1963.

Meals spread around the region

Because the area is large, the regular meals rotate around it. The home page calendar lists a monthly breakfast at Skillets in Bradenton at 8:30am, monthly luncheons at Orange County Choppers Roadhouse in Clearwater at noon and at Gecko’s on North Cattlemen Road in Sarasota at 11:30am, and monthly breakfasts at Skillets in Venice at 8:30am and at the Clear Sky Club Haus in Palm Harbor at 9am. The About page adds Date Your Porsche dinners, and the year ends with an annual holiday gala.

Most events need advance registration through ClubRegistration, the home page notes. The region also passes members discounts for the Festivals of Speed shows, whose listed dates include Legends of Stuttgart at Coachman Park in Clearwater on 10 January 2027.

Autocross

Autocross classes cover Porsches by model and modification, with classes for BMW and other makes at most events, and instructors coach new drivers. Each driver needs a current PCA membership, which ClubRegistration checks. The 2026 season’s eighth event, on 8 November, moves to a newly approved site, Win! Derby at 10490 Gandy Boulevard in St. Petersburg, on the paved area south and west of the main building. Its listing sets check-in and tech from 7:45am to 8:15am, a guided course walk at 8:45am and the drivers meeting at 9:15am.

Sebring

Driver’s Education began in 1986 at Sebring International Raceway, the history page records, and Suncoast became the first region with nationally certified instructors. The Driver’s Education page describes the 3.7 mile, 17 turn circuit as the venue. The day starts at the track by 7am with tech between 7am and 8am, an instructor rides along until a driver is qualified to solo, and drivers get three 30-minute sessions. Most arrive the night before and stay at the Inn on the Lakes or at The Seven, the raceway hotel. Registration usually opens 4 to 6 weeks before, announced on the region’s Facebook page. The calendar lists the next event on 13 to 15 November 2026.

Each February, Suncoast and the Gold Coast Region run the 48 Hours at Sebring, a PCA club race the two regions first hosted in 1994 and which the event page calls the largest club race in North America.

Charity and joining

The About page lists the charities the region supports: Ready for Life, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, local Boy Scouts, Ronald McDonald House and the Wounded Veteran’s Fund of Tampa. Its membership page routes questions about joining, renewing, transferring in, adding a family member or giving a membership as a gift to the membership chairman. PCA itself handles the joining, and the national club page explains dues.