Polar Bear Run 2010 - The Big Chill

January 9th, 2010 in Cullman, Alabama was bitter cold with high of only 27 degrees - perfect weather for a Polar Bear Run! It was so cold in fact, that it was the Run that almost didn’t happen. So just what is this Polar Bear Run that I speak of?

Well, the original PBR was started back in 2000 by the Georgia Triumph Association who thought they should take their normally fine weather loving British cars for a midwinter drive. The drive is always run on the last Saturday of the year, rain or shine. While there’s usually a large contingency of TR6’s, everything from TR3’s through TR8’s can be found in that bunch. Many decorate their cars and are decked out themselves in all manner of Polar Bear attire.

Back in 2006 the GTA planned a drive which brought them to Birmingham, AL utilizing only old highways and back roads. In an example of true southern hospitality, the Birmingham British Motoring Club planned a drive of their own, allowing the BBMC to meet up with those die hard sports car fanatics of the GTA at Talladega, and to welcome them. From that point, and after a hardy meal, the drive continued via the back roads to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. In all, an estimated 130 cars participated in the days activities.

 

The drive was really popular with the BBMC so the following year they held one of their own (the GTA having planned a route that took them through their own state that year.) Other local clubs such as the Porsche Club of America – Alabama Region, the Alabama Chapter of Mercedes-Benz Club of America, Dixie Muscle Cars, the Birmingham Mustang & Ford Club, the Central Alabama Miata Society and many more were invited and it became a popular multi-marque event. In 2008 the drive included two parade laps on the track at Barbers – a big thrill for those who had never had such an opportunity!

This year’s event, however, was a bit different. First, the January 9th, 2010 date meant that there really wasn’t a 2009 PBR. Second, the involvement in organizing the event by other clubs made this more of a group effort than the primarily BBMC planned event. Two members from the MBCA, Jim Roberts and Bob Hinds are credited with charting the route that would begin at Barbers Vintage Motorsports Museum and take us via challenging but well maintained roads to the covered bridges in Blount County and to the 13th century Tuscan pilgrimage “Church of the Blessed Sacrament” near Hanceville. Our ultimate destination was the “All Steak” restaurant in Cullman, known for their delicious orange yeast rolls. Yum!

Rick Teer, President of the PCA was proactive in arranging for the BVMM to be open with restroom facilities available. The PCA even looked as though it was going to have the largest showing with their huge marketing of the event. Something else that would be new this year was the invitation of even more clubs, including the Alabama Sports Car Club of America and their contingency of Autocrossers who were thrilled with the idea of going on a spirited drive during their racing off-season.

But this year Alabama had some unseasonably foul weather with a record breaking number of days with subfreezing temperatures and even snow two days before the event! No roads were ever closed as there was just enough warm air in the lower atmosphere to prevent the snow from sticking to roadways, but there were a few icy patches here and there. And then it happened. Barely two days prior to the event the Bear sent out an email stating that the drive had been postponed until January 23rd – the very same day as the PCA Tech Session at Barbers – because it was (wait for it…) TOO COLD!!

Photo Courtesy of Matt Williams

The disappointed emails and Facebook posts began almost immediately. But one individual was not to be deterred. Quinton P. Young, III from the ALSCCA, often referred to by many simply as “Q”, was that individual. He had been so looking forward to this drive for the first time and had invited a number of friends as well. Q decided that he was going to go for a drive anyway and whoever wanted to join him could. After confirming that the Museum would still be accessible the word went out.

The MBCA and PCA members were thrilled to keep the date, having the hardiest cars in the bunch. Jim Roberts of the MBCA and Tom Fleming of the PCA began rallying the troops to show up. There was a bit of confusion however, since Jim didn’t realize that Q was trying to throw together an ad hoc drive based on the same sites that Jim had originally planned to visit and Q didn’t realize that Jim planned to bring his original routes with him (which presumably will be used again on the official run on 1/23). Q had previously visited these sites on photo assignment so he had a pretty good idea how to get to each and a quick search online yielded the routes to be followed. As such, both showed up with routes that had been laid out and handouts printed up.

Photo Courtesy of Quinton P. Young, III

So what to do? Well, offer up both routes of course! With so many people turning out for the drive, it was just as well since it split the large group up into two more manageable teams and since the final destination was the All Steak, we’d all just meet up at the end. Those that wanted to go on Jim’s route lined up on one end of the parking lot and those that opted to follow Q lined up on the other. And this is where it got interesting…

Photo Courtesy D & J Photography

Jim’s route took more back roads which required a little less aggressive driving in some instances while Q’s route started out with more 4 lane highway that made it easy to stay together and drive at a reasonable clip. Q’s team first stopped off at the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve where we all got out for some photo ops. One hardy soul, Kevin Henderson, was dubbed the Official Mr. Polar Bear for not submitting to the frigid temps by sporting only a T-shirt for the entire trip! He even managed to start his trek off with some very wet shoes after attempting to traverse the Turkey Creek by stepping on unsubmerged stones. We didn’t say he got the sharpest tool in the shed award…

After leaving the preserve we made our first pit stop, overwhelming the first of many local gas stations. As we were leaving we made our first wrong turn and subsequently the first of many u-turns. Ironically as we made our way back to where we started and eventually got headed down the correct highway, we managed to pick up a stray.

Photo Courtesy D & J Photography

Aaron Coleman was minding his own business, simply out to get the oil changed in his Trans Am, when he noticed this line of big winged Evo’s, a Porsche 911, a Miata, a lowered RX-7, a Mustang GT, a couple of Focuses, a GTO and a Firebird Esprit all making a left turn in front of him, obviously trailing one another. He caught up with our motley crew and eventually fell in line with us. When we stopped at the Horton Mill Bridge, he pulled over with us to find out what we were up to. We explained who we were, what our mission was and invited him to tag along. Oil change plans went by the wayside as Aaron decided to spend the day with us and he enjoyed an afternoon of car camaraderie as we continued on our travels.

Photos Courtesy of Matt Williams

Photo Courtesy D & J Photography

The next bridge was a real challenge. Apparently Jim’s crew realized that the access to the Swann Joy Bridge was pretty well blocked from the side they approached so they bypassed it completely. Having not spec’d out the route ahead of time, our team ended up having to turn around in someone’s driveway – someone with hand painted signs that said “Do not turnaround in Driveway”. Its not like we really had a choice but we kept our fingers crossed that we would not be greeted by a shotgun toting owner.

At this point those of us with GPS devices took over to navigate our way to the other side of the bridge. This variance in our routes is what allowed the other team to arrive at the All Steak a full hour and a half ahead of us but I still think it was worth it. This particular bridge had actually been open to drive across as recently as last year and a couple of us old timers had done so on other drives. Today, however, it is completely blocked off with a mound of dirt. Those that dared hiked across the bridge to the other side and were pleasantly rewarded with a winter wonderland. Huge icicles spectacularly hung from the sheer rock cliff rising above the road.

Kevin (the guy with no jacket) scaled the wall like Spiderman and knocked one of the larger formations loose. Even after about a 15 foot drop, the icicle held together as if it were some sort ice sculpture roughly resembling a guitar. Jokes abounded that someone should take the thing home and keep it in their freezer for a year so it could be included in next year’s run, as if it were the symbol of the event like the Olympic flame! At the very least it was used as part of our group photo and I think it was decided that there was really no way to get it home in one piece so it was left to melt once the deep freeze of the Deep South is over.

We loaded up again and finally headed to a very late lunch, but considering the change in our route, the preprinted instructions were no longer applicable. Back to the GPS devices again. With John Viviani and I in my Miata best positioned to lead the pack, we became the chosen ones. We lined up at the four way stop back down the road from the bridge and John programmed his Garmin. Garmin said to go straight ahead, so we did. Not 50 yards from the 4 way our paved road became a dirt road and we had to make a u-turn.

Fortunately most of the pack was still at the stop sign so it wasn’t too painful. Before preceding any further, howeve, John reprogrammed the GPS to ONLY take us down paved roads, which it did – for awhile. After a couple of miles down a very narrow paved road, it too turned to dirt. I guess in Blount County a hard packed, graded, chirt (combination of clay and dirt) covered road is considered to be paved! No really!! Then our dirt road became and snowy dirt road but at this point we were pretty well committed and it was only 1.6 miles to the next County road (definitely paved) so our adventuresome group opted to go for it.

This was all well and good until we crested the top of the hill and realized, it wasn’t so nicely graded anymore. In fact, it was quite rutted with large rocks sticking up in the middle of the road that, at the very least Q’s Evo and Kevin’s RX-7, would take issue with considering that the ground clearance on their front spoilers was little more than an inch. John hopped out and, while walking along side them, helped navigate the obstacles that might break something and bring the drive to a screeching halt. Of course this meant that the cars had to stay far to the right side of the road, precariously close to a precipitous 100 ft drop off. One or two white knuckles could be seen gripping the wheel but everyone made it over safely and back down to the smoothly graded and snow covered part of the dirt road.

Photos Courtesy of Quinton P. Young, III

Once again we all lined up to ensure we had everyone and the lighthearted nature of the drivers abounded. Sara Reno Tongsuvone was laughing as she popped her head out of her bright blue Evo and yelled, “No one mentioned anything about a Rallycross!! Where are all of the Subarus when you need them?!” I don’t know but I heard that Porsche used to be a pretty big Rallycross competitor so I guess that means Kathy Chahrouri wins best suited car with her 20 year old 911!

We eventually made it to lunch and caught up the other team. They seemed happy to have taken their much milder and saner drive but our team seemed pretty happy with their whole experience. I guess you could say that a good time was had by all. After lunch Jim’s group called it a day while Q’s group opted for one last covered bridge before nightfall.

Photos Courtesy of Jeff Newman

The Clarkson-Legg Covered Bridge was an excellent ending to the day. The scenery was fantastic! Behind the bridge is dammed up pond which was frozen completely solid, once used to power an old grist mill nearby, which was home to a family of ducks.  The lay huddled together in the center of the pond sound asleep and took umbrage at our intrusion.

We gathered again for one last group photo as dusk approached and finally admitted it was time to go. A spectacular finish to a spectacular day. Lots of new friends and time well spent with old friends that had been out of the scene for awhile. Life doesn't get any better than this...

New Year's Resolution

It’s been brought to my attention that I haven't been updating my blog posts nearly as frequently as I should. Admittedly I have about 3 articles that I've started and need to complete, but somehow the holidays just seem to suck up all of your free time and the next thing you know, it’s the New Year. So I guess that means its time for my New Year's resolutions; like losing 10 lbs (isn't that everyone's?), making it to as many car related events as I can and actually updating my blog afterwards!

This year is gearing up to be a busy one - starting off with the Rolex Series 24 Hours of Daytona at the end of this month. I'm still not sure if I'll be able to make it yet but it’s very high on my list of priorities - one, because I've never attended a 24 hour race and two, because I want to cheer on the guys from TRG Motorsports!

There are also two big events going on at Barber Motorsports this year that should not be missed. April 9th - 11th, the Rolex Series Grand Am, normally held in July, has been moved to coincide with the Indy Racing League event to create the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. This is the first time that the IRL has held a race in Alabama and should be a spectacular venue at Barbers. May 20th - 23rd the Bobby Rahal Legends of Motorsports will be coming to Barber's with Lotus being the featured marque. Rumor has it that Clive Chapman and Bob Dance may be attending this event so if you are a Lotus fanatic, you should definitely add this event to your calendar.

Oh, but I almost forgot! Next Saturday, January 9th, is the annual Polar Bear Run. If you're interested, be at the Barber Museum by 8:30 a.m. (although the earlier the better) and the drive will commence at 9:00 a.m. Try to park with your club, or if you aren't in a club, cars of the same marque. This event is normally held the last Saturday of the year but since that was the day after Christmas for 2009, it was pushed out to 2010 instead.

The point of this drive is to pull your sports car out in the dead of winter, bundle up good, drop the top (if you drive a convertible like I do) and brave the elements on a fabulous country drive! The route will take us from the Barber Museum through the back roads of North Alabama and finish at the 'All Steak' restaurant in Cullman (there are non-steak options as well though). The 'B' has been put back together but I will be going through some testing to see if it makes it on the drive.

With that said I guess its time to put the laptop away, pour another cup o' joe and wander down to the garage. If you happen to see me at one of these events, do come up and say Hi! For the rest of you around the globe -

Happy Motoring and Happy New Year!

Its not just the cars, its the people

The holiday season was officially kicked off Friday night with the PCA Alabama Region Christmas Party. The event was held at the beautiful Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum and I can't imagine a more spectacular venue for a car club gathering with its amazing collection of cars and motorcycles. Granted, the car collection consists primarily of Lotus racecars - boasting the largest collection in the world - but there are a few Porsches on display. After all, racing Porsches was how Mr. George Barber got started with this hobby.

The party attendees certainly seemed to enjoy their surroundings and a festive mood prevailed. "Its not just the cars, its the people" is the motto for the Porsche Club of America and that description is incredibly accurate. I had the great pleasure of meeting Prescott Kelly, PCA Past President, who had come down from Connecticut to attend this gathering in Birmingham. After being introduced by David Goodwin as someone who enjoys working on my own cars, Prescott immediately launched into a discussion of which type of Porsche might best suit my needs. I was fascinated by his insights and greatly appreciative of the opportunity to glean as much information as possible in so brief a period from someone who is quite knowledgeable. I only wish I’d had more time to visit.

It was also great to catch up with the usual crowd that can be seen at the various driver education events, drives and gatherings, and getting to see them in all of their festive finery. To be sure, most of us look pretty rugged during track days which can be either freezing cold or blistering hot and are generally seen with a myriad of ball caps and do-rags worn in a desperate attempt to hide the ever present "helmet head". Some, like me, are only seen in a dress about once or twice a year so it was a lot of fun giving and receiving the good natured ribbing about it.

As the evening progressed the board called upon certain people to come up and be recognized for their volunteerism. One person in particular, Docupak's John Copeland, was singled out for offering the services of his employees during the Porsche 250 to help staff the hospitality tent. His people came out to assist on his company’s time when the PCA desperately needed help to service the largest turnout of PCA members in the race’s history at Barber Motorsports. The Grand Prize winner of a photo shoot by professional photographer Daniel Taylor went to Omar Zuberi.

The Petit Le Mans

Facebook is an interesting medium. You can keep up with your friends activities on a minute by minute basis and let them know what exciting (or boring) things you have going on in your life. So what were a number of my friends up to a few weeks ago? Well, they were all either going to, or already at, Road Atlanta for the Petit Le Mans.

I'm really new to the whole racing scene but have been absorbing it all like a sponge. Oh sure, I'd been introduced to the roundy-round of NASCAR which gave me the foundation for racing in general, but it wasn't until I went to my first Rolex Sports Car Series road course race at Barber Motorports Park that I found Nirvana! Add to that my recent experience with The Racers Group during the Porsche 250, well, let's just say that I'm hooked!

The Petit Le Mans is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia and until 2003, was the final event of the season.  The 13th annual Petit Le Mans, to be held in 2010, will once again close the American Le Mans Series season.  The series was started by Georgia-based businessman Don Panoz who created a partnership with the Automobile Club de L'Ouest (ACO), the organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, Sarthe, France.

The ALMS uses the rules established for the 24 hours of Le Mans by the ACO. The Petit Le Mans covers a maximum of 1,000 miles (1,600 km - which is approximately 394 laps) or a maximum of 10 hours, whichever comes first. In addition to the overall race, teams of two or three drivers per car compete for class victories in four different classes of cars: LMP1 and LMP2 for Le Mans Prototypes, and GT1 and GT2 for grand tourer cars. The partnership with the ACO allows 1st and 2nd place Class winners of this event to earn automatic entries into the following year's 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Some of us have to work for a living and can't just pick and go to the races in the middle of the week - despite how much I've tried to convince my boss to the contrary. That included my friend Natasha whose husband Sean had been in Atlanta since Wednesday. Sean had already indicated to me, via Facebook, that Natasha really wanted to go to but didn't feel like driving over alone. I really wanted to check this thing out and spend some quality time with my fellow car crazy friends, but my own partner in crime had other plans. So what did I do? Why I sent Natasha a text message asking if she wanted to load up like Thelma and Louise and head to Atlanta of course! Brilliant!!

We finally arrived around 10:30 pm Friday night after a layover at the Waffle House. I don't know about the rest of you but I absolutely love breakfast for dinner. I kept expecting to see my buddy Mick Opalak and his Lotus Exige, which sports a 'Follow Me To The Waffle House' tag holder, but they were nowhere to be found. It turns out there's more than one Waffle House in Atlanta - who knew? After finally making it to the hotel, our little group passed out and the wake up call was set - early.

 The breakfast buffet the following morning at Chick-Fil-A was an experience as our motley crew of racing fans were surrounded by SEC Football fans. My 'Fast Car, Fast Driver' t-shirt was gazed upon with more than one bemused expression as folks in their college colors feverishly discussed impending battles on the gridiron. *yawn* Personally I subscribe to the Ernest Hemingway theory that, “Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games.”

By the time we got to the track, the grassy parking area was more the consistency of a 4 wheel drive track with mud the depth of the tire's sidewalls. Sean skillfully plowed through it in the MINI and found a somewhat suitable parking spot. We made our way through the mud to turn 3 where we could overlook turn 4 and the essess leading up to turn 5 - just in time for the pace car to fly by with the hungry pack of competitors in tow.

Once again I was blessed with the sights, sounds and smells of the track. I couldn't decide if I should just close my eyes and revel in the sensation of the vibrations from the exhaust and the heady scent of unspent fuel, or open them and gaze in wonder at the myriad of racers as they jockeyed for position. Natasha finally elbowed me into realizing that there was an unused Nikon D90 hanging around my neck or there might not have been any photographic evidence of this event.

After watching the first few laps of the race we began our trek through the vendor area where we managed to run into several old friends and do a bit of shopping. I took some time to daydream about signing up the Skip Barber Racing School and after a very convincing sales pitch from the gentleman representing the organization, tried to decide which of my kids I could sell to pay for the experience. *sigh* The new Lotus Evora was on display just outside of the Skip Barber tent and had drawn quite a crowd.
This was only my second chance to see one up close and personal after it was unveiled at the 29th Annual Lotus Owners Gathering which took place at Barber Motorsports this year. I was just as enamoured with it this day as I was when I first laid eyes on the movie star lipstick red one that had made its way to Alabama.

We eventually worked our way around until we reached the mud bog that served as the Porsche Club of America's (PCA) Car Corral. These are some die hard fans. I could not believe the depth and breadth of this viscid substance and the number of cars who had bravely opted to park there anyway. Everything from the classic 356 Speedster to the modern Cayman with plenty of 911s, 928s, 944s, Cayennes and Boxters thrown in for good measure.

Watching folks slipping and sliding their way along, removing their shoes upon re-entry into their respective rides, was quite a sight. I passed one fellow who didn't quite manage to keep his footing and was wearing the better part of Georgia on his derrier. It didn't seem to dampen his spirits though. In fact, despite the mud and overcast, often drizzly conditions, everyone seemed to be having a great time. I finally caught up with the Alabama PCA crowd and settled in for the race. It was quite clear, even to a novice such as myself, that this was the last chance for some of these drivers to make it in the rankings and there was plenty of aggression out on the track. I think one of the most unbelievable comeback stories of the weekend revolved around a spectacular wreck that occured when Scott Sharp's Acura prototype was completely destroyed during Petit Le Mans practice. Amazingly, he walked away without a scratch but equally amazing was that the Patron Highcroft team built a new Acura prototype in just over 20 hours. You can check out video footage of the wreck and rebuild on Autoblog.com.

Spirits remained high during the dreary conditions and the racing took an exciting turn when the Heavens opened up and the bottom fell out. The Atlanta area had already taken quite a beating the week prior with floods that had shut down entire freeway systems and with very little opportunity for the ground to dry out, there was nothing left it could absorb. While this made for some striking rooster tails and sensational spinouts, it didn't take long before the red flag came out and the race was stopped.

When it became apparent that it would be some time before the race picked back up again, several of us opted for a dryer local with a warm meal and cold pint. From the comfort of our pub we watched the Speed Channel with eager anticipation along with the new friends we made who were also praying for a restart to the race. Unfortunately we were all terribly let down as race officials decided to call it with only half of the laps completed. A quick Google search will show that this is the only time in the race's history that it was called short rather than due to laps or time limits being fulfilled. It was heartbreaking for fans and as we made our way back to the track for one last loop around, an eerie calm pervailed. I was told that at past events, there are some great parties that take place in the infield after an exciting race but the rain sodden diehards were obviously succumbing to dampened spirits as well. And while the race didn't turn out quite as expected, my overall experience for the weekend was that it was well worth the effort.

One thing that definitely improved my spirits was a chance to attend the Courage Le Mans Prototype Testing that took place the following day. The weather was spectacular, we had full access to the pits and were able to get up close and personal with the amazing 2010 Courage (French pronunciation) Prototype. After spending as much time as we could making our way around the track one last time, we finally loaded up for the journey home. I can't imagine a more enjoyable way to have spent my time than by sharing in this new passion with great friends. Who knows, maybe I'll find myself behind the wheel of a racecar one day. In the meantime, I'll just keep cheering on the ones who are out there now, wide open and living the dream...

For more great pictures of the event, check out motoring.zenfolio.com

Historics at the Park

Patrick Bush brought out his 1961 Ferrari 250 GTE

The 3rd Annual Barber Historics at the Park took place today amid dreary skies and an often dismal downpour but the attitudes of the few diehards who made it out were anything but. About 32 cars of varying countries of origin, marque and era, braved the rain in a determined effort to make a showing of support for the event.

Despite the weather or maybe in spite of it, an air of levity permeated the crowd. If anything, the weather seemed to draw the group closer together, figuratively and literally as everyone crowded together under the lone registration tent in an effort to stay dry. Due to the rather small turnout, drawings for door prizes ensured that no one went home empty handed.

Before the awards were handed out, parade laps were offered to those whose vehicles were sporting Barber license plates. This proved to be exciting considering the amount of water on the track and the broad spectrum of vehicles driving it. The pack was lead by Clark Virden in his BMW with Ed Kovalchick bringing up the rear in his Model A.

Best in show was a people's choice award and this year's winner was Patrick Bush who brought out his 1961 Ferrari 250 GTE - proof that some people still believe that a classic sports car is meant to be driven - even in the rain. Congratulations to Patrick and everyone else who put forth the time and effort to make this another enjoyable event.

Parade laps in the rain

Autocross Part Deux!

It’s August and I’ve managed to get my brakes upgraded; EBC Greenstuff pads, EBC Rotors (slotted and dimpled on the front). It was a knuckle grinding experience but that's another blog post altogether. It was 6 months after my first Autocross experience when my friend Blake insisted that he was going to take his new (to him) Supercharged Miata out the following weekend to Autocross it and I was bitten by the bug again. I started to lament about my tire situation but he had a solution - an extra set of racing tires from his old racing Miata that I could borrow. They would be good for about one more day's worth of racing and I could have them.

The morning of the event John loaded up his truck with my rolling floor jack, the 4 way, the air compressor and a torque wrench before heading over to Blake's to pick up the racing wheels. He was a one man pit crew. We met up at the track and after registration I headed back to the paddock to swap out my wheels. I had one wheel done before John came by, pointed out that I needed to walk the course and offered to take over for me. As he put it, "I know you can change a tire so why don't you focus on the important part and let me do this." What a great guy!

I headed back down the hill and ended up walking the course with one of the pros, David McFall, who races a Corvette C5. This proved to be very insightful since he pointed out where I should be accelerating, where I should be braking and where my line should be through the course. I could actually visualize it now. After making it through once, I walked the course a second time with the rest of the novices - a motley crew who ranged in age from 16 - 60+. There were 19 of us in all, some of whom had been heavily coached prior to the event. I figured as long as I didn't come in dead last, I could live with it.

So the way this thing works is that the drivers get split up into two run groups. While group #1 is racing, group #2 is working the corners and resetting any cones that get knocked down. I highly recommend bringing a set of running shoes for this portion of the event, especially if you have special driving shoes for racing. Let's just say that they aren't the most comfortably when you are jogging over to upright a cone before the next driver comes screaming through the course. Each group of drivers gets three runs in before they switch it up and the drivers in group #1 become corner workers while the group #2 drivers get to race. After each group has had a chance to run they break for lunch before starting over again.

Now, let me just say right here and now that if you plan to do this, plan to be there all day. Don't be that jerk who comes out in the morning and bails out at lunch - or worse, bails out before you've done your corner work. The only way to keep this fun, fair and inexpensive is to be willing to do your part. Okay, getting off of my soap box now...

My first run of the day was a clean 70.927 which I felt was pretty respectable considering that most of my group either took out cones (each cone knock down adds a second to your time) or just Did Not Finish (DNF) because they went off course. I did, however, get beat by a minivan. You heard me - a grocery getter, a soccer mom's dream, a... Hold on, let me explain. You see, there were two of these Honda Odyssey Racing Minivans. I guess someone decided it was time to "Respect the Van" again and stripped these things down, modified the suspension and turned them into racecars. One of them boasts a lot of carbon fiber and a supercharger so I can live with getting beat by that. After all, I'm in a stock Miata, remember? Besides, I still came out with the 9th best time during that run. Not bad considering this was only my second event and I was on unfamiliar tires.

I'm not quite sure how they do the calculations for the Novice Group but apparently, since we are all running in different classes of vehicles, they do some sort of algorithm that accounts for this so you have a more accurate accounting of where you fit overall in the field. I came in 12th for the Novice Group and I'm happy with that, for now. Sad part is that I've been bitten by the racing bug again and am trying for the life of me to figure out how to afford all of this. John says I should take up a drug habit instead; it would be a lot cheaper...

The Grease Girl has a clean run, now just need to pick up the speed!

Check out the video footage below