Day 5: Agricultural Excursion at Gateway

                                

Today was the first day that you felt being tired. Last night's drve was brutally long into the night for most teams. We got in around 1 and made our way to the track around 8:30. On the way I snapped some pictures of the Arch and Busch Stadium.

The "Roval" at Gateway was fast and intimidating. I took the wheel for both sessions and probably should've walked the course before heading out. A misunderstanding of turns 1 & 2 led to a John Deere session on the infield. A quick down shift and realignment put me back on track and on line for the chicanes. Driving an oval at full speed is intimidating. You learn quickly to keep your eyes up and look for that next move. The afternoon session went off without a hitch into the grass and I dropped 15 seconds off of my morning time. We ended today in 55 overall. We are gunning for 50th position...watch out RS and Boxster S!!

Here are some pictures of the track and other cars. I have grea video that I will have to upload later because the internet is too slow for it here.

We are off to Mansfield Ohio to race at Mid Ohio. This drive is short, but we lose an hour as we cross into the eastern time zone for the remainder of the One Lap.

Add one more Bass Pro Shop to the tally for a total of 12.

Day 4: Part 2 - Sssssmokin

WOW! Drag racing was great. The MINI ran an impressive 16.843....This really was a blast. It was hot in the fire suits, and in the cars, but Chris in the Challenger and I took the line. A veteran Brit in a Classic Vintage American Car - the Dodge Charger, and a rookie American in a Classic Modern British Car - the MINI Cooper S. It was a showdown with smoke (no mirrors) and fanfare for the audience. In the end the British won...in the Dodge Charger.

Here are some picrtures taken by Greg of the event. I went onto bracket and had to rerun do to timing issues against an IROC and broke out - with a time of 16.4. Breaking out is bad, not good. That means you went faster than you said you would. Apparently I used a little too much gas that time! Oops.

The Charger went on to place in the top 16. Our friends Fish and Jason went intoo the top 4 with their demon of a MINIvan. Awesome job guys!

By request of some fellow BMWCCA guys, I am posting more pictures to the blog...

Mileage: 85994. 1734 miles logged so far.

# of Bass Pro Shops: 11

Day 4: Part I - Getting Dirty

Just a note: My camera lens cracked somewhere between Libertyville and South Bend - so that is the black spot you see in all of the photos. I am limited to the editing while on the road - and I don't have any editing software on this little netbook, so please ignore the black dot. Also, this is just an example of why you don't bring expensive lenses on the road!

This morning started great. My cold is slowly going away and the Nyquil last night was a huge help. We pulled into Hallet on time and ate a casual breakfast while watching the big dogs run their groups. Greg drove at Hallet and did a wonderful job. This track is very tricky with blind turns and lots of elevation changes; or undulating hills as our UK buddy from the Vintage Charger says.

The morning session was tough for everyone around turn 9 - lots of dirt flying as wheels were dropped and spin outs followed. Exciting as it was, thankfully no one was hurt, and no bruises to the cars. Greg consistently dropped time on  each lap in the morning, and finished in 60th. The afternoon session flew by and Greg dropped some more time. Thanks goes to Jason from Team ZoomZoom for the pointers. Once the official times are posted we will let you know where we stand!

Here are some pictures from today at Hallet - check out the Alfa in the last 4...

Appalachain Bay on the approach to Hallet. Beautiful Cherokee Country!

Fourth Day, Fourth Track - on schedule and feeling good!

Greg whipping it through turn 9 like a pro.

Almost getting chased down by the RS, but not this time!

Remeber what I said about turn #9, and getting a little dirty....well this is what not to do, but how to save yourself if you do it. Great Job to David for saving himself and his Alfa through that turn.

Dropped a wheel off the curbbage and rooster tailing dirt everywhere

Off the dirt and shooting across track!

Correcting and swerving back on track

And off he goes for turn 10! What an exciting time

We are off to the Drag Strip at Tulsa Park - I am driving this one and then we have a long haul up to St. Louis. Not expecting to get in until 1am - ouch!

Missouri

Just wanted know to let you you know that Missouri has the largest bugs. Our windshield was covered in them! No worries a short rain shower washed them off, and cleaned up Nigel too! He was getting a little grimy.

We also have seen more One Lappers this time. Here are our friends from Denver:

Day 3 - The Flat of Iowa

Last night's drive was rough, and that is putting it lightly. Iowa sure has a lot to offer. We drove past the world's largest truck stop, the birthplaces of John Wayne and Ronald Reagan, the presidential museum for Herbert Hoover, and a wind farm.

The wind farm was the highlight of the drive,and it appeared almost majestic. We came up on it late and from far it was just a bunch of red lights blinking, but as we approached it each tall wind turbine had its own light and they flashed in a harmonius pattern. I would've taken pictures if i thought they'd come out, or if I wasn't driving!

This is so cool! Its hard to see, but SUPER is CHEAPER than REGULAR gas in Iowa! Crazy!

When we got to the hotel it was after midnight, Greg and I crashed hard and arrived at the track with perfect timing! As we unloaded, our run group was staging so I suited up and jumped into line. Mid America is a short, flat  track with some tricky corners and lots of run off if you mess up in them. Luckily, I didn't need any of the run off today. The morning session was great, I needed to be a little faster though. The afternonn session felt smotther and faster, but we'll know better when the results are posted. Most likely we are some where around 50 overall, and third in the retro class. Greg took pictures today and the GoPro camera was running. I will post pictures below when we have better internet. Video will be up soon - yesterday's and today's, but I am still having problems with You Tube.

We left the track a little after 2 and should be in Tulsa Ok aronud 8. That means a good dinner and night's sleep! We are going to try and hook up with the Mazda 5 Minivan guys, Richard and Jason, too.

Update: Howard in the Cadillac CTS arrived with the new Crossfire today for both sessions. He didn't hit any walls and will be in Tulsa.

Milage Update: 85,361 - 1101 miles down!

Day 2 - 4 unforgetable miles at Road America

What a day! Greg drove today on both the long and short course at Road America. The day was beautiful and windy, but again no rain. The morning started off with a few bumps in the road, and bruises to a fellow driver. The driver is doing fine, but his Cadillac CTS is another story. He went too hot into the "Canada Corner", through the gravel, through the tire wall and finally through the fence. No worries, rumor has it that Howard already picked up another car and will be ready for the next track!
After the delay to clear the accident, Greg did a great job on the long stretches of Road America. We started the afternoon session in spot #53. The short course was a snap, and we are going to run in the 8th group for the rest of the One Lap.

It truly is beautiful driving through Wisconsin on our way to Iowa. We have 8 hours on the road to our hotel. I will keep everyone updated again tomorrow! I posted pictures of the day and video below. We had a slight technical difficulty with the camera for the long course of Road America - and now computer difficulty uploading - I will get it up when it works.
 

Our Friends in the "Minivan". The minivan with no minivan left in it!