Friday, July 26, 2013
Happy Birthday Mick!
Saturday, July 6, 2013
The 2013 Greatrace in 10 Photos (plus one)
1) Car loaded on U-Haul trailer.... ready to hit the road for St Paul.
2) The largest and smallest vehicles in the race; a 1960 Fiat 600 and a 1955 firetruck. Both cars made it to the end of the race!!!
3) The car is tech'd, prepped, stickered, and ready to go! I took the side panels off the hood to make it go faster......
4) The starting line at Back to the '50s Carshow in St. Paul. Over 12,000 cars were at the show. It was overwhelming. Cool start however.
5) Chad, seconds from a restart, chowing down on a McDonald's hamburger!
6) An over-night stop. Notice the two Ace stickers above the door? Yeah, baby....
7) We ended with five Aces. Did I mention my nephew is a math major at TCU?
8) Who is that crazy lady photo-bombing us?!?!?! Hey, its mama duck. Quack, quack, quack. Nice knickers, eh!?!? Who said the 1930's wasn't stylish?
9) The finish line in Mobile, AL. I was a little hot in my knickers. I can't imagine how sweltering those "belles" were in their dresses.
10) At the finish line: 1st in class and 16th overall. Amazing!
11) On the way home we passed through West Monroe, Louisiana - home of "Duck Dynasty." We shopped, bought a t-shirt, and took a pic in front of the building. No sign of Si....
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Greatrace 2013 - Postscript
A few random thoughts:
1) To recap - I bought the car in May and drove it from Casper WY to Denton TX; a total of 1,040 miles. We then rallied the car from St. Paul, MN to Mobile, AL; a total of 2,200 miles. I then drove the car home from Alabama; a total of 630 miles. That's 3,870 trouble-free miles in a 78 year old car. AMAZING!
2) If you had asked me four months ago about the outcome of this years' Greatrace, I would've framed my answer: worst case scenario, most likely scenario, and best case scenario. The worst case was hard-break early and go home with the car on a trailer prior to finishing the race (about 10 cars ended up doing this). The most likely scenario was break often (flat tires, vapor lock, toasted starter motor, etc.), repair car each night, and soldier on to the finish line mid-pack and out of the money. The best case scenario was what happened: flawless car, excellent performance, taking 1st in class. Hollywood could not have scripted a better 2013 Greatrace for us!
3) Funniest moment: a few nights ago, my nephew bolted up in bed at 2AM in the morning. He sat straight up and yelled, "Bryan!" I groggily answered, "Preston, what's the matter?" He paused and responded, "reduced speed for .7 seconds!" He was navigating in his sleep! I didn't answer. I just watched him stare straight ahead. After a moment, he flopped over and went back to sleep. Ha! Sleep-rallying. That has to be a first!
4) Runner-up funniest moment: We were checking into a hotel about day 4 and the girl behind the desk was frazzled. She had just checked in 100+ guests and was disheveled, tired, and ready for a break. She confirmed, "One room with two queen beds" and asked, "Is there anything else?" I responded, "Nope, we should be good; oh by the way, we have seven monkeys and a case of champagne, is that a problem?" She looked at me with a mixture of shock, horror, and disdain; and without missing a beat, my nephew added, "its okay, the champagne is for the monkeys." Eh eh eh eh.... That kid is FUNNY!
5) Joe and I often say, "Rallying is fun; its more fun when you win." Its true.
6) Next year's race is Maine to Florida. Hey Joe, you ready?!?!?!
I'm not sure who actually reads this blog. Aside from my wife, I don't imagine there are a lot of you. My final thought: cars were meant to be driven. I don't understand keeping a car as a garage/trailer queen and never driving and enjoying it. That's like being married to a super-model and never "gittin busy." What's the point point of admiring your super-model wife and never enjoying anything else? I love the Greatrace because it gives me a chance to drive my car and enjoy its' essence. If you own a pre-war car and have never driven it 200 miles at one time, you have no idea what you are missing. Get it out; clean it up; and drive it.
Cheers,
BSD
PS- Dixie Racing's new motto is, "Its okay, the champagne is for the monkeys"
Ha! That's funny, I don't care who you are.....
1) To recap - I bought the car in May and drove it from Casper WY to Denton TX; a total of 1,040 miles. We then rallied the car from St. Paul, MN to Mobile, AL; a total of 2,200 miles. I then drove the car home from Alabama; a total of 630 miles. That's 3,870 trouble-free miles in a 78 year old car. AMAZING!
2) If you had asked me four months ago about the outcome of this years' Greatrace, I would've framed my answer: worst case scenario, most likely scenario, and best case scenario. The worst case was hard-break early and go home with the car on a trailer prior to finishing the race (about 10 cars ended up doing this). The most likely scenario was break often (flat tires, vapor lock, toasted starter motor, etc.), repair car each night, and soldier on to the finish line mid-pack and out of the money. The best case scenario was what happened: flawless car, excellent performance, taking 1st in class. Hollywood could not have scripted a better 2013 Greatrace for us!
3) Funniest moment: a few nights ago, my nephew bolted up in bed at 2AM in the morning. He sat straight up and yelled, "Bryan!" I groggily answered, "Preston, what's the matter?" He paused and responded, "reduced speed for .7 seconds!" He was navigating in his sleep! I didn't answer. I just watched him stare straight ahead. After a moment, he flopped over and went back to sleep. Ha! Sleep-rallying. That has to be a first!
4) Runner-up funniest moment: We were checking into a hotel about day 4 and the girl behind the desk was frazzled. She had just checked in 100+ guests and was disheveled, tired, and ready for a break. She confirmed, "One room with two queen beds" and asked, "Is there anything else?" I responded, "Nope, we should be good; oh by the way, we have seven monkeys and a case of champagne, is that a problem?" She looked at me with a mixture of shock, horror, and disdain; and without missing a beat, my nephew added, "its okay, the champagne is for the monkeys." Eh eh eh eh.... That kid is FUNNY!
5) Joe and I often say, "Rallying is fun; its more fun when you win." Its true.
6) Next year's race is Maine to Florida. Hey Joe, you ready?!?!?!
I'm not sure who actually reads this blog. Aside from my wife, I don't imagine there are a lot of you. My final thought: cars were meant to be driven. I don't understand keeping a car as a garage/trailer queen and never driving and enjoying it. That's like being married to a super-model and never "gittin busy." What's the point point of admiring your super-model wife and never enjoying anything else? I love the Greatrace because it gives me a chance to drive my car and enjoy its' essence. If you own a pre-war car and have never driven it 200 miles at one time, you have no idea what you are missing. Get it out; clean it up; and drive it.
Cheers,
BSD
PS- Dixie Racing's new motto is, "Its okay, the champagne is for the monkeys"
Ha! That's funny, I don't care who you are.....
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