Day 2: VCRA Rally - All Stars for Autism

Day 2: Saturday, 30 Apr

Remember the old ABC Sports tagline, "Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat?" That's kinda how the day went. We started off well enough but a spike in the water temp meant trouble. Sure enough, we stopped for the first break and found our alternator flopping around and the fan belt completely off. YIKES! It looked like the day might be over! Closer inspection showed that nothing was broke; so we zip-tied the alternator to the block and crossed our fingers. It held. It held ALL DAY! Unbelievable. Our luck continued to hold - the only rain today was a slight sprinkle that hardly mattered.

We felt pretty good all day, but you never know. Some days you feel like you've been spot-on and you windup sucking. Other days seem horrible, and you windup with an ACE. Who knows?

Today, we felt pretty good - but the results were mixed:

Led 1: 5 sec late

Led 2: CNX

Led 3: 1 sec late

Led 4: 7 sec late

Led 5: ACE

Led 6: 2 sec early

Led 7: 18 sec late (dropped)

Total: 11.7 seconds

Our Day 2 results weren't very impressive; but it beats a DNF (Did Not Finish). For the rally overall standings - we dropped to 4th place overall. They say The Masters doesn't start until Sunday afternoon on the 10th hole. . . . The Rally really begins tomorrow!

VCRA Rally - All Stars for Autism

Greetings! The vintage rally season is underway and this year's kick-off event is VCRA's All Stars for Autism in Grove, OK. Thursday, Apr 28th - Joe and I left Texas and drove the six hours up to Grove. We checked in and went through technical inspection, ran the speedometer check, and got settled into the hotel. Here are the Cajun Boys off-loading their sweet Model A Speedster. This is a nice car!

This nice lady wanted our autograph and tried to sell us rice-balls. Dixie Racing has a pretty fanatical fan base.... they come from all over the world - even Asia!!!

DAY 1: Friday, 29 April - The day started with mandatory meetings and prep for the first day of competition. There are 23 competitors - all of whom are veterans..... no rookies.... no touring.... just hardcore racers, some with 25+ years experience. Yikes! Dixie Racing started 17th, so we were mid-pack. Here is our 1928 Ford Model A Speedster ready for action:

Here are a few of our friends - including Gary and JeanAnn, Jim and Maury.

The weather was beautiful. The course was challenging. The roads took us through Oklahoma and Missouri. We missed a left turn at sign PP and had to make up some time. But in the end, it all worked out. Our raw scores were:

Leg 1: 18 sec early

Leg 2: 2 sec early

Leg 3: 3 sec early

Leg 4: ACE

Leg 5: ACE

Leg 6: 1 sec late

For a total of 24 seconds. But wait. There's more!....

The worst leg is thrown out and 1928 gives us an age factor of .78, sooooooooo

Our adjusted score was 4.68 seconds, which was good enough for 1st Place (Day One)!!!!!!! Yeeeaaahhhhh! It may be short lived, but it is nice to do well. I'm addicted all over again..... kinda like hitting a jack-pot at the casino. I'll play for another five years just to have another day like today. Katy Bar the Door! Check in tomorrow for Day 2....

VCRA Season Opener next weekend!!

The first race of the season is coming up. Check back on this blog beginning Friday, April 29th to track our results. See you on the road!