Sure enjoyed watching members race! LOTS more pics I haven't resized yet!! Hope everyone got home safe
The photo of JP's launch should be cropped a bit tighter on his car and it will make a good calender photo
Call for Lincolns!
- Thread starter driller
- Start date
The photo of JP's launch should be cropped a bit tighter on his car and it will make a good calender photo
Rene
Lincoln Lady
The photo of JP's launch should be cropped a bit tighter on his car and it will make a good calender photo
I got some nice smoky burnout pics of him too! And lots of Joe (BadSax)!!
Where to start...
Thursday evening... Joe was in the driveway shining the wheels on his LSC when I arrived home from work. Sharon and Mike pulled in about an hour or so later. Beer, pizza, and a lot of car talk filled the evening hours late into the night.
Friday... We slept in a bit and then went to wash vehicles and pick up the drag tires. While the cars were being washed and shined at a full service car wash, Joe, Mike and I sipped a brew at a sports bar next door. We picked up the tires at the tire shop then stopped at the storage shed and loaded up the 24" wheels for the Navi'. The girls stayed home and went shopping for the trip then had a late breakfast ready when we returned.
After breakfast we detailed Sharon's engine compartment and started swapping wheels. Joe and Mike installed Joe's hood liner while I installed the race wheels on the Blue Flame. Afterwards we swapped the wheels on the Navi' before hooking up the trailer and loading the '93. Meanwhile others were busy packing the other cars for the trip.
We didn't leave until after 5 o'clock, a good 5 hours after our target. Bumper to bumper traffic greeted us just outside town 2 miles from a construction zone. I had just got the truck and trailer in the left lane and up to speed when I topped a small grade and saw nothing but brake lights and cars for as far as the eye could see. The panic brakes went on and for a few seconds I wasn't sure we had enough whoa in the wagon to keep from ramming the rear of a oblivious SUV. You could smell the brakes for quite a while after that scenario.
The remainder of the trip to Martinsburg, WV was uneventful and we pulled into the hotel parking lot close to 9 PM. After checking into the hotel and meeting up with Brad and Rene, a few of us left to go to the 'meet and greet' at a friends house a few miles out of town. We left later than we should have and went back to the hotel well after midnight. Mark still hadn't arrived at the hotel.
Saturday... Early the next morning, we noticed Mark's car was in the parking lot and 'some of us' met up with the group and convoyed out to the Mason Dixon Dragway just outside of Hagerstown, MD. It was muggy and not the best track conditions but we proceeded to put cars through the paces down the 1/4 mile. Joe, Mike and Sharon showed up modestly late and soon after Brad and Rene joined us to watch the track action.
I ran the Blue Flame 11 times in 2 hours, practicing launching with the new converter. The car ran all 13.6s and 13.7s with a best of 13.645 with trap speeds of 97.0 to 97.7 mph. I had to stop after 3 or 4 runs and let the car cool a bit. It seems the new converter builds more heat than the old one. But it was consistently putting down good 60 foot times, almost all in the 1.85 range.
Drill Bit (Justin) ran the '96 while his wife filmed several runs. After not having ran at the track for 2 years or more, he was a bit rusty but soon started running pretty good and was killing the tree, even knocking down a 0.002 light, besting my 0.011. I think the best ET for the '96 was a 14.4 which wasn't shabby at all for no more mods than it has.
Sharon ran several times and soon discovered her car wasn't as slow as she thought she was after remembering to turn off the traction control.
Meanwhile, Joe was racking up the runs and by the time we were ready to leave he had a fistfull of timeslips. How much is a fistful? 20? 30? No, try 44! 44 passes in 3-1/2 hours. If you do the math, thats over 12 passes per hour. Technically less than 5 minutes each! But it actually less than that since he had to leave at one point and get more gas!! LOL
We left the track and returned to the hotel to get ready for the next phase of the weekend.
Part 2 continues tomorrow.
Meanwhile, jump on over to my photo albums for some pics and vids.
Thursday evening... Joe was in the driveway shining the wheels on his LSC when I arrived home from work. Sharon and Mike pulled in about an hour or so later. Beer, pizza, and a lot of car talk filled the evening hours late into the night.
Friday... We slept in a bit and then went to wash vehicles and pick up the drag tires. While the cars were being washed and shined at a full service car wash, Joe, Mike and I sipped a brew at a sports bar next door. We picked up the tires at the tire shop then stopped at the storage shed and loaded up the 24" wheels for the Navi'. The girls stayed home and went shopping for the trip then had a late breakfast ready when we returned.
After breakfast we detailed Sharon's engine compartment and started swapping wheels. Joe and Mike installed Joe's hood liner while I installed the race wheels on the Blue Flame. Afterwards we swapped the wheels on the Navi' before hooking up the trailer and loading the '93. Meanwhile others were busy packing the other cars for the trip.
We didn't leave until after 5 o'clock, a good 5 hours after our target. Bumper to bumper traffic greeted us just outside town 2 miles from a construction zone. I had just got the truck and trailer in the left lane and up to speed when I topped a small grade and saw nothing but brake lights and cars for as far as the eye could see. The panic brakes went on and for a few seconds I wasn't sure we had enough whoa in the wagon to keep from ramming the rear of a oblivious SUV. You could smell the brakes for quite a while after that scenario.
The remainder of the trip to Martinsburg, WV was uneventful and we pulled into the hotel parking lot close to 9 PM. After checking into the hotel and meeting up with Brad and Rene, a few of us left to go to the 'meet and greet' at a friends house a few miles out of town. We left later than we should have and went back to the hotel well after midnight. Mark still hadn't arrived at the hotel.
Saturday... Early the next morning, we noticed Mark's car was in the parking lot and 'some of us' met up with the group and convoyed out to the Mason Dixon Dragway just outside of Hagerstown, MD. It was muggy and not the best track conditions but we proceeded to put cars through the paces down the 1/4 mile. Joe, Mike and Sharon showed up modestly late and soon after Brad and Rene joined us to watch the track action.
I ran the Blue Flame 11 times in 2 hours, practicing launching with the new converter. The car ran all 13.6s and 13.7s with a best of 13.645 with trap speeds of 97.0 to 97.7 mph. I had to stop after 3 or 4 runs and let the car cool a bit. It seems the new converter builds more heat than the old one. But it was consistently putting down good 60 foot times, almost all in the 1.85 range.
Drill Bit (Justin) ran the '96 while his wife filmed several runs. After not having ran at the track for 2 years or more, he was a bit rusty but soon started running pretty good and was killing the tree, even knocking down a 0.002 light, besting my 0.011. I think the best ET for the '96 was a 14.4 which wasn't shabby at all for no more mods than it has.
Sharon ran several times and soon discovered her car wasn't as slow as she thought she was after remembering to turn off the traction control.
Meanwhile, Joe was racking up the runs and by the time we were ready to leave he had a fistfull of timeslips. How much is a fistful? 20? 30? No, try 44! 44 passes in 3-1/2 hours. If you do the math, thats over 12 passes per hour. Technically less than 5 minutes each! But it actually less than that since he had to leave at one point and get more gas!! LOL
We left the track and returned to the hotel to get ready for the next phase of the weekend.
Part 2 continues tomorrow.
Meanwhile, jump on over to my photo albums for some pics and vids.
A great bunch of people who made us "outsiders" feel welcome. Despite the fact that I got in late and my car wasn't yet 100%, I had a great time, and have every intention of returning next year.
I also got to meet some very nice people at the Martinsburg City Hospital emergency room.
I'll definitely be picking up a pair of these for next year.
I also got to meet some very nice people at the Martinsburg City Hospital emergency room.
I'll definitely be picking up a pair of these for next year.
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Continuing on...
After leaving the track and towing the Blue Flame back to the hotel, we unloaded the car from the trailer and convoyed over to the car wash for a quick clean-up before the afternoon show. Then we lined up for the police escort to the showfield.
Still no sign of Mark... his car sits in the parking lot.
Literally minutes before departure, I heard the call for tools and found that Sharon's car had shredded the serpentine belt and there was nearly nothing left of the belt. I grabbed a 1/2" breaker bar out of the Blue Flame and Joe managed to have a spare belt. In 3 minutes flat, we had the belt changed and was ready to roll. You can see the surgery in progress in the pic below...
The police led the convoy to the showfield a couple miles out of town and the lineup was formed. Mark finally closed ranks and found his way to the showfield and joined the group. :wave:
(The Cougar on the trailer had grenaded the rear end at the track that morning!)
The caterers had the meal ready minutes after arrival and we barely had time to do final touch-ups before sitting down to eat. After enjoying a great lunch, we mingled while the cars were being judged. Seven Lincolns joined the ranks of the Thunderbirds and SuperCoupes of the MAMN12 club.
My two Gen1s were joined by used-to-be-Chris's convertible which now belonged to the Shermanator!
The Gen2s were represented by Joe, Sharon, Rene and Mark.
The awards ceremony soon started and everyone settled in the pavilion. Seems someone had a birthday...
... and the entire gang couldn't resist the chance to have cake and poke a little fun... at yours truly.
The trophy presentations proceeded and special presentations were made. Sharon picked up the "Furthest Distance" award (despite Joe's argument he had actually traveled the furthest). Rene's LSC and Sherman's convertible placed in the Mark VIII class and the Blue Flame ran the table with 1st in the Mark VIII class, Best Engine and Best of Show! Then I was also presented with a 'LifeTime Hall of Fame Award' (certainly a special commemoration from a great group I won't soon forget).
So by now, everyone is calling me "old man" and "trophy whore".
So we proceeded to drive back to the hotel and stopped to get some "refreshments" and gas. Somehow we got separated from Rene and Drill Bit and we waited several anxious minutes in the parking lot for their arrival. After trying to reach them on the cell phone, we finally spotted them rolling into the parking lot from the highway. It was quickly apparent something was amiss as the white '96 rolled up and began to spit steam and puke coolant as we waved at them to shut it down! Apparently as we would soon find out, the cooling fan had quit and the car began to quickly overheat as it came off the highway into traffic just as it arrived to the hotel. After finding the apparent cause to be a blown fuse, we replaced the fuse and added coolant (thanks to Rene for two trips to the parts store!) and began the painstaking process of purging air from the system. With the new fuse, the fan appeared to work although it seemed to be making a funny noise at times. We would fill the reservoir, crack the cap to allow air to escape and watch coolant go down and repeated the process several times.
Joe meanwhile had managed to find a way to be a walking bar...
By now it was getting late and calls of hunger were beginning to be heard, so I parked the car to leave it cool and drink coolant.
A large group of us decided to try out an Italian Eatery within walking distance and managed to have an enjoyable meal and conversation. Of course, the gang couldn't resist eating cake one more time so they had enlightened the staff that a certain somebody was celebrating their birthday! LOL
We went back to the parking lot for some more comraderie with the T-bird folks. We then loaded the Blue Flame on the trailer in preparation for the following morning (which was fast approaching). I then decided to check out the condition of the '96 one more time. I was going to drive around the parking lot and try to build some heat in the engine when Mark decided to ride along to critique the sound system in the car. We couldn't get the engine temps up in the parking lot enough to determine if the system had any more air in it so we took it out on the street for a couple blocks. The engine temps went up and then came back down displaying the tell-tale sign of still having air in the cooling system.
So I pulled back in the parking lot underneath a light to be able to see the coolant level in the reservoir, popped the hood latch and proceeded to exit the car. When Mark got out I heard the door shut and a loud expletive! Apparently, somehow as he exited the passenger side and shut the door, the car door had managed to smash the end of one of his fingers! The end of his finger literally exploded, blood going everywhere. Someone scrambled for paper towels (both for his injury and to clean blood from the car) as he anguished in pain. The next few minutes were somewhat chaotic (but I managed to top off the coolant tank and park the car while everyone tried to decide who was the most sober to take Mark to the hospital to have his wound attended to).
Mark had decided to drive himself and Rene offered to escort him riding shotgun. After a while a couple others joined them and I decided it was time to retire for the night. After all, we did have racing in the morning!
To be continued...
After leaving the track and towing the Blue Flame back to the hotel, we unloaded the car from the trailer and convoyed over to the car wash for a quick clean-up before the afternoon show. Then we lined up for the police escort to the showfield.
Still no sign of Mark... his car sits in the parking lot.
Literally minutes before departure, I heard the call for tools and found that Sharon's car had shredded the serpentine belt and there was nearly nothing left of the belt. I grabbed a 1/2" breaker bar out of the Blue Flame and Joe managed to have a spare belt. In 3 minutes flat, we had the belt changed and was ready to roll. You can see the surgery in progress in the pic below...
The police led the convoy to the showfield a couple miles out of town and the lineup was formed. Mark finally closed ranks and found his way to the showfield and joined the group. :wave:
(The Cougar on the trailer had grenaded the rear end at the track that morning!)
The caterers had the meal ready minutes after arrival and we barely had time to do final touch-ups before sitting down to eat. After enjoying a great lunch, we mingled while the cars were being judged. Seven Lincolns joined the ranks of the Thunderbirds and SuperCoupes of the MAMN12 club.
My two Gen1s were joined by used-to-be-Chris's convertible which now belonged to the Shermanator!
The Gen2s were represented by Joe, Sharon, Rene and Mark.
The awards ceremony soon started and everyone settled in the pavilion. Seems someone had a birthday...
... and the entire gang couldn't resist the chance to have cake and poke a little fun... at yours truly.
The trophy presentations proceeded and special presentations were made. Sharon picked up the "Furthest Distance" award (despite Joe's argument he had actually traveled the furthest). Rene's LSC and Sherman's convertible placed in the Mark VIII class and the Blue Flame ran the table with 1st in the Mark VIII class, Best Engine and Best of Show! Then I was also presented with a 'LifeTime Hall of Fame Award' (certainly a special commemoration from a great group I won't soon forget).
So by now, everyone is calling me "old man" and "trophy whore".
So we proceeded to drive back to the hotel and stopped to get some "refreshments" and gas. Somehow we got separated from Rene and Drill Bit and we waited several anxious minutes in the parking lot for their arrival. After trying to reach them on the cell phone, we finally spotted them rolling into the parking lot from the highway. It was quickly apparent something was amiss as the white '96 rolled up and began to spit steam and puke coolant as we waved at them to shut it down! Apparently as we would soon find out, the cooling fan had quit and the car began to quickly overheat as it came off the highway into traffic just as it arrived to the hotel. After finding the apparent cause to be a blown fuse, we replaced the fuse and added coolant (thanks to Rene for two trips to the parts store!) and began the painstaking process of purging air from the system. With the new fuse, the fan appeared to work although it seemed to be making a funny noise at times. We would fill the reservoir, crack the cap to allow air to escape and watch coolant go down and repeated the process several times.
Joe meanwhile had managed to find a way to be a walking bar...
By now it was getting late and calls of hunger were beginning to be heard, so I parked the car to leave it cool and drink coolant.
A large group of us decided to try out an Italian Eatery within walking distance and managed to have an enjoyable meal and conversation. Of course, the gang couldn't resist eating cake one more time so they had enlightened the staff that a certain somebody was celebrating their birthday! LOL
We went back to the parking lot for some more comraderie with the T-bird folks. We then loaded the Blue Flame on the trailer in preparation for the following morning (which was fast approaching). I then decided to check out the condition of the '96 one more time. I was going to drive around the parking lot and try to build some heat in the engine when Mark decided to ride along to critique the sound system in the car. We couldn't get the engine temps up in the parking lot enough to determine if the system had any more air in it so we took it out on the street for a couple blocks. The engine temps went up and then came back down displaying the tell-tale sign of still having air in the cooling system.
So I pulled back in the parking lot underneath a light to be able to see the coolant level in the reservoir, popped the hood latch and proceeded to exit the car. When Mark got out I heard the door shut and a loud expletive! Apparently, somehow as he exited the passenger side and shut the door, the car door had managed to smash the end of one of his fingers! The end of his finger literally exploded, blood going everywhere. Someone scrambled for paper towels (both for his injury and to clean blood from the car) as he anguished in pain. The next few minutes were somewhat chaotic (but I managed to top off the coolant tank and park the car while everyone tried to decide who was the most sober to take Mark to the hospital to have his wound attended to).
Mark had decided to drive himself and Rene offered to escort him riding shotgun. After a while a couple others joined them and I decided it was time to retire for the night. After all, we did have racing in the morning!
To be continued...
Great narrative, Birthday Boy! Damn Chris for selling the vert before this meet, we were doomed. And I did end up driving further than Joe, round trip. It wasn't my fault that he drove THROUGH the meet area to go to your house and then back again.
That police escort was one of the coolest things ever. And the trip to the ER ended up being pretty entertaining, at least for Joe and I.
Oh, and I should nominate Rene as the most dependable and level headed LODer!
That police escort was one of the coolest things ever. And the trip to the ER ended up being pretty entertaining, at least for Joe and I.
Oh, and I should nominate Rene as the most dependable and level headed LODer!
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Rene
Lincoln Lady
A great bunch of people who made us "outsiders" feel welcome. Despite the fact that I got in late and my car wasn't yet 100%, I had a great time, and have every intention of returning next year.
I also got to meet some very nice people at the Martinsburg City Hospital emergency room.
I'll definitely be picking up a pair of these for next year.
Did you get "these" from Joe? He likes to pick up strange things at our meets now and then, and I do remember something involving a suit of armor ...
Rene
Lincoln Lady
We had a LOT of fun, and sure enjoyed the warm welcome! Planning to come back next year
Thanks!!!
Rene
Lincoln Lady
Great narrative, Birthday Boy! Damn Chris for selling the vert before this meet, we were doomed. And I did end up driving further than Joe, round trip. It wasn't my fault that he drove THROUGH the meet area to go to your house and then back again.
That police escort was one of the coolest things ever. And the trip to the ER ended up being pretty entertaining, at least for Joe and I.
Oh, and I should nominate Rene as the most dependable and level headed LODer!
The police escort was super-cool! Mark was ornery even in the ER, and it was really nice for Sharon and Joe to join us ... we all took good care of each other throughout the weekend! No LODer Left Behind!!
Thanks Mike.
The final chapter...
Saturday night brought rain and the group was to meet at the hotel parking lot in the morning to assess the weather and determine the plans for the day. I was out early to check on the coolant situation in the '96 and pickup some supplies from the local convenience store.
While topping off the coolant, I checked the fan and once again it was failing to run. With some coaxing it would run but after I shut off the car and tried to spin the fan, it was immediately apparent there was a problem. Rather than free wheeling as it should it was definitely dragging. Rather than risk any drama, I decided to park it and return to get it after the day of racing.
While we waited in the parking lot, showers began to fall dampening the spirits of many. We sent a couple scouts to head for the track and call back the results. It was a real probability the track would call off the event due to weather if the grassy pit area was too wet. Meanwhile more than a couple had decided to pull out and call an end to their weekend. Eventually, we received the call and the event was a go! The skies had actually began to clear as we headed out to the track and showfield.
Since we arrived much later than typical, no time was wasted getting the Blue Flame off the trailer, run through tech and changing the street tires for the track tires. One side was completed and we had just begun the other side when the announcer called our class to the lanes. In true Nascar pit crew fashion, the gang all helped get the tires changed over in near record time.
By this time we saw Bud and Penny had arrived and heard the other 'stragglers' had arrived as well and all were in place on the showfield side of the track.
After the first qualifying run I returned to the pit area and was greeted by frantic waving of arms and shouts of panic. Apparently I had the suspension too low for the fat drag tires and they had been literally rubbing the fenders! No biggie, a flip of the switch and a quick adjustment with the Asham8 and we were all good again. The same couldn't be said for the fender well trim however, but we quickly remedied that problem by simply removing the ragged rascals.
After a few minutes of mingling with the entire group, I happened to walk by the front of the car and heard something 'running'. Apparently with the distraction of the tires rubbing the fenders, I had inadvertently forgotten the cooling fan was still in over-ride and it had sucked the battery down! After a futile attempt with a jump box on the mini-racing battery, I decided to swap in the big battery which luckily I had put in the back of the Navi' bfore we departed home (just in case). With the battery swapped out, the car started right up but I discovered the cooling fan was not running! I had been having problems with the harness connection on occasion and thought that might have been the problem, but no luck this time. The announcer had called our class back to the lanes once again when I had the harness wrap undone and found a bad connection at a splice for the over-ride. A few moments later, the fan was running and off to the lanes we went. Phew!
After the second qualifying run, we seemed to have all the drama behind us, so it was just a matter of 'doing my thing' and enjoying the competition and the comraderie of everyone.
You can read all about the track action in the Track Times and Triumphs forum.
The final chapter...
Saturday night brought rain and the group was to meet at the hotel parking lot in the morning to assess the weather and determine the plans for the day. I was out early to check on the coolant situation in the '96 and pickup some supplies from the local convenience store.
While topping off the coolant, I checked the fan and once again it was failing to run. With some coaxing it would run but after I shut off the car and tried to spin the fan, it was immediately apparent there was a problem. Rather than free wheeling as it should it was definitely dragging. Rather than risk any drama, I decided to park it and return to get it after the day of racing.
While we waited in the parking lot, showers began to fall dampening the spirits of many. We sent a couple scouts to head for the track and call back the results. It was a real probability the track would call off the event due to weather if the grassy pit area was too wet. Meanwhile more than a couple had decided to pull out and call an end to their weekend. Eventually, we received the call and the event was a go! The skies had actually began to clear as we headed out to the track and showfield.
Since we arrived much later than typical, no time was wasted getting the Blue Flame off the trailer, run through tech and changing the street tires for the track tires. One side was completed and we had just begun the other side when the announcer called our class to the lanes. In true Nascar pit crew fashion, the gang all helped get the tires changed over in near record time.
By this time we saw Bud and Penny had arrived and heard the other 'stragglers' had arrived as well and all were in place on the showfield side of the track.
After the first qualifying run I returned to the pit area and was greeted by frantic waving of arms and shouts of panic. Apparently I had the suspension too low for the fat drag tires and they had been literally rubbing the fenders! No biggie, a flip of the switch and a quick adjustment with the Asham8 and we were all good again. The same couldn't be said for the fender well trim however, but we quickly remedied that problem by simply removing the ragged rascals.
After a few minutes of mingling with the entire group, I happened to walk by the front of the car and heard something 'running'. Apparently with the distraction of the tires rubbing the fenders, I had inadvertently forgotten the cooling fan was still in over-ride and it had sucked the battery down! After a futile attempt with a jump box on the mini-racing battery, I decided to swap in the big battery which luckily I had put in the back of the Navi' bfore we departed home (just in case). With the battery swapped out, the car started right up but I discovered the cooling fan was not running! I had been having problems with the harness connection on occasion and thought that might have been the problem, but no luck this time. The announcer had called our class back to the lanes once again when I had the harness wrap undone and found a bad connection at a splice for the over-ride. A few moments later, the fan was running and off to the lanes we went. Phew!
After the second qualifying run, we seemed to have all the drama behind us, so it was just a matter of 'doing my thing' and enjoying the competition and the comraderie of everyone.
You can read all about the track action in the Track Times and Triumphs forum.
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Epilogue...
At the end of an afternoon of racing, we loaded the Blue Flame on the trailer and packed the Navigator. The group decided to meet for dinner at a local restaurant next to the host hotel.
Since I had decided to leave the white car at a friend's house and return with the trailer the following weekend, when we arrived at the hotel it was a quick unload and reload of the trailer before dinner. I didn't want to chance driving the car across the mountains for 3 hours with a questionable cooling fan.
The final gathering was a lot of fun and wouldn't you know it, there was a birthday cake at the end of it! (These people must like cake or something. LOL)
After the meal, we mingled in the parking lot a while and was harrassed by a cop a bit before we broke up and bid farewell to everyone. Joe followed us out to drop off the '96 and then returned with us to the hotel to pick up the Blue Flame. We then parted ways as he headed North and we departed West towards home. We finally made it home about 2:30 AM totally exhausted.
I think I summed it up best at the picnic, "This is the bestest birthday I've ever had."
Thanks to Mike, Sharon, Brad, Rene, Bud, Penny, Joe and Mark for coming out and helping me celebrate. It was simply great to see everyone again and I really, really appreciate you being there. And a special thanks to all my MN12 friends for everything, they are just a great group of guys and gals.
I hope everyone who attended enjoyed the weekend, I know I did and I certainly look forward to do it again next year and I hope you all do as well. Perhaps we can find a way to entice others to come out next year and play too! :wave:
Don't forget the pics and some video in my photo albums.
At the end of an afternoon of racing, we loaded the Blue Flame on the trailer and packed the Navigator. The group decided to meet for dinner at a local restaurant next to the host hotel.
Since I had decided to leave the white car at a friend's house and return with the trailer the following weekend, when we arrived at the hotel it was a quick unload and reload of the trailer before dinner. I didn't want to chance driving the car across the mountains for 3 hours with a questionable cooling fan.
The final gathering was a lot of fun and wouldn't you know it, there was a birthday cake at the end of it! (These people must like cake or something. LOL)
After the meal, we mingled in the parking lot a while and was harrassed by a cop a bit before we broke up and bid farewell to everyone. Joe followed us out to drop off the '96 and then returned with us to the hotel to pick up the Blue Flame. We then parted ways as he headed North and we departed West towards home. We finally made it home about 2:30 AM totally exhausted.
I think I summed it up best at the picnic, "This is the bestest birthday I've ever had."
Thanks to Mike, Sharon, Brad, Rene, Bud, Penny, Joe and Mark for coming out and helping me celebrate. It was simply great to see everyone again and I really, really appreciate you being there. And a special thanks to all my MN12 friends for everything, they are just a great group of guys and gals.
I hope everyone who attended enjoyed the weekend, I know I did and I certainly look forward to do it again next year and I hope you all do as well. Perhaps we can find a way to entice others to come out next year and play too! :wave:
Don't forget the pics and some video in my photo albums.
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Thank you Drillers for the hospitality. We had a great time, and this is an event I definitely want to do again next year. It's a lot of fun (although a lot of stuff crammed into a short time period) and it's comparatively cheap for a meet which includes a lot of racing. Plus, there was no way I was getting up early after being up til 4AM tormenting Mark (and the doctors, nurses and security guards) the night before.
Here's a montage I put together of the car show from Summer Blast 9...
http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=bcbc020e1c368abf85b562&skin_id=1603&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url
Enjoy!
http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=bcbc020e1c368abf85b562&skin_id=1603&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url
Enjoy!