Doc1647545523

Nice find, Derek. This is the vehicle which should be Dover's next vehicle. As much as I like my Tundra, part of me wishes I had spent the extra and gone back to diesel.

My guess is that your parents have, over the years, given you many, many dangerous toys .......

I usually don't share this type of personal information on a public forum, but it's obvious that some of you lames need some serious help in the grooming department. Here it is: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/2040_1a_1.jpg Product Description A couple of dabs of this stuff and people will think you’re Snake Pliskin. Sure, you might think you’re studly, but if you hop off your steed and swagger into a joint (preferably with beard stubble and a sneer…) and smell like a field of synthetic daisies, well… you ain’t no manly-man. Ordinary cologne and scented soaps cover up that raw, manly scent. This stuff enhances it. It’s a scientific fact that real manly-men ingest cigars and booze 24 hours a day, so if you don’t (and shouldn’t) this stuff makes you smell like you do. Contains tobacco and hard whiskey smells and is a heck of a lot better for you than the real thing. 1 oz spray bottle.

Fixed 4U, buddy.

Beautiful morning for a bike ride.

Hmmm. Full moon rising at 10 p.m. and still 73 degrees then....all sorts of ghastly creatures will be drawn out of their domiciles to prowl the pikes tonight.

Today should be clearing and and the track will be dry for tonight if they miss the 30% chance of pop-up afternoon thundershowers. Who all's in?

Perhaps CR can host a rally of sorts on Route 66 this coming year, or even this fall. :woowoo: If it is kept within just CR & friends, it is much easier to put on than a public event would be. Also, I think that having competitions other than speed would be a good idea. I could imagine doing events that would interest families/kids, would be more of an adventure of discovery along the old Route, and could be customized during the day to fit different goals/interests and then have a common family dinner together with some drinking and storytelling later for the adults (after the kiddies' bedtimes). It can be a 3-5 day thing on Route 66 -- it doesn't have to entail a week or more. Cost would be food/gas/lodging plus a very small fee to buy swag and trophies. I think it would be fun to even do some riding/driving in different members' cars. There's a lot to see and a lot to learn along old 66 ..... why not do it with a group of friends? And if you parents are thinking that it would be difficult to get your kids to take any interest in old Route 66, consider the possibility that they might already know more about it than you do. If they're like most kids, they've got every Disney/Pixar movie memorized and already have these images burned into their cerebral cortices: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrVARbSHLGg And the Route 66 myth as recounted in Cars is pulled right out of the reality still evident on the old Route: http://rwarn17588.wordpress.com/2006/06/09/a-route-66-guide-to-the-cars-movie/ If not a CR Rally, consider driving it at least for a vacation.

Here is the link where the basic info appears for major North American rallies: http://www.rallynorthamerica.com/ Once the Skyline Drive/BlueRidge Parkway website is activated, I'm sure Spieldawg will post a link on CR as well.

So pithy, yet so eloquent. + rep

From what I understand, this will be an annual event. The plan for 2011 is to have the event on Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway.

Oops, did I forget to mention something? Ah, yes. I did. The CR rookies won it all! :whistle: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/trophycloseups.jpg Four piston trophies are awarded for the East Coast starters, four for the West Coast. Seth and Richard in their Omni, had the fastest time overall. They also won the 2nd leg and were in a 3-way tie for the third. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/RichardSethwithtrophy.jpg Ryan and Jeff had the 2nd place for the second leg, but were awarded the prize because of a disqualification. They also tied for 1st place on leg 3. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/jeffandryanwithtrophy.jpg Farkas and I tied for first place on the 3rd leg, and we had 2nd best time overall, but were awarded the prize due to disqualification of the fastest team. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Farkasmewithtrophy.jpg So, out of the four piston trophies for the East Coast, the three CR teams took 3 of the 4. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/carswithtrophies.jpg Believe it or not, one of the whiny little ho teams had it in for our champions, Team Omni, Seth and Richard, from the time they took the lead on Day 1. I guess there's something that sticks in your craw when you shittalk online for months about how your blazing fast car is going to dominate an event and then along comes two rookies in a broken Omni who hand you your head on a plate. Well, by the rules, any team can disqualify another with video proof of speeding or a traffic violation. Team Whiny (themselves a major offender) invoked the rule and got Team Omni disqualified. I can't blame the officials, the rules are the rules, and one team was forcing their hand. Well, everyone in the room knew that Richard and Seth won the race fair and square and with the fastest times. It took no discussion on our parts. We awarded Richard and Seth the overall winner's trophy which they clearly deserved. Richard and Seth had been given a t-shirt for being disqualified, and Seth took no time in modding it appropriately: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/disqualified.jpg CR did it safely and courteously, maybe bent a traffic rule here and there, but kept it safe and brought it home. They were good sportsmen and were the gentlemen of the group IMO. I think they earned the respect of those who were the real rally enthusiasts and earned the scorn of a few wannabes. And, that's kinda the Columbus Racing way, ain't it?

The Results A lot of excitement and fun times were had for very little dough. We saw lots of the U.S. go by our windows, and almost everyone plans to go back through and spend some more time at places we passed through. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Arch.jpg The Benz made it seem like an armchair adventure: climate control on, smooth ride, seat coolers and back massage turned "on." It made it without a hiccup, got better mileage than most of the cars there (average 19 mpg for the trip), and gave any Team Wannabe something to hate http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/thumbsdownmercedes.jpg On the last night, in Amarillo, Farkas noticed a low tire on the Benz, and sure enough, a pothole in OK had taken its toll: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/wheel.jpg Air pressure was 12 lbs, so we spent the whole trip back putting air in the tire every 2 hrs. to make it home. I'll be visiting Wheel Medic when I'm back in Ohio Thursday (yes, I'm back on the road again tonight). The Benz is in its little house now, smiling a buggy smile from fender to fender http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/benzathome.jpg CR did itself proud. Seth & Richard proved that it's the team that makes the rally, not how much you spend on your wheels. I'm sure a lot of blogs aren't mentioning how they were outdone by an old Omni. Seth & Richard, you're true sportsmen with a lot of balls. Kudos to you. Jeff was no slouch himself and went from not knowing what a rally was two weeks ago to being the ultimate rally contender. He and Ryan were a quick study in how to win. By the end of day one, they were fully outfitted: GPS, I-Phone, Droid, walkie-talkie, radar detector, binoculars http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/gearondash.jpg They drove safely and well, cunningly outwitting the rally pros, and were fine companionship for the week. Many thanks, friends. Farkas, well, what can I say. You navigated perfectly, you drove when I was tired, and except for wanting me to mount an oil cooler in front of the bumper, you were right about everything. And no one scans the road surface ahead as well as you, although you didn't need to swerve for every little pebble. All in all, a once in a lifetime trip. I recommend it to all.

The Participants (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly) I can't say enough good about the organizer of the event, Scott Spielman (Spieldawg on CR). He and his wife are wonderful, generous, friendly people who put many hours into planning and orchestrating this event which covered 2500 miles. If you've ever tried to plan a CR event for 50 people and one location, you can appreciate just how hard it is to organize something on this scale, coordinating recruitment of teams, manufacture of the decals, putting up the website, getting newpaper coverage, mapping the checkpoints, arranging the lodging and food, and keeping all the records, money and times straight. Scott, you're tops! :thumbup: The majority of participants were terrific, too: car people out to have a good time, learn about each other's rides, show off what they've done to theirs, and discover new roads. I made some friends and really enjoyed talking and listening to stories from a cameraman, reality TV folks, veteran rally goers, and other newbies like myself. Of course, there are always going to be a few less-enjoyable people to be around, and if you plan on rallying with strangers, I suggest you try extra hard to be tolerant of differences. Pranks and shit-talking are all part of the package, and there's nothing wrong with that. But a few times I felt like I was an adult supervising a group of 10 year olds playing Capture the Flag. For example, one team (Team Goat) had an inflatable goat which they had all the teams sign. Cool. But another participant, who didn't like them, arranged to have the mascot stolen and when confronted by Team Goat, things got pretty nasty (and this was in a public restaurant). One team decided to toilet paper another team's car, but they didn't stop there; they tp'd the Big Texan Motel. At 6 a.m. the maintenance people were outside cleaning the mess up (wind was blowing hard) and they didn't feel that it was such a cute idea. It's an historic landmark, guys! I thought to myself that it was good that they were in a hurry at the Lincoln Tomb landmark, or else they might have decided to spray paint their team name on the Tomb! :doh: There were a few shittalkers of note. One guy, learning that Seth's Viper had been totaled just before the rally, told him, "Too bad. I was planning on getting a piece of your car." Mr. Hollywood Bull Run (not aware I was nearby) walked up to my car at the finish and said to his groupies, "What's the story on this piece of shit?" Hmmm. Well let me give you the visual, Mr. Hollywood: You're cruising down the highway, confident that you've out-distanced the competition. You're mentally working on your victory remarks when you notice something appear in the rear view mirror: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/benzinmirror2.jpg In a split second, it's much larger: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/benzinmirror3.jpg You don't hear any sound, but after another second, you're seeing the back of my car out ahead of you: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/benzspeedingaway.jpg That's the story on my "piece of shit" car. Of course, this conversation only happened in my mind. I simply walked away. But there were a few other teams rather miffed that 3 rookie teams from CR were making them look not so good. On their websites before the rally, they were all about how they modded their cars to really smoke the competition. Their blogs completely changed to a "hey, we're just taking in all the scenery, we're not trying to compete" tone after they got lost a few times and ended up an hour behind the leaders. And of course the rumor mill started. After leg one, it was in an internet blog that I was going 160 mph. :bs: Learn to judge speed, lads. The three rookie CR teams were all advised that we were causing increased attention by the local law enforcement authorities because we must have been driving so fast to finish ahead of the pack. This made it hard for the other teams to speed. Hmmm. Some of the other ricers with their loud cars, covered in race decals, light bar on top, doing burnouts from the parking lot, weaving in and out of heavy traffic, and making illegal U-turns on the highway weren't causing any attention, whereas an Omni, a Cobalt, and a Benz courteously cruising the highway caused all their problems? :gtfo: There were some other whiny little bitches who needed slapped but you get the picture. You just have to bite your tongue and move on. One team, from a performance business, bragged about their hot car. Their blog was pretty short the day they got stopped for 70 in a 45 zone. Their explanation? "We got confused about how the speed limit on the road kept changing ... we weren't in a hurry." The cop felt bad and let them off with a warning. Their blog failed to mention that they were disqualified from the rally because of the patrol stop.

The checkpoints we had to find were mostly along the old Route 66 alignment. Sometimes this was 4-lane, sometimes 2, sometimes the original road was just a frontage road, sometimes it was preserved as "Historic Route." In places, the original roadway no longer exists and has been reclaimed as private land. One of these days I'll write a little CR version of Route 66 history and post it as a thread. Suffice it now to say that the trip was informative and fun. Some of the old "improved" but no longer used roadway: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/old66grade.jpg which lead to this checkpoint, the Elbow Inn Bar, in continuous operation since 1929 (Jeffro smiles for the camera, proving that his team found the checkpoint): http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/jeffroindriverseat.jpg The Ambler-Becker Texaco, which operated for 66 continuous years until 1999 http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/benzattexaco.jpg Memory Lane, a one mile stretch of Route 66 dedicated in 1926 but now only open to foot traffic http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/benzonmemorylane.jpg The Tower Station and U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/benzatconoco.jpg Route 66 has numerous museums. This one in Elk City, OK, was a checkpoint http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/benzwithbig66sign.jpg Other checkpoints were more urban, such as Lincoln's Tomb, in the middle of Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, IL.

http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/scionatmotel6.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/GTO.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/silvercobra.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Slopala.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Slopalafront.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/stangatbigtexan.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/teamrapto.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/whitevette.jpg Each night we stayed in inexpensive motels along the historic route. This kept the total lodging expenses low (average total $50 per room, or $25/person) and also gave us the flavor of what travel was like along old Route 66. The final night was at the Big Texan, famous for their "Free-if-you-can-eat-it-in-an-hour" 72 oz. steak. A few team members tried but failed. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/bigtexansign.jpg

The Other Teams There was a lot of variety among the participants. None of us from CR had ever been in a rally before. Many of the other teams were hardcore enthusiasts, Bull Run teams from TV, Bull Run groupies, and other car guys. 30 states and Canada were represented. This fellow (Jay) tried it in a dune buggy, but didn't make it because of numerous mechanical issues. It was a shame, because he was a very funny guy: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/buggyfront.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/buggyback.jpg This father/son team from Maine found a pool of gear oil beneath their Mini on the starting day and had to make repairs to get off to a late start: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/mini.jpg This team was really in it to win it. Latest tech gadgets, "MOVE OVER" windshield sticker, and notice the police light bar on the roof: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/lightbar.jpg Some of the others in the field: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/bluecobra.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/BMW.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/cantdrive55.jpg A Canadian father/son team decided to run the route as tourists and stopped at each historic site for photographs. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Canadiansubbie.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/carstogetheratbigtexan.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/challenger.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/evo.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/redstang.jpg

Well, we’re all home safe and sound from the 2010 Route 66 Rally and here’s the recap and photos I promised when I was out on the road. This is my version of the story, and I’m sticking to it. Others can feel free to add, correct, or disagree. Photos are by Farkas, Mudcrutch, and me. Editing was quick & dirty, so blame me for the rough condition of the photos. What it was This road rally was the brainchild of CR member Scott Spielman (Spieldawg on CR) who did a terrific job of conceiving, promoting, organizing, and running the event. The link with the event background is http://www.route662010.com He invited CR members to join other car enthusiasts in a 3 day rally along historic US Route 66. For those of you not familiar with the rally concept, essentially each day the teams (team = one car, driver & navigator) are giving a list of check points to locate, drive to, photograph evidence of their presence, then depart for the next check point. Team departures and their arrivals at the finish are closely timed, and each day has a winning team based on shortest elapsed time. Tickets and/or unsafe driving get you disqualified if another team shows evidence. This rally was unique in several ways. Unlike other rallies with a single start and stop, this one had a group of 30 teams starting from Route 66 Speedway in Joliet, IL and heading west on Route 66 while another group of 21 teams started from Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA, and headed east. We all met halfway in Amarillo, TX. Also, this rally didn't cost tens of thousands of dollars such as the Bull Run does. The entry was just $100 to cover the cost of the car decals. Sponsorship money all went to the Stefanie Spielman Breast Cancer Research Fund at OSU. Perhaps you recall that Stefanie's 11 year battle against breast cancer ended last year. Her husband, OSU linebaker and NFL great Chris Spielman continues Spefanie's charity work. Rallies have a lot of competition and shenanigans during the day, then they usually end in the afternoon with storytelling and drinking around dinner and into the evening. The Teams Three CR teams took up the challenge. In this photo they are (left to right): Jeff (Jeffro) and Ryan (Mudcrutch) who were Team Cobalt Andy (Farkas) of Team Mercedes Seth (DarkSRT4) and his brother Richard who were Team Omni and myself at the far right, Team Mercedes http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/cherokeeinn.jpg Seth's Viper was totaled just before the race, so he and his brother decided to go hard core and bring their GLH Dodge Omni and show us all that you don't need some expensive rally car to be competitive. The car had only two working door handles, no a/c, and overheated if driven over 80 even with the heater on full. They put Rain-X on the windshild every day because the wipers didn't operate. They had no GPS, radar detector, or CB radio, just maps and a pair of binoculars. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/omni.jpg Team Cobalt drove Ryan's pristine Cobalt SS http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Cobaltatraceway.jpg And Team Mercedes took my '05 SL600 http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Benzatraceway.jpg The event was professionally video'd by Mob Theory Productions who do numerous events such as the Bull Run on Speed Channel. The cameraman, TJ, was very cool to be around and had some great stories from the behind-the-scenes of various Speed Channel events.

We're now in Amarillo, TX, with the third and final leg of the Rally completed. Results and awards won't be announced until tonight. However, at this morning's start, the three CR teams were held back to late in the start because we were beating the time officials to the finish! Despite starting behind the rest of the pack, CR got to the finish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd today. Seth and his brother arrived directly in front of Farkas and me, then Jeff & Ryan arrived about 15 seconds later. The next team didn't arrive for another 20 minutes. The CR teams had no tickets or major problems. Other teams had some major mechanical issues and legal problems along the way. The organizers are going to have to sort-out all the times and disqualifications before tonight, and then they'll make the awards. Right now we're meeting the West Coast bunch who started from California and we're making plans for tonight's Bacchanalia. I can't post photos from here but will put together a short recap and slideshow after we're back in Ohio. It's been a blast so far. Hats off to Scott (Spieldawg) for making the thread inviting us to this Rally. :thumbup:

This is the first blog post I've seen from any of the participants. Seems I must have passed Team Camaro a bit fast: http://blog.cardomain.com/2010/05/20/team-camaro-firstleg-of-the-route-66-rally/

The 3 CR teams competing in the rally are all in Tulsa and everyone's having a blast so far. Official times for the legs of the rally are not being released yet, but here is what I know so far: Arrival order for day 1. CR arrived 1st, 2nd, and 6th out of 25 teams Day 2 we arrived 1st, 2nd, and 3rd! I can't post photos from my phone, but I'm sure someone will get a few up soon.

Team Mercedes is checked into the starting motel in Joliet ..... awaiting the arrival of the obviously slower CR teams. We're in room 240.

We leave Tuesday for Joliet and the Rally kicks off on Wednesday morning

I hate to low-ball ya, but would you consider 929,000.00? It's not the color I like, so for starters I'd have to have it painted.

Many thanks to Eman and Steve for coming by the garage and helping get the Benz "riced" for the Rally. :thumbup: