Dox Recap of the 2010 Route 66 Rally

[Doc1647545523]

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.

Edited May 24, 2010 by Doc

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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

Edited May 23, 2010 by Doc

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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

Edited May 23, 2010 by Doc

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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.

Edited May 23, 2010 by Doc

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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.

Edited May 24, 2010 by Doc

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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.

Edited May 24, 2010 by Doc

[Doc1647545523]

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?

Edited May 26, 2010 by Doc

[Radio Flyer1647545514]

Looks like a fun time so far and a lot of cool cars in there. Looking forward to more of the story.

[cinergi]

Thanks for the write up and pictures, I can't wait to see the rest!

 

Congrats on such a great run!! I am definitely going to have to sign up in the future!!

[MrMeanGreen]

I'm loving the biography. Thanks Doc

[Moostang]

was curious about how this would go. And gives me something to read on this sunday night.

[Farkas]

I also, would really like to emphasize how well Seth and Richard did in their Omni. Honestly, Every time Doc and I thought we lost them, they managed to catch up to us.. SOMEHOW.

 

I really had a blast on this entire trip.

[nurkvinny]

Thanks for the write up! I honestly think seeing the landmarks on 66 would reduce me to tears.

 

You know, in a car guy type of way...

[jeffro]

Doc, Farkas, Seth, Richard, and Ryan, i had an Amazing time over the past few days with you guys. There was nothing more satisfying than beating the time officials to the end of each days leg. Also, Team cobalt took about 200 pictures throughout our journey.

My apologies if this is thread shitting, but i figured it would be a good place for it.

Our entire photo collection can be found here: http://picasaweb.google.com/mudcrutch/Route66Rally2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCNOSyeHhrLvmXQ#

 

Awesome Write up Doc!

Edited May 24, 2010 by jeffro

[2 Sweet]

Awesome! Congrats to you all and thanks for the recap, that was a great read

[TTQ B4U]

Great write up Doc! Looks like it was a great time. I could kick myself for not getting in on this. In fact I will Would love to plan for this next year.

[Fiji ST]

Nice job Doc. Looks like a great time.

[unfunnyryan]

Damn. This is something I would love to do.

 

Do you have to stop and sleep? I don't think I've ever mentioned the time a friend and I went to florida nonstop, and we did a driver swap while driving(). Neither of us have ever been pulled over either, so I think we could fare well.

 

Good job on winning it though!

[jeffro]

Damn. This is something I would love to do.

 

Do you have to stop and sleep? I don't think I've ever mentioned the time a friend and I went to florida nonstop, and we did a driver swap while driving(). Neither of us have ever been pulled over either, so I think we could fare well.

 

Good job on winning it though!

 

each morning you were given a set of checkpoints you had to find then make it to the next hotel. you dont know what they are until the day begins, generally around 9am.

 

so if you continued driving past the hotels, it would not be of any use.

[1fynz]

Wow, that's awesome! Sucks when whiney people try to ruin everything! Id love to do this someday, as well!

[Mr. Jones]

Wow,

 

Excellent write up Doc. I sure hope this happens again next year. I can't believe how immature the others teams were, especially with that disqualification shit. Hard to believe grown men found time to find "evidence" and go forward with it, way to ruin the spirit of a fun event.

[darksrt4]

Doc great write up! I am glad you all made it home safe and sound.

I am working to fix the boost, wipers, overheating, shifter linkage, and a door handle or two this week.

 

I hope to see you all at the up coming cr track days.

 

I can't say how appetitive my brother and I are of you Doc. We had a great time!

[Buckeye1647545503]

Hmm Who want ro co-drive next year? I am in since it looks like I am not gonna make the power tour this year I saw the post about this when it first got made but I figured like alot of cr stuff it whould never happen, I realy wish I whould have known I whould have been there for sure

[ImUrOBGYN]

Sounds like a blast. Good job representing guys.

[Stoopid Hipster]

sounds like fun I want to do the next one! and got to say it but I think I did a pretty good job ricing out the merc with the stickers considering the only other time Iv done anything like that was a windshield banner lol the car looks sooo good shoot me a text when your in town and I'll strip it down for some more ice cream