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Dixie Racing: Dedicated to Old Speedsters,
Cold Beer, Vintage Porsches, and lots of BenGay. . . .

27 June 2008
WARNING! TRAGIC TALE AHEAD!! NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!
Sigh. I'm reminded of Charles Dickens. . . It was the best of times
and it was the worst of times. Mostly worst. In the final day of competition, the good news was that nobody died,
most of our leg scores were below 5 seconds, and we didn't hit the horse in the road. The bad news is we suck.
We got lost. Yep, good 'ol Dixie Racing took a right turn onto Rural Route DD when we should've gone straight.
Ouch! We didn't figure it out until the road ended and turned to gravel (a BIG rally no-no). We were 15 minutes
down the road, and by the time we got back on course we were 30 mintues late. 30 minutes!! That's a life time
in a sport that measures victory and defeat in seconds.
The speedster hauled a** and we made up some of the time, but still clocked in 13 minutes late
on leg three. The max late penalty is 2 minutes, so our day was done.
Leg 1: 2 sec early
Leg 2: 4 sec early
Leg 3: 2 MINUTES late
Leg 4: 2 sec late
Leg 5: 6 sec late
Leg 6: 3 sec early
Leg 7: 5 sec late
RECAP: My final thoughts -
Rallying in a vintage car is fun. It's more fun when you do well and don't suck.
The cars are cool but people still make the event. We had fun with Ed and Brenda, Charlie
and Jane, Gary and JeanAnn. Thanks guys! And we missed Bill and Terry a lot. Thanks Joe for hanging out
in the rain with me. . .
VCRA puts on a great rally. The clover-leaf format is logistically simple and the days
end up being shorter. Will I do it again? Yep - you bet. However, hanging out in the same location for a
week does not carry the same epic sense of adventure and accomplishment that travelling cross country does. There is
no sense of, "To finish is to win." I kinda missed that sense of accomplishing something heroic.
This was Dixie racing's last rally for 2008. See ya in 2009!
At the end of the rally our final position was 41st out of 55 cars (29th
in class) Ouch. Life has some tough lessons.
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26 June 2008
Tonight I'm keeping it short and sweet. We had an okay day.
The weather was beautiful (no rain!), the sights were scenic, the car ran outstanding, our scores were okay. Charlie,
thanks for saving my cookies by picking up my camera (actually my daughter's camera).
As it stands tonight, the rally results through Stage 4, we're 27th out of 55. That may not seem good, but this is our
fifth rally ever and we're running in Gold Cup class (senior veterans). If we were running it Silver cup, we'd
be 1st in class right now, so I can't feel too bad.
Leg 1: 5 late
Leg 2: 5 late
Leg 3: 12 late
Leg 4: 7 late
Leg 5: 1 late
Leg 6: 1 late
Adjusted score: 22.94 seconds
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25 June 2008
So-so news today. We had two really rough legs in the 30 second
range. But then again we had three great legs at 1 second each. Go figure. The top three excuses for the
poor legs include: 1) I missed a turn and had to backtrack. 2) I got caught in traffic and didn't
estimate the right correction. 3) I was supposed to increase my speed by 5 mph and at the critical moment couldn't
remember whether to step on the gas or brake. . . . (I stepped on the brake). Staring at a speedometer for
hours at a time makes you stupid.
A few thoughts: Thanks goodness for friends like Gary and Jean-Ann. So far they've
loaned us sun-glasses (mine broke when I took a rock to the eye!), a stop-watch, and cleaning supplies. The four corners
of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas are beautiful - very scenic. Lunch today was in Claremore, OK. They did a very nice job of feeding us; the t-shirts and coolers were
nice too! As we were fond of saying last year - our scores don't reflect the level
of fun we're having.
Leg 1: 3 late
Leg 2: 30 late
Leg 3: 1 late
Leg 4: 1 early
Leg 5: 32 late
Leg 6: 1 late
We finished 35th overall out of 55.
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24 June 2008
First the good news: no rain today and no accidents. Now the
bad news: our performance was sucky - the same as yesterday (and Sunday for that matter). Our problem is this:
Our speedometer calibration run indicates we're early, but our scores are coming in late. I'm not smart enought to know
why. The basic inputs are: driver's ability to hold speed + navigator's switchology + correction computations +
speedometer calibration. We may have issues with all of the above!
Lunch today was in Jopklin, MO and they did a SUPER job. The root beer floats were the
best. Our course took us through some areas that were struck by tornados a few weeks ago. The damage was horrific!
Houses torn apart, trees uprooted, etc. Looked like a war zone.
Leg 1: 19 late
Leg 2: 4 late
Leg 3: 11 late
Leg 4: 9 early
Leg 5: 1 late
Leg 6: 10 late
Leg 7: 3 late
Final score: 42.18 seconds - an ever so slight improvement on Monday. After
2 stages we're 35th overall out of 55.
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23 June 2008
Hello from Rogers, AR. It's Monday, June 23rd and the 2008 Hemmings
Challenge Vintage Car Rally is under way. A brief recap:
Saturday: Joe and I left Texas on Saturday morning and had an uneventful
drive to Rogers. The trip took about six hours including two stops. We checked into the hotel, ran the car through
technical inspection and registration, and met up with some old friends.
Sunday: We ran a practice rally to sort out any last minute details. The car is in
good shape but we had some minor details like bad batteries and a slight speedometer malfunction. Got everything fixed
up but were disappointed in our practice scores - not good, not bad, just in the middle.
Monday: The first day of competition. The three words that best describe today are:
rain, rain, and rain. The morning began with light showers. We got the car ready to go and started in the 40th
position (out of 55). By the time we got on the road, the rain REALLY started coming down. We were flying down
the road DRENCHED!! Then all heck broke loose. I couldn't see out of my googles - they were fogged up, Joe couldn't
write times and corrections on the instructions because they were soaked, and to top it off - our spiffy electronic stop-watch
quit working (not waterproof!!!). We lunched in Van Buren, AR and had a chance to dry off. Needless to say, we
weren't excited about our scores. . . and we were right:
Leg 1: 14 late
Leg 2: 9 late
Leg 3: 15 late
Leg 4: 10 late
Leg 5: 4 late
Leg 6: 6 late
Final score: 42.92 seconds which put us 28th out of 55. Sigh. We did fix a
bad ground on our fan and managed to buy a new stopwatch. Tomorrow is another day!
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June 2008
What happend to the time? It's 10 days before the Rogers' VCRA race
and we're getting last minute preparations completed. It's difficult to believe this is only our 5th rally. . . ever.
I haven't learned to relax the few weeks before a race. Maybe one gets used to it, but there always seems
to be too much to accomplish before departing for the race. I need to learn some inner peace a la Kung Fu Panda master
Oogway. We'll start daily blogs on 22 June abd let you know how the race proceeds. Cheers.
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10 April PM
What a crazy day. First Great Race 2008 is cancelled (postponed) and
now this: VCRA updated their final results. Dixie racing placed 2nd overall!!! Revised scores:
Day 1: 14.06 sec
Day 2: 10.36 sec
Day 3: 6.66 sec
total: 31.08 sec
Final Results: 2nd Place
We'll see you in Rogers, Arkansas in June. . . .
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10 April
Wow! The Great Race 2008 was cancelled (postponed) today. Weird!
This was the press release:
"Bill Ewing, CEO of Great Race Sports, regretfully informed participants
that the Great Race 2008: New York to Paris has been postponed as the approval to travel through China has been recalled and
the permits have been placed on hold."
Dixie Racing had planned on racing the first week and using the $10,000
credit we won last year, but I guess not now. Looks like we'll be going to Rogers, Arkansas in June with the VCRA.
Mojo is a strange thing. . .
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6 April 2008
VCRA's Bluebonnet Rally in San Marcos, TX is over. Dixie Racing ended
up placing 6th overall for the competition and we're pretty happy. We had an fantastic finish on Sunday, scoring a
6.66 sec day for 2nd place. Not bad bad for a couple of sophomores! In fact, I feel like a Junior Varsity ball
player who has played against a senior varsity team and done pretty well. The VCRA event didn't have a bunch of rookies
- these guys are the old-school-hardcore-pre-war rally guys. Who knew that nitorgen in the tires was so important?!?!
Go figure.
A few highlights from the weekend: 1) I pinched a nerve in my
back and was uncomfortable all weekend, squirming and fidgeting all the time. Joe said it was like racing with someone
with tourettes. Hey, at least I didn't cuss! 2) Nothing beats a good BBQ and the best we had all weekend was at Express
Barbecue Depot in Schulenburg. Awesome!, 3) We had two aces, so if I had been smart and signed up for dash-for-cash
instead of run-for-fun we would've won enough money to race all weekend for free. Sigh. Oh well. Thanks
to Rex, Charlie, Larry, Dick, and everyone else for a GREAT weekend. Recap:
Day 1: 28.86 sec (14th place)
Day 2: 10.36 sec (7th place)
Day 3: 6.66 sec (2nd place!!!)
Final Results: 6th Place
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5 April 2008
It's day two of VCRA's Bluebonnet Rally in San Marcos, TX. Let's recap:
We got down here on Thursday, April 3rd to tech and register. The trip was uneventful and
we were settled in pretty quickly.
Day 1: Our goal was to correct the lessons learned from Granbury. The day was successful
- communications was fixed, nitrogen in the tires solved our calibration issue, and I had replaced the starter before leaving
home. I also figured the shift points. Our day 1 scores weren't great, but they didn't totally suck:
Leg 1: 1 sec - early
Leg 2: 2 sec - late
Leg 3: 14 sec - early (Train delay)
Leg 4: 2 sec - late
Leg 5: 20 sec - early (brain-fart)
Day 2: Today we concentrated on execution (IE: driving & simple math) and had a GREAT
day. . . except for the missed shift and taking a wrong turn. The weather was beautiful and spring flowers were
in bloom, but there aren't a lot of bluebonnets out. What's the deal with that?
Leg 1: 2 sec - late
Leg 2: 2 sec - late
Leg 3: ACE!
Leg 4: 9 sec - early (missed shift)
Leg 5: 1 sec - late
Leg 6: 16 sec - late (missed turn)
Bottomline: After 2 days, we're 7th out of 23. Too bad we're not running for cash
:-0
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March 2008
Here's a quick re-cap of Great Race Texas 2008: overall an excellent time! It was
the first trial with the new speedster, which offers a TOTALLY different racing experience than the Porsches. Duhh!
Once Joe and I were shoe-horned into the car, it was actually not bad. I expected it to be more uncomfortable than it
was. The car is fast and handles like a tractor, which is always a fun combination. But it does beat you
up quite a bit - I felt like a WWI fighter pilot flying my Spad on patrol; the sun and wind beating against me. . . Cool!!
Day 1: Snow. Can you believe 9 inches of snow in Texas in March? Me either.
We scored a DNF - heck, we didn't leave my driveway until mid morning. We got to the hotel, teched, etc and
took the car out to get ready for the next day. . . . .and the starter failed. Humm, not a good start.
Day 2: After a push start (thanks guys) the car did GREAT. Joe and I are starting
from square-one and re-learning rallying in the new car. We finished mid-pack but to borrow a phrase from last
summer, "Our scores don't reflect the level of fun we're having."
Day 3: More of the same.
Conclusion: We need to recalibrate the speedo/tires. There is a big difference
between bias-ply and radial. We need a new starter. We new to fix our comm/head-set problems. And I need
to learn when to shift. Aside from that we're rerady for April and VCRA's Blue Bonnet rally in San Marcos. See
ya there!!!
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Feb 2008
We are retiring our old number 69 and will be racing under the number 5 for 2008
(and beyond). The #69 made sense when we campaigned a 1969 Porsche, but now it's just plan silly. People look
at you funny. Mothers hide their children. And teenage boys snicker. Plus, Joe was tired of women leaving
their telephone numbers on his clip board. . .
:-)
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Feb 2008
The 911T is still not sold but that hasn't stopped us from getting ready for the 2008
season. Right now, we're planning on Great Race Texas (March), Blue Bonnet Rally (April), and Great Race NA week one
(May/June). The '29 Ford Speedster pictured on the home page is our ride. It's scored as a '32 due to the flathead
V8 up front. If there is a drought in Texas this year, it's cuz Joe and I have already started praying for no rain.
. . . :-)
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Nov 2007
Here's my ad (sniff), I can't believe I have to sell this car (sniff):
1969 Porsche 911T - VIN: 119120875; burgundy with black interior. Good running, solid mechanicals, well sorted. This car is
a great example of a (mostly) original 911T – strong engine, excellent tranny, no major rust issues (some minor rust),
placed 2nd in class in the 2007 Great American Race (Rally). The car
comes with 160+ pages of documentation from 1972 to present and the names/numbers of owners 2, 3, and 4 (me). For more detail, go to: www.motorheadhotspots.com $15,000.
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Oct 2007
Here is next year's VCRA:
4-6 April, Bluebonnet Ralley, San Marcos Texas 6-8 June, Sugar Valley, Scottsbluff, Nebraska
23-27 June, Hemmings Nationals, Rogers, Arkansas 5-7 Sept, Michigan Cider
Run, Lavonia, Michigan 3-5 Oct, The Georgia Peach, Newnan, Gerogia
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Sept 2007
Here is next year's Great Race North America schedule:
Wed, 28-May, New York Thu,
29-May, Grand Start
Day 1, Fri, 30-May New York to Albany Day 2, Sat, 31-May Albany
to Watertown Day 3, Sun, 1-Jun Watertown to Ottawa Day 4, Mon, 2-Jun Ottawa to Toronto Day
5, Tue, 3-Jun Toronto to Sudbury Day 6, Wed, 4-Jun Sudbury to Sault St. Marie Day 7,
Thu, 5-Jun Sault St. Marie to Thunder Bay Day 8, Fri, 6-Jun Thunder Bay Rest day Day 9, Sat, 7-Jun Thunder
Bay to Winnipeg Day 10, Sun, 8-Jun Winnipeg to Regina Day 11, Mon, 9-Jun Regina to Saskatoon Day
12, Tue, 10-Jun Saskatoon to Edmonton Day 13, Wed, 11-Jun Edmonton to Calgary Day 14, Thu, 12-Jun Calgary
to Revelstoke Day 15, Fri, 13-Jun Revelstoke to Vancouver
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Sept 2007
Okay. Now that the 2007 race is a memory, it is time to think of 2008.
If you go to the very bottom of this page, you'll find a Model A speedster body and chassis. It was almost three years
ago that I began collecting parts for an eventual speedster. Unfortunately, the pieces and parts look much the same
today as they have for years. Not much work is getting done on the speedster. I have decided to liquidate everything
with which I can bear to part and buy a race-ready car. To be sold off: Emmick/KT100 go-kart, 1969 Porsche
911T (sniff!), 1980 Triumph Spitfire, and a bunch of Model A parts. Interested? Email me: admin@motorheadhotspots.com
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Aug 2007
Now that I have had some time to reflect.
It amazes me how "car
crazy" America really is. We show up in typical small town America and not only are the GR race cars on display but every
car club within miles are there showing off their pride and joys.
I have seen parts of America that I normally would
not have seen. It has taught me to slow down and really appreciate the view. Getting there really is half the fun. Travelling
down Route 66 was truly a high point for me. From green valleys to desert to high plains to mountains, America has it all.
What a great country.
The GR is some what like a career in aviation. Hours of boredom interlaced with seconds of terror.
We would travel an hour or more down a road that was straight and flat for miles-on-end and the only instruction was, "indicated
speed - 50." No doubt Bryan has nightmares about the number 50. On the opposite end is what we referred to as the mixing
bowl. Going into a neighborhood and doing an endless number stops, turns and speed changes all within a few minutes. To say
it was exhilerating would be an understatement.
I learned long ago it is not what you do in life that you remember
most but the people you do it with. The two separate nights we spent in the parking lots installing the speedo and patching
up the suspension, folks would come up and ask what they could do to help. Begging for parts, tools and expertise seemed like
the natural thing to do just because veterans and rookies alike really cared about each other and wanted the best for their
fellow competitors. Bryan you're a great competitor but you know what is important and for us it was having fun. But winning
sure is damn fun! During the first week, Bryan coined the phase, "our scores don't reflect how much fun we are
having." I quickly learned you really know how to drive and I needed to concentrate on my stop watch buttonology. I never
heard of the Great Race 10 months but after crossing the finish line in Anaheim and downing some cold Dom Perignon it was
experience I will never forget.
Joe, Navigator, car 69
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Wednesday, 18 July
It’s over. After 15 years of waiting and two weeks of hard work, my Great American Race is over. Here are a few things I learned & observed:
1) America
is huge, expansive, and wonderful. We only see a small part in our daily lives
– the backroads offer a better view.
2) It’s
fun to be asked for your autograph. It’s even more fun to be asked by a
pretty girl.
3) Starting
the race with the correct speedometer is a MUST!
4) Running
the latest year group (1969) means you have to work twice as hard to win.
5) The
revised award process is good. More people get to share the excitement of winning,
collecting a trophy, and taking home some cash.
6) The
event is good. People make it GREAT! People
like Greg, Ray, Dick, Rick, Wayne, Jack, Brian, and Charlie, who helped us fix our broken car and asked nothing in return. Fellow racers like Jeff, Robert, Bob, Charlie, and fellow rookies like Brenda, Ed,
Garry, Alex, Charlie, Jane, Bill, Terry, Gary, Jean-Ann shared in the excitement and marvel.
And every person that came up to me in a small town and said, “Gee mister, that’s a cool car!” People made the event spectacular.
7) Porsches
are tough little cars. In many respects they are perfect for rallying: light,
nimble, responsive, plenty of power, easy to fix, etc. There really is no substitute.
8) My
best memory: seeing my wife and kids at the finish-line in California.
9) Driver-Navigator
teamwork is AS important as a properly set-up car and calibrated speedometer. Great
teamwork produces great results. Thanks Joe!
10) My best moment: Stage 10. We finished the day with the
highest overall raw score of ANYONE! Because of the age factor we placed 2nd
overall that day.
11) My worst moment: stalling the car on the side of a steep hill; flooding the carbs; smoking the clutch and believing for a fraction of a moment that our race was over. Whew! Close call.
12) Cold Dom Perignon
tastes good. It tastes even better in the hot sun at the finish-line.
Final results: 2nd place finish in rookie class; 23rd place overall; $10,000
in prize money; and seven Aces!!!
PS-
We spent two days at Disneyland and capped-off a perfect summer vacation. . . . J
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Friday, 13 July
The last day of competition. The good news is that we didn't make
any huge errors. We stayed on course, left on time, and the car held up wonderfully. The little Porsche is sagging
on the passenger side about one 1 1/2 inches due to the broke suspension, but it continues to perform. Getting up the
hills (mountains!) to Big Bear was a treat. A lot of cars had issues. Our temp spiked, but we made it okay.
Big Bear was beautiful and the entire town turned out to welcome us. The streets were lined with thousands of people,
yelling and cheering - it was cool! We made into Pomona safe and sound. They didn't give us scores; we won't find
out how we did until tomorrow when they announce the overall winners.
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Thursday, 12 July
Well, we didn't have a great day, but it wasn't as bad as it could have
been. Temps got up to 116 but the car ran fine - no over heating. The driver screwed-up and stalled on a steep
hill, but we recovered nicely. Bottomline: we placed 5th out of 18 in rookie class today and remain 2nd overall in rookie
class after 12 stages. Tomorrow is the last competitive day, so wish us luck!
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Wednesday, 11 July
Not much time tonight. The quote of the day, "There's
a cow in the road, go right!" I looked up, and yep - cow in the middle of the road. If I had stuck my arm out
while passing, I could've slapped him on the butt. Cloud cover kept Arizona cool and Flagstff is just plain beautiful. The suspension
held and we enjoyed our fifth consecutive podium finish. Bottomline for the day: Another ACE, 3rd place rookie
class, $250, still 2nd rookie class overall after 11 stages. Gotta love it!!
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Tuesday, 10 July
I don't know how many people are actually reading
this blog. Maybe nobody besides my wife and parents. If I were at the movies and saw
a story like the one we had today, I wouldn't believe it. I'd said say, "Aw, that's fake. It could never happen."
We left Clovis NM and made our way through the desert to Albuquerque. The course could be described as two parts straight
and narrow mixed with one part hilly potholes. The heat wasn't bad - the temp only got to 106. The Porsche ran
fine. Then trouble. We hit a pothole so hard today that it popped the front trunk lid open and broke our right
side front torsion-bar bracket. The car continued on and made it to the end, but not before we had a deer jump out in
front of us and nearly hit the car. Whew! At the end of the day we had a score of 12 seconds. Turns out it
was good enough for another 1st in rookie class and $1,000. But wait, there's more. . . We had the
best score of the day. Yes, you read that correctly - the BEST score of the day. But, because of our lack of an
age factor, another older car came in first. We came in second place overall! Can you believe it!?!? We
picked up a second check for $1,500. Amazing!!! We've now just about paid for our entry fee. Back at the
hotel, we got help from Greg and Charlie and were able to cobble together a temp fix for the torsion bar bracket. I
feel like a little kid who keeps waking up to Christmas morning after Christmas morning. Today was the sweetest one
yet.
Leg #1: 0 seconds - ACE!
Leg #2: 0 seconds - ACE!
Leg #3: 4 seconds - early
Leg #4: 1 seconds - late
Leg #5: 7 seconds - late
Score: 0:11.94
We finished 1 out of 18 in rookie class, 2nd overall today!!! We're 2 out
of 18 in rookie class and 24th overall for the 10 stages.
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Monday, 9 July
After more than a week on the road, the rain finally
made an appearance. The day started great and slowly came unraveled. Actually, it was sort of a good news/bad
news sort of day. The bad news first: rain, hail, and gusting winds messed up our final leg. Also, we got
lost. Yep, took a wrong turn and lost several minutes goofing around. The good news: we made up the
lost time after getting lost and ending up with an Ace for the leg. :-) We managed
a 3rd in rookie, with two more aces, and $250. Not too bad. One final thought- one of the best smells in
the world is a light rain on hot asphalt. It smells like summer.
Leg #1: 4 seconds late
Leg #2: 4 seconds late
Leg #3: 0 seconds - ACE!
Leg #4: 0 seconds - ACE!
Leg #5: 7 seconds - late
Leg #6: 28 seconds - late
Score: 0:42.79
We finished 3 out of 18 in rookie class, 14th overall today!!! We're
4 out of 18 in rookie class overall for the 9 stages.
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Sunday, 8 July
The mojo is back! We left Ft. Worth and headed west.
Apparently we've worked through our issues because we had an even better day than Friday. We managed a 1st in rookie,
another ace, and another $1,000. Awesome!!!
Leg #1: 5 seconds - late
Leg #2: 1 second late
Leg #3: 0 seconds - ACE!
Leg #4: 1 second late
Leg #5: 4 seconds - late
Score: 0:10.95
We finished 1 out of 18 in rookie class, 9th overall today!!! We're
4 out of 18 in rookie class overall for the 8 stages.
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Saturday, 7 July
A day off. We spent the morning at Fifth Gear Automotive
in Lewisville. Bill Bernick and Rick Jordan run a fantastic Porsche focused shop that specializes in racing. They
changed the oil, checked belts, hoses, etc. and most important, they redid the bracket for the speed sensor that we hacked
together in the parking lot at midnight a few days ago. She's all ready to go. No more excuses.
And while others lounged around the pool at the hotel, I got
to mow the lawn. . .
:-) Ahhh, the benefits of being home!
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Friday, 6 July
Victory!!!!. Just like
a hollywood movie! We were up until midnight installing the speedo with the help of Brian Smith. We did a rough
calibration in the parking lot and fine tuned during the calibration run this AM. Presto! A decent run.
In fact, we placed FIRST in Rookie Class for Stage 7 which was worth a trophy and a $1,000. In addition, we got our
first perfect leg which is called an "ace" - a zero second score!!! It couldn't have happend on a better
day because Bryan's wife and two kids were in the crowd and helped share in the celebration. Wow. Just like the
movies. . . . Tomorrow is a day off and we'll be back on the road Sunday.
Leg #1: 0 seconds - ACE!
Leg #2: 1 second late
Leg #3: 8 seconds early
Leg #4: 7 seconds early
Score: 0:15.92
We finished 1 out of 18 in rookie
class, 18th overall today!!! 6 out of 18 in rookie class overall for the 7 stages.
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Thursday, 5 July
With no speedometer, we knew it wasn't going to
be a good day. We have a loner speedo so tonight we'll get it installed - hopefully.
Leg #1: 32 seconds early
Leg #2: 17 seconds late
Leg #3: 37 seconds late
Leg #4: 46 seconds early
Score: 2:11.34
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Wednesday, 4 July
Plauged. "Troubled by or
encroached upon in large numbers." The day started okay. About ten minutes after our lunch break our speedometer
broke. Nothing. Nada. Gone. We drove the rest of the day using RPM sounds and gear-selection to guess
our speed. Fourth gear at high RPM must be about 50 mph. . . right? We're getting the parts now to fix it but
won't get it done until the break. So tomorrow's run into Norman will be "blind." The funniest part is we still
did better today with no speedometer than yesterday with everything working. Still, it could be worse. Some of
our comrades have hard-broke or gotten ill and had to go home. That makes us PMC (partially mission capable).
Happy 4th!!!
Leg #1: 16 seconds late
Leg #2: 27 seconds late
Leg #3: 17 seconds early
Leg #4: 54 seconds early
Score: 1:53.43
We finished 8 out of 18 in rookie
class today. Still 8 out of 18 in rookie class overall for the 5 stages.
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Tuesday, 3 July
Uuugghh! We had more fun than our score indicates.
Here's what we learned today: 1) You can take a time delay for safety and the judges will credit it back.
You cannot take a time "advance." Had we known this, our Leg #4 score would've been 16 seconds; 2) Run your own
race. Don't worry about others around you. We thought we were on course, but doubted ourselves and made some bogus
adjustments. Turns out we were on course. . . 3) Don't stall the car. :-)
Leg #1: 11 seconds early
Leg #2: 30 seconds early
Leg #3: 1 minute 28 seconds late
Leg #4: 1 minute 16 seconds early
Score: 3:23.98
We finished 17 out of 18 in rookie
class today. Sigh. On the bright side, we're still 8 out of 18 in rookie class overall for the 4 stages.
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Monday, 2 July
Traveled the backroads of TN today. Lovely!
Here are a few observations/reflections: 1) As the driver, I've seen a lot of the speedometer, while the navigator
has seen a lot more scenery. I'm so fixated on the speedometer, that I'm oblivious to what is going on around me. Joe even got to take an 18 minute nap today. . . 2) I've
decided that the myriad people we've seen sitting on their lawns and waving to us are like life-saving breadcrumbs left
along an evil and sadistic labyrinth. Case in point: We saw another racer deviate from the course we were on and
were SURE we were lost. Just as panic began to set in, we saw a lawn full of people waving to us and realised, "Hey,
we're on-course!!! Cool!" 3) Stanley: We're traveling with a 1998 bottle of Dom Periginon
Champagne that we've nick-named Stanley. We take pictures of him along the route, we keep him cooled in an insulated
bag. And at race-end, we will open and enjoy him in celebration of our completed adventure. If you would like
your picture taken with Stanley, just ask!!! We fixed our issue with the
weber carbs, but haven't fixed our timing issue:
Leg #1: 1 seconds late
Leg #2: 23 seconds early
Leg #3: 24 seconds late
Leg #4: 31 seconds early
Score: 1:28.56
We finished 5 out of 18 in rookie class, a slight improvement.
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Sunday, 1 July
A full day of rallying with views, rain, and fun. We
left Spartanburg, SC and enjoyed a beautiful drive through the Smokey Mountains. It was breathtaking! Our
lunch stop was at the Wheels Through Time museum which is a MUST for any Harley fan. The afternoon brought rain showers
as we made our tortured way through what can only be described as a "mix-master" route. Finally, our arrival into Chattanooga
and Coker Tires HQ. Our results were, again, just okay. We haven't fixed our issue with early arrival:
Leg #1: 35 seconds early
Leg #2: 13 seconds early
Leg #3: 6 seconds early
Leg #4: 15 seconds early
Score: 1:08.66
We finished 6 out of 18 in rookie class, a slight improvement.
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Saturday, 30 June
The Big Day. We marshalled in downtown Concord around
1000 hours. The town and people of Concord were very friendly and a good time was had by all. They fed us, thanked
us, and asked a lot of questions about the cars. We were green- flagged at 1316 hours. The race was on!
The results were okay. We didn't totally suck but were far from excelling:
Leg #1: 10 seconds early
Leg #2: 10 seconds early
Leg #3: 15 seconds early
Leg #4: 17 seconds early
Score: 0:51.74
We finished 8 out of 18 in rookie class. The good news
is we think we know what is wrong and will fix it tomorrow.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 29 June
Spent the AM doing speedometer calibrations. We're at
a disadvantage because we're running with a stock speedometer, not a fancy electronic one. After the calibrations, it
was off to Lowes Motors Speedway. . . to drive! That's right, 'ol #69 got to take laps around one of NASCAR's
finest. AWESOME! That's the only way to describe it. Pictures will follow eventually. The banking
looks a lot steeper when you're on it.
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Thursday, 28 June
Departed Virginia Beach, VA at 0600. We had an uneventful
drive to Concord, NC (about 5.5 hours) and checked into the race headquarters at the Embassy Suites hotel. We registered,
passed tech inspection, got the stickers put on the car (looks GREAT), and attended rally school for rookies. So far
so good. Took some pictures but have no way to get them on the website yet.
----------------------------------------------------------------
June 21, 2007
8 days 15 hours 42 minutes 44 seconds
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June 19, 2007
10 Days, 17 Hours, 55 Min, 33 Sec
I can't believe we are a week and a half away from the Big Show. I first heard about
the Great Race in the early '90s. For over 15 years I have followed the exploits and lived vicariously through others.
Hoping for the day when I could join in and run the race. It's tough to imagine that my turn is coming in a little over
a week. Cool. PS- We're over-nighting in Grapevine on July 6 & 7 at the Hilton DFW Lakes.
----------------------------------------------------------
June 2007
Even while preparing for the Big Race, Joe had time to set a new World Record.
On June 10th, Joe and 273 of his friends got together and formed "the most Minis in a convoy." The old record of 269
was shattered as 274 minis showed up. The event was documented/certified by Guinness, so hey. . . it's official!!
He's got the sticker to prove it! The Dixie Racing fan club send their congrats to Joe.
-----------------------------------
May 2007
The car is finished. Prep work has been completed on the 911T.
The speedometer has been calibrated; charts are built; the only thing left is to get to Concord for the start. We
had a Hey-we're-finally-ready party a few days ago. Peepers, one of the charter members of the Dixie Racing Fan
Club, got pretty trashed. Bad kitty. . .
-----------------------------------------------
Apr 2007
Here is an updated list of overnight cities. Come see us. In fact, if you tell Joe,
"You're a a berry sex-cee mon" I'll buy you a beer!
Sat 6/30 Official Start-1:00pm
- Concord,
NC Sat 6/30 Overnight - Spartanburg,
SC Su 7/1 Overnight - Coker Tire,
Chattanooga, TN Mon 7/2 Overnight - Lane Motor
Museum, Nashville, TN Tues 7/3 Overnight - Germantown,
TN Wed 7/4 Overnight - Fort Smith,
AR Thu 7/5 Overnight - Norman,
OK Fri 7/6 Overnight - Lewisville,
TX
Sat 7/7 Day off Day off — Irving, TX
Sun 7/8 Overnight - Abilene,
TX Mon 7/9 Overnight - Clovis,
NM Tues 7/10 Overnight - Albuquerque, NM Wed 7/11 Overnight - Flagstaff, AZ Thu 7/12 Overnight
- Colorado Belle, Laughlin, NV Fri
7/13 Overnight - Fairplex / NHRA Museum, Pomona, CA Sat 7/14 Finish - Anaheim,
CA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apr 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apr 2007
Katie-bar-the-door. . . Dixie Racing won the Rookie Class for GREAT
RACE TEXAS 2007!!! We placed 1st in rookie class and 13th overall (out of 45 cars). I'll give you the bottomline
and write more later: Great staff, well orgnized, loads of fun, hard work, lots of rain, and better than expected.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mar 2007
Change one to Great Race Texas: we will be competing in a 1968 Porsche
912.
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Feb 2007
Dixie Racing will be competing in the 18th annual GREAT
RACE TEXAS. This event is "Spring Training" for the big show in June/July and
should help us (rookies) pick up a few pointers in a friendly environment.
GREAT RACE TEXAS is 29 March - 1 April in Irving. If you're around, come say hello. See: http://www.greatrace.com/greatrace/grsanctionevents/texaschallenge.php
We'll be competing in a 1983 911SC (the 911T is getting prepped in VA)
------------------------------------------------
Jan 2007
The following website was passed on to me. If you like pre-1948 cars
and vintage rallies, check out:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jan 2007
Here’s some info on the
racecar. The VIN is 119120875 which decodes as follows:
11 = Type 911
9 = last digit of model year –
1969
1 = engine type – T (vs.
E or S)
2 = body – Karmann coupe
0875 = chassis numbers
The car came with 129+ pages of
maintenance records dating back to May 1972. Every oil change, clutch replacement,
door adjustment, and light bulb replacement is documented. Awesome!! Some of the highlights:
Sep 25, 1974 - Ziebart rust proofing
Mar 5, 1980 – Replaced speedo;
35,656 showing on the used speedo; actual mileage = 76,170
Apr 17, 1982 – Engine and
transmission rebuilt
Nov 21, 1982 – Replaced
speedo; 61,618 showing on the used speedo; actual mileage = 79,608
Feb 20, 1985 – Car repainted
original color
Apr 4, 1986 – Chain tensioner
update
Apr 25, 1986 – New gas tank
June 20, 1988 – Update with
weber carbs
Based upon the above math, our
car has 99,867 original miles. As noted below, Stuttgart Service has the car
now and is doing the race prep.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan 2007
Here is the Dixie Racing team in action, Joe on the Left, Bryan on the right.
Prep continues on the 911T. At this point we're finalizing logistics for the race as well as making lists: what
to bring with us, names and numbers of Porsche contacts along the race route, etc. In March we're running the Texas
Challenge to learn a bit about rallying before the big show. We're pretty stoked. :-)
----------------------------------------------------------------
Dec 2006
Greatrace announced the route. If you live near any of the overnight
cities, come on down, see the cars, and say hello.
Sat 6/30 Start:
Concord, NC Sat
6/30 Overnight Asheville, NC Su 7/1 Overnight Chattanooga, TN Mon 7/2 Overnight Nashville, TN Tues 7/3 Overnight
Germantown, TN Wed 7/4 Overnight Fort Smith, AR Thu 7/5 Overnight Norman, OK Fri 7/6 Overnight Irving, TX Sat 7/7 Day off Day off—Irving, TX Sun 7/8 Overnight - Abilene, TX Mon
7/9 Overnight - Clovis, NM Tues 7/10 Overnight Rio Rancho, NM Wed 7/11 Overnight Flagstaff, AZ Thu 7/12 Overnight
Laughlin, NV Fri 7/13 Overnight TBA, CA Sat 7/14 Finish Orange County, CA
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nov 2006:
Preparation for the Big Race continues. Special thanks to M. Grishman and L. Anton (POs)
and Robert Lynch at Stuttgart Service of Williamsburg, VA. Robert is doing the prep and helping us turn an excellent
911T into an OUTSTANDING one! Our goal is to finish the race and keep from ending up like this:

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Oct 2006:
Yeah, I know - 7 months goes by fast. Here's the scoop: My application for great
Race 2007 was accepted, so we will definitely be competing next year!! The '29 Ford isn't ready. The 2007 Great
Race allows cars 1969 and older, so we've decided to compete in a 1969 Porsche 911T. Not a bad way to spend your rookie
year. . .

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Feb 2006:
Jeez, where did Feb go? I've been on the road for three weeks, but wanted to add two items:
1) A few pics of me in action at the kart track, and 2) the big news that The GREAT Race will sponsor an around-the-world
race in 2008 to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the original 1908 race. Read more at: |