alfradio
Member +
Every year at around this time... 3 things are certain:
1. All clocks 'fall' back an hour,
2. VOA workers begin their new shifts (which were picked a few
2. weeks ago), AND...
3. MIR (Maryland International Raceway) presents a two day
3. imports vs. domestic shootout called, The
WORLD CUP FINALS! <-Clicky
The previous 2 years I'd attended the event (which also
includes a car show and bikini contest) only on the final day
but, this year I had planned on making it a 2 day affair so I
could get more than a run or two before eliminations...
Not wanting to pony up the $100 to sleep in the RV which SRT
was planning on renting for the event, I bought a sleeping
bag and planned to rough it...
Denys called me late Friday afternoon to tell me that he and
the SRT crew were heading out very shortly to sleep over and
be there already for time runs and qualifying come Saturday
morning. While I knew for certain I didn't want to rough it for
TWO NIGHTS, I was actually still on the fence on whether I
wanted to even rough it in my sleeping bag for ONE NIGHT?
(temps were getting close to the 30s at night in S. Maryland)
Saturday came and I was pretty certain that I'd do as in the
past and leave for the track bright and early Sunday... so I
busied myself working on TERCEL1 (having just finished
installing and partially decorating the rear 1/4 windows made
of scratch resistant Lexan)
Around 1 in the afternoon, I called "Wally" (my wife Sandra)
and told her I'd changed my mind and was going to the track
after all and would be sleeping over in my car...
As in the past, upon arriving, I registered to race in the
ET Bracket class ($50) and after going through tech inspection
(TERCEL1 was given number #645), staked out a place in the
pit area...
...now that I had a base of operations, I ventured out in
search of familiar faces. I hadn't walked more than a few
yards down the road when I saw:
While I expected to see Denys at the track (with Mo and the
gang from SRT) it was a surprise to see his Tercel... or was it
his Tercel?
Talk about a de-tuned engine! (or is it a 3Eed engine!?)
After saying "hi" to everyone in the SRT/Paradise Racing pit
area(s) I was off to see what else was around the property...
...did I mention a bikini contest somewhere in the program?
Lots of other nice bodies to be appreciated as well:
Also... as part of the car show, I saw this very familiar car...
I was half tempted to ask the owner how many times he'd
been asked about the car's "Flux Capacitor" but, before I
could find the car's owner... I saw THIS <- Clicky! Very Nice
A bit closer to home as the sun was about to set, I ran into
this Toyota:
The sun was about to set, it was getting late and it looked like
the cars running ET Bracket (which had already had 2 timed
runs before I arrived) would have no more runs... Finding out
the the cars running in the 12.50 Index class were next up for
their timed runs so I figured, "I'll register TERCEL1 in that
class if that's what it's gonna take to make a pass..."
I ran from my pit area to the tech center to see if it was
possible to get into ANOTHER class, the answer was "YES!"
but, I'd have to go to the tower, buy another tech card and
bring it back to the tech area and I'd be set to go...
At around 8pm, out of breath, I was strapped into TERCEL1
(facing a Pro-Tree) and was under way with results which
were less than stellar (see REPORT CARD below)
After all that running around, it was announced that, in fact,
ET Bracket cars would get 2 more opportunity to make time
runs before the end of the evening...
RUN#105 was a bit better than my 12.50 Index timed run, and
below is a TERCEL1 awaiting its final pass of the evening:
Click on the above photo to SEE the run (Thanks to Denys!)
After picking up the time slip from my final (RUN#106) pass down
the 1/4 mile (11pm), I headed TERCEL1 back to the pit area and
got ready for a night's sleep in the wild!
I'd given this 'sleep-over' phase of my two day outing more
than a passing thought!
My initial plan was to lower my tent 1/2 way and lay some
blankets on the ground to provide a little cushion on top of
which I'd sleep inside my sleeping bag... to cut down on any
chilling night time wind, I'd attach plastic panels to extend
down from the canopy to the ground, in effect making an
enclosed area... BUT, being the lazy type, (and not wanting to
be awakened in the middle of the night staring face to face
with a raccoon, or worse a SKUNK)
It was getting late and the above set-up would be very time
consuming so, I bagged that idea and decided to go with plan
"B": Sleeping INSIDE TERCEL1!
So, folded a couple pieces of plastic tarp and laid each into the
passenger side foot wells (where your feet would rest as you
sat in the back/front seat). Along with providing an insulation
barrier, it also helped negate the height of the chassis side to
side floor brace to which the seats are bolted!
Then I took placed some old couch covers over the plastic,
added a bit more height and 'cushioning', then a double
folded comforter (for appearance and a bit more cushion) and
finally ME, inside the sleeping bag sleeping in a somewhat
fetal position, feet extended under the glove box and head
behind the front seat using a balled up down jacket as a
pillow...
While it may sound like a contortionist's nightmare, it was
actually not too bad and once I got over the initial excitement
of the whole thing, managed several hours of continuous
sleep!
I did however wake up several times, once settled and would
take these times to start the car up and let it run long enough
to blast the heater a bit...
At one point I awoke with a need to make use of one of the
nearby Porta-Potties and also used this occasion to take a
short walk around the property snapping a few photos:
A very stark contrast to all the noise and hustle and bustle
that is usually associated with a place where cars meet to
compete... A very eerie landscape...
... oh well, morning will soon be knocking on my eyelids so,
g'nite and lights out!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..... sounds of crickets.....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Woke up Sunday morning at around 7:30am figuring I'd be all
stiff and sore from my sleeping accommodations but, much to my
surprise was able to stand erect... (that didn't sound right but,
you know what I meant!
I was also very surprised to see how few racers there were
around the pits in the early morning hours...
Another surprise was the early opening of the MIR snack bar
which was great because I hadn't packed any food for the
track! I thought my 'breakfast' choices would be the usual
snack bar food (hot dogs, burgers, etc. etc) BUT, they actually
had SAUSAGE BISCUIT sandwiches, of which I bought THREE!
Two for breakfast and one for later on in the day.
While eliminations would start at 12 noon, from 9am to that
time, was reserved for cars running in the ET Bracket and
12.50 Index classes... Right around 11:30 (after making an
Bracket run of 12.262 @ 114.15mph) TERCEL1 was back in
the lanes:
Oh! By the way... did I mention there was to be a bikini contest
at some point? Well, it was to be held today...
At around 12 noon, they had a minister do the invocation
followed by the playing of the National Anthem (as a group of
Honda Civic guys near where TERCEL1 was pitted, continued
tuning their cars with all their two step noise etc... no respect!)
'Cuz it would be a while before the 12.50 Index & ET Bracket
classes were called to the lanes, I had plenty of time to walk
around with my trusty Canon SD400 camera:
Hey! Below is the SRT team with a most familiar looking tow
vehicle...
:haha::haha: It's Denys' Tercel (That's him below, with the
baseball cap on, leaning against Mo's car. He's standing
between two guys... That's Mo on the right)
I HAVE mentioned the bikini contest, right?
Click on above photo to see it come to life...
Late into the night the cars ran and because there were so
many cars entered in the various classes and the
temperatures were dropping with every pass and the track's
curfew was looming closer and closer that it was decided to
call the race (the super fast cars) for safety's sake but the
12.50 Index and ET Bracket classes were allowed to finish.
My last pass down the 1/4 mile (in ET Bracket) happened at
10:50pm...
After picking up my losing time slip, I made it back to the pit
area for the final time of the weekend...
...and when it was all said and done...
I had a pretty good time but may return next year for just the
Sunday session... Don't forget, I'll be another year OLDER and
the two day stint won't be any easier!
I wondered as I drove home after packing up all my stuff,
"Was it worth paying the extra $50 to get a few more runs
down the track?" Let's see... A total of 8 passes, 4 of which
were due to buying into the 12.50 Index class... I guess it
was worth it? I had a great time and isn't THAT all that matters?
Oh! Almost forgot... here's the weekend's Report Card:
Guess that's it for now...
alf :homer:
1. All clocks 'fall' back an hour,
2. VOA workers begin their new shifts (which were picked a few
2. weeks ago), AND...
3. MIR (Maryland International Raceway) presents a two day
3. imports vs. domestic shootout called, The
WORLD CUP FINALS! <-Clicky
The previous 2 years I'd attended the event (which also
includes a car show and bikini contest) only on the final day
but, this year I had planned on making it a 2 day affair so I
could get more than a run or two before eliminations...
Not wanting to pony up the $100 to sleep in the RV which SRT
was planning on renting for the event, I bought a sleeping
bag and planned to rough it...
Denys called me late Friday afternoon to tell me that he and
the SRT crew were heading out very shortly to sleep over and
be there already for time runs and qualifying come Saturday
morning. While I knew for certain I didn't want to rough it for
TWO NIGHTS, I was actually still on the fence on whether I
wanted to even rough it in my sleeping bag for ONE NIGHT?
(temps were getting close to the 30s at night in S. Maryland)
Saturday came and I was pretty certain that I'd do as in the
past and leave for the track bright and early Sunday... so I
busied myself working on TERCEL1 (having just finished
installing and partially decorating the rear 1/4 windows made
of scratch resistant Lexan)
Around 1 in the afternoon, I called "Wally" (my wife Sandra)
and told her I'd changed my mind and was going to the track
after all and would be sleeping over in my car...
As in the past, upon arriving, I registered to race in the
ET Bracket class ($50) and after going through tech inspection
(TERCEL1 was given number #645), staked out a place in the
pit area...
...now that I had a base of operations, I ventured out in
search of familiar faces. I hadn't walked more than a few
yards down the road when I saw:
While I expected to see Denys at the track (with Mo and the
gang from SRT) it was a surprise to see his Tercel... or was it
his Tercel?
Talk about a de-tuned engine! (or is it a 3Eed engine!?)
After saying "hi" to everyone in the SRT/Paradise Racing pit
area(s) I was off to see what else was around the property...
...did I mention a bikini contest somewhere in the program?
Lots of other nice bodies to be appreciated as well:
Also... as part of the car show, I saw this very familiar car...
I was half tempted to ask the owner how many times he'd
been asked about the car's "Flux Capacitor" but, before I
could find the car's owner... I saw THIS <- Clicky! Very Nice
A bit closer to home as the sun was about to set, I ran into
this Toyota:
The sun was about to set, it was getting late and it looked like
the cars running ET Bracket (which had already had 2 timed
runs before I arrived) would have no more runs... Finding out
the the cars running in the 12.50 Index class were next up for
their timed runs so I figured, "I'll register TERCEL1 in that
class if that's what it's gonna take to make a pass..."
I ran from my pit area to the tech center to see if it was
possible to get into ANOTHER class, the answer was "YES!"
but, I'd have to go to the tower, buy another tech card and
bring it back to the tech area and I'd be set to go...
At around 8pm, out of breath, I was strapped into TERCEL1
(facing a Pro-Tree) and was under way with results which
were less than stellar (see REPORT CARD below)
After all that running around, it was announced that, in fact,
ET Bracket cars would get 2 more opportunity to make time
runs before the end of the evening...
RUN#105 was a bit better than my 12.50 Index timed run, and
below is a TERCEL1 awaiting its final pass of the evening:
Click on the above photo to SEE the run (Thanks to Denys!)
After picking up the time slip from my final (RUN#106) pass down
the 1/4 mile (11pm), I headed TERCEL1 back to the pit area and
got ready for a night's sleep in the wild!
I'd given this 'sleep-over' phase of my two day outing more
than a passing thought!
My initial plan was to lower my tent 1/2 way and lay some
blankets on the ground to provide a little cushion on top of
which I'd sleep inside my sleeping bag... to cut down on any
chilling night time wind, I'd attach plastic panels to extend
down from the canopy to the ground, in effect making an
enclosed area... BUT, being the lazy type, (and not wanting to
be awakened in the middle of the night staring face to face
with a raccoon, or worse a SKUNK)
It was getting late and the above set-up would be very time
consuming so, I bagged that idea and decided to go with plan
"B": Sleeping INSIDE TERCEL1!
So, folded a couple pieces of plastic tarp and laid each into the
passenger side foot wells (where your feet would rest as you
sat in the back/front seat). Along with providing an insulation
barrier, it also helped negate the height of the chassis side to
side floor brace to which the seats are bolted!
Then I took placed some old couch covers over the plastic,
added a bit more height and 'cushioning', then a double
folded comforter (for appearance and a bit more cushion) and
finally ME, inside the sleeping bag sleeping in a somewhat
fetal position, feet extended under the glove box and head
behind the front seat using a balled up down jacket as a
pillow...
While it may sound like a contortionist's nightmare, it was
actually not too bad and once I got over the initial excitement
of the whole thing, managed several hours of continuous
sleep!
I did however wake up several times, once settled and would
take these times to start the car up and let it run long enough
to blast the heater a bit...
At one point I awoke with a need to make use of one of the
nearby Porta-Potties and also used this occasion to take a
short walk around the property snapping a few photos:
A very stark contrast to all the noise and hustle and bustle
that is usually associated with a place where cars meet to
compete... A very eerie landscape...
... oh well, morning will soon be knocking on my eyelids so,
g'nite and lights out!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..... sounds of crickets.....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Woke up Sunday morning at around 7:30am figuring I'd be all
stiff and sore from my sleeping accommodations but, much to my
surprise was able to stand erect... (that didn't sound right but,
you know what I meant!
I was also very surprised to see how few racers there were
around the pits in the early morning hours...
Another surprise was the early opening of the MIR snack bar
which was great because I hadn't packed any food for the
track! I thought my 'breakfast' choices would be the usual
snack bar food (hot dogs, burgers, etc. etc) BUT, they actually
had SAUSAGE BISCUIT sandwiches, of which I bought THREE!
Two for breakfast and one for later on in the day.
While eliminations would start at 12 noon, from 9am to that
time, was reserved for cars running in the ET Bracket and
12.50 Index classes... Right around 11:30 (after making an
Bracket run of 12.262 @ 114.15mph) TERCEL1 was back in
the lanes:
Oh! By the way... did I mention there was to be a bikini contest
at some point? Well, it was to be held today...
At around 12 noon, they had a minister do the invocation
followed by the playing of the National Anthem (as a group of
Honda Civic guys near where TERCEL1 was pitted, continued
tuning their cars with all their two step noise etc... no respect!)
'Cuz it would be a while before the 12.50 Index & ET Bracket
classes were called to the lanes, I had plenty of time to walk
around with my trusty Canon SD400 camera:
Hey! Below is the SRT team with a most familiar looking tow
vehicle...
:haha::haha: It's Denys' Tercel (That's him below, with the
baseball cap on, leaning against Mo's car. He's standing
between two guys... That's Mo on the right)
I HAVE mentioned the bikini contest, right?
Click on above photo to see it come to life...
Late into the night the cars ran and because there were so
many cars entered in the various classes and the
temperatures were dropping with every pass and the track's
curfew was looming closer and closer that it was decided to
call the race (the super fast cars) for safety's sake but the
12.50 Index and ET Bracket classes were allowed to finish.
My last pass down the 1/4 mile (in ET Bracket) happened at
10:50pm...
After picking up my losing time slip, I made it back to the pit
area for the final time of the weekend...
...and when it was all said and done...
I had a pretty good time but may return next year for just the
Sunday session... Don't forget, I'll be another year OLDER and
the two day stint won't be any easier!
I wondered as I drove home after packing up all my stuff,
"Was it worth paying the extra $50 to get a few more runs
down the track?" Let's see... A total of 8 passes, 4 of which
were due to buying into the 12.50 Index class... I guess it
was worth it? I had a great time and isn't THAT all that matters?
Oh! Almost forgot... here's the weekend's Report Card:
Guess that's it for now...
alf :homer:
