[aumoore]

reposted from the other reptile roundup thread

Here is a quick report

We had an unofficial count of 40 drivers at the Gainesville Test and Tune track day. There were several cars with two drivers and we had two 2003 Cobra Mustangs. Engineer Ed was the quickest of the mere mortals but we all just stood with our jaws on the ground as Reg Dodd in his Race Car...err...Backdraft Cobra put on an awesome display of speed along with Tony Martin from South Africa. Dennis Olthoff from Superformance while a tick slower in his more conventional Street legal Cobra put on a driving display worthy of a Joey Chitwood show. Just Imagine a Cobra with super wide tires "Dirt Tracking" on a flat paved 24 foot wide road course. He was sideways thru 270degree turns with the throttle blipping, arms swinging, brakes smoking and the crowd bowing to this driving show. You just had to be there and if you missed it you should be ashamed.

After the hard day at the track the participants and pit crews caravan to Ocala and cleaned up at the hotel and several of us went to Chili's for beer and grub and told tall tales of our professional driving skills. Some of the less family oriented members closed down Hooters restaurant across the street from the Hampton.

Early on Saturday another caravan to Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing for a Car show and vendor Display. The vendors/Sponsors were: Ink Spot Design for T-shirts, Whitby Motorcars, Factory Five Racing, Shamrock Cobras, Olthoff Superformance, Backdraft and Hunter's Kit Cars. We have to give thanks to Finish Line, Hunters Kit Cars and Backdraft for providing Door prizes. Special thanks should be given to Don Garlits for providing his wonderful facility for our use and I hope everybody got to enjoy his Museum of amazing cars. Big Daddy himself sat at the Deep South Cobra Clubs table and provided free autographed pictures of himself and his cars. It was an honor to sit next to one of my all time favorite drivers and watch grown men go speechless when trying to think of something to have him say on his autograph. There were several other vendors selling Cobra shirts and taking awesome pictures of peoples Cobras and putting them on large poster prints for a reasonable fee.

At 2:00 we raffled what seamed like an endless supply of Cobra parts, wall hangings, accessories and outdated Club memorabilia. One lucky winner who had purchased $30 worth of raffle tickets won what seamed like hundreds of dollars worth of Cobra merchandise. Another winner of a Cobra Nose wall hanging was generous and gave his big prize to a young boy making his day. Maybe his wife did not want it hung in the living room?

At 3:00 we cleaned Garlits grounds up and started our poker run on a very scenic route thru the countryside surrounding the Ocala Area. We visited the airport, went to several small parks, passed the world famous Cafe Risque(no it was not an official stop), rumbled thru historic Micanopy, Florida and ended up at Hightowers restaurant for the dinner buffet. After Dinner several of us drove thru the brisk night air back to the Garlits Museum to retrieve our tow vehicles and make a few needed repairs. We then went back to the Hampton for hours of telling tall tales while having a few adult beverages.

Early Sunday we sat at the breakfast buffet at the hotel and said our good-byes as we all made our way back home with smiles on our faces from all the fun and new friends we made.

Ruble Moore