Keithw's And Jay's Excellent Adventure

[Excaliber]

Wow,,,,thats a great report. I see your running the Yokohama R tires on the GT! Excellent selection, they even do OK on wet pavement I found. I was holding my breath hopeing you didn't have anymore electrical gremlins haunt you on such a BIG day!

Ernie

[jayscobras]

I KNOW THAT ALL OF YOU ARE GETTING READY FOR THE AUSTIN TRIP BUT I THOUGHT I WOULD POST AGAIN. HERSCHAL DID A GREAT JOB OF TELLING YOU ALL ABOUT WHEAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY BUT AFTER HE LEFT, WE ALL GOT ON SHIFTER CARS LESS THE SHIFTER AND WENT FOR 6 LAPS AROUND THE SHORTENED TRACK. WHAT A HOOT FOR ALL CONCERNED.

DURING THE DAY WE HEARD ALL OF THE STORIES ABOUT THE REST OF THE PACK'S STORIES ABOUT THE TRIP FROM HOOVER DAM DOWN TO PHOENIX...THE 180 MPH SPEEDS,,,THE ARIZONA POLICE LYING IN WAIT...THE TICKETS SO WELL DESERVED.

AFTER 6:30 WE LOADED THE INJURED BUT NOT DIEING VETTE INTO THE TRAILER, THE M5 BEHIND DRIVEN BY BOB, AND HEADED TO OUR FIRST CHECK POINT IN FORT STOCKTON TEXAS. A MERE 450 OR SO MILES. KEITH DROVE FIRST QND THEN I TOOK OVER. AT 4;00 A.M. WE ARRIVED AT THE CHECKPOINT AND HAD TO WAKE EVERYONE UP. WE WERE THE FIRST.,..PRETTY DARN GOOD FOR A DUALLY PULLING A 48' TRAILER. IT WASN'T A BIG VICTORY BECAUSE WE NOW KNOW THAT THE EUROPEANS STOP AND EAT EVERY CHANCE THEY GET.

WE GOT A ROOM AND SLEPT FOR 4 HOURS SINCE THE REST OF THE DRIVE TO SAN ANTONIO WOULD BE LEISURELY. ARRIVED AT THE MARRIOTT RIVER VIEW ABOUT 3;30 AND HAD A BEER AND GOT CLEANED UP.

FROM THERE WE WENT TO THE SPACE NEEDLE, SITE OF THE 68 HEMISFAIR FIR DINNER. AFTER DRINKS AND PRIME RIB, HERE I AM TYPING THIS FOR YOUR REVIEW. PHOTES MAY OR MAY NOT BE SENT TONIGHT. THIS IS SO MUCH FUN I CAN'T TELL YA ALL OF IT.

MORE TOMORROW.

HERSCHAL,,, THANK YOU BRO.

JAY

[azguy2000]

you wouldn't happen to have gone to Xtreme Motorsports because of me?

[jrussell]

Wow guys,
This is really good reading, and to Jay & Keith, yes, I am getting ready for the TCC event, with car work slated for tonight (minor stuff, small touches) and YES, WE MISS YOU TWO!! I can't wait to see ALL that you come home with!
Be safe!
John Russell

[kountzecobra]

I saw quite a few of the Player's Run cars in a traffic jam between Beaumont and Orange, TX about 2:30 this afternoon. A pretty impressive bunch of iron: Lambos, Porches, M-Bs, etc. Guess they had to "skin it back" to make up the time when they cleared the truck wreck.

[jayscobras]

WELL CHIT!!!!!!! AFTER A BRIEF 500 OR SO MILE SPRINT FROM SAN ANTONIO TO " NO PROBLEM RACEWAY PARK"A JUST OUTSIDE OF BATON ROUGE AND AFTER GETTING A SPEEDING TICKET IN A DUALLY WITH SOME 200 MPH CARS BEHIND ME, WE ARRIVED AT THE TRACK FRIDAY THE 13TH NIGHTMARES BEGAN IMMEDIATELY.

WE PUT BOTH CARS ON THE TRACK AND STARTED TESTING THE LINE. I T WENT WELL AND KEITH WAS CATCHING STAYING WITH THE LAMBO'S AND CATCHING THE VIPERS. BOB WAS IN THE M5 LEARNING THE TRACK AND HOLDING HIS OWN.

THEY CHANGED CARS AND KEITH LEFT THE GRID AND ON THE FIRST TURRN WE COULD HEAR THE REV LIMITER BANGING AT THE WRONG TIME AND AT THE WRONG PLACE ON THE TRACK. HE BROUGHT HER BAACK IN AND WE COULDN,T GET THE CAR TO GO INTO ANY OTHER GEAR...CLUTCH HAD GONE. WE WERE IMMEDIATELY ON THE PHONE WITH BMW AND THEY GAVE US SOME THINGS TO TEST. ALL TO NO AVAIL. TRAILER TIME.

BOB TOOK THE VETTE OUT AFTER MARCUS LEX HAD US TIME HIS LAP. AIN'T NO GERMANS BEATING US NOW!!! COMING AROUND THE LAST TURN INTO THE STRAIGHT WE SAW A UFF OF SMOKE FROM THE VETTE. I TOLD THE TRACK MANAGER BESIDE ME TO "FLAG HIM" AND AFTER A PAINFUL MINUTE HE CAME IN.; NO SMOKE BUT IN THE CHECKOUT WE LOST OIL PRESSURE. WE LET THE CAR COOL AND THEN LOST OIL PRESSURE AGAIN. SEEMS LIKE WE SPUN A ROD BEARING.

ANYWAY, WE THOUGHT WE WERE DONE, NEXT STOP WE WILL FIND OUT??? WE DROPPED THE TRAILER IN DOUG REED'S DRIVE WITH BOTH CARS IN IT. WHILE THERE, ONE OF KEITH'S FRIENDS CALLED AND SAID HE WOULD MEET US AND BRING HIS PORSCHE CARRERA S-4 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT FOR US TO DRIVE, RENT A CAR AND THEN GO HOME. OH IT'S MOBILE ALABAMA FOR THE NEXT RACE, SO WEL WILL BE ON THERE TOMORROW.

SO FAR NOW BOB IS OFF THE THE PARTY AT THE CAT'S MEOW OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, KEITH IS ASLEEP AND I AM DOING THIS.

TOMORROW IS A NEW DAY AND WE ARE STILL IN IT. WE MISS ALL OF THE TEXAS COBRA CLUB GUYS AND GALS GETTING READY FOR THE AUSTIN MEET AND WISH ,,,AS OF TODAY,,,THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE THERE. AFTER ALL,,,IT WAS ONLY A SHORT 500 OR SO MILE SPRINT FOR US TO GET FROM SAN ANTONIO TO HERE...NO PROBLEM.

JAY

AND AGAIN, IT'S THE PEOPLE, NOT THE CARS!

P.S. "MEAT" WHERE ARE YOU? READY FOR SOME "CROW" YET?

[jayscobras]

WELL, HERE I AM AGAIN. SITTING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT WHILE KEITH IS DRIVING. WE STARTED OUT AT 8:00 THIS MORNING FOR A LEISURELY DRIVE TO MOBILE INTERNATIIONAL RACEWAY WHERE THE CARS WERE GOING TO MAKE 10 LAPS A PIECE AT SPEED ON THE HIGH BANKED OVAL.

WE CONSIDERED THE DUALLY TO BE A LITTLE UNSUITED FOR THE TRACK SO WE JUST SAT AND WATCHED. THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF THE DIFFERENT CARS WAS JUST AUSOME. JUST AS I WAS ABOUT TO CALL TOM, A FERARRI MONDELLO WAS RUNNING THE TRACK AT SPEED WHEN HIS REAR TIRES BROKE LOSE AND SENT HIM INTO A SPIN OF THREE 360'S. HE KEPT IT OFF OF THE WALL WITH SOME GREAT DRIVING. ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT THESE EUROPEANS ARE GOOD DRIVERS AND THE ARE CRAZY AS HELL AS EVIDENCED AT THE CAT'SMEOW BALCONY LAST NIGHT IN NEW ORLEANS. WHILE EVERYONE ELSE WAS YELLING "SHOW YOUR T*TS" THEY WERE YELLING, "WHERE ARE THE SKINNY CHICKS"

SO NOW WERE ARE ON OUR NEXT TO THE LAST SPRINT OF ONLY 690 MILES TO DAYTONA BEACH. ALL OF US IN THE TRUCK AND TRYING TO GET OVER LAST NIGHT'S PARTY. BOB STUMBLED IN AT 4:00 A.M.

I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH MORE MY FRAGILE EGO CAN HANDLE. I WAS BANNED FROM COBRAFORUM AFTER JUST ONE POST ABOUT PLAYERS RUN. THE SHAME OF IT ALL, HOW CAN I STAND IT?

FILM AT ELEVEN!

JAY

[jayscobras]

4,867 MILES AND WE ARE NOW HEADED HOME. THE RUN ENDED IN MIAMI LAST NIGHT WITH A FAREWELL DINNER JUST OFF OF THE BEACH AT THE SHORE CLUB HOTEL. BIGGEST T-BONE STEAK I HACK HOMECKVE SEEN IN A WHILE. SEVENTEEN CARS FINISHED. ONE FERARRI WRECKED ON THE WAY TO MIAMI IN A RAIN STORM. WE DIDN'T SEE IT BUT HEARD THAT IT WAS TORN UP PRETTY BAD. LUCKILY THE DRIVER AND CO PILOT WERE NOT HURT.

THREE OF THE FIVE LAMBOS DROPPED OUT DUE TO MECHNICAL PROBLEMS. THE VIPER DROPPED OUT IN NEW ORLEANS. ROLAND LINDER AND HIS RIG LEFT US IN DAYTONA BEACH TO GO BACK HOME. SEVERAL PEOPLE FROM GERMANY FLEW IN YESTERDAY TO JOIN THE PARTY LAST NIGHT.

WE DIDN'T GET TO RUN DAYTONA DUE TO WEATHER BUT AT LEAST GO TO SEE THE TRACK. DANG! THAT IS ONE LARGE PLACE.

BOB IS FLYING HOME TOMORROW AND HE WILL BE POSTING SOME PICTURES FOR ME UNTIL I CAN GET HOME TO MY SOFTWARE AND COMPUTER.

WE ARE STOPPING IN ORLANDO TO VISIT A FRIEND AND PLAY A ROUND OF GOLF AT ISLEWORTH. HOME COURSE FOR TIGER WOODS, MARK OMEARA, AND JOHN HUSTON. SUNDAY WE HEAD TO NEW ORLEANS TO PICK UP THE TRAILER AND TWO BROKEN CARS AND THE SPRINT FOR DALLAS.

WE CAN AT LEAST SAY THAT WE FINISHED TO THE ENTIRE COURSE EVEN THOUGH PART OF IT WAS BY TRUCK. WE MET SOME TRULY INTERESTING PEOPLE AND TRADED A LOT OF GOOD STORIES WHICH I WILL PASS ON WHEN I GET HOME.

WOULD WE DO IT AGAIN? ONLY IF THERE WERE SOME CHANGES MADE AND MORE ORGANIZATION. THERE WERE TOO LONG OF STRETCHES WITH JUST DRIVING, NOT ENOUGH TRACK TIME AND TOO FEW BABES. THE BAD KITTY TEAM WAS A HOOT.

ENOUGH FOR NOW. I WILL FINISH UP ON MONDAY WITH PICS AND STORIES. THEN WE WILL LET THIS THREAD DIE A NATURAL DEATH WITH SOME GREAT MEMORIES AND BRAGGING RIGHTS.

WILL THE LAST PERSON TO READ THE THREAD AFTER IT'S FINISHED PLEASE REMEMBER TO TURN OUT THE LIGHTS, BECAUSE THIS PARTY IS OVER.

IT IS THE PEOPLE AND NOT THE CARS

JAY

[Excaliber]

The party may be over, still looking for the pics!

I'll leave the light on for ya........

Ernie

[jayscobras]

THERE ARE SOME PICTURES ALREADY POSTED ON RPMVIDEO.COM AND ALSO ON ROADRALLY.NET. ON ROAD RALLY SITE UNDER GENERAL DISCUSSION, PIC NUMBER ONE IS OF THE DRIVERS MEETING. LOWER RIGHT IS A BIG GUY AND SMALLER GUY IN BLACK. THAT'S US.

JAY

[jayscobras]

FINALLY GOT SOME PICS INTO THE PHOTO ALBUM. ENJOY.

MAY POST SOME MORE AS TIME PERMITS.

JAY

[snakeeyes]

Jay, I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that you are my hero. As a professor of mine used to say, you lead a lifestyle to which I've long desired to become accustomed!

Bob

[keithw]

Posted this link on the bmwm5.com web site so my friends over there could read a blow by blow description of our trip

There are tons of pictures on that site if you're interested. Also on roadrally.net.

Keith