Originally Posted by bluzeke

Tim Luther and I were the lone holdouts at the Colony Inn in Camden on Sunday night and much to my disappointment and dismay, a delicious Mexican meal on the Sabbath there must go beerless! But, the town carwash stays open then and I at least had a reasonably clean MINI for my Monday trek back to Baltimore. I made good time despite the "heat" trying to melt me down on about 4 separate occasions with their radar. Given some of the decorative schemes we put on our little rockets, I can't imagine what gives the authorities any notion that we might be exceeding the posted limits.

Thanks Chris for posting the AutoX times. In honoring Norree's request for everyone to "chill" while she tabulated the results, I too moved on to other things and completely forgot to check them out. Of course, they kind of confirm what I already knew - I still SUCK! In looking back on it I kind of wonder, for a cold tire event like this, if leaving the DSC "ON" might have been a better idea, as I know I lost a good 2 seconds just spinning my wheels at the start. But, as I seem to be slowly learning wth each track experience, it's the mistakes that provide the most learning for me. Like, missing the apex at the KINK and spinning at 100 mph - in which case one learns a) well, I certainly don't want to do that again! and, b) because of what you've previousy learned you can actually gather the car up a bit before exiting to the grass, missing the #3 brake point stick, get the pedals "in", and come up, unstalled, well short of the tire wall. WHEW! Congratulations, my unscathed lucky little son, you've just earned your first Black Flag! I guess that's what I get for driving at "81%".

Also, thanks too for the ridealongs - in particular Matt and Donna. Perhaps it's just my learning style, but I think I've gotten the most out of how to tackle a circuit by just observing, in car, how a more accomplished driver does it. Concentration is obviously the key ingredient to success in this endeavor and for me, that focus seems to fall somewhat when I must also share a dialogue (or the steering wheel!) with the instructor. I am not stating here that I can't or won't take instruction, merely that I think there's different strokes for different folks. As foolish as it might sound to my insurance agent, I'm very tempted next time to do a ridealong in my own car with Waylen at the wheel.

Hats off also to the over one dozen instructors who found a way to get there and lend their knowledge. And, super props to MINIs of Charlotte/Charleston for not only their $$$ support, but for providing techs like Chad to help save the day for folks with "issues". Thanks Chad for showing me the trick to removing the center mirror - providing me a bit better video view. And, not to forget Waylen - if ever there's a "git 'er done" pic in the dictionary, I nominate him!

Lastly, kudos to Phil, Norree and kin for all they do to make these happen. While I know there are some out here who will argue there are other clubs or associations who do this type of thing better, I would suggest that the camaraderie developed amongst an almost exclusively MINI group on the track (and at the motel!) is certainly worth more than a few quality bonus points. I think there's a bit of fraternity here, and I for one, would love to see it continue.

Give me some time and I think I can get some video from the NAMCC race posted.

David G.

Originally Posted by queenB

They don't sell coolers or shoes before 1PM in Kershaw County on Sunday, either.

Originally Posted by terryg

and for the awesome ride in the JCW-R56. We'll be ordering one very soon!