My Facinating Sunday Drive.... NOT!!
Well, in my usual sleep-is-overrated self torture fashion, I decided to accompany my friend Ben Rice down to my old stompin' grounds, Phenix City Dragstrip to help him test his freshly rebuilt Limited Street Mustang. The trip is about a 4+ hour drive, so in order to be there for the test session, it meant Ben was at my door bright and early at 3:45am this morning. I jumped in his truck and rode to his car owner's house in Huntsville to load up in the truck and trailer. We pulled out of Huntsville around 4:30am.
After a brief stop in Birmingham for some early morning Cracker Barrel, we continued on our way to Phenix City. Though the track is in Alabama and technically in the Central time zone, its close proximity to Columbus, GA means that the track operates on eastern time, and we lost an hour. We ended up arriving right around 11 am local time.
But what we were NOT too happy to see was a locked gate and no trailers in the pits. Apparently, the race had been cancelled, and somehow none of us realized this important bit of information. We were not the only ones, because there were 4 other trailers waiting at the gate, so I didn't feel as bad. A quick call to track manager, Butterbean, confirmed what I dreaded to hear.... our trip was for absolutely NOTHING.
Not that bonding with Ben, Mike, George, and W wasn't fun, but I could have done without the 3 am wake up and the 8+ hour commute. My back is killing me...
And, I get home to hear about John Force's horrific crash.... my heart breaks for the JFR team, and I wish him a speedy recovery! That team has been through so much, I just hope that he gets well very soon!
After a brief stop in Birmingham for some early morning Cracker Barrel, we continued on our way to Phenix City. Though the track is in Alabama and technically in the Central time zone, its close proximity to Columbus, GA means that the track operates on eastern time, and we lost an hour. We ended up arriving right around 11 am local time.
But what we were NOT too happy to see was a locked gate and no trailers in the pits. Apparently, the race had been cancelled, and somehow none of us realized this important bit of information. We were not the only ones, because there were 4 other trailers waiting at the gate, so I didn't feel as bad. A quick call to track manager, Butterbean, confirmed what I dreaded to hear.... our trip was for absolutely NOTHING.
Not that bonding with Ben, Mike, George, and W wasn't fun, but I could have done without the 3 am wake up and the 8+ hour commute. My back is killing me...
And, I get home to hear about John Force's horrific crash.... my heart breaks for the JFR team, and I wish him a speedy recovery! That team has been through so much, I just hope that he gets well very soon!
TRIP counter: 662 miles
Horsepower & Heels Odometer: 21,002 total miles
Labels: On the Road
Posted by Erica Ortiz on Sunday, September 23, 2007 at 6:15 PM | Permalink 
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