ARSE-FREEZE-APALOOZA Day 2, Pt 1

Thunderhill Raceway, 28 December 08

The next morning we awoke, and my worried-for-my-life-spouse asked “Are you going to drive today?”

No honey. I don’t want anything to do with it anymore. Besides, my gut was still telling me that driving it was a disaster waiting to happen.

We arrived at the track and somewhat avoided contact with Lou, who was still working feverishly to get his “Racecar” ready. My teammates let me know that Lou was still trying to get us out there, presumably to hold up his end of the bargain. As far as I was concerned however, the whole fiasco was a bust; I did not pay money to see if Lou could get his car out on the track. I paid money to enter a 24 hour endurance race in a pre-prepared car, and the race started yesterday.

I looked at the “car” once again and noticed a bunch of galvanized pipes spliced together with junkyard radiator hoses, which were swollen and leaking at every joint. Holy cow.

“It’s been running a little hot, but I think I got it now” Lou said. I shook my head.

The Jag and its owner took off towards the tech station, and I decided to wander down and hear what they had to say about it.

I missed most of the discussion, and Lou was leaving with the car as I arrived. The race organizer Jay Lamm gathered us together and told us flat out “This car is UNSAFE.” And that’s all I needed to hear.

He went on to say there were a few things Lou HAD to fix, and if he did, Jay was going to let Lou take it out on the track, but if WE decided to drive it, that would be at our own risk, and we take full responsibility and liability for our decision.

The three of us said “Hell no.” That was it. Now all we had to do was let Lou know of our decisions.

Back at the pit Lou was feverishly correcting those little details, proudly claiming that his car was ready for the race. Robert took point and told him we weren’t driving it, the car just wasn’t safe.

For a moment Lou pondered the statement… then the smile disappeared, he became indignant, and ignored us as he went back to work on the Jag with even more determination. Now he was pissed off and had something to prove.

I went with my relieved lets-get-out-of-here-spouse to get another Breakfast Burrito and then watch the last leg of the race.


Next: ARSE-FREEZE-APALOOZA Day 2, Pt.2

Previous: ARSE-FREEZE-APALOOZA Day 1, Pt. 2

From The Beginning: The Hook... (Part 1)