Day Two... More of the sameAfter falling asleep to the sounds of rally cars in my dreams I was awoke by the sound of a car alarm at 4 AM. I got gadgets, I worry about car alarms in the wee hours of the morning. I had made sure to park directly under the street light for what I hoped would be some extra security. As I lay there coming out of my fog, it quickly became apparent to me that the alarm that was coming from the general direction of my truck, sounded
exactly like the alarm in my truck.
I jumped out of bed and ran out on the balcony in my underwear.... It was not my truck. It was a black Toyota Highlander parked directly behind my truck at the hotel next door. This still made me nervous, but I didn't see anyone and went back inside. After 5 minutes or so the alarm stopped and I fell asleep....... only to be woke up again 15 minutes later. I repeated the same exercise and again nothing unusual was seen. back to sleep I went, but sure enough off it went again. This repeated itself until I finally got out of bed at 6.
After a quick shower, I stomped across the parking lot and pounded on the windows and doors of the hotel office. Fueled by anger from a lack of sleep I kept it up for a good 10 minutes and then after screaming a few choice words about idiots car alarms and highlanders I walked back across the lot to my truck. It was time to fuel up (Super for Ozwald, Coffee for me) and head into to town for the park and expose.
I won’t bore you with all the details of the day two expose except to again say how cool all the drivers and teams where. I ran into Ken Block in the coffee shop, and after that went out and chatted with Travis about the barrel incident from the day before. Evidently the drivers where harassing Ken saying he did it. I made my way back over to the coffee shop and grabbed some water for the day. The sun was shining and I knew it was going to be a hot day compared to day one. I'd be a bit further south, and quite a bit further inland. Water was going to be handy.
While in the coffee shop I couldn't help but notice the smiles on the extremely busy workers making lattes and bagging up different flavors of pop corn. There was a lady behind the counter and I assume she was the owner because she was thanking everyone for coming in, asking all the drivers and teams how they were doing. This lady clearly got it, and clearly was enjoying the impact of the stimulus package that Rally America had brought to her doors. I only mention this and stress this because I hope other communities look at this and think about it as potential ways of stimulating their own local economy. Bottom line here... racing is good for communities!
Back out to Broadway just in time to chat with team 466. They were doing good, 2nd in class, and so far hadn't had any mechanical issues. The guys seemed pumped, and I was sure they were going to have a good day. Time would tell, but they seemed focused and ready to get it! Our conversation (or rather my pestering of questions) was interrupted by the call for the drivers meeting.
The drivers meeting is pretty simple from what I saw. A quick roll call, they make sure each of the teams has received that days drivers bulletins, a quick word from the chairman, and then it’s done. I caught in on video, but honestly, nothing exciting here.
I waited around till the drivers got ready and stayed late enough to catch Ken Block getting ready to drive off the starting line. Rally is weird that way, no high speed starts at the beginning of the day. They motor long at strictly enforced legal street speeds until they get to the stages where they let the cars loose. You won’t see any burning rubber here, but it was cool to see Ken taking off.
As the drivers headed inland, I headed West (Go West young man!) to catch up with the family, pack up, check out of the room and then find my way to the infamous Brooklyn Tavern for the days assignment. I was worried even more about this, I had no clue how long this would take, and driving the opposite direction was making me nervous. Making me even more nervous, Bobbi had already made motherly comments about how I needed to eat breakfast before I headed out. Doing the math in my mind I was trying to figure out how I would make this work.
Upon getting back to the hotel room I was pleasantly surprised to see my family awake, the wife’s car packed, and a small bit of stuff for me to shove in the back of the truck. I was a bit concerned though because the office didn't open till 9 AM, and it was only 8:45.... tick tock tick tock tick tock.... Finally at 8:55 the office worker showed up and I explained that I needed to get to the race and begged her to please let me pay ASAP. She kindly let me in, ran the card in record time, and off we went.... to breakfast.
It was decided we would go to Shilo for breakfast. On the way over I fired up the GPS which after calculating my route told me I had an hour and half drive to get to where I needed to be. While walking in the restraint my mind was racing trying to figure out just how much skinny opedal I would need to apply to shave time off this hour and half drive, as well as what food I could get that would not only require little to no chewing, but also be cooked quickly.
On our way to the table the host mentioned the buffet.... that what I am talking about! Without even stopping I headed over and loaded up my plate with the usual brunch fare, and headed back to the table. Upon sitting down Bobbi gave me that look that said "Nice try". I was not going to be able to turn this into a speed eating contest. That being said, I was quickly taken off my hectic pace, relaxed into the comfy chair and gazed out at the ocean. It was going to be a beautiful day, and while I was in a hurry to get going, I could have sat there for hours and watched the waves crashed. After finishing my food, and a couple glasses of ice tea I was given the all clear by 9:30 and made my way out to the truck for the trip to Brooklyn.
The trip to Brooklyn was beautiful. Brooklyn is off the beaten path, in its own little special place next to nowhere. Rolling hills, winding roads following the river... It was awesome, and as I drove I began wishing I didn't have to work on Monday and that I could just find a place to camp. Oh well, there will be time in the future. As I was driving along taken in by the beauty of the area I blew straight through Brooklyn, past the meet up and up on to the stage.
After eating a couple miles of dust I came upon a group of spectators. These guys had clearly been drinking for a good chunk of the morning, and based on the amount of beer in the backs of trucks I could see it was going to be quite the party. I pulled over, looked for what I thought was the most sober member of the group, and got directions back to the Tavern. I made my way down to the tavern where I checked in with Bill.
Bill was busy getting others checked in so I took the time to go into the tavern and meet the man the myth the legend that is Ray Damitio. Sure enough, after stepping inside I was quickly greeted by Ray. I didn't have much time, but I thanked him for his work in bringing the rally, bought a Brooklyn Tavern hat, and what had to be the most expensive pack of cigarettes I have ever got (8 bucks!
). And they didn't even have my brand! Oh well, money well spent. Given this place is in the middle of nowhere I figured the races had to be a pretty big part of Ray's bottom line. It felt good to contribute in a small way. After settling up with ray I went outside and met up with Bill eager for my assignment.
Bill was so cool... I could see that he truly wanted me to have a good time both days, so when he asked what I wanted to do, I told him "whatever". After a quick bit of discussion it was determined that for today I could be a spectator marshal. It's a fairly easy job, all you have to do is make sure everyone stays off the course and behind the safety tape. Bill quickly gave me directions back to the exact spot I had turned around at..... with a bit of nervous apprehension I made my way back up the dusty roads to the spectator stage.
Bill had given me a contact name... "Look for the Indian BBQ'ing oysters" he had said. When I arrived everyone seemed one level higher on the drunken scale, this was going to be an interesting day. After some discussion with my contact, being told that there was no parking available, a quick flash of the orange volunteer vest found me a spot to park. As the day went on I have to be honest, I was pretty impressed with the power of the vest. I backed into a spot next to a group of drunken idiots in a ranger. As I was getting out of the truck one of the girls in the group took a stage dive off the back of the truck and landed on her face. Great... hour and half till race time, and already blood was being spilt. This was going to be an interesting time. Remarkably though, they actually maintained and honestly I didn't have any issues with the group the entire day.
Right before race time Ray showed up. He made his way over to me and asked a couple questions showed me his officials badge and let me know he was there to help if I needed it. I could also see how much respect the drunken locals had for Ray, and even though he didn't know it he had already helped by just settling my nerves.
Soon after Ray showed, the course marshal came through. The staff was a bit freaked out. Don't get me wrong, they had it under control, but they got way more spectators than they had imagined. New spectator stages cropped up, and new volunteer marshal’s needed to be sent to these areas to keep the crowds safe. The marshal looked over my area, and said we seemed to be ok.
He seemed a bit nervous though, and asked "Is Ray here? Old man Ray?"
I laughed a bit, "yes... yes he's here".
"Ok then" he said, "you'll be fine, just tell Ray I am a little concerned about gravel spray, ask what he thinks".
I made my way over to Ray and asked what he thought. He thought we would be fine.
"No one will get hit, but that car there might get a little gravel damage".
"Uhmm which car Ray" I asked "that yellow one"?
"Yes, the yellow one" he said.
"Ok thanks Ray" and off I went to move my truck.
After repositioning the FJ I settled in with Alex my ham and waited for the show to start. The first stage is running the 7 mile course West to East. We'd have a nice view of the cars as they ripped past us and then blazed up the hill. The second stage they'd be coming down hill at us. Having a ham with me was very cool because I got to hear the status of the race. Start informed us that the first three cars would be 2 minutes apart, then they'd go to one minute spacing. Unlike the day before, the dust here was going to be miserable. I wasn't even sure if that was enough time for the dust to settle.
While waiting for the race to start I chatted with the other fans (this end wasn't drinking), and once again, everyone was very cool. Met a nice guy from Westport and we traded stories till finally the advance cars began making their way through. After the advance cars came through I was told to tell everyone to stand up in case they had to bail. It was definitely overkill, but better safe than sorry.
The first car through was # 199, Travis Pastrana. Wait a minute... Ken Block started. What happened? I wouldn't find out till the banquet dinner that night, Ken had problems with his turbo and had to drop out earlier in the day. This was a bummer, the guy pushes his car to the limit and beyond. In the spectator brochure he says that in order to compete competitively in Rally racing you have to be able to walk away from an expensive hunk of burning metal. The bits I had seen of his driving showed he wasn't afraid to ball it up. Oh well, I'll see him in Oregon...
Also unlike the day before, there was not any barrels slowing these guys. Only the roads themselves determined the pace, well that and the drivers skill. During stage one we saw two cars lose it on a corner past us. In talking to Ray while we waited for the OK signs from each car he told me that they had never had anyone wreck there before. Both cars after crashing quickly got out, and flashed the OK signs. I couldn't see them, but there was a ham up the track from me and he could, and thanks to Alex, I could hear. Another cool aspect of having a HAM with you.
Anyway, both cars were deemed to be off the course enough so without missing a beat the rally continued on. The remaining drivers made there through the course without issue and roughly 30 minutes after Travis had past the sweep vehicles made their way up to deal with the wrecked cars. The 2nd car to wreck (# 461 I believe) was able to change his tire and make his way out under his own power, still in the rally. The first car that wrecked though had hit the embankment almost head on. It had picked the car up and spun it around 180 degrees, and ripped one of the front tires off I guess. After some waiting we heard on the radio that the car would need to be trailered out, and that the sweep team was going to move it to a new more off the track location.
While we watched I looked around and did some quick math and determined that by moving one car back a bit we could fit the car in with our vehicles behind the tape. I asked ray, he said it sounded good, asked Alex if he wanted to volunteer, and well... it just never happened. Honestly the sweep team had the car re-positioned by the time I thought of this, so maybe it was better to leave it there. It had wrecked up the hill and around the bend, and without a flat bed it would need to be drug to my location. While possible, maybe that wouldn't have been the best for the track ;D Ok I get it... I just want to say though... Dave Mira did not finish the 2nd stage. I saw an interview today where he says he "hit that wrecked car"... Now, there was some carnage on parts of the course that I couldn't see, so I don’t know which car he may have been talking about. All I can say is Dave... sorry man I tried ;D
Anyway, nuff talking... pics or it didn't happen.
Basically for the first stage the cars would be coming from my back here and head up the hill.
and then around the corner at the top. For Stage 2 they'd be coming back the opposite way.
And heres the video I caught of stage one, I believe I got all the cars. You'll also hear me stress my power! lol
**Edit** had to break this into two video's to fit on the you tubes **Edit**
Stage two proved to be just as awesome. While we didn't have any wrecks that we could see, we did hear of a roll over and see a few close calls coming down the hills as the drivers negotiated the turns. I also managed to catch some cool footage of Dave Mira being passed right in front of us. Dave was basically 2.5 wheeling it here with a bent rear tire and "wasted" front end. It’s hard to see here, but it’s a pretty steep drop off here on the other side of the road and I don’t know how Dave managed to keep the car on the course, but he did finish the stage. Unfortunately though that would be the last stage for him.
Here’s the video of the pass (So you don’t have to watch the whole thing).
Here’s an interview with Dave after the stage.
And here’s the complete stage 2 footage I got... well most of it.
After the stage was over my job got hard. Everyone wanted to leave and I had the job of making sure they didn't. Car 23 had rolled up the course, and if he could get over on his own, he could still potentially come down the course at speed. For the most part everyone respected my authoritie! ;D and the few cars and bikes I did have to stop actually did (unlike the quads at 4 corners), and most honestly didn't seem to know they couldn't leave. We waited for what seemed like hours while the sweep crew worked with the car 23 to determine if it would make it out on its own power or needed to be towed or trailered. After much discussion on the radio we were advised that car 23 was going to be out of the race but was coming down the hill under its own power.
I caught this picture here of the car and the driver, and after I snapped this I looked at the drivers face and felt guilty for taking the picture. This was not how the guy wanted to finish his day. Now that I think back and look at the picture I also notice that he is by himself, without the co-pilot. I don't believe anything happened, but I also don't know where the other guy went either.
Have to admit, I also chuckled a bit thinking hell... that aint so bad.... Rick would drive would it!
After the sweep and the massive line of cars I made my way down the hill to check out with Bill. Once I got there I was asked if I had picked up any signs.... DOH!
I hadn't seen any, but that might have been because I wasn't looking for any. I offered to stay several times, but Bill was kind enough to basically insist I leave (Maybe he was sick of me ;D) so I began making my way down to South Bend for the banquet dinner. That morning there had been some discussion about taking the more direct gravel road route vs. the longer paved way. The only challenge would be they were racing on that road. So after waiting a bit for the stage to clear, I drove across what I believe was called smith creek road. Amazing road, and along the way I scouted out numerous camping spots.
Half way to South Bend I realized that I didn't know where the banquet was. How hard could it be? How big could South Bend be? I kept following my GPS and sure enough, I turned the corner and ran into the rally team trucks and cars.
I made my way over to the awards banquet and grabbed some grab and found a place to sit. Travis came up and sat next to me as I ate. That’s right, I had dinner with Travis Pastrana.... well, I ate food and he sat behind me, but that counts right? The food was awesome, they really treated the volunteers amazingly well, way more than I expected. Don't tell them but I would have done this for nothing. The food, shirt, goodies from Subaru was just icing on the cake. Definitely not needed, but definitely appreciated.
After a quick round of thank you's and a trophy presentation people slowly began to mingle out. I stopped and said by to those I met, promised to see everyone next month, and began walking down to my car. Another quick round of questions for my new buddy Josh and off I began the trek home. I pulled in at 9:30 and by 9:45 I was out, enjoying a solid silent night of sleep.
For those playing along, or still paying attention ;D Travis finished first in his class, and team 466 finished 2nd in theirs. It was an awesome time, and I can't wait till they come to Oregon. Only 24 days... but who's counting??