content, though.
For those of you in Texas, if you DIDN'T go to the Houston Texaco Grand
Prix, you missed a KILLER event. Rain caused about a 30-minute delay in
the start, and rain halted the race with 30-something laps left to go.
Good thing, too, because there's a frog strangler on its way! The Impala
Ranch is standing in about 1 inch of water. The drainage ditches are
full, and there is a 3-foot wide stream running between our house and the
neighbor's. AND, it is STILL raining! Luckily, the R/T is high and dry
in the garage (there, Dakota content).
Back to the destruction derby, er, race (g). The first 30 or so laps
were run mostly under yellow, with one race stopping crash by the
entrance to pit row that blocked the track. I think only about 1/2 the
starting grid was running at the end. They were running the Toyota Supra
pace car so much you thought it was a competitor!
It was a great weekend, though. We got to hear the deafening CART and
Trans Am cars. You could feel the CART cars boom as they closed the
throttle and feel and hear them pop as they hit the rev limiters just
before shifting. We could smell the alcohol and racing gas fumes, as
well as clutch and brake material being used to their utmost potential.
Didn't get any nose hits of tire smoke, we were too far from pit row
(guess we will have to go to HRP for that). We also got to see the CART
cars as they accelerated and broke the tires loose while the boost levels
started coming up. All in all, it was a sensory-filled weekend.
We spent Sunday morning in the paddock, and then went to lunch after
Barbara put the used brake rotor from Bobby Rahal's car in the Jeep (BG)!
After lunch, we could see the rain clouds rolling in, and opted to stay
in the Park Mall and watch the event on closed-circuit TV. It was GREAT!
We got to see the race action, listen to the commentary from the track
announcer, as well as the TV crew in the background ("switch to camera 6
and close in on the lizard."), AND we stayed dry. Dry, that is, until it
came time to go home. We donned our garbage bags and made a run for it.
Hopped in the truck and drove home through the typical Houston fall
drizzle that hit the area. Interesting to note that we had a 30 percent
chance of rain.
The commentary from race crews, drivers, and owners was that they liked
the track, Houston, and the event. I think we will have a GP here next
year, too. Maybe we can plan on an Dakota parade lap!
Please note that we also own an Impala SS, and there was a Texaco ad
showing Mario Andretti is filling upa car. It was black Impala SS (BG).
Well, I am done droning on about the race. It was fun. Hopefully, more
can make it and we can have a dryer event next year. Barbara REALLY
enjoyed the race, especially when she got the SECOND CART car brake
rotor! Now, she wants to find our how to get in on that PPG pace car
driving team. We hope everyone got home safely.
Gene Beaird
98 flame Red CC R/T
95 DGGM Impala SS
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