Yeah, I would have to loved to have gone but that was the weekend of my
birthday and had a lot of friends that I hadn't seen in a while coming.
Next year look for me to be there (hopefully in a reg. cab YELLOW Dak).
If I'm not there, consider me dead.
Erich 98 ext. cab v8 5spd. (for now anyway)
bgbeaird@neosoft.com wrote:
>
> 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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