| Author | Message | ||
| Eric Vartanian (Evartanian)
Member Username: Evartanian Post Number: 311 Registered: 3-2002 |
Oh man...awsome!!! Sounds like a blast. Out with it already... | ||
| Matt (Matt_lamotte)
Member Username: Matt_lamotte Post Number: 704 Registered: 10-2002 |
I also added some to Part 1 | ||
| Jordan Witherspoon (Jordan747_400)
Intermediate Member Username: Jordan747_400 Post Number: 2399 Registered: 12-2002 |
If I didnt know your story already, I would have killed you by now because of your damn cliff hangers  But no, Im satisfied | ||
| Tyler (Bahiaau)
Intermediate Member Username: Bahiaau Post Number: 1154 Registered: 12-2001 |
just awesome!! Keep it coming | ||
| Matt (Matt_lamotte)
Member Username: Matt_lamotte Post Number: 702 Registered: 10-2002 |
Part 2 Pics for everyone  360 Challenge oN THE HIGHWAY!!!  Rolands F40 on the highway  | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Senior Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 7521 Registered: 8-2002 |
Thanks, everyone... It was truly an amazing event and i've yet to get to the meat...! | ||
| Dale W Spradling (Drtax)
Member Username: Drtax Post Number: 515 Registered: 4-2003 |
Onward thru the fog! Dale | ||
| Pat Pasqualini (Enzo)
Intermediate Member Username: Enzo Post Number: 1253 Registered: 2-2002 |
Can't wait for the next part!!! | ||
| Matt (Matt_lamotte)
Member Username: Matt_lamotte Post Number: 697 Registered: 10-2002 |
HAHAHAHA Another excellent edition to our adventure DES! The VIP treatment at Harrah's was something both of us took some time to get used to. However once we settled down and the alchohol started flowing DES alter ego soon appeared. I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with the ladies man off Saturday night live but I could have swore I was hanging out with the man himself. Every waitress that walked by was immediatly met by a drink in each hand DES requesting just "one more drink please". After drinking wine like Kool-Aid I had my hands full dragging the guy down the road back to the car. Once we made it back to the hotel and crashed I was awakened by a snore that shook the building. I wanted to wake him up or smother him but I figured he was having another Ferrari dream so I eventually passed out myself. When DES says John is a great guy it's an understatement. No matter what he was doing he'd always take a second to make sure we had drinks and were having a blast. DES and I definitly owe him alot and without him we would have been spectators from the sidelines. Instead he got us right in the middle of everything and gave us a front row seat. We are both really grateful John for everything and hope to see you next year. I also want to thank Dale and his buddy Bobby for the ride to the track. I would have had one hell of a time in my Acura trying to keep up with everyone. The 550 is a monster when you want it to be but very calm and quiet when driven easy. I figured with a V12 would be pretty intense but it wasn't.....until we got to the track. Thanks again Dale and if your ever back in Pensacola dinner is on me. One of the biggest highlights on the way to the track was following Ray in his 360 Challenge car that wasn't even street legal. The sound of his car reverberating through the streets as people stood drooling on themselves is still something I can here in my head. Then once Ray got a little ahead who else but Roland Linder pulls up in front of us. Never before have I seen a street legal car shoot fire out the back but sure enough that beast of a car was a fire breathing animal. It has so much downforce Dale and I had to back off some due to the rocks being sucked off the ground. The craziest people on the way there though we the police who did a great job of clearing the road so we could get through. And like DES said once we got to the track it was a scene to be seen. Part 3 is going to be a classic. | ||
| James Glickenhaus (Napolis)
Advanced Member Username: Napolis Post Number: 2968 Registered: 10-2002 |
Ride ON! | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Senior Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 7514 Registered: 8-2002 |
Have you ever spoken with John Houghtaling�? I have. Several times, actually. Over the phone� �until I finally met him the weekend of the Ferrari French Quarter Classic. Now before I ever met John, I only knew him by voice. He�d call me unexpectedly (although always a welcomed surprise) in the office or on my cell phone on any random day of the week and he�d feed me details of the upcoming event. However, he always seemed cut and dry. �This is the event, this is what will happen�� etcetera and so forth. It almost seemed business-like. He doesn�t use slang when he talks; not very colloquial, his English is very proper and all his words are fully pronounced. He wasn�t exactly intimidating to speak with but it wasn�t like shootin� the sh!t, either. I was mortified whenever I had to put him on hold; here was this man, hard-working, very busy, who took time out of his day to give me details on the event he�s hosting and inviting me to and I have to put him on hold �cause some yokel has a claims issue. I would get nervous just asking him to hang on a minute. Then we met and I realized something very important. John always has a slight smile on his face when he�s talking. Almost like he knows something you don�t. He wasn�t rigid or by-the-book, he�s just really mellow and laid back. That really eased my nerves when we met for the first time at The Windsor Court. We shook hands and he smiled; we had a delightful conversation of an event that was starting to unfold before our very eyes. �Did you go inside and register yet? You should do that soon. There�s a reception at Harrah�s this evening; you�ll want to change for that and it�s only a few hours away.� With so much that needed to be done and so many important folks running around, needing to speak with John, I learned the true meaning of Southern hospitality when he put everything on hold to talk to me. Matt and I returned to our hotel. Quick showers, new outfits and we were out the door, on our way to Harrah�s. I�ve never been to a casino I didn�t gamble in; there�s a first time for everything. Upon arrival, we were IDed and directed to a big room where we were greeted by a hostess. A quick flash of the Ferrari pass and we were in. �Roll up your sleeves�, I thought; it�s time to rub elbows with some really cool Ferrari folk. Getting drinks at the bar was a little difficult at first, but once I got the bartender�s attention, she kept the free drinks coming. After a while, it was time to relocate to the VIP room. More free drinks. By the time Matt and I were ready to leave (well, Matt was ready, I was quite happy with the simultaneous waitresses each bringing me different drinks), I was seeing double. At the behest of Dave Goldman, Kelly & John, we shouldn�t stay out too late. We needed to be at the hotel bright and early the next morning� �for the 70 mile police-escorted Ferrari-cade to the race track. Friday Morning After about 5 hours of sleep, it was time to get out of bed. Now I�ve never had a hangover in my life but getting out of bed still drunk is no small task, either. Matt and I were up before the sun, out before the streetlights and greeted by thick fog during our short journey to The Windsor Court. Slowly trickling down into the lobby, the other guests stirred about the hotel, some in full-blown racing suits. Coffee and light chitchat was the unspoken theme as John, Franco and Kelly scurried about, preparing to get the show on the road. After a quick meeting in the lobby, the cars began lining up in the street. Matt finagled a ride with Dale Spradling in his 550 and Dale�s friend Bobby was nice enough to let me ride shotgun in his 2003 yellow F1 360 coupe. The four of us walked into the hotel garage only to roll out, minutes later, and file in with the rest of the Ferraris. Now let�s pause and reflect for a moment. For us, this was a 4-day vacation; for everyone else in New Orleans, it was Friday morning rush hour traffic. Imagine going to work early in the morning, only to have your commute abruptly halted by police cars parked in the middle of the road and just beyond the flashing blue and red barricaDES was a sea of over 80 Ferraris. Everything from a 456 to Roland Linder�s F40 LM; 360s, 360 spiders, 355s, 308s and 2 288 GTOs; let�s not forget to mention the 512 Bbis, the 328s, Testarossas, a few Daytonas, a 348 and some 550s. Luca would�ve been proud. So there I was, comfortably tucked into the plush black-with-yellow-piping leather interior of a Ferrari 360. I was part of an Italian rainbow of Rosso Corsa, Giallo Modena, California Azzurro, Giallo Con Nero, Rosso Barchetta and more. It was an impromptu circus of wild exotica with a choir of impatient exhausts demanding in their need to sing. �and then, suddenly, we were moving. A stubborn, unyielding fog dampened any thoughts of a high-speed dash to the Grand Bayou Raceway and weather-related accidents on our proposed route resulted in a back roads detour. My new friend, who generously allowed me to accompany him for the trip, helped to familiarize me with my newfound swampy surroundings. I�d never even seen sugar cane before and, being a southern boy, Bobby was more than happy to teach me a few things. The leisurely two-hour cruise in his smooth-shifting F1 360 was an enjoyable one. At last, we arrived at the track. Before that morning, I�d never in my life been to any kind of a racetrack before. Boy was I in for a treat�! |