| Author | Message | ||
| john w. houghtaling, II (Johnhoughtaling)
Junior Member Username: Johnhoughtaling Post Number: 246 Registered: 11-2002 |
Matt: Matt, that's enouph discosure. What happens on bourbon street stays on bourbon street. This is your lawyer talking. | ||
| Dr. J C928 (Attitude928)
Junior Member Username: Attitude928 Post Number: 128 Registered: 11-2002 |
Great "tango" DES. I look foward to tommorrow's edition. PS One time you'll have to experience "oversteer" in a Skeeter at 100mph. | ||
| Matt (Matt_lamotte)
Member Username: Matt_lamotte Post Number: 713 Registered: 10-2002 |
That's the truth. I turn around for two seconds and DES has his pants down showing his ass to everyone for beads!!! He had the whole process a little bit messed up but trust me at the balcony party the man managed to get more shots of women shirtless than the guys down the road at the strip clubs. I'll post my pics of the spectacle when I get back on Monday. | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Senior Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 7558 Registered: 8-2002 |
Alan - ROTFLMAO...!!! People were throwing me beads, begging me to put my clothes back ON...! | ||
| Alan Leach (Speedy308)
Member Username: Speedy308 Post Number: 334 Registered: 12-2002 |
You were jus' down there catchin' extra blinky beads!!!! | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Senior Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 7556 Registered: 8-2002 |
Oh, and above all... Tell him i said thank you. | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Senior Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 7555 Registered: 8-2002 |
LMAO...! Sunny, that's just wrong...! Don't lead them on like that... Folks, i definitely did NOT drive an F40 - anywhere...! Sunny, you're gonna cause peoples' health to deteriorate...!  Martin, Ray's a really cool guy; what happens on Bourbon Street stays on Bourbon Street, but he knows how to have fun. Tell him i said hello; he'll know who i am, just tell him i was the one in the street while everyone else was on the balcony... | ||
| Sunny Garofalo (Jaguarxj6)
Intermediate Member Username: Jaguarxj6 Post Number: 1131 Registered: 2-2003 |
I forgot, sorry, hehe. I would tell you offline but I promised not to tell anyone, foolish, I know. But its his story. I won't spoil (F40) what the car (F40) is or who gets to drive (DES) it around the track for a few (HOT) laps. Sunny | ||
| Martin - Cavallino Motors (Miami348ts)
Senior Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 6547 Registered: 5-2001 |
my 40 extra Lbs may have also played a role. That is my story and I will stick to it | ||
| Martin - Cavallino Motors (Miami348ts)
Senior Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 6546 Registered: 5-2001 |
DES you God darn $#@%^&%^$#^%##%^ with O*^^*^$$&* and *&%@$#@@#$ I am not getting back in the office till MOnday.  crap, I guess I will have a heartattack and dy this weekend. Bad enough I could not make it out there. Would have loved to slap a few laps in Ray's Enzo aince I almost beat him at the Karts the other day and the only reason he won was because he crashed his son off course, his own son!!! We are having good laughs about that still today | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Senior Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 7554 Registered: 8-2002 |
Ryan, Sunny - LMAO...!!! You guys are gonna kill Martin...! i don't wanna read Monday morning's paper to see an article about some big dead German guy in Florida on the front page... Martin, hang in there, buddy... Tomorrow morning (hopefully)... | ||
| Ryan Alexander (Ryalex)
Junior Member Username: Ryalex Post Number: 173 Registered: 8-2003 |
Martin, you're going to love it ;-) -Ryan, who's in on it. | ||
| Martin - Cavallino Motors (Miami348ts)
Senior Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 6541 Registered: 5-2001 |
GREAT !!!! Everybody knows about this part.....EXCEPT ME!!! Sunny you have an obligation to disclose. | ||
| Sunny Garofalo (Jaguarxj6)
Intermediate Member Username: Jaguarxj6 Post Number: 1130 Registered: 2-2003 |
I heard about this part... oops! I'll wait for Part 4. | ||
| Martin - Cavallino Motors (Miami348ts)
Senior Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 6540 Registered: 5-2001 |
DES I hate you....This is like watching those episodes that will let you hang in ther eat the worst second. | ||
| Tyler (Bahiaau)
Intermediate Member Username: Bahiaau Post Number: 1163 Registered: 12-2001 |
MORE,MORE,MORE,MORE. | ||
| Scott85 (Scott85)
Junior Member Username: Scott85 Post Number: 134 Registered: 12-2000 |
>>>>>it says 355 in fifth paragraph.<<<<< Read the last 3 lines. | ||
| JT (Mightymagician)
Junior Member Username: Mightymagician Post Number: 193 Registered: 11-2002 |
great stuff DES, but these breaks are killing me | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Senior Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 7550 Registered: 8-2002 |
LOL, Jordan... Kevin, thank you; i'd like to pursue that one day... Part IV tomorrow, folks... | ||
| Jordan Witherspoon (Jordan747_400)
Intermediate Member Username: Jordan747_400 Post Number: 2407 Registered: 12-2002 |
OH OH OH I KNOW WHATS NEXT! Cant tell though | ||
| Matt (Matt_lamotte)
Member Username: Matt_lamotte Post Number: 708 Registered: 10-2002 |
I'm not going to ruin the story but to add to the anticipation there are actually several amazing machines you are about to hear about. I have pics of DES to verify that he was in them....even the one he had to cram into. The track day was one of the most awesome displays of horsepower I think I have ever seen. I started off the day in Dales 550 for a few warmup laps. This car is loaded with tourque and we were cathcing the 360's and such on the straights. Dale eventually pulled off and then I Dave Goldman snagged me and we jumped in his car. Dave is one hell of a driver and as we got started on our first lap I was holding on for dear life. Looking ahead I could see Dale in the 550 with smoke coming out the engine. Turns out he had blown a hose and little did I or Dave know he had dropped coolant on the track. As we came through the final curve it felt as if we had hit ice. The rear of the car slid out and Dave handled it perfectly as he counter steered. We went off the track into the dirt and thought we had blown a tire. I jumped out and checked everything was OK. All looked good so we decided to park for a second while the track was inspected. MY FIRST HOT LAP IN A FERRARI...MY FIRST OFF!!! WHAT A DAY IT WAS. | ||
| Martin - Cavallino Motors (Miami348ts)
Senior Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 6539 Registered: 5-2001 |
and here I am:  | ||
| Paul Bianco (Paulie_b)
Intermediate Member Username: Paulie_b Post Number: 1074 Registered: 1-2003 |
it says 355 in fifth paragraph. | ||
| Scott85 (Scott85)
Junior Member Username: Scott85 Post Number: 133 Registered: 12-2000 |
F40 LM ? | ||
| Kevin S. (Wolfgang5150)
Junior Member Username: Wolfgang5150 Post Number: 85 Registered: 5-2003 |
DES - You are a VERY GOOD writer. I'm not sure what you do for a living, but need to channel your writing ability into a career. Thanks. Kevin | ||
| Jim E (Jimpo1)
Advanced Member Username: Jimpo1 Post Number: 2791 Registered: 7-2001 |
DES, I'm afraid you're going to need to call in sick so you can FINISH THIS DAMN STORY! | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Senior Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 7547 Registered: 8-2002 |
i love you, too, Martin. | ||
| Martin - Cavallino Motors (Miami348ts)
Senior Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 6533 Registered: 5-2001 |
darn nagging what the bloody $#@% do I have to wait for now...get the story out there....this is like a commercial break. I HATE THEM!!!! | ||
| Rick (Bromers)
New member Username: Bromers Post Number: 43 Registered: 6-2003 |
An Enzo ...... | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Senior Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 7545 Registered: 8-2002 |
We all have somewhere we�d rather be. Maybe you�re at work and you�d rather be at the beach you were at over the weekend. Maybe you�re at home, cleaning out the garage and you�d rather be at that resort you were at over the summer. Me? I�d rather be at a racetrack. It�s just been that way for years. Funny thing is, I�d never been to a racetrack until a week ago. It was all so foreign to me, like nothing I�d ever imagined; yet I still felt right at home. When Bobby pulled up and parked his 360 at the end of a seemingly endless row of Ferraris, we got out. I looked around, stupefied. My eyelids peeled back almost behind my eyeballs. My pupils widened. It was hard to concentrate, hard to focus, hard to think. But I managed to salvage a thought from the dwindling brain cells: �FERRARIS�!!!� I felt like a little kid, primed to run amuck in a toy store. �This must be what the gift shop is like at the factory in Italy!� I thought. I wanted to aimlessly run around and touch everything and giggle. But I was too mystified for motion. I just stood there. Red Testarossa, yellow 360 Spider, blue 456, F40, F40 LM, silver 360GT, 4 333 SPs, Jim Spiro�s red 1962 Ferrari 330 TRI/LM � YEAH�!!! The fog began lifting from the track but I was still stuck in it as my eyes swept the pits, ogling the gorgeous speed monsters before me. Franco�s voice broke in and out of the loudspeaker, cutting into my conscious dream; it was time for the driver�s meeting. After the driver�s meeting, everyone was going everywhere, getting everything ready. I stood and watched. Voices followed footsteps, exhaust notes rumbled behind cars, the damp morning air was abuzz with anticipation. Then a voice discreetly called my name. I turned to find out who would concern themselves with me at a time like this. It was John. He had ditched yesterday�s casual/formal business attire for some real track threads. A head-to-toe racing suit whisked by me and John dipped his head to the side, motioning me to follow him; the look on his face spoke to me loud and clear: �I just snuck out of a conversation, let�s go have some fun�. Next thing I know, I�m wedging myself into the passenger�s seat of his raced-out 355. Yellow stickers advertising Pirelli were sprawled across the siDES of the car. An elegant font read �John Houghtaling, III� across the top of the door, just outside of the window. The back bumper brandished bold, yellow letters with an even bolder statement: Power Is Nothing Without Control. We were headed for the track. A string of Ferraris, whose exhausts growled impatiently, were lined up on the grid, eager to head out onto the track. John pulled up along side them, up to the front of the line. A quick nod from John scored an okay from �the man� directing the �traffic�. We were off. A quick, left dip onto the track and we hit the straight. John�s fuzzy-gloved hand manned the shifter as he shifted from gear to gear, increasing speed as we made a bee-line for the first turn. John was focused and steady, downshifting and braking authoritatively before bearing left into the first turn, just missing an orange cone. The track quickly straightens out just as you turn into it, so John clipped the apex and brought the hammer down on the gas, fast-forwarding us up to turn two. Turn two had more of a curve to it and just when I was thinking �brakes� brakes��, John up-shifted. A split second before we right-turned, John hit the brakes, immediately reducing speed just enough so that we weaved through the turn, threading one apex, then another as we turned left. Coming out of turn three, you�re immediately running out of a very small straight, heading for a very tight turn four. Apparently brakes aren�t necessary there �cause as we came up on turn four, John was back on the gas. �Oh, sh!t, over steer. Over steer! We�re gonna spin!� I thought. Not a chance. It was like krazy-gluing Velcro to wet cement and letting it dry; the car would just not budge from its path. If my bulky frame had not been shoehorned into the racing seat, I would�ve been sitting in John�s lap at that point. John was throwing the shifter around like it wasn�t gated and, as we rocketed out of the turn, I realized two things: 1. I left my heartbeat at that last apex. 2. John was talking. He was calmly explaining to me what he was doing; staying in a path and hitting the apexes. It was like a casual Sunday drive for him. �How long have you been doing this?� I asked as physics tried to pull me through the door as John entered turn five. �Six years,� he replied. He was so calm and laid back when he spoke but so calculated and focused on what he was doing. Clutch, shift, gas, brakes, turn, clutch, shift, vroooooom! We ripped out of another turn like John had just stolen the car. A few more turns and we had completed the lap, only to begin another. It was incredible. I couldn�t help but voice my amazement at how well the car handled under such a thrashing, to which John replied � and I�ll never forget: �Oh, this is nothing, I�m taking it easy, the car has to warm up. We�ll get you out here later to experience some real Gs.� My jaw lost all muscle control as I tried to fathom this as �taking it easy�. After 5 exhilarating laps around the track, John pulled back into the pits. I climbed out of the car only to be standing on air. I had a huge grin on my face and my newfound addiction took immediate effect. It was such an intense rush and I wanted more. The speed, the force, the energy, I was gravitated towards its possibilities. Mesmerized, I wandered about the pits, taking pictures of the cars that weren�t on the track. My eyes fell on bodies at rest but my mind tangoed with thoughts of a body in motion. I kept taking pictures. After a while, I heard my name again. I turned to look and, just like earlier, it was John. He had keys in his hand. He was walking towards a Ferrari. But not his Ferrari. What happened next would change my life forever. |