| Author | Message | ||
| Ron Dallas (328infoseeker)
Junior Member Username: 328infoseeker Post Number: 96 Registered: 5-2001 |
Nice Pics Nika! I am sure the plates on the wagon said, "My other car is a Ferrari" | ||
| Eric Eiland (Eric308gtsiqv)
Junior Member Username: Eric308gtsiqv Post Number: 206 Registered: 11-2001 |
Martin: LOL, that does pretty much sum up HoJo's these days. Nika: Great pics - thanks for posting! Looks like you had a great time as well. That #22 Ferrari is beautiful -- did that one see some track time? Really enjoyed that last pic of the "other side" of Sebring -- saw plenty of those "Kodak moments"! | ||
| Martin (Miami348ts)
Intermediate Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 1614 Registered: 5-2001 |
Hi Nika.... | ||
| Nika (Racernika)
Member Username: Racernika Post Number: 335 Registered: 12-2001 |
Now the OTHER side of Sebring  The morning of the race  Jupiter John, EZ Racer and myself at corner 10  Sunset at Sebring  | ||
| Nika (Racernika)
Member Username: Racernika Post Number: 333 Registered: 12-2001 |
Here are some pictures of the event - I sure hope I remember how to upload      | ||
| Martin (Miami348ts)
Intermediate Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 1610 Registered: 5-2001 |
A Ho-Jo run by Indians, with a bad restaurant next to it and in pretty bad condition...hm, that pretty much describes every Ho-Jo right? | ||
| Edwin F Herr lll (Letsgofst)
Junior Member Username: Letsgofst Post Number: 51 Registered: 9-2001 |
bingo | ||
| Eric Eiland (Eric308gtsiqv)
Junior Member Username: Eric308gtsiqv Post Number: 205 Registered: 11-2001 |
It might have been the same hotel, Edwin. The one we stayed at (when not camped out at Sebring) had several two-story clusters of rooms with very large windows as well -- buildings were painted white with blue trim as I recall. It seemed to be a popular stop for the truckers too. The hotel was run by an family of Indian descent, I think. Oh, and there was a restaurant called "John's Restaurant" on the premises -- we made the mistake and ate there the first night -- it was pretty bad to say the least. It is amazing, though, that nobody saw the whole ordeal during the night. There was one couple who mentioned that they heard some commotion, but simply thought it was truckers and travelers coming and going. We were so tired that we slept too soundly I'm afraid (plus the fact that we had the air conditioner on max). Can't wait until next year  . | ||
| Edwin F Herr lll (Letsgofst)
New member Username: Letsgofst Post Number: 50 Registered: 9-2001 |
Eric, Thanks for the info. Id like to install a cut off on my Ferrari. Its ironic but I stayed at a Howard Johnsons on #27 on Friday night. It amazes me how something like that could happen with no one seeing or hearing anything. The HoJo I stayed at had such large windows facing in all directions. | ||
| Eric Eiland (Eric308gtsiqv)
Junior Member Username: Eric308gtsiqv Post Number: 203 Registered: 11-2001 |
Yes, Edwin, my dad was very fortunate to recover his car in such a short amount of time (less than an hour after reporting it stolen). Thanks in large part to a fuel pump cutoff switch, the crooks didn't get very far. I bet they were sure suprised when the engine suddenly died -- they probably thought they had landed a big one until that happened! Since returning home, my dad has turned his car carrier into a literal "Fort Knox" with all the Harley locks and security system -- guess he wants to make sure something like that doesn't happen again. The police did point out that the chances of positively identifying the scumbag(s) might be slim -- that is unless they commit another crime and leave their prints behind again. Oh well, the moral, I guess, is that all you enclosed car carrier owners out there might want to guard them well. | ||
| Edwin F Herr lll (Letsgofst)
New member Username: Letsgofst Post Number: 48 Registered: 9-2001 |
Eric Very interesting adventure----Sure glad the car was recovered. Now, if only they could come up with a positive ID on the fingerprints it would be a great ending. What kind of security system did your dad install on the Cobra. Sounds like a great system. I would set mine for a little bit of a shorter distance though. Maybe around 10 feet instead of 5 miles | ||
| Eric Eiland (Eric308gtsiqv)
Junior Member Username: Eric308gtsiqv Post Number: 202 Registered: 11-2001 |
Nika, Glad to hear that your trip and the team race events were a success for the most part -- and congratulations on your SpeedTV debut! I bet that was fun. (It sure would be nice if we could purchase videos of the entire 12 hour race from SpeedTV.) You're right, the Ferrari's hung in there and came back strong to the end. Think we ended up being some of the "deep fried turkeys" down there -- this sunburn is still glowing! Didn't get much sleep through the nights either -- man they love to party hard down there -- what a madhouse! Glad you made it home safe and sound - the Keys are a great place to unwind after an event like Sebring. Looking forward to those pics. - Eric E. | ||
| Nika (Racernika)
Member Username: Racernika Post Number: 329 Registered: 12-2001 |
Wow Eric - your certainly had an adventure! We had any early day Friday with our qualifying - all 6 cars were fine - not top 5 but still competitive so we were optimistic. I ended up co-announcing the SpeedTV GT and World Challenge race up in the broadcast booth - missing the start of our own race. We did have 2 of our guys finish in the top ten - that was good. The 12 Hour race kept me busy (okay...it was REALLY HOT so I was in a Hospitality Suite trying to cool down). I did however venture to Turn 10 to investigate it - and it certainly was an adventure. Like an imaginary line drawn in the sand - 2 different kinds of race fans. Tried "deep fried turkey" for the first time thanks to "Jupiter John" and the gang - great people.......not very sober but still kind and courteous. Yes - quite the experience there :o) Good News and Bad News - Dear friend Duncan Dayton won in his Banana Joe's car but my other friend's Lola Nissan was black flagged for no tail lights. I snuck down to the Keys after for some R & R - loved it! Can only say I'm not thrilled to be back.....sooooooo tired I didn't even try to unpack last night BUT I will (within the next few days) get some pix up for everyone Nika www.racerchicks.com | ||
| Eric Eiland (Eric308gtsiqv)
Junior Member Username: Eric308gtsiqv Post Number: 200 Registered: 11-2001 |
Finally got back in town, and just now getting around to join in the chat about the 12 Hours at Sebring event. Thanks Paul Sloan for posting a great thread and pictures! Didn't have the opportunity to take some pics since my digital camera went on the blink. Wow, what a weekend -- and an eventful one at that! Nika: sorry I missed meeting up with you and your team. With so many people, and so much happening (plus trying to keep tabs on the children), it was nearly impossible to get around (my wife even managed to bump the fender of a truck and put a nice gouge in her minivan -- I forgave her since she was trying to fetch me lunch and a Ferrari polo shirt ). I hope your team did well, though. Never did hear what actually happened to all the Ferrari's. If I remember correctly, didn't both the 360's and the 550's drop out early for mechanical reasons? Didn't see most of them until later in the day when the ProDrive 550, OliveGarden 550, and the #32 360 were all back in the race. Next thing I see is the OliveGarden car being hauled down the track on a wrecker! The ProDrive car was hanging right in there with higher class cars like Audi, etc. While the Corvettes (who did very well) and other GT/GTS class cars were braking going into turn 2 or 3, the ProDrive 550 was steadily "getting on it". Amazing to see and hear! Does anyone know what happened to the silver/orange car (think it was called the Spiker or something). Did it wipe out in one of the turns? The ProDrive did run one of the 360's off the track in one of the turns that I witnessed -- but he recovered well. All in all, we had a great time. The trip itself was another story though. Since Sebring was of course booked up solid for hotel accomodations, we ended up making advance reservations at a golf resort / villa called Grenelefe (about an hour away). However, upon arriving, we find out the place went bankrupt, and was completely closed down -- nice of them to tell us this ahead of time, right?! So we found some nearby HoJo's with rooms (what a dump). Then, on Saturday evening, we decided to leave a little early (8:30) so as to beat the mad rush out of the North Paddock / Raceway. By the time we got back (10:00 or so) to the motel, we were exhausted. After locking everything up, we retired for the night. The next morning, my dad went out to retrieve some items out of his car trailer that housed his Everett Morrison Shelby Cobra 427 (which he brought along to sport around in). To his astonishment, the locks were cut, ramps were down, and the Cobra was GONE!!!! That event literally took 5 years off his life. Apparently, someone must have followed us the night before all the way back to the motel, and waited for the opportunity to steal the car. Luckily, though, the crooks didn't make it very far (about 5 miles down the road) when the car died (thanks to some security measures that my dad implemented when we built it). The crooks left it on the side of the highway with keys still in the ignition. The police found it early in the A.M. and had it towed to a wrecker yard, and waited for it to be reported stolen. So, in the end, we found it safe and sound (just a couple of surface scratches and police fingerprint dust). I just can't get over the fact that there are scumbags out there that would do such a thing -- especially to a complete stranger who has never done anything to harm anyone in his entire life! Sorry for such a long post, but just had to share that with all of you. Go Ferrari! |