Route for me (328 running solo) Thursday morning leaving DFW. Texarkana, Little Rock, brush Memphis and then Harrah's. Figuring to leave 9 AM ish, guestimating 5 PM ish arrival, stopping every 3 hours for gas. Anyone on the route? We want to see Graceland, so were thinking of running up to Memphis early on Friday and then hooking over to the techfest. Any backroad runs planned during the weekend?
all packed; pulling out in the am. i was thinking about graceland but really it's a money pit. i would like to stop at sun records though. there's a lake east of 61 that has some twisty looking roads around it. see you thursday nite for japanese f1 pratice. drive carefully i know i will.
WHOO HOOO!!!! It's getting close. lets plan on watching practice in the sports bar at Harrah's. It's called "Replays" This is the same place that we have reservations for the race Sat. night. JIM
Filled up the GT4 tonight. Oil has been changed, coolant is full as well as the gear oil. Tire pressures are 31f/34r and I'm heading out in approx 7hrs. (4am EST) My route has changed as I'm joining Crawford White in Nashville to talk Ferraris at a school in Joelton, TN. See this thread: http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=213577 From there I'll head down to Tunica. I should be there around 4pm or so depending on stops/traffic, etc... Keep an eye on this thread as I'm taking my camera and laptop. I will update with photos as I am able to. JIM
Got the GTBi ready to go. Checked everything and found the spare tire only had 20psi. (just a reminder for you guys to check your spare). I'm leaving around noon and meeting Larry in Hattiesburg around 1-1:30 then we'll race to tunica. See you guys there. Joe
I left at 4amEST as planned. No traffic, but lots of FOG. Had a 10mile stretch at 20-25mph. Stopped in Columbus,IN for fuel and Starbucks. Averaged 17.4MPG. Right now I'm inbetween Louisville and Nashville in the lifting fog. Ill try to post a pic from my BB when I meet up with Crawford. JIM
The wife and I will be leaving (Ferrari traveling by trailer) Jacksonville this evening after work, we should be in Tunica tomorrow afternoon. We have to drop the dogs off at the pet resourt there and then check-in. See ya all tomorrow! Doug & Carolyn
Well, as you can tell by the '308 Photo' thread, the event was a success by most accounts. We had a great crew on hand to hang out, talk cars, swap rides and generally have fun. It truly was a pleasure meeting one and all who attended and it was good to see some old faces again. (I first met R. Lindsay back in 2000 in Indy) The biggest signal to me that this was a success was that each and every person who drove/trailered their beloved Ferrari asked about "next year." So from that perspective it was a hit. From another perspective it was not so much a success.... In setting this show up, I had been in contact with the Habitat Director talking about what we wanted to do. He knew up front that we had some costs to cover, both expected and later some unexpected costs. He was very understanding about this and said from the first moment that in a first time show he just didn't expect anything. He was looking at a long term relationship and expected that this would be an annual event. Unfortunately at the end of the day there were just not enough people through the show to be able to raise any $$ for Habitat. In fact, we're (I'm) slightly in the hole on this one. It just kills me to have to say that we struck out but, the idea of the show was concieved in the public and its only fair that the results are public. I've been told that i"m being way too hard on myself over this but I do take responsibility for it. That being said, I've learned some valuable lessons for "next year". I still like the idea of a car show to benefit a charity and I've already laid the ground work for an up front donation from Harrah's and now understand what needs to be done in order to better advertise for the event, even though we were in multiple print ads and 2 TV interviews...I've made many notes in my binder already. Memphis Habitat will not go completely unrecognized, however. I am planning on making a personal donation on behalf of the event. If anyone is considering any charitable giving this year and wants to donate to the Memphis Habitat on behalf of the "308's in '08" Ferraris you can find a donation form here: http://www.memphishabitat.com/pdf/donationform.pdf The main website is: http://www.memphishabitat.com/ I appreciate all the interest in this event and hopefully we can have twice as many Ferraris next year! JIM
Jim, The only failure (and I hate to use that word) was that the general public just didn't show up in any numbers. The "cars" were there! The "owners" were there! The public was not? Throughout the event I could hear people at the hotel asking, "what's with all the Ferraris" so the people staying at the hotel didn't get word? The parking lot we were in was OK but we were slightly isolated from the people and hard to see from the hotel. All day Saturday I could see hundreds of cars passing by on the highway but nobody stopped? Perhaps a sign out there on the highway? I really think the area out back near the lake (that you and I discussed) would be a more suitable site for this? Anyone entering the hotel could then clearly see the cars on display and there was "one" entry point out the doors to come in or out of the show. For those of you who don't know what Im talking about its the lawn area outside near the lobby sitting area. Now having said that, we would be isolating ourselves from the general public who would travel from Memphis or where ever for the show. But since they didn't show up this year, perhaps we should be targeting the hotel guest anyway? There were plenty of them. Another option would be to somehow get the show (cars only) over on the Casino side where the numbers are much higher and money is a little more fluid? Another thought is to have the event in Memphis? Now having said all of that, I told Jim on Friday that I've been involved in a few events over the years and one of the hardest things to do to "get something started" is to have the participants actually show up in suitable numbers. There's no doubt that was accomplished this year. For a first time event, this was clearly a success and my hat is off to the guys who did the work. What we need to do now is learn from what happened, keep the good and tweak the not so good to make next time better. I just hope I can afford next year....thanks to Frank's awesome TR, I've been looking at them on line ever since I got back! Thanks Frank! To everyone who was there, It was a pleasure to meet and talk to you. To those of you who didn't show up...... you should have been there when the "Hooter's Girls and the Tropicana Girls" had the volleyball game! Oh yeah...I was not supposed to mention that was I? hahahaahah Joe
I've made many notes about how to improve next year. I think that the location is great, however, we need more Casino involvement in terms of letting their customer base know about it. They were reluctant to do that this year for reasons unknown... In looking back at the location, I think it was perfect for several reasons. 1 is the amount of space on just the casino grounds to run the Ferraris around. That long road in is a blast to drive, not to mention the parking lots. We could easily set up an autoX or a driving course in the adjacent lot. There will be more time dedicated to actual "driving" next year wether its to the tech session or a dedicated run on the back roads of Memphis land. The roads there are just too nice not to do it. I think that the missed opportunity was that we were introduced to the marketing director way too late. He could've been instrumental in a lot of things that the convention services management was not. How did I miss these Hooters Girls??? JIM
Maybe do it someplace else other then Memphis. Like Miami or something. Who the heck wants to go to Memphis.
OH yea thats right, Rick was still trying to bail you out of the Memphis lock up when the girls stopped by. Sorry you missed them Jim but next time stop picking fights in the bars and these kind of things wont happen. J
About 80 of us did a run from Palm Beach FL. to the Lowes Portofina hotel in Orlando. The hotel was very accommodating. And let us put all our cars in the courtyard of the hotel. Might be a good spot for next time. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Who the heck wants to drive all the way to Florida? Heck, there's nothing other than retirees and mosquitoes out there.
I'm with Tillman . The event was fine where it was. Besides with the way FHP patrols the interstate I will be broke by the time I get there.
