Friends, cars, good times: by Bill Howell VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4
Well, the second annual run thru the hills has come and gone. This year’s event was such a success that we are now thinking about doing it two times next year. As I sit back and reflect on all that happened here two weeks ago I am just amazed. The really shocking thing is that 95% of the people that were at the event I did not even know two years ago. The advent of the internet and forums has really changed the way we make friends. The world just seems to be a lot smaller now that we can “talk” to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Sure, I do have the advantage of living in the heart of the Smoky Mountains so getting people to come to an event the same weekend as the Fall Grand Run was not a huge challenge. Pigeon Forge is known for its car gatherings and the fall run is the biggest of the year. However, our event was not your typical car gathering. We had such a great turnout for the tour of the mountains on Friday, that was followed by a good ole southern style BBQ. We all hung around the Hotel that night or either drifted down to the parkway that was filled to the brim with every type and year car you can imagine. The next morning we all made a run to the local drag strip and spent most of the day running the 1/8 mile track. It was a blast to see some of the most famous Pro Touring cars around running down the track and getting rubber on their fenders. The only thing that disappointed me was the fact that my GTO was not there. Everyone knows that I am not scared to drive my car and that I have put over 4000 miles on it this year. The reason the GTO was not on the track was it was for a change in a car show, how ironic is that? The guys that run the Grand Run event had picked my car to be the tee shirt car for their event and asked if I could let the car sit at the show. Well, how could I say no? Besides, it was cool to have 6000 people walking around with my car on their shirt. However, I would have much rather it been on the track, putting some numbers on the board too.
After everyone had run their car as much as they wanted, we all drove back to town and spent the rest of the evening and that night on the Parkway, looking at all the sights. I even heard there were some young ladies earning beads, but this has not been confirmed.
Sunday was probably the best day of our event, even if some had to leave early to get back home. We went to the local round track and set up a autocross that is usually ran by the Porsche club or Mustang club. We had about 40 contestants and everyone had a blast. No doubt this was several people’s first time on an autocross, but I think it went well. We had a couple of our hobby’s biggest names there and they were running their cars very hard. Both Air Ride Technology and DSE were on hand to not only show their parts are the right stuff but also just hang out with their customers and friends. The course was much more than a parking lot autocross, it was like a mini road coarse. It was over a mile in length and saw speeds over 80 miles an hour on parts of the runs. It really showed contestants not only how their cars stacked up against others, but how well their navigation skills were. Look for videos of the autocross very soon.
Besides all the car happenings though, I think the biggest thing for me was all the friendships that I either made or renewed. Reading a forum every day is one thing, but actually having a conversation with someone really cements a relationship. One example is this, a member on our board brought his wife and son. Not only did I get to meet the member, but by the end of the weekend I had a new friend, his son. Hopefully by the next event, I will have that last name down and the son will be happy I can finally spell it right, lets see, B-A-R-R-A-Z-A….lol
Hopefully, we can have another event in the spring somewhere in the Ohio, Penn, area. We are currently looking for a suitable location. Of course, we will be having our event here again, in fact, you can already make your reservations at the host hotel. Be sure and try to make one of the events. I know that you will not only enjoy the cars, but you will get to know the membership so much better.
Thanks to everyone that came to Pigeon Forge and made it the success it was, I look forward to the next one.
-Bill
ARCHIVES:
September: 2006: The Big Show
August 2006: Outside of the Box
July 2006: Couch Potato
