The 6:45 am wake up call comes rather early. So early in fact that I pick up the phone and roll back over and fall back to sleep. Barry has made it back to room - I find out later it was 3:30. The next thing I know Barry is waking me up. It's 7:20 and we are scheduled to be at the Tire Rack for the team group photos promptly at 8:00. Needless to say, we are both moving a bit slow and our heads feel as though they have been used as a soccer ball. Thank goodness Barry woke up when he did. I could have seen us sleeping through the dry skid pad as well.....YIKES!
We arrive at the Tire Rack and unpack in time for the group photo. It's nice to do this as each team will receive a yearbook this year commemorating the 25th anniversary of the One Lap of America.
Barry will do the dry skid pad...happy he will as I am still seeing rather blurry-eyed (so is he by the way). He does well and pulls .950 g's good enough for 32nd place. It drops us one position in the over all to 18th. WE'VE DONE IT!!!!!! Finished in the top 20 over all which is a huge feat. We have also finished 2nd in our class.
The most interesting dry skid pad test is conducted by a team in an IROC - Z28 Chevy. They have been having some transmission problems along the way. As they pull in to the Tire Rack on the final day they are left with one gear. It becomes obvious which gear that is as they approach the skid pad. That's right, you guessed it...reverse. They pull a whopping .336 g's in reverse and finish 66th in the dry skid pad. This is only funnier as they are sponsored by Monster Transmissions...go figure.
We watch the rest of the top dogs complete their skid pad runs and then the have fun drifting by the better drivers. Brian Hair is one of those gents and he goes out for two laps and smokes the tires on the V10 BMW M5. It is fun to watch and a skill I long for...some day! From there we wait for lunch to start and then the closing ceremonies and trophy presentations.
During the on goings, Linda Cheatham from Alexandria, VA takes the mic and provides a few stats on the event. The last of the stats is how much all the teams have raised together for various charities. As she reads the number at $73,000 I wonder if she has in fact included the donations made to the National Prostate Cancer Coalition. I raise my hand and ask that very question. She repeats the donation number in a quizzical manner. I confirm she has heard correctly. The $60,000 raised for NPCC is not in her figure. The tent immediately erupts with applause. This is what it is all about. Giving back in some small way to that from which I take and supporting a great cause in men's health. The eradication of prostate cancer in my life time.
The luxury sedan class winners are announced and our Virginia friends Mark Simons and Brian Hair finish first in this class and 16th over all in a BMW M5. Mike Renner, Jim Byrd, and Chris Thompson take 2nd in the luxury sedan class in the new BMW M3 and 15th over all. Vic Hall, Alex May, and James Clay take first in the SSGT2SB class and 13th over all in the new 135i BMW.
After what seems an eternity, they finally get to the SSGT1SB class. Third in class is our very own Neil Simon and Woody Hair in the BMW M Coupe. We are called next and receive our cheesy little trophy for second in class, but still very proud to have finished where we did. First place in our class is an Active Autowerks supercharged E46 M3 BMW driven by Catesby Jones. An all BMW podium in SSGT1SB....awesome.
Tom Holcomb, my driving mentor, would have been so proud of our effort and finish. I am sure that he was looking down on us and smiling. I know that during my stints on track I heard him say several times...JUST FLOOR IT! This one is for you Tommy and all those suffering with or surviving prostate cancer.