Woke up at 2:30 AM on Thursday morning and headed over to Alans house. After some fun with the Lake Patrol officer, who turned out to be the ugliest stripper in the world, we were on our way to Texas around 9:30
After a stop at a roach hotel on Thursday night, we woke up early Friday morning and made the final 6 hour push into Bridgeport Texas
We arrived at the race site around 2pm and started pre-running. We had some issues with the helmet com's so we ended up using hand signals. First lap around the track wasnt bad. I spent most of the time holding on and figuring out how to avoid smacking my elbow on the roll cage
After a short break, we started off on our second lap. I had anticipated that Alan would take this one a bit faster, so as we were approaching the first drop off obstacle, I noticed he wasn't slowing down, but figured he must know what his rig could handle.
I had a moment to say "Whoa" as the jeep tilted forward and we somersaulted onto our lid. I dont know why I expected the landing to feel like a soft mattress, but I remember being surprised at how sudden the stop was at the end
I heard alan ask if I was okay and replied with a yep, followed by me asking "How do I get out of here" It was a bit disorientating being strapped in upside down in the jeep and figuring out the buckles and window net.
Once we were out, Alan was busy hitting shut off valves for his fuel but it kept pouring out of the filler neck.
Shortly after a buggy fro Gilstrap racing came down the hill and threw a winch on the jeep and got it back upright.
After things calmed down a bit I was looking around and saw a ton of bright red liquid on the ground that looked exactly like blood. I yelled at Alan to look at me, and asked him if he was hurt, he replied no, and I asked him what the red stuff was. He said it was tranny fluid.
Not quiet believing him I looked him over again and notice his pant leg was a bright red. We had him sit down and found the decent sized cut on his leg. Thankfully, the fluid on the ground ended up being tranny fluid and not 4 quarts of Alan.
After a trip to the hospital for stitches we headed down to Rock City burgers for the meet and greet with the other drivers. Burger was okay, but took almost 2 hours to cook!
The next day was race day and we got to the track early in the morning for the drivers meeting. The morning was pretty uneventful, and I found myself dozing off before the race
Finally it was time to race, but the rig wouldnt start! More fuel pump issues, but Jim was able to get it resolved with about a minute to spare.
Donning the fire suit and helmet i strapped into the rig and we pulled up to the start line.
Watching Rich count down from 5 - 4 -3 -2 -1 and then waving the green flag is something Ill remember for the rest of my life.
The first lap was decent, It took us about 2 laps to learn the course and really start hitting the corners fast. Towards the end of the race I could feel myself start to get motion sick. It took a bit of concentration not to blow chunks all over my borrowed firesuit and in the helmet but we made it lol
The last lap was our fastest and we really pushed the jeep hard. By the time we hit the finish line steam was pouring from the engine and the jeep refused to start up again.
It was a great experience and I had a ton of fun racing. Hopefully I can do it again and maybe drive my own rig
Heres a few pics I snapped during the 4400 unlimited buggy race
