Day 2 – Saturday PM…
Here is 1st half of story:
http://www.300cforums.com/forums/reg...cbutler32.html
I’m doing this for you resume speed…
Ok…after a week of “recovery”…
I forgot I gave the keys to westcoastsrt8 and 300 SRT-8 on Friday night and let them get their fix…Needless to say…They got their fix…
So back to Saturday afternoon… I have no idea what time it is… I’m trying to make sure all the cars are staged on my side of the event… Maybe it’s around noon to 1pm… Thanks to vvv90, ffimo, dupie24 and mighty-noid – once again - you made my job easy directing each car to the right spot for both sides…
So all is well… Cars are rolling in… John (fatchance) and I cannot talk to each other on the walkie talkies… So we resort to cell phones as everyone is laughing at both of us – ok, just me… And are letting each other know about SRT imposters… (Sorry guys… I like the idea that you want to be one of us… But really don’t like the idea you want to represent us… Know what I mean?) So needless to say… It was bound to happen… And a silver Magnum SRT8 rolled in… And I have to tell you… I remember the Silver SRT8 being offered, but after a year and half… I have not seen one and completely forgot that they offered silver… So you know what happened next of course… Yep, “um sir”… “Can you pop the hood?” “Are you kidding?” “No sir”… I felt like Shaggin Magnum or my old man back in the day… I didn’t want to shake to guy down, really… But a silver Magnum SRT8? They don’t make them! So I’m standing there waiting for him to pop the hood… And he is fumbling trying to find the hood release… Now I’m thinking ok dude you are taking way to long to get the hood open… I’ve gotcha! I knew you were lying… So he finds the hood latch… and low and behold… a 6.1L SUPER-HEMI motor!!! My bad man!!! Once I saw the engine, I recalled they offered the SRT8 in silver – its just I have never seen one – and he was not the only Silver Magnum SRT8 this day - as an hour later another showed up… Once again, SORRY!!!
So the event is going well, every person I walk by or talk too is just saying how over the top this event is, how good the food is (thanks PAUL and FOOTHILL!) and how nice the people are… Yep, the people – what a weekend huh? Truly amazing everyone, I cannot say enough about the attendees and your guests…
So Adam and Ralph are walking by continuously with Scott from
PR (first name basis – like that huh?)
And we chat a tad; they cannot believe how many we have rolled in…
They end up getting another port-a-pottie because they really didn’t think we would represent so strong… Hehehe… SURPRISE!!!
So I actually take a minute to walk through the SRT and Charger section – where are all of the 300C SRT8’s that signed up and are no shows! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!!!
YOU MISSED IT!!! The Magnum and 300C side filled up and I took the overflow… People kept commenting on the food… food? Here was food? That’s right – so now it’s about 2:30 and I have not eaten yet – which is not good for me… Someone wanted me to make an announcement that the food was going to end – did anyone hear any of my MEGAPHONE messages??? Hehehehe – we don’t need no stinkin’ megaphones… So I eat and sit down next to jasonjames and his wife – what a great couple and a fellow SRT nut… man the food really is good fatchance… We talk about whatever – I invite him over for drinks after in the room (you all missed that by the way – covered later) so I make my plan of attack… I know freebirdsrt8 (somewhat whack job – kidding Mark) and he’s got paint pens – in fact 4 of them…
So I see Ralph is done with his work stuff (interviews for somebody) and ask him to saunter over to the “Vixen” – he looks at me and says “you named your car?” “Yeah, didn’t you?” “Yeah, but I’m not saying what it is”… No problem… So we get in front of my car and I have him sign the underside of the hood right up front – and leave the hood open for everyone to see – at this point the light bulb goes on for everyone… As many were holding off asking him for autographs; like someone had asked on one of the boards early on… Well once this went down – it was a controlled, respectful free for all… As I bragged to fatchance later, “dude, guess who got their car signed first?” Yep me! His comeback – WHO CARES WHOSE FIRST!!! Hehehehe, good one Johnny – walked into that one… And so it began – if someone wanted something signed Ralph and Adam signed it – I was at one point thinking that flesh might be offered – like DanRealtor’s white moon (see previous posts about Dave & Busters on Friday night and 2 million candle watt power)… but better heads restrained – if only momentarily for Dan… Well it’s like 4:30pm now and I come back to the conversation with Adam - as these guys are still signing stuff – Ralph is actually running from one side to another of the two parking lots at one point… Guys are pulling their cars around to the other side they might have been parked at to get his autograph on something of theirs…
To me this was the best story of autographs… Ralph is signing someone’s Magnum and the CVC22348(b)(1) has his car there ready to go – as I am helping Scott help Ralph circulate to make sure everyone is happy – and CVC22348(b)(1) wife starts chatting up Ralph while hubby is trying to get the hood open to sign the underside… Well she’s chatting away and is pretty knowledgeable and hubby is taking forever… I notice his hand shaking… and take one look at him and say “dude, let me open this for you. Are you nervous are what?” and he just smiled a tad and hesitated and realized he was having problems and at this point Ralph notices and chuckles – you’re a rock star RALPH!!! CVC22348(b)(1) got his car signed and was happy as a lark…
So I head back to the main drag and check out the DUB cars and the Nok Turnal cars – I don’t know about you – I would never do this – but you have to appreciate what these guys have done to their cars – pure art – one week later – I am still tripping on the pop-top hood on that red car…
FYI – I started a whole section on my conversation with Adam Forte and have posted that in the SRT sections on all three boards…
So back to the main drag area now… Ralph is holding court around his car… this is were its gets interesting for me at least… he asks me to check it out… I almost climbed in… but didn’t – steering wheel would have stopped my belly and I didn’t feel like getting ribbed by a bunch of fellow LX platform yahoos… (Love you guys!)
So we talk about how the car drove… gas mileage – how he ran out and wiped out his chances – and DanRealtor walks up and says something about that and Ralph says “you know when the glow light goes on it is really has 3 gallons left” – “right, that’s why you ran out we say in unison” So we continue to talk about the car and we get to the KW’s… now if anyone has spent anytime researching these – you know one name appears time and time again – MEISTER (no caps by the way) and we launch into how the car rolls and how the back end lifts under heavy acceleration and braking…
And I tell him the story of the January 14th M&G San Diego meet – pre-run, in the mountains of San Diego – he turns to me and says “we have run there before!”
So I launch into the story – (and if anyone knows me – they are not short (as is this one) – and Ralph listened the entire time – probably because of one thing – Meister – my wingman)
So we banter more about roll and such… I tell him about our run Jim, and how we got out 3 minutes and 12 seconds ahead of the others… He loved it – couldn’t believe it at first – but DanRealtor backed it up… I tell him about your comments as you ran up to my door (this is for those who don’t know the story) I’m in my car, smoking hot oil exuding from the engine bay, smelling the tires that are torched and the rubber is filling the air, and Meister comes up to the passenger side window and is yelling at me in an even louder voice than normal “WOOOO BABY!!! That’s was what these cars were made for!!! I haven’t had this much fun since I flew F-15’s!!! YEAH BABY!!! Ok, mind you for a sec. for those that don’t know Meister – if he says he flew F-15’s – he’s no spring chicken – let’s put it this way – I have never seen anyone in their 50’s (earlier 50’s) with this much exuberance… talk about refreshing… So Ralph is soaking this up and thinking of something to say… But I cut him off and tell the story of dinner at my house and what you say there – So we are all taking about the days events and we get on the fuel thing for Dan and give him a hard time as he never lifts or backs down… But on this day he did as he had no fuel in his mind left – so Meister chimes in complete dead silence at this point (marinated rib-eyes) in the conversation and says “fuel, well my light went on up around the lake” WHAT?!!! “Yeah, but there was no way I was pulling over or slowing down, I was having too much fun; if I ran out of gas so be it, but I was not slowing down or pulling over – I was having way too much fun!!!”
That’s our boy and my wingman…
“Well where is he? This guy sounds fanatical” and I just pop my glasses off and say he is doing well in Tucson this weekend… enough said…
Meister – Ralph says he would be honored to be your wingman anytime…
So fatchance comes up to me and asks if I would be willing to give somebody a ride? We can leave now I ask? Joshua and I are then introduced … Now – here is the thing with Joshua, he owns a Cobra – So I have my work cut out for me to impress him to start with… I can’t do any burnouts by the building (Hey Dan!) and we get on it down the street and hammer it… Joshua is surprised to say the least… he even hesitates when I say “your turn” about a mile away… He finally gets out of the seat and get in the driver’s and I tell him – drive it like you stole it… Now everyone knows you respectfully drive someone else’s car mellow – I am on him like I was on fatchance in the GS Motorsports SRT Jeep that we “test” drove at the Anaheim M&G in Feb. – HAMMER IT!!!
NOW!!!
Well he does finally – and cannot believe the pull or the horsepower… we come back and fatchance is waiting with another guy – cool I think more driving… and I meet Gene from High Horse Performance – Joshua’s partner… Now Joshua says one thing – he drives like you Chris – COOL!!! So we are off again – Ralph notices I am taking “tours” and give me the thumb up, knowing he was really giving me the other hand sign because we were going driving and he wasn’t… hehehe hehehe…
So Gene gets to experience very abbreviated spirited driving as well… and refuses to drive when I try and switch… “Dude, c’mon!!! Drive It!!!” Well it didn’t take Gene as long as Joshua - but he still held back I think… so we get back and he tells everyone…
“Ok, that MADE my entire weekend and made the trip!!!” Fats and I look at each other in disbelief – is he kidding and playing us? Nope – he’s sincere… Ralph and Adam love it…
At this point my ankle is toast and I am done – stick a fork in me…
Only one problem – someone decides to strip the entire entry way…
Talk about a buzz kill… No one knows who it was… but it did damper the ending of the event – plain and simple…
So time to rally back at the hotel – drinks are awaiting and my room is fully stocked – sans beer – and seems to be no problem at all for the 10-14 guys hanging out telling brag stories… We finish off the liter and ¾ bottle of Beam before 7pm- amazing – 4 guys drinking whisky in one day kill a bottle… good thing it was over 2 nights huh? Matt, Cory and Dan? I love you man!!!
So the rooms empties as the booze dwindles – the stories are priceless… anyone doubting GS Motorsports – hear this – they are selling 60 Supercharger units a month!!! There are a lot of sleepers out there… closest thing to a dragster on the market for a 4-door sedan…
Hit the bar, then the shuttle bus… rain… head to the Spectrum and get the call with 15 people in the bus – 1 ½ hour wait everywhere – load up several more in the overloaded van at the spectrum and we end up going back to with 30 people to the DoubleTree – needless to say that was priceless – I waited tables – why? Because I don’t like cold food and things were going bad and getting worse… Everyone seemed happy… What a great way to make new friends and make a new family and circle… Cory you want anymore Butay Vodka?
Finally down at 3am… 21 hour day…
Was it worth it?
OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BIG TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Day 3 – Sunday morning
6am?
8am?
I don’t know what time it is, but my head hurts and Dan is making a lot of noise! What the F? He is off and I have no idea where… Just leave me alone my head hurts…
8:39am – alright he’s back and not leaving this time… fine I’ll get up and go downstairs… “breakie” with the “family”, my new extended family… Said goodbye to many that morning – Shelsmith67 came all the way from Hawaii with his family and his dad was priceless “jigging” about anywhere outside in the parking lot and for the grandkids – what an awesome Grandpa – your kids loved it and so did we… wish you the best abroad and the best to your family – thanks for making it! HalV48 has pics of the morning – check out the thread… So vvv90 (matt) needed a ride to the airport -at this point I felt I was legally not drunk anymore – kidding everyone! And we are off to John Wayne Airport – no other than vvv90; (getting too wasted on Jim Beam in my room Saturday night and continuing on downstairs and through dinner – well who knows what happened – other than the kid had to get a ride home EARLY! That night) and now needed a ride AGAIN! to the airport… So we are off and there is a small crowd outside…
I ask him one question – “would you if it was your car and I was in the passenger seat?” “Oh hell yeah”
FINE! Let’s do it…
I let the tires roast to a nice warm temp in the middle of the entry/exit of the DoubleTree and proceed to make a left turn out onto the road and coming up hard on 2 cars sitting in both lanes turning left… Needless to say – the light turned green and one of the cars “stalled” and we proceeded “safely” around them…
The best part was figuring out as we were on the circular on-ramp – man we should have had you whipping your hat like a cowboy out the window as we dumped 7,000 miles of my rear tread there… the drive up was 7 maybe 8 minutes… YEAH HA!!!
Drive back was maybe 9-10 minutes… I tried for the 15 minutes tmagnum… really I did… and when I did get back – the boys and ladies where inside and Tom could NOT believe I was back so soon… can you say SRT baby?!!!!
More banter and bragging out front of the hotel…
Time to go and see my girls and wife… would have loved for everyone to have met them but they had so much going on… next time… So packed and said my goodbyes…
This time though… everyone made there way to the entry/exit when I was leaving…
I said I was NOT going to do it again!!!
Well Dan has the camcorder going, HalV48 has the camera going and many others – electrified, ffimo, fatchance, Eddie (Dan’s friend) sleeper300, Cory, etc, etc… more than enough calling me out…
Well ok…
If you insist…
Needless to say I left a patch that most would envy from what I was told and kept on it southbound in a full drift out onto the street (to meet everyone’s need for drifting comments prior to the meet) and hammered it all the way to the light and through it to the next one…
When you leave…
Go out in style!!!
What a great weekend!!!
Thanks everyone!!!
I consider you all my friends…
And after this past weekend the circle has grown larger…
ENJOY your rides, enjoy your life and enjoy the thing that makes you the happiest!!!
Sincerely,
Cbutler32
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