Monday, June 25, 2007

A Parting Shot of the USGP Podium...


Well I need to move on to the next adventure so I will end this segment with a parting show of the podium. I took this shot from my race day seats. Is that a cool podium or what? Remind me to show you my pictures of me and the grid girls in front of the podium some time. Hmm...
This is the inagural year of a new F1 superstar, Lewis Hamilton of the UK. I don't believe I have ever seen so many Union Jacks flying at a grand prix! Everyone loves a winner. Sorry I am not a Mclaren fan, but Lewis, now he can drive. He is a real sensation on the track. It is good to see some new F1 legends in the making.

The Yard of Brick.


OK so I didn't leave my cigar on the yard of bricks. I just put it there for a moment while I took this picture. This is a very cool feature of the track and I never get tired of taking pictures of the bricks. The funny thing is you see quite a few people doing really stange things to these bricks! Hmm...not me....I'll never tell. http://www.usgpindy.com/news/story.php?story_id=4162

Formula One Live on Speed!!


Here is a shot inside IMS during the F1 team interviews which was being broadcast live on Speed. http://www.speedtv.com/
David Hobbs and Peter Windsor are interviewing Nick Heidfeld and Timo Glock of the BMW Sauber F1 team. http://www.bmw-sauber-f1.com/html/en/index.html
Robert Kubica was in his medical check at the time from that really bad crash the week before in Canada. Ultimately Sebastian Vettel drove the car for Robert and placed in the points. He set several records for a teenage rookie at this USGP that are likely to stand for some time. Great job Sebastian!

The BMW Sauber F1 Garage...


Now this is a garage! Check out those overhead lights and the video screens in the back. This looks more like an aircraft hangar than an automotive garage. Plenty of spares are present in all directions. And the interesting part of this is the fact that it has to be flown here in a plane for the two North American races. Can you say $$$ ?

Me & Mari George!


I really like this picture! Thanks to my lovely wife for taking it! As you are walking around IMS you never know who you will run into. Here I am with Mari Hulman George, the current Chairman of the Board of IMS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari_Hulman_George
This is the lady that you see on ABC every Memorial Day say "Start those engines!" She also is also present during the trophy presentation for the USGP.
She was very nice to take a picture with me. Cool lady. Now if I could just borrow that F1 Pit Pass credential she has on her lanyard....

United States Grand Prix 2007!!


June 14, 2007, the pagoda tower in Indy. My 9th USGP including one in Phoenix many years ago. OK so I left the MINI at home and flew up here. Actually wish I had brought my car given all the happenings at the track. I took this picture during the pit walk. More on that in a minute.

MINIs take over the Track.


Off in the distance you can see the car in front of me. (Remember you can click the picture to enlarge it) This space allowed some nice lap times on this track. In the mirror you can see three cars chasing me. Much fun. If you have never turned a lap at VIR in your MINI you need to set a date soon.

Lining up for the Patriots Course!


Here is a whole line of MINIs lining up for some laps on the Patriots Course which is on the inside of the maintrack at VIR. I shot this picture over the roof of my car. This event was made possible by the fine people at MY dealer, Flow MINI. http://www.flowmini.com/ In fact my car is on the web site right now parked between the two hot orange beauties at VIR! I just saw that...very cool stuff. We had a blast on this course and the only thing that made me slow down was the fact I was heating my run flat tires up and I began to worry about the amount of money each lap was costing in terms of rubber expense! What a blast!

A Vintage MINI in the garage area...


Here is a MINI getting ready to hit the track in the VIR Gold Cup races. We toured the infield section right after lunch. The grand marshall of the races was Carol Shelby. http://www.carrollshelby.com/
He made a lap in a very nice Cobra with his black hat on...a nice touch to the 50th anniversary of this track.

The Oak Tree at VIR...


Earlier this fine morning I had met two hot orange MINI cabrios on the highway to come to the track for some laps.I had one in front and one in back of me. Both pals of mine from the Tar Heel MINI Club. If you look closely over the tires you can see the retro Chevy SSR truck pacing the lap. This turn is fantastic and leads onto a straight that is a blast to open up on.

Back at VIR on the Track!!!


Three weeks ago, Sunday June 10th, on the track at VIR http://www.virclub.com/vir/ in my MINI coming down the straight, I shot this picture over my dash. This track is very cool and the grounds are in very good shape. We are lucky to have a nice track like this so close to home.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

A Sign for the Times!!


OK so I finally got around to mounting my badge holder in my grill. I have several magnetic badges thanks to http://motoringbadges.com/ Todds mods hooked me up with some cool items for the front of my car. Here is a link to his cool blog: http://toddsmods.com/blog/
Back to my badge...I think it kind of sends a statement to the current president of the USA who I didn't vote for...either time! Enough of that...the next time you see a Veteran remember to thank them for the personal sacrifice and the freedom we enjoy. I am not a fan of war, any of them, but I am a big fan of Vets, all of them. Thanks to all our Veterans. You are the best!

Die Cast Collectables..


Here is one of the prizes I won at MINIs on the Dragon 2007. Many thanks go to the Sunshine MINI Club of Pittsburgh. http://www.sunshineminis.org/
They have an event called the Monte Carlo night and it was off the meter...top shelf. OK so I enjoyed the "for fun" gambling and the people who all have MINI motoring in common....we had a blast and I won some cool stuff. Here is a picture of the gift certificate which took some real effort to produce. Check it out! My two new MINI models are in the shot. They are very cool. Go check out this business on the net or in person. It was very nice of them to give a donation like this for a great non-profit cause. Go spend some money with these guys. http://www.pittsburghdiecast.com/