MINIs Motoring Against Cancer!!!

OK here is a group of people from all over the Carolinas region coming together to have fun and start raising money for a great cause. This was an idea started from Mr Magoo in the picture here (in the hat third from the right of the red car) . All of the People in this picture helped raise over $600 on this day alone. We even got donations from visitors on Mt. Mitchell....The banner you see in the picture was created in Hickory, North Carolina. The banner will now find its way across the USA and the world to raise money for Cancer research and prevention. From MINI club to MINI club. Coast to coast....Very cool indeed. It is a good day when you can have this much fun and throw some dollars at a good cause. Great job all.....I am proud to have friends like these people.

MINIs at the Summit!!

How about this shot? Taken from atop an old container most of the MINIs on the trip are here...You can see the clouds in the distance as the Spruce trees touch them. This is one nice location. My car is way in the back but that is no big deal. It is very cool just to be a part of this journey.

A Nice Picture...

I like Natural Landmarks.....

Acid Rain..Power Plants, Soapbox Moment...

This is a sad picture. 6600 feet...At the higher elevations the trees are dead. The earthworms are gone. I am hopeful that we are starting to make a move towards solar energy and alternative fuels. We are too smart to let this happen. Maybe in 1-200 hundred years people will see a clear sky and no more pollution from fossil fuels and coal-burning power plants. We have a long way to go but little time to make a difference. I hope for the best. Time will tell....let's make a change!!! Acid rain and global warning is a real phenomenon. BMW is working in the right direction and I will keep supporting them!

The Entrance...Mt. Mitchell....

Here we are at the entrance as we climb the mountain to the peak. I can feel my ears going crazy. 6600 feet? Wow we are at the highest point east of the Mississippi. http://ils.unc.edu/parkproject/visit/momi/home.html
http://www.northcarolinaoutdoors.com/places/mountains/blacks.html

Tunnels? Yep We have Plenty...

There were plenty of tunnels along the way and it was cool that we were burning lights, front and aft....and blowing horns as we past thru them...as only a MINI caravan can do.

Spiral Curves??

Man there are some long and winding roads here....check that sign out!!
A sports car drivers dream...How about those rodedendron bushes on the side of the road? ...huge!!! Awesome stuff. Nice scenery for sure.

Entry to the Viaduct....

Here is a shot of the entry to the Linn Cove Viaduct... nice road....North Carolina has some very cool places...

Linn Cove Viaduct in the Distance. ..

Wow....a nice engineering marvel in the distance...we all pulled over for a distant shot of the Linn Cove Viaduct...very cool...yes, I know this picture is a very distant view...enlarge it!!
http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/linncove.htm
This shot was from Julie's camera through the sunroof of my MINI.

A parking lot full of MINIs in Boone, North Carolina!

After we collected all the cars along NC highway 421 at the various interstate junctions we made our way to Boone, North Carolina for lunch. This was the coolest place. Blues and BBQ....MY kind of place...there were posters everywhere of Blue Legends from all over the building and they had crawfish on the menu...can you say YES? I had my share......cool music too...Stevie Ray to Elmore James....ahh....
A funny story as we are eating. A fellow comes in as he is driving a 2007 MINI though town. His girlfriend says, "Hey we just passed a MINI dealership!!" Nah we just had the whole lot full of MINIs!! Cool eh?
It was nice hang with MINI owners from Charlotte to Roanoke, Virginia. A real eye-catcher...all those MINIs coming through town.

Line 'em Up!!!

Here is a small line getting ready for the Mt. Mitchell run on Saturday morning, June 23. I have been so busy I haven't had time to post these shots up. Trust me we had a BLAST!! A very nice trip with a huge turnout of MINIs from all over North and South Carolina as well as Virginia. Here are a few of the early birds waiting west of Winston-Salem. We picked up others from Charlotte, etc. as we rolled west. Great fun!!

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.

http://www.usgpindy.com/modules/images/trackmap/usgp05-map-lrg.jpg

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.