The Burgers and Hot Dogs Were Grilling....

Mark sporting his best burger cookin' style...

The Banner Was Posted...

The Cat makes a Getaway...

I saw several dogs at the event, some with some nice clothes and a really cool Bulldog...but I didn't see any of them actually driving a MINI....

Snoopy Checking Out the MINIs

Snoopy is giving us the once over from the sky! Our cigar smoking canopy was setting up the smoke screen so I am not sure what he saw....

UFO Photo?

Here is another picture of the parking lot at the blast this afternoon. If you click on the picture and enlarge it you can see the small object in the sky behind in our group of MINIs. No it's not a UFO, it is the Met Life blimp!

The Tar Heel MINI Motoring Club August Blast...

The line-up in the parking lot today at Springwood Park in Burlington, North Carolina.
The Tar Heel MINI Motoring Club was having a Club Blast and it was a good one...someone said there were almost 100 cars there. I really lost count in the afternoon...
http://www.tarheelminis.org/

Here is a link to the Newspaper article in the Burlington Times....

http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/cars_16470___article.html/inspire_mini.html

John Force!!

The NHRA legend. John Force. This guy is the nicest person on the block. His team brought the car they had just raced in Bristol and several drivers. They had all barely slept but they signed everything in sight and John kept everyone entertained with his personality. I can't say enough good things about him. He is the man. I am a big fan of his, as a driver and most of all as a real person. You rock dude.

http://www.johnforceracing.com/


From John's web site...

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Now that he's driven in his 500th NHRA race, won his 1,000th round, made his 201st final round appearance and celebrated his 59th birthday, all within the last three weeks, John Force acknowledged Wednesday that he may be ready to take the final step in his recovery from career-threatening injuries suffered last fall in a 320 mile-an-hour crash.

"Every race I'm feeling more comfortable in the car," proclaimed the 14-time series champion. "The car's gotten better. I'm better. I think we're ready to win again."

Racing Girls...

Rock....Ashley Force. Fresh in from Bristol.

http://www.ashleyforce.com/

http://www.johnforceracing.com/index.html

I Ran Into.....

Tony Stewart today at work....fresh off his helicopter which landed right in front of our building from Charlotte.

Oh my MINI was parked about 30 feet from all the action...with the sun shade on the dash and under the shade of a nice tree....

http://www.tonystewart.com/

Miles of MINIs

The MINIs look like they stretch for miles...this was the line-up for the group picture in front of the dam. It was raining for the panaramic five foot photo...but we did it anyway. Nothing like getting wet for a picture of your car.

20 MPH?

In a MINI? Not.

MINI Bee

There was a car show and this car was my favorite.

Mr. Clean

"Mr. Clean" sits adjacent to the car washing station. I must have washed my car five times in four days. Between the rain and the bugs it was tough on the old boy. Should I mention the complimentary products we used to wash our cars? Awesome stuff..my personal favorite is a product called 'Slick." I left with several bottles of these products. They Rock.

http://www.detailersparadise.com/View.asp?Id=6511292005451212-691513519625

Deal Em'

Did I mention there was fun to be had at the Second Annual MINI Monte Carlo Night?
Thanks to all from the PittStop MINI Club....
http://www.pittstopmini.org/content.aspx?page_id=5&club_id=896476&item_id=4444

It's Monte Carlo Night!!

Can you tell it's Monte Carlo Night?
http://www.racerchicks.com/auto/miniMC.html

Inside the casino is setup and we are ready for some fun!

To the Rescue...

Here is the culprit. The Fire Department got the situation under control and electricity service was restored many hours later...

Where there is Smoke...

Not a good sign. I was standing by my car as Sumpter, who works for Dan at Grassroots Garage, installed an engine damper on my car. Suddenly we hear what sounds like fireworks in the distance. Then we see smoke. On my radio I was told balls of electricity were flying down the wires behind the houses on the side of the mountain. With all the wind we were having at the time this was not a good thing. The nearest fire department was quite a ways down the road.

A Pair of Vintage MINIs

I thought these cars were so cool I stopped just to capture a picture....

On the Tree of Shame in Deals Gap

This bit of a MINI was spotted on the "Tree of Shame" in Deals Gap.
http://www.dealsgap.com/tree.htm
Remember you can click the picture to make it larger.

The Most Photographed MINI of the Weekend

This is what happens when you drive hard and roll your car. I must say when this fellow drove through the village he got a round of applause! He was all the way from Canada!! This image is a testimonial to the structural integrity of these cars. Other than a bad windshield the car survived the altercation with the embankment and the resulting roll pretty well.