Dragon ii

[Welacey]

OK, who all is going to the beautiful N.C. mountains and beat this terrible Alabama heat? They are giving away a full set of Hoosiers at the trophy presentation, and a discount on Toyo's, and a lot of other goodies. The whole town of Robbinsville is supposed to be a huge party in our honor. Can't wait to get there and be a part of all the fun.

[kilgojr]

mark and I will be there. going up on Friday, hoping to get there early enough to get a good spot.

[EvoLady]

C and I were going to work but we have a ton of family coming into town for a wedding the first of July and several will be staying with us so we have LOTS to do at the house.

Good luck guys!!!

[Welacey]

Andy are you still coming? Sorry to hear you and C are not coming, but it sounds like ya'll will be having fun and plenty to do. Good to hear John and Mark will be there. Are both of you driving? Any more Alabama gang workers or drivers?

[nicktcr]

I would like to come work this, but just can't afford the trip right now :/

[Welacey]

Try this one out on youtube. "Chasing the Dragon Hillclimb Promo". You got to give him a few seconds to clean his britches out. Sorry, don't know how to do the click on it stuff.

[chuck schultz]

http://youtu.be/lmXa2R2WLyY

[kilgojr]

Yes Wally, Mark and I will both be driving. We are just bringing one car, but we will both drive.

[jatow]

Packed and ready to go!

[e30Racer]

Glad everyone made it to NC. See you at the hill tomorrow!

[Welacey]

Man, John and Mark, sorry ya'll broke. Thank goodness you were blazingly fast on your initial runs. I was skeptical about how good the hill was by the videos, but that will fool ya. The hill was awesome. It was very steep and the 180 turns would take alot of speed. Tons of grip, and one place that would launch you in the air. Really no need for brakes and if you ever lifted too much your times would surely suffer. It was such a great time, especially paddocking with everyone, and nobody paddocks like Andy Tow. Andy's knew BMW is a beautiful car and sounds the same at full song. If he ever buys new rubber, nobody will touch him. Think there were 3 incidents and everybody is fine. Ted is a great event manager and leader, couldn't have done a better job. A sincere THANK YOU to all the workers and the Graham county people. P.S., It is so beautiful up there.

[e30Racer]

It was unfortunate that John only got 2 runs and I got a run and a half. We broke a rocker arm and that was the end of our weekend. On a better note, John and I both were only a second off my fastest time from last year, on our first runs up the hill. So the car was faster and the track was better. But even with the car breaking, it was still great to hang out with Wally and Andy as well as meeting other drivers and making new friends. No doubt we'll be back in Sept.

[Trigger]

That was intense! dissapointed I only got 4 timed runs though :-( I was hopiong for more, and suprised at how slow the flow through was.

So after my last run on saturday, my car would not restart. turned out to be the rod holding the throttle butterfly broke. I guess I was pushing it so hard wanting more POWA! I found a handy guy that night who made a new rod from a bolt, turned it down and taped it. it worked, but looked a little sketchy. I didn't want to race up a mountain with it. so Sunday morning was an early out for me.

My review. Track day money for autocross seat time. albeit autocross runs on crack. worth it once for the experience, now that I checked the box, Probably not worth it for me again, especialy considering the travel distance as well (gas, room, vacation time). if I lived closer I would probably do it again.

[Ted E. Bayer]

Sorry you were disappointed and only got 4 timed runs... if you had run Sunday, would you have had plenty more and most hillclimbers know that people break, leave early and Sunday afternoon is when records are set. We stop running groups then and let you line up and run. Your mechanical failure on your car kept you from the best part of the weekend... and may be part of why you saw it as " autocross seat time".

The timing issues and communications issues are a tough nut to crack due to copper content in the mountain and angle from top to bottom. I can assure there were over 50 man hours and over $1200 spent during the last two weeks to resolve issues... and we failed. I take full responsibility and I hope you can accept my apology. When we stopped runs, it was due to inability to hear a station clearly... that is a safety issue and as I explained, as a driver, I would be grateful anytime that they shut down course rather than take a chance and let you run and figure "it'll be okay". They followed procedure. Last year, we had drivers that had 14 timed runs over the weekend. Last year we did not have as many mechanicals, incidents and communication problems.

Come back and run this fall... leaves will be changing, a little cooler, your car will be fixed... let us work on timing and communications. We think we have it on Comm now from what we learned and are apparently going HARD wire for timing. That is the most dependable and has proven so for many years. One day with only four times? You haven't scratched the scales of the Dragon yet! ; ) Don't be too quick to judge.

Thanks to all who came and enjoyed the event, the food, the locals, the kids and spectators. We figured over 6 to 7 hundred autographs were given... a lot of pics and a lot of fun. THAT is what we wanted and I am proud of the job our staff did as well as drivers! We are taking it to the next level now... the sponsors are now being paired directly to drivers and drivers are being offered free accommodations, food, etc. I know two that have already been offered free cabins for the September weekend. Several of the rental owners have contacted me to offer free weekend stays as worker/driver prizes for the Fall Hillclimb. This should make our sport more enjoyable and affordable for our drivers. For those interested, let me know. ; ) The sets of Hoosiers and Toyos and the HANS device went to people who appreciated and needed them!

For those that prefer track events or solo, I certainly understand... but for those who have some hills under their belt and truly "GET" hillclimb... that was an AWESOME weekend. Can't wait until September for Dragon III. IF Mr. Pastrana can make it, I'd say we'll be capping the entry list.... Thanks for support from your region and congrats to your region members who took some trophies home! WELL DONE!

[e30Racer]

IF Mr. Pastrana can make it, I'd say we'll be capping the entry list.... Thanks for support from your region and congrats to your region members who took some trophies home! WELL DONE!

You're crazy Ted...CRAZY!!! Obviously a hillclimber! The event was great and even though I only got a run and a half, the trip was still worth it! I think that speaks to the dedication and planning of CCRSCCA and everyone involved! When can I sign up for Sept?