Several points I have learned through this week:
- use all available sources of navigational information! We had the One Lap issued route book, Vic's Google maps for each leg printed before the event, and the nav built into my Blackberry (the 1 in true racecar keeping was a stripper with no nav). Anyway, that GPS nav unit in the Blackberry would have been pretty sweet to have on when we blew past our exit on the PA Turnpike at 2AM and had to drive 15 miles out and 15 back to get to our hotel.
- on the electronics side, keep them all plugged in, and all active at ALL times. Lesson almost learned with radar detector in LA now hammered home with the nav...
- we can now unload the 135 and remove the interior in about 5 minutes - I knock it out in about 10 alone as Vic and Alex walk the Beaver Run track. Slamming it back together and packing up only takes about 10 minutes. Efficiency is king and we are able to add nice chunks of time to get extra sleep this way. Which we never took advantage of.
- as awesome as sleep is, it takes a back seat to fun and the end result defined our trip. We wasted a lot of potential sleep time with fun, side trips, antics, etc that I would never have skipped. This approach however does not wear on the group through the week and 8 days is oddly enough seemingly the breaking point!

Well, Beaver Run was cold and damp - we have definitely gotten back to the North now. This event was Alex's turn to strap on the helmet and jump in the fray. After replacing the rear shock mounts. he was kind of back to an unknown setup now that we had regained all that control in the rear. I'll let him report on the results, but we did well and maintained position.

I was given the auto-X duty and after walking the course several times, I was ready to rock. Alex pulled the car off track from his session and we immediately went to the auto-X with hot tires and brakes - good. I launch out of the starting line and immediately want a redo - not that I did badly, but I really just wasn't fully prepared to go. Not a huge deal, I get a second run and this is my safe one. Or at least that is what the book said and I assumed. Mental note - James is not an autocrosser - stick to the high speed stuff!

Our day ends for all intensive purposes and night begins on the transit back to South Bend. We stop at Great Lakes Brewing Company and meet all/most of our BMW compadres for dinner and a few beers - great stuff! Vic and I then begin to push Alex's buttons for the remaining 250 miles, and he thought he left his two kids at home...

We were supposed to go out and celebrate Saturday night after the awards ceremony, but everyone seems to want to pack it in early, so we arrive at the South Bend hotel with only a skid pad requiring a 5 minute drive to the event and holding the wheel to make the car go in a circle. Both directions...and starting at 9AM. With this in mind, most drivers in the event take advantage and convene in the lounge.

Our #34 car enthusiasm continues and we dig in hard for a 3AM night topped with a wonderful Steak & Shake meal. Alex just happens to wake up at 8:30 which is roughly enough time for us to throw on clothes and make it to the skidpad. It would have been relatively idiotic to miss the final event. We do unfortunately miss the large group photo, and apparently the group screening of Vic's late night phone messages to everyone whose cell number he had.

We unpack and pull the remaining interior apart in under 5 minutes and Vic is on! His first direction leads to over 1G! Not bad for a street car on now worn-out tires. Reversing direction Vic is able to average 0.97G (or something close - I am too tired for fact checking). Some of the very light cars do well (including an almost 1G Yaris!!!), but we maintain position.

The final spoiler result - we pull in the 1st in class trophy, and finish 13th overall. It is painful to know that without my Texas off we would have been 8th overall and the fastest BMW as well. I will have more of a summary later. For now, I am home (flew, sticking Vic with the responsibility of driving the car back) and I am headed to a long nights sleep!