When you are a racer, taking care of
your sponsors is very important. The better you take care of your
sponsor, theoretically, the better they take care of you. And of
course, the longer they take good care of you, the better.
Sometimes, taking care of your sponsor doesn’t always mean being at the
races; sometimes it means being someplace else doing everything but
racing; and that was just the case for Darrell and I this past weekend.
Though both Darrell and I had been looking forward to the SEPS race in the
RCA Dome for some time, a Freightliner Employee Appreciation event was
added to our schedule a few weeks prior to the show. Freightliner,
manufacturer of several models of semis and medium-duty trucks and vans,
is part of the Daimler-Chrysler family. When the event planners went
looking for fun attractions for the Freightliner employees and their
families to enjoy, [thankfully] they felt the Raminator R/T would be a
good choice, considering the resounding success it has had in the past at
similar events held for Dodge-Jeep-Chrysler employees. Inevitably,
the chips always fall where they may, and Darrell and I would head for
Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC the day before the RCA Dome event.
Though we were somewhat disappointed to not be attending the race, we both
understood the importance of the truck being at a high-profile corporate
event; besides that, Darrell and I always have fun on the road, and this
trip would be no different.
After we arrived at LMS, I started to wonder if this trip would end up
being filed in the “Uneventful / Boring” section. After tiring up
the R/T, arranging to have the rigs washed, and determining where in the
event’s display area they would be placed, the sound of a turbocharged
diesel engine caught my attention. I turned towards the shifter kart
road course located in the infield between turns three and four , and was
pretty surprised with what I saw. There was a Pikes Peak Uphill
rally semi racing around the kart track! Tire smoke, squealing
tires, sooty black exhaust smoke, whistling turbo, the whole nine yards.
The truck we were captivated by is a joint venture between Freightliner
LLC and Sterling (also DC-owned). It features a mid engine/ rear
drive setup, with plenty of lightweight aluminum and carbon-fiber body
work, as though the massive turbo diesel needed any help moving the thing
around. The truck was being piloted by one of Freightliner’s development
managers, and after we promised him a ride in the R/T, Darrell and I each
got to take a turn riding shotgun in this beast as it was literally tossed
around this way-too-small kart track.
I’ve ridden and driven some pretty powerful vehicles; I’ve also driven
semis and medium-duty trucks. Never did I see myself at the mercy of
a vehicle that combined both worlds in such a breath-taking way. The
acceleration of this thing was amazing! As we exited the chicane
that led to the backstretch of the kart track, the driver matted the beast
for all it was worth, and was rewarded with a 65mph drift and tons of tire
smoke. As I looked over my right shoulder and saw the smoke peeling
off of the massive stock semi tires (mounted on 22.5inch rims!) it donned
on me that this was definitely a once in a lifetime ride. Let’s just
say the ride truck guy went for [one hell] of a ride. So much for
the boredom.
The event officially kicked off Sunday, and due to noise ordinances the
R/T would be unable to run until high noon. Mark Hall had flown down
early Sunday morning to join us at the event, and he joined Darrell and I
as we partook in the SRT Experience that was being offered to attendees of
the event. Since we couldn’t run until noon, we decided to take
another thrill ride. Drivers from the Richard Petty driving school
would have the honors of piloting some of the hottest factory vehicles
currently available, and let me tell you, these guys are good. I got
to ride in an SRT-8 Charger, while Mark would find himself in an SRT-10
Ram 1500, and Darrell taking over the passenger seat of an SRT-8 300C.
As we accelerated [very briskly, I might add] into turn one of LMS, my
stomach experienced an entirely new feeling. The size of LMS makes
you feel pretty small, though it seems to shrink once you get on the track
and start cruising around at 160mph mere feet from other vehicles. I
have a whole new perspective of what it is like to be a Nextel Cup driver,
even though our experience was a mere taste of what the real thing is
like. All I can say is it has to be a blast to race one of those.
Not sure if is as fun as crushing cars though.
Thankfully, the rides went off without a hitch, as over 700 people made
their way through the R/T in just under six hours. Not too shabby.
At the end of the event, it was my turn to tackle the road course with the
R/T (hey, R/T doesn’t just mean ‘Ride Truck’. It also means ‘Road
and Track’). I loaded up a group of Freightliner company drivers,
and hit the track. While I definitely didn’t run as hard as the
Pikes Peak semi did, it was pretty fun driving a monster truck somewhere
that it usually doesn’t have any business being.
This week is Thanksgiving of course, and I feel it is really important
that we all take the time to step back and realize how lucky we are to
have the things that we do. Not just material possessions, but the
great people we are surrounded with and the great country we live in.
I also feel it is important that we not overlook the people less fortunate
than us. While we are arguing about who had the best freestyle or
who’s truck races best, there are some people out there who are struggling
just to find some food. Let’s keep things in perspective, and if you
get the chance, try to make someone else’s holiday season just a bit
better if you can.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and much respect to all my readers.
- KD
Email KD and let him know what you
thought!!
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