|
I need to clarify something right off the bat. This blog entry of
mine contains nothing actually involving the sport of ping pong.
Aside from a couple of references to the back-and-forth nature of said
game, there are no stories of ping pong play, true or fictional.
Additionally, there is no talk of ping pong equipment, meeting
world-famous ping pong players, the internationally recognized rules of
ping pong, or the great ping pong fight of 1923. My apologies to
ping pong aficionados who may have accidentally clicked on the link to
this article, believing that this would actually contain any sort useful
ping pong information.
The Raminator R/T at Chrysler
Headquarters, Auburn Hills, MI.
Phew! That being said, on with the blog already! (I’ll leave
the “my life is like a game of ping pong” metaphor for you all to figure
out on your own.). Following the memorable grad party gig in
Charlotte, MI, I had a short week to get the R/T cleaned up, turned
around, and off to Daimler-Chrysler Headquarters in Auburn Hills, MI, just
north of Detroit. The umpteenth annual “Wild Wheels @ Work” employee
car show was held the following Thursday, which means I was once again
behind the wheel of the only Monster Truck to have terrorized the Circle
at the base of the Chrysler tower in Auburn Hills. Tons of amazing
employee-owned show cars, ranging from Viper Competition Coupes to Hemi
Darts to fully-restored Challengers and Chargers graced the top level of
the employee parking garage nearest to the main tower. These fine
employee-owned vehicles were augmented by a number of corporate vehicles
on display, including the brand-new Dodge Rampage, the full lineup of
Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler SRT vehicles, and the breathtaking smash-hit of
the year, the Dodge Hemi Challenger Concept car. Words simply cannot
do this car justice…its color is five miles deep and many different shades
depending upon light and angle. Its stance is intimidating, and its
details are beyond impressive; point blank, this car projects power and
intimidation like an aircraft carrier with full escort. Seeing the
Challenger concept in person versus pictures is a night and day
difference. It’s like seeing a photo of Alex Lifeson with a
double-neck guitar, and then seeing him crank out “Xanadu” live….it just
blows your mind.
The Dodge Hemi Challenger
Concept.
The main tower at Chrysler
HQ.
As soon as the car show gig wrapped up in Auburn Hills, I hurriedly packed
up and began making my way to Canandaigua, NY. I bid Mark, Tim, and
June farewell as we went our separate ways leaving HQ, and began the
eight-or-so hour drive up to the Finger Lakes Region of New York.
Upon arriving, I met up with Geremie and Mat, who were on display at
Canandaigua C-J-D with Rammunition. I arrived Friday afternoon,
having hauled hide across Indiana, Ohio, and western NY most of the day.
Saturday morning we wide-loaded Rammunition from the dealership to a near
by water park’s large parking lot, where the local Rotary Club was hosting
the second annual Big Truck and Equipment Show. After hauling
Rammunition down to the park, in what became a makeshift parade with
several Dodge Rams following closely behind, we set up the R/T at the park
and began doing the R/T shuffle until car crush time. Though we
would repeat the motions Sunday as well, Saturday night was the high-point
of the weekend, as we would drive the R/T down the streets of Canandaigua
to nearby Canandaigua Speedway to help promote the weekend’s Truck Show
festivities. We had a police escort and all the proper safety
considerations covered, so I was really able to enjoy a nice evening drive
to and from the race track.
Wide-loading Rammunition in Canandaigua.
Geremie managed to pull some high-speed wheelies on the loose gravel in
Canandaigua.
En route to Canandaigua Speedway in the R/T.
Another ticket?!?!
Canandaigua Speedway played host to some exciting small block and big
block modifieds.
Canandaigua Speedway at dusk.
Click here to view the Monster Blog’s Canandaigua
Gallery
Sunday evening and the following Monday morning, the Raminator R/T and
Rammunition haulers were part of the Rapid Transit System (c’mon Mopar
fans, you gotta know that one!), as we made it home in record time from
Canandaigua to enjoy a brief few hours at home, before it was back after
it at the shop to get ready for Richmond, IN.
Last year, I performed my first public car crush in Richmond, IN in Mark
Hall’s 007 Raminator. This year, three separate car crush
exhibitions were scheduled by the dealership, and to prove they don’t mess
around, they brought out 27 cars! They even built a dirt ramp
leading up to a set of three cars, to “simulate” what fans would see at a
“real” show. Think that’s not enough? Well, they also brought
in bleachers and roped off the entire area to ensure plenty of room
between the people and the action. Friday night and Saturday mid-day
car crushes were performed by Mark and Geremie in Raminator and
Rammunition respectively. For Saturday afternoon, the lineup changed
some, however. Mat Dishman took the reigns of the R/T for the first
time in public, while I suited up to pilot Mark’s Raminator truck.
Mark beat up Geremie, so he got to drive Rammunition…actually, nobody got
beat up, but Mark ended up driving the black truck to feel out some new
parts, and to decide on Geremie’s truck setup. For the first time in
my short driving career, I ran simultaneously with another truck, with
Mark Hall driving alongside me to boot! Mark has not yet been able
to view one of my jobs behind the wheel, and even though he himself was
suited up and driving at the same time, don’t think for a second his keen
eye doesn’t pay close attention. I’m happy to say that after the
performance was over and we pulled up on the cars to get out and wave at
the fans, both trucks were in one piece and running well.
Furthermore, and much to my relief, Mark said he was pleased and impressed
with how I handled the truck. Okay everyone, sigh of relief, right?
Click here to view the Monster Blog’s Richmond, IN
Gallery
The R/T runs an automatic Chrysler transmission, which holds up great
under the day-long stress that we place on it. However, like most
high performance vehicles, the transmission in the R/T requires a tranny
cooler and fan assembly. No big deal, right? Well, it
shouldn’t be, but the style of B&M coolers that we have been using for
this purpose have been failing both miserably, and frequently.
Another one bit the dust towards the end of the day in Richmond, sending a
steady (but thankfully small) stream of hot tranny fluid onto the truck’s
rear driveshaft. This of course soaked the already dust-covered
truck in a nice greasy/muddy grime mixture, and elevated the tranny temp.
We were able to keep a flow of fresh fluid flowing into the truck between
rides, so no damage occurred to the trans, though I had my work cut out
for me on Sunday.
Okay folks, stick with me here as this might get a bit confusing.
The Sunday following the shindig in Richmond, spent some time at the shop
washing and working on the R/T, preparing it for a trip out west to
Sonoma, CA for the Nextel Cup race, where it was scheduled to sit on
display for the weekend. Why not take the show truck, you ask? Well,
we weren’t sure if the show truck would make it back to the shop in time
from the Laconia, NH motorcycle rally in time for Darrell and I to leave
with it for Sonoma. Therefore, I had to make sure that the R/T was
ready to fill-in if needed. Travis, who had the show truck in Laconia,
arrived at the shop around 8a.m. Monday morning. After he had
climbed out and unloaded his bags, Darrell and I loaded our gear, some
supplies, and hit the road right away, west bound and hammer down.
No rest for the wicked, eh?
Wild horses near my
family’s house west of Cheyenne.
We decided that we had enough leeway in our allotted travel time from
Champaign to Sonoma that we could stop off for part of a day and a night
in Cheyenne, WY where my family lives. DW and I both have CDL’s, so
we were able to drive back-to-back shifts once we left the shop which
landed us in Cheyenne early Tuesday morning. After visiting with
some folks at my dad’s office (where I worked summers in high school) and
picking up some supplies at the all-consuming Wal-Mart Supercenter, we
headed out to my family’s rural home, nestled in the foothills west of
Cheyenne. A much needed and much appreciated reprieve for DW and I,
we enjoyed some great home cooking and BBQ, some target practice, four
wheeling, and of course, fireworks. I always enjoy getting to spend
time with my brother and sister; it never ceases to amaze me how fast they
both seemed to have grown up. Spending time with my dog Blazer (who
wasn’t able to move to IL with me), and her new companion Scout is always
a riot, as the two seem to have a bottomless supply of energy. DW
kept throwing their sticks for them, but I’m not sure who ended up wearing
who out.
My family’s dogs Scout
(left) and Blazer (right).
Wyoming is home to several species of hummingbirds.
DW and I goofing off just before setting off the evening’s fireworks
display.
Table Mountain at sunset, west of Cheyenne.
After bidding my family goodbye early Wednesday morning, I guided our
Raminator hauler out of the Cheyenne truck stop and onto I-80 west just as
the sun was rising, and never let up until we reached the Great Salt Lake
on the west side of Salt Lake City, UT. What a breathtaking site!
I have seen the Salt Lake from the air on a couple of occasions, having
flown in and out of Salt Lake in the past, though I must admit the view
from “ground level” is equally impressive, in my eyes. The rugged
and drab mountains rising up from brilliant blue salt water is
awe-inspiring, to say the least; it was definitely one of many high points
on our western trip.
The Great Salt Lake.
Ahhh, gotta love that salty air!
Utah’s Salt Flats.
We continued our journey westward, passing through Utah’s famed Salt Flats
and into the desolate desert lands of Nevada. Though there were more
outcroppings of civilization between Salt Lake City and Reno, NV than I
had expected, most were more accurately described as being
“establishments” or “settlements” as opposed to “cities” or “towns”.
After stopping for some fuel in Reno, we ascended and descended the famed
Donner Pass, located just inside the California border. Another
historic landmark located on I-80, Donner Pass is named for the tragic
incident involving a party of pioneers in the 1800’s who became stranded
by the harsh terrain and inclement weather, forcing the surviving members
to resort to cannibalism in an attempt to survive. With this grim
story certainly at the front of our minds, we carefully snaked our way to
the top of the pass, then, utilizing the engine brake built into our
Freightliner Century, we made the careful and deliberate journey down the
other side of the pass. 4%, 5%, and 6% grades on the downhill side
of Donner leave a driver with two options: select a low gear in
combination with your exhaust brake and prudent use of wheel brakes; or,
wreck your semi in a number of gruesome ways. We chose option #1
obviously, and the results were favorable.
The difference between
crappy photography and artistic photography is a blurred line, a line that
is very subjective. Here, I’m striving to make the most of the very low
light by intentionally using a slow shutter speed while descending Donner
Pass.
The best kind of blue sky.
Having just finished Donner Pass, we dropped in behind Kyle Busch’s race
transporter, who had also finished descending the pass. After
talking with the truck’s driver for a while on the CB, we decided to go
ahead and follow them into the track instead of stopping for the night.
Though the hour had grown late, we felt that an experienced NASCAR
transporter driver would get us into the facility better than, well,
pretty much anyone else. On a somewhat unrelated note, I should add
that the transporter driver had mentioned to us in conversation that he
and his son are big monster truck fans, at that he tunes in to Monster
Truck races on TV occasionally in the hauler. Anyways, “Squirrel”,
as he is known on the CB, guided us right into the main paddock gate at
Infineon Raceway, around midnight Pacific Time. Finally, we had arrived!
San Francisco’s Golden Gate
Bridge.
Infineon Raceway in Sonoma plays host to one of only two road races on the
NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit, and it is always a thrilling race to watch as
the majority of the Cup drivers are not as proficient on road courses as
others. Nextel Cup regulars Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon,
and Ryan Newman have all proven themselves to be potent on road courses;
these talented drivers, combined with road course “ringers” like Scott
Pruitt, Andy Pilgrim, and Boris Said, tend to distance themselves from the
field, if not in actual finishing order then at least in overall finesse
and technique. After setting up the Raminator display truck in the
large Dodge City exhibit behind the main grandstands on Thursday, DW and I
found ourselves with a half a day or so of free time, seeing as how there
would be no actual track activity until Friday morning. That being
the case, we unloaded the Dodge Neon that we haul in the display truck
hauler and headed west, towards San Francisco.
A beautiful section of California’s Pacific coast.
As we moved along briskly on Highway 101 from the Napa Valley down to the
Bay Area, we felt a sudden temperature change, in the neighborhood of a 15
to 20 degree drop. The hot, dry inland air gave way to a cool,
semi-humid breeze as we neared the Bay Area and the Pacific Ocean.
As soon as I felt the temperature shift, I felt my excitement rise as I
knew we were close. As we rounded the final turn in the road that
exposed the Golden Gate Bridge in all of its towering expanse, I couldn’t
help but feel overwhelmed in a way. It comes as no shock to me that
the locals view the bridge as just another part of their city-scape, but
for a young man who has spent pretty much his entire life in the Rockies,
the Midwest, and the North East U.S., the Bridge was a sight to behold.
We ascended a nearby peak that allows tourists and visitors to overlook
the entire bay area, the bridge, and the Pacific Ocean from a number of
elevated viewing areas. I happily snapped away pictures like a giddy
tourist, eager to try to capture the magic of the moment, to preserve what
I was seeing, the way I was seeing it. At one point, a large
super-freighter passed under the Golden Gate Bridge, steaming into port at
around 15 knots or so, to unload its massive quantity of sea containers.
Snapping away hurriedly, I realize what a great photo op I was taking
advantage of. Three giants of the world, the Golden Gate Bridge, the
Pacific Ocean, and a multi-football-field-long sea freighter, all together
in one spot, for me to enjoy. Pretty cool the places that a job in
the Monster Truck industry can take you, no?
Hey look, its Kyle and
Darrell again!
The large sea freighter passing under the Bridge.
Part of the Bridge’s overlook area is an old prisoner holding area, used
to hold prisoners who were awaiting shipment to Alcatraz.
One of my favorite shots, with the bay and San Francisco in the
background.
Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge seems to be a necessary evil for San
Franciscans, but for DW and I it was fascinating and enjoyable.
After reaching the other side of the bridge, we headed down to the
shoreline to check out the Fisherman’s Wharf, and all of the cool
attractions you will find down there. In the few hours we spent
walking around, we checked out the San Francisco Bay Maritime Museum,
several of the classic ships that were moored along the Wharf, some really
neat open-air fish markets, some interesting shops and food factories, and
pretty much just soaked up the culture of the area. Though I
consider myself to be well-cultured and very open minded, I still feel a
bit of culture shock when I visit someplace like San Francisco, which has
a strange mix of urban, liberal, and maritime influence.
Nevertheless, we enjoyed ourselves immensely, but we decided that with
dinner time approaching, it would be prudent to seek more “affordable”
supper back up in the Napa Valley, as opposed to on the Wharf.
Average meal prices on the Wharf exceeded $15.00 a plate, which was more
than we cared to spend on this particular evening.
The western end of the
Fisherman’s Wharf area of San Francisco.
The renowned Ghirardelli bakery and factory.
One of several classic sea-going vessels moored alongside the wharf.
You simply cannot visit San Fran without admiring the famous hills.
A San Francisco resident enjoying his view of the bay and Alcatraz.
I made the most of a rare opportunity while in San Fran. Captain Hook made
a special appearance at Arrrrby’s Pirate Store, for a meet and greet with
fans. I’m seen here shaking his hook. A really friendly guy, I have to
say. He did seem irritated when I called him “Stubby” though…
One last shot of the Bridge, before leaving SF.
Say what you will about my camera, but one thing is for certain: its lens
gets aimed at a very diverse list of subject matter. Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday would be all racing for my Fuji and I, as a number of
non-NASCAR vehicles would be taking to the track throughout the weekend in
between Cup practice, happy hour, and qualifying sessions. The SCCA
Speed Channel Touring Car and GT classes ran both Friday and Saturday, as
did the NASCAR Winston West series, and the Speedway Legends class.
Sunday would be the big show, however, as the main grandstands and nearly
all of the terrace seating areas were packed with Nextel Cup fans, eager
to witness the door-to-door action. While the Viper SRT-10’s and the
Cadillac CTS GT cars seemed to glide effortlessly around Infineon’s 1.99
mile course (never once smashing into one another) the Cup cars
were…well….a different story, to say the least. A pair of incidents
on Lap 1 would set the tone for what would end up being a day of cautions
and even some red flags. At the end of the day, however, Nextel Cup
regulars Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, and Kurt Busch proved themselves to be
some of the more dominant drivers when it comes to road racing with Cup
cars.
The Dodge City display at Infineon, early Friday morning.
Transporter row, Infineon Raceway.
Kasey Kahne’s #9 UAW Dodge Dealers SRT Charger heading for tech
inspection.
The new Dodge Nitro concept at the Dodge City display.
The #9 car passing through Turn 2, with the Raminator S/T hauler in the
background.
Tony Stewart’s #20 Chevrolet in Turn 2.
Scott Pruett filled in for David Stremme in the #40 Coors Light Dodge
Charger in Infineon.
Jeremy Mayfield in the #19 UAW Dodge Dealers SRT Charger trails Kasey
Kahne’s #9 car coming through Turn 1 into Turn 2. Two of the three
Evernham Dodges sported special SRT paint schemes. SRT (Street & Racing
Technology) is Daimler-Chrysler’s in-house performance division.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. spins during his first lap of practice after exiting
Turn 2.
Despite running off into the gravel after exiting the S-curves on the back
section of the race track during qualifying, Jeff Gordon and the #24
DuPont Chevy turned in a top-5 qualifying effort. Gordon would go on to
win Sunday’s Dodge-Save Mart 300.
While the Dodge SRT-10 Ram pace truck kept tabs on the Nextel Cup cars,
this slick Hemi-powered Dodge Magnum paced the GT and Touring Cars.
This SRT-4 Dodge ran consistent in the Touring Car class. This car runs
out of the Bob Woodhouse stable, which also campaigns a GT class Viper
with a similar paint scheme.
This BMW Touring Car driver struggled with Turn 2 at Infineon, not once…
…but twice.
The sole Mercedees-Benz entry in the Touring Car class.
As you can no doubt tell, Turn two was a hot spot for action all weekend
long. Here, a Mazda Touring Car comes back down to Earth after clipping a
rumble strip.
Gravel from many of these spins in Turn 2 caused havoc for other racers.
Tommy Archer’s Dodge SRT-10 Viper Competition Coupe during the Saturday
afternoon Speed GT race.
The top-4 qualifiers in the GT class ended up being the top-4 finishers in
GT. These cars ran so consistent that none of them changed positions the
entire 40-lap race.
This private Saleen Mustang GT entry also found Turn-2 to be problematic.
The entire Speed TV crew, along with guests like Jimmy Spencer and Robby
Gordon were on hand broadcasting all weekend long at Infineon.
The Patriots Aerial Demonstration Team put on a great show just before
Sunday’s Dodge-Save Mart 300 Nextel Cup race.
The Ram SRT-10 Pace Truck leading pole-sitter Kurt Busch in the #2 Miller
Light Dodge Charger down the back stretch of Infineon.
Kenny Schrader spun on lap 1 coming out of the S-curves. I thought for a
second the rest of the field might miss him…
…but the #27 Monte Carlo entry hammered the right-rear corner of the #21
car…
..and shortly thereafter Casey Mears, Jamie McMurray, and Sterling Marlin
were collected as well.
Marlin’s car just after coming to a stop on the backstretch.
Sterling Marlin looking obviously shaken-up after climbing out of his #14
Chevy.
Kenny Schrader walked away from his #21 Ford seemingly no worse for the
wear, though clearly upset about exiting the race on lap 1.
Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch captured the pole on Saturday, then ran strong
towards the front of the field all day during Sunday’s race.
The other Penske car, Ryan Newman’s #12 Alltel Dodge, also ran very strong
all weekend.
Scott Riggs in the #10 Valvoline Dodge leads a pack of cars through the
S-curves during Sunday’s race.
More action in Turn 2 from Sunday.
Following the race on Sunday, Infineon became a mad-house of fans on foot,
fans in cars, fans in RV’s, tour busses, shuttle busses, vendors, freight
semis, novelty trailers, and race transporters, all trying to
simultaneously depart the speedway facility via the two-lane road that the
track sits on. After backing our semi out onto the drag strip from
its weekend home on the “Carousel”, we maneuvered the Raminator S/T out to
the strip and loaded it up in near record time, though we would end up
waiting for about an hour before attempting to exit the facility.
After what seemed like an eternity (though really only about 45mins), we
climbed back on to I-80 in Vallejo (hometown of Jeff Gordon, by the way)
and headed for home, hammer down. With DW and I having separate gigs
lined up for the weekend following Sonoma, we had to drive pretty much
non-stop from Sonoma to Champaign in order to make things work out right.
Pausing only for food and fuel, we alternated shifts behind the wheel.
With one guy sleeping in the back and one driving up front, combined with
Starbucks Frappucino, sunflower seeds, and loud rock music, you can cover
some ground, though you will be pretty worn out by the time its is all
over with.
Hey, we are almost caught all the way up now! We arrived home from
Sonoma Tuesday evening around 8pm, and headed home for some rest.
Wednesday I finished getting the R/T ready to leave for its next trip, to
a Dodge dealer in Thomaston, GA. Mat Dishman and I pulled out of the
shop early Thursday morning, and ended up stopping for the night about
thirty miles or so from the dealership that night. After two days of
intense Georgia heat on some exceptionally hot black top parking lot
surfaces, I was more than ready to get home to enjoy a nice long shower
and some time with Amanda. I pulled out of the dealership Saturday
evening around 7:00pm or so, and set my initial driving goal; reach a rest
area on the west side of Nashville, TN before calling it an night. I
met my goal in reasonable time, but to my dismay I discovered the rest
area was full; no empty spots for trucks to park. At this point, I
was feeling pretty good still, so I decided to motor on through the rest
of Tennessee, Kentucky, and on into Illinois, at which point Mat would be
able to drive the rig home using his Illinois-Only CDL permit. I
must admit, there are a lot of neat sights to take in while driving at
night, things that you can’t enjoy during the day time. For
instance, the Kentucky dam and river at night is a great sight to behold
at night. As though the soft yellow light from the moon cascading
across the water isn’t cool enough, an assortment of man-made light in the
form of spotlights crisscross the water, both from the dam itself and the
numerous barges and tugs floating around on the river. I wish I had
been in a passenger vehicle when I witnessed all of this, as I would have
surely pulled over and snapped off a round of photos.
The R/T on display in
Thomaston, GA.
Mat and I pulled into the shop around 8a.m. Sunday morning, quite
tired to say the least but glad to be home, never the less. After
cleaning up and catching a short nap at the house, I took Amanda out to
see Disney-Pixar’s “Cars”. The rave reviews this movie is receiving
are not merely lip service; this is a truly enjoyable film. It is
just as appealing to adults as it is children, as there are loads of
sophisticated automotive and racing-related references, throw-backs, and
shout-outs in the film, as well as a number of voice-cameos by some
popular racing stars. Being a member of the racing industry,
especially as one who drives a transporter over the road, my favorite
character was the big semi transporter that hauls the main character (race
car “Lightening McQueen) around. All in all, it was a fun way to
spend a bit of my afternoon off.
This coming week I will be piloting the R/T in Rantoul, IL’s annual 4th of
July parade, for the third year in a row. Following that, we will be
heading out in convoy fashion on Wednesday for the Bloomsburg Jamboree,
located in the recently-flooded Susquehanna River area of Pennsylvania.
What lies in store for us there this coming weekend? I sure don’t
know, but I hope it doesn’t involve too much mud. The sooner the
water level recedes there, the better; not just for us race teams, but
more importantly for the residents of that area.
Until next time, thanks for reading, and Rock Hard!
- KD
Email KD and let him know what you
thought!!
|
