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    Results 1 to 4 of 4
    1. #1
      Join Date
      May 2015
      Location
      Nashville, TN
      Posts
      99
      Country Flag: United States

      Cruisin' the smokies



      What a Ride!
      Last year I went to Cruisin’ the Smokies without a car to autocross and while I had some remorse, I really had a great time https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...The-Real-McCoy.

      I knew that this year would be even better – with a car. I started out early on Thursday morning (before sunrise) to get to Pigeon Forge in time to help Bill Howell’s better half Melinda get people registered and be the first to see all of the happy faces arrive.



      Because this event is in the backyard of American Streetcar Promotions (ASP), things just seem a little better. Every moment of an attendee's time was well thought out and filled with entertainment. Due to the high demand for attendance, ASP split the autocross into two groups, with about 55 cars in each group. Group A autocrossed on Friday and Group B went on a cruise to Clingman’s Dome in the Smokey Mountain National Park. Along the way, the cruisers passed an entrance to the famous Appalachian Trail and saw sights that you can only see from the ‘top of the world’. I would love to show you that view but you'll have to look on our Facebook page because I stayed back to help with the autocross on both days.

      While I wasn't on the cruise, my view didn't exactly suck.

      While the weather channel threatened rain all weekend, we were blessed with glorious sunrises and the almost ever-present foggy mist that hugs the lush green landscape of the Smokey Mountains, with temps in the mid 70’s to low 80’s. Honestly, this place should be on everyone’s bucket list and that’s all I’m going to say about that.

      I mean, c'mon....

      Backing up a bit, I left the house before sunrise on Thursday and about two thirds into my drive, I blew a transmission seal in the Camaro. Yup, no autocross for me (or my other half Rodney) again this year! Normally, this would be a massive inconvenience but honestly, I was looking forward to seeing my Southeast autocross pals so much that it really didn’t phase me. I was grateful to have discovered the leak while at a gas station, safe and sound in the parking lot with no damage readily apparent. I felt worse for Rodney who was going to see all the posts on social media about everyone having so much fun while he had the joy of pulling a transmission. But this is the pro-touring life, right?


      Ryan Kirkwood, Head Honcho over at UMI running in the Sponsor Class


      Cheryl Herrick attended in her Dad's gorgeous Camaro -- flying out from California to come see us with her recently retired Dad Gordon McGilton.

      Mike and Sharon South drove their Camaro from Piqua, Ohio and spent extra days enjoying Pigeon Forge - never saw either one without a smiling face!


      Brent Pursifull and his son Trevor celebrated Trevor's 21st birthday with us!

      During the weekend, Autocrossers got an average of 12 runs each and an approximate total of 1200 runs (not including fun runs) were timed over the course of Friday and Saturday. Drivers actually started dropping off at 4:00pm even though we ran the clock until 5:00 – just too tired apparently. Not sure if it was too much autocross or too much moonshine the night before. (I joke, no one drinks moonshine in the Smokey Mountains.)

      Valerie Pichette all the way from Phoenix Arizona! Valerie and her husband Tom are storing their truck/trailer with car in the Midwest this year so that Val can race with us all summer.


      Heavy attendance in the truck class this year!


      Tim Strange and a newly converted autocross addict in the passenger seat.

      Included in the price of admission was Thursday night karting (great way to get the competitive spirit flowing), a show at the Smokey Mountain Opry on Friday night and a BBQ and awards ceremony at No Limit Engineering on Saturday.


      Selfie with the Howell's at the Smokey Mountain Opry show.

      The weekend could not have flowed better even with rain finally taking over on Saturday afternoon around 3:00pm; again, no one seemed concerned that they were missing out on runs. (If they were, they didn’t tell me.)


      The rain coming down on new autocrosser James Otto - not sure anything was going to stop him from running.

      One of the things I love about ASP events is that they allow you to really see the place where you’re autocrossing. The extracurricular events give you a real feel for the towns and their culture. If you didn’t read my post from last year, you can get a good idea of the culture in that write up (link above). Suffice it to say: You leave the event feeling like you had a vacation with a bunch of autocross thrown in. Now, I remark about this for a couple of reasons: One: if you want to bring family to an ASP event you can be confident that there is stuff for them to do other than sit track side and listen to you wax poetic about your (in)ability to get around the Finch-designed ‘donut’ turn. I see those forlorn faces on loving wives, partners, kids and friends in the pits; let them go to the outlet mall, indoor water park (inside of the host hotel!), Dollywood, or any number of shopping and site seeing options, while you do your thing. Two: how many cities and towns have you visited and never seen any of the local attractions because you were at the airport tarmac/stadium parking lot racing all day and couldn’t be relied upon to make a plan other than sitting in a lawn chair with a cold beer and talking about the course? Maybe you actually like McDonough, GA, Peru, IN and Bowling Green, KY…. How would you know?





      No Limit Engineering has built a stellar facility in nearby Dandridge, TN.

      Okay, on to the racing for real. There were plenty of hot-shoes in the mountains this weekend with Corvettes having the top times (On a VERY tight and turn-intensive course) and, for once, plenty of trucks! Pro-class win went to Joe Gregory in a fast and beautiful blue 2007 Z06 in one of his final runs, squeaking the win over Tyler Powell in his ’63 Grand Sport Corvette by a narrow .255 margin.


      Street machine was also topped by a Corvette by Gerald Gregory in a 2016 Z06.

      Your eyes are not deceiving you... Street Machine class was won by a guy with one arm. Not sure what that says about the car or his competition but... be forewarned, this isn't the last of Gerald.


      Truck class was won by Chris Harvey in his 2006 Trailblazer SS, with his daughter in tow (carseat) on several runs. It’s worth mentioning that little Annabelle Harvey was the hit of the awards ceremony after Bill Howell lifted her up on the counter and had her pick raffle numbers.


      Cruisin’ the smokies wound down on Sunday morning with a cruise-in car show next to the river. While one wouldn’t expect many to show up for a car show at an autocross event, one would expect even fewer when it’s raining cats and dogs. Apparently, attendees hadn’t gotten enough of one another and more than half of the cars/drivers came down and talked-shop over coffee and donuts before heading out.

      This says something about the community that frequents these races
      ‘They’s good people’ as they say in the South.








      This is Michelle Harvey, Michelle got married on 4/27 and came out and honeymooned with the Cruisin' the Smokies gang! Michelle takes amazing pictures and took a lot more than I was able to. Please look for her pictures on the Pro-Touring Facebook page in the coming days. (I guess I'd better go ask her to share them with me!)



    2. #2
      Join Date
      Oct 2011
      Location
      Philipsburg, Pa
      Posts
      528
      Country Flag: United States
      Very nice write-up Suzy! We are already excited for next year.

      -- Ramey
      Technical Support
      UMI Performance, Inc.
      [email protected]
      814.343.6315

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    3. #3
      Join Date
      Apr 2001
      Location
      The City of Fountains
      Posts
      15,971
      Country Flag: United States
      Looks like the event was a total success!

      Andrew
      1970 GTO Version 3.0
      1967 Cougar build
      GM High-Tech Performance feature
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      Dr. EFI
      I deliver what EFI promises.
      Remote Holley EFI tuning.
      Please get in touch if I can be of service.

      "You were the gun, your voice was the trigger, your bravery was the barrel, your eyes were the bullets." ~ Her

    4. #4
      Join Date
      Feb 2011
      Location
      Peoria, AZ
      Posts
      155
      Country Flag: United States
      What an awesome event with some of the best people in the sport. I really didn't want to pack up and head back to the real world.
      We're trying to plan on staying extra days in Pigeon Forge next year.
      If you haven't considered making the road trip, re-consider, you really don't know what you're missing....
      Valerie Pichette

      1988 GTA LS3 (418 stroker)/ T56 - "DragonLady GTA"





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