July 12 Day 2

Wheels up was nice at late today, 12 noon. Thank goodness because the night before was a rough one!! We left the Omni Hotel in Pitts and headed to Thunder Canyon Raceway in West VA. This was a dirt go kart track. We were there for a while and had lots of fans show up for pics and autographs. Several Bullrunners got out on the track and showed there dirt go kart skills, or lack of:). This was a fairly short stop before we were off to our next destination -- Staunton VA. I had heard about this little town from a Bullrun a few years ago. It was said that the entire town shuts down and welcomes you. I was looking forward to this. We made our way to the 250 that leads us directly into Staunton. Let me tell you this about the 250 - if you do not like tight turns and twists for about 40 miles straight, don't ever drive it. Tony's philosphy is to at least double the speed limit that is posted on the warning signs. The turns were not regular twist and turns, they had banking and our tell end was all over the place. I had to become a rally navigator real quick. My job was to look at the GPS and let Tony know if we were coming into a slight, medium, hard or OMFG turn. There were several OMFG turns up and down the mountain. Tony has marked it on the map as a definite return road. We made it to Staunton and quickly realized there were cops everywhere. Tony slammed on the brakes when we saw them and the barricades. As we got closer we saw them moving the barricades and waving us in. They were yelling at us to HURRY, drive faster. It was a little different from all the other towns. We got to the hotel and the block was packed with people. It was like the whole town showed up. I jumped out of the car to run and punch my card and realized TEAM Solstice was FIRST!! It was the talk of the night! Everyone wanted to know what we have done to the car, how many rallies we have been on, do we race it. blah blah blah. Tony just wanted to show what we can do and earn a little respect!!
The party for tonight was at the Clock Tower Tavern and it was off the hook. I had a few shots of Patron, a Chocolate Cake shot, and some other stuff that my new STI friends bought me. I could not talk straight by the end of the night. Tony was also a little tipsy. When we left I just started walking down the street towards the hotel, even thought our car was parked right out front. Tony had to come pick me up. As we got to the front of the parking structure there was town fans and a few Bullrun Teams standing out there. They told Tony to show em what that car has so him and his ego went for it. He spun the tires in place for so long the cabin was full of smoke. We then turned into the garage and parked, tires still smoking. I look up and here comes 6 officers. They walk right up to him and ask for his license. I gathered my stuff and stayed back. They ran his license and told him not to do it again. Then one of the officers leaned in and said "that was pretty freaking awesome". I was out as soon as I hit the bed, at around 2am. Wheels up for the next day was to be at 8am UGH!!