[DeTomaso] Post Sandhills ORR Report - Long Post

Bob Radefeld bob at dodgecarroll.com
Wed Aug 12 12:52:04 EDT 2009


To All,
 TPR was again successful at running & completing another ORR with no problems & having FUN while 
doing it! Both Frank (The Godfather) Cirrincione - go ahead & try to pronounce his last name right :>)) -
& Bob (Rowdy) Radefeld finished both legs of the race with ease. Got to admit my second running in an
ORR was much less stressful & more enjoyable than that of last year & I'm sure next year will feel even
better. Even though I haven't run in Texas or Nevada I'm convinced that the SORC race is one of the 
most challenging courses in Open Road Racing. Add up all the the elements - chip & seal road surface,
elevation changes, roller coaster whoop-d-do's, 90 degree turns both tight & sweeping, several 3-5 mile
straights and you have one heck of a course that demands your constant attention. Just TO MUCH FUN!
 This year I took a fellow Pantera owner who lives about 40 miles from me along as a passenger so he
could get a feel for what was involved in this event. TPR now has another racer to join us in next years'
race. Eldon (Bud- the bottomless pit) Hower now has a year to ready his car for the 2010 race and can't
wait to get back to Arnold & race with Frank & I. In the meanwhile, Bud snapped numerous pictures of
us on course from a hilltop vantage point about 5 miles from the South starting line. These pixs as well
as those taken by Frank & I will soon be sent to Asa Jay for inclusion on the TPR website - stay tuned.
 Unfortunately, TPR did not take home any 1st,2nd,or 3rd place trophys in their respective classes & we
will now have to wait until final results are posted on the SORC website to see how we placed - they 
only announce 1st-3rd place winners in each class at the Saturday evening picnic in the park. This year
there were several restarts, blown engines, field excursions, & one rollover (driver OK ) that slowed the
results from being ready by the end of the picnic. We were forced to spend several hours at Jim's Bar 
raising uncontrollable havoc before they finally announced the winners @ a street dance outside the
bars' back door at 11:30 PM ! Needless to say it wasn't much of a walk back to the bar once the
announcements ended. LOL.
 Also, we had no Brazilian girls at this years' race due to the lousey economy - Damn! The girls are
normally responsible for their own travel to & from the races (unless MD has possession of the TPR 
race trailer & is coming to the event). Since that was not the case this year, we had no cheerleaders 
there except Bud. Next year we hope to have them back - all of our fellow racers at the bar were
disappointed to say the least! :>((  We did use up our supply of TPR stickers but nobody believed our 
undercover MD story - guess all the other racers just expected the inevitable. Got to come up with
something else to piss them off next year!! LOL.
 Can't say enough about the good folks of Arnold. NB. - all 610 of them! Here's several examples of their
hospitality & trust:
 1. Jo & Gary Crow whom we'd made friends of last year invited our 3 man TPR team to dinner on 
    Thursday evening at their farm on the ouskirts of Arnold. When we met them last year @ Jim's Bar
    my first impression was that this was definitely a guy I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley!! Geeze,
    he would probably make Hulk Hogan look like Danny DeVito. Nicer people you would be hard
    pressed to call friends. Jo & her sister put on a dinner to die for & that's when Bud earned his TPR
    nickname of " Bottomless Pit". If Gary was a TPR member that nickname would have definitely been
    HIS!
 2. Two fellow racers running an older Challenger RT were having real problems getting their car dialed
    in on Friday while prerunning the race road. Car wouldn't rev past 4500 RPM & other small problems
    on top of that. When the Dodge dealer in town found out about their woes later that afternoon he
    found them thrashing on the car & handed them the KEYS to his dealership & said for them to stay
    and use anything in the shop necessary to get it in shape for Saturdays' race - even if it meant
    staying there all night by THEMSELVES. Now that's what I call TRUST in your fellow man!! Not sure
    how long it took them to rectify their problems but they started & finished the race on Saturday. I
    talked to them on the pre-grid just before they took off on the first leg of the race & they were
    definitely HAPPY CAMPERS that they had their car running good again.
  3. Just about forgot to mention that Jo & Gary Crow graciously offered their basement with two queen
     sized beds to any future TPR members that come to the race in the coming years if we should show
     up with more racers than the three bedroom "Hunting Trailer" can accomodate. Cory Peterson,owner
     of the trailer also made it clear to me that TPR members could stay there for the next 20 years &
     he'd make sure it was totally stocked with food whenever we arrive every year. How's that for small
     town hospitality??
 Hopefully, other members reading this will be able to join us next year & we can spread the FUN around!
 Until then, back to mostly lurker mode for this owner who's already ready to go back tomorrow!!!

Cordially,
 Bob(Rowdy) Radefeld    #5042



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