toddz69 wrote:Awesome shot!
And a ride in the Explorer???? Super envious! That is so cool - one of my favorite rigs of all time too.
We had a good run this year in the Bronco too. First day issues when the other driver hit a big rut and flatted/broke the steering box that we were able to fix fairly quickly. I bent a wheel and had to fix some brake issues on Day 3 but otherwise a clean run.
Autofab guys were running fast and smooth because I never saw them until the party in Cabo. Sucks that gear got stolen!
Todd Z.
This was an interesting trip. Currently, my life is constant turn and burn. All events and trips, dates, etc., blend together... at any given moment, if you ask me what day it is or where I was a couple weeks ago... pffft! Who knows!? In all that chaos, however, was the 2017 Mexican 1000. The 50'th anniversary, to be exact. I have to say, I have not had an easier weekend in a really long time. Fast, but truly, an enjoyable experience on so many levels. And, the further we got into it, the more I knew it would be hard to leave.
I'll give you guys a little background on this:
Sometime earlier this year: Steve Bechard, our Event Manager and I, decide we ARE going to the first couple days of the 2017 Mexican 1000. We figure we'll take the Relay Truck, tools, test equipment and the essentials to get people fixed up in case of issues. We plan to help anyone we can and, have a damn good time in the process.
Mint 400, evening before race day: The crew is spent. It's 9pm, we haven't eaten since breakfast at 6am and the hotel restaurant says it's gonna be a couple hours before they can seat us... no bueno but our options are limited. The boss and I put our name in and sit at the restaurant bar. After 15 minutes and no help, we get a text that a couple of our guys are having drinks at a bar down the hall so we head over. We kill a double Jack and Coke and B.S. A customer of ours, Scott, walks up and we start talking. he says he's here with John Swift and his wife, etc., etc. Post John Swift mention, I hear pretty much nothing as I'm fixated on the fact that the guy that drives the coolest freakin' Explorer of all time is seated just a few feet from me. I make a a B-line to John and his wife and proceed to tell them all about my mom's old Explorer turned Autofab sleeper and... all kinds of other Explorer and GFB nonsense. So what does John do? Invites me to ride in the Explorer. Ummmm...... OKAY!!!!
A few weeks before: Staffing issues and WAY TOO MANY commitments to list, make the above a really hard push. We decide to bow out of attending the race as a work function but I, simply, cannot let this go. Come on... NORRA 1000, 50'th anniversary, the coolest damn Ford Explorer EVER!
So I start trying to figure out how to make this happen... not easy, considering I have too much shite to do at work on Friday and I have to be at work on Tuesday... not good!
And here comes Yikes... who the hell agrees that driving to Ensenada Friday night at 10PM and going home Monday morning is a god idea? Well, he does! by 1:45AM, Saturday before race day, he and I are partaking in tacos a block away from Estero Beach.
It's a little bit of a blur from there but, shit, that was a damn good, relaxing, fulfilling and EPIC weekend. One of those weekends were, on the way home, you process what the hell actually happened and realize... that was the shit good, good memories are made of... did we really just do that!!!???
I seriously cannot thank Brian and the Swift Motorsports crew enough... all such great people that provided us with nothing but hospitality for no good reason other than, we were there. In every way, all involved embodied everything I love about desert racing.
In the end I will tell you this: I am HOOKED. Brian and I both agreed, we are in it to the end next year. Whether it's racing, chasing or even just spectating... leaving before it's over SUCKED and will not happen again if we can help it!
Oh, oh, oh! AND, on top of all that, we got to spend some time with our beloved Autofab crew in San Felipe. John, Rick, Kelly, Don, Richard, Ricky... who know's who's kid that really was!-KIDDING! Seriously, good...GREAT times with even better people... can't wait till next year, my friends.