A couple weeks ago at the JV rallycross, John Black hesitantly asked if I would co-drive for him. I exclaimed, “Yes!” Of course we talked about the fact that Kris and I had already signed up to crew for the Stage Notes Radio teams of Erik Christiansen & Amy Floyd, and Eddie Fiorelli & Brent Ellzey, so I had to double check with them before fully committing, and also about figuring out how to get/borrow/beg/steal a HANS device and helmet that would fit me.
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As I finished up last minute “house” things, I could not believe it when Kris came in to tell me he had driven OVER the tow dolly. Tow dolly lesson #1 – Do NOT try to load your car on a trailer by yourself! We jacked the car up, took the tires off the tow dolly, and got it set up to try again. I could only laugh as the car went right over once again. Tow dolly lesson #2 – Make sure you secure the trailer BEFORE you attempt to load the car onto it!

Finally packed up and ready, we just needed to make a stop at the bank to pick up some cash. “What was that?” I asked as we pulled to a stop. “It’s just the tow dolly braking forward with us,” Kris replied. Not exactly – one of the tow straps had come unhooked. Tow dolly lesson #3 – Make sure your straps are hooked and tightened down as much as possible!!! Wow – it was a good thing we went to the bank – much better than trying to do that on the side of the highway. However, we were much luckier this time and didn’t have to undo the entire tow dolly – we just drove the car backwards and it booped itself right back on the dolly!

Two hours later (and two hours late) we finally made it up to Lancaster. At least there was no line for registration, but now I had no time to get to the hotel and lock myself in to highlight my notes. Instead I sat down in the Lilac Pavilion where tech inspection was going on. Once again, luckily there were only minor things that needed to be taken care of on the car before it could be inspected. Also luckily, there weren’t many people in the pavilion, and I had mostly quiet to work on my notes (except for a nice lady who tried her best not to chat me up).
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Or rather “How I ended up co-driving at the Ramada Express Rally.”

So Kris and I were headed out to Laughlin to work at the rally. I said somewhat off-handedly that “I should have brought my gear.” Kris asks, “Why?” “Just in case someone needs a co-driver!” This is the first rally that we’ve worked at or been to since we started competing, since we got all our gear and got licensed. We chatted a bit about “who I would co-driver for” and in what situations. I’m still getting used to doing everything a good co-driver should be doing – reading the notes at the right time, resetting the odo, calculating our stage times, resetting the speedometer, setting my stopwatch, all the while counting down, and tightening down my harness and helmet – would I really be comfortable riding with someone else? On the other hand, I want the experience so I can be a better co-driver for Kris.

To continue – when we got to Laughlin Thursday night we checked in, and caught up with a few people. We stopped to talk to Michael Taylor, and he mentioned that since his son had finals at school, he wasn’t going to be co-driving the whole rally. Instead, his wife Jennifer would be co-driving on Friday and Steven would be there on Saturday. So he needed a co-driver for Sunday, “if we happened to know anyone.” Well, I obviously didn’t have my gear, or licenses, and even though the Sunday portion of the rally is more like an extended rallycross, each team is still required to wear a full suit and there has to be a co-driver.

After a bit of brainstorming, Kris suggested asking if I could borrow Steven’s suit and helmet, if the organizers would agree to let me sign up without my newly acquired licenses. Donna Hocker was happy to sign me up: “Oh, I know you’re in good standing with your license, you just got it at Prescott! And you already signed the waiver to work, so you’re all set. I’ll put you on the entry list.” On Saturday night I got Steven’s suit and I was ready to rally in the Taylor truck on Sunday morning. I had a great time with Michael, the truck got more sideways than ze’Neon usually does, so that was a cool experience. I had to really shout because it was REALLY loud and the intercom was on the fritz. All I hope is that I did a good job. I know Michael has won the CRS P-Stock class, and I was more than happy to help. Next time I’ll bring my suit and helmet!

So, we’re drivin’ down the 605…go to pass some slower cars…”Um, the car just stalled…HOW is that possible? Oh, we’re out…of gas…” Somehow we managed to coast along the highway, and most of the way down the exit ramp before the car came to a stop. We make a quick switch (Kris hopped out, I jumped over into the driver’s seat), and Kris pushed the car about 25 feet into the nearby gas station. We wouldn’t have been totally screwed, after all, we have AAA. And, as stupid as it feels, even I’ve run out of gas on the highway/exit ramp before. Unfortunately for me, the gas station was uphill from where I was in Worcester, MA, and I had no one else in the car with me at the time. Lesson learned – the things you don’t check are the things that bite you in the ass. And bonus – found out exactly how big the gas tank is.

We were able to make our first trip to an awesome, clean, and organized pick-a-part yard in CA (although you still had the more than occasional ankle-breaker to watch out for). Too bad there were only four Neons in the whole place which were picked over by the time we found them. We were still able to salvage a few usable parts (ceramic exhaust ring, exhaust heat shield, and the steel oil pan that’s been on the parts list forever). It was only a buck to get in, and today happened to be the “half-price” sale day. We were also able to head up to the shop, get our newly acquired parts cleaned, and re-organized our area. So our slightly stupid mistake did not ruin the day one bit.