Be sure to read Part 1 for a trip overview.

Travel Dates: 5/14/11

It was a bit of a drive from where I stayed to the Carlisle fairgrounds. 30 miles, 30 minutes.

I slept for 13 or 14 hours. I think I was awake the day before for 35 hours straight. I finally joined everyone at 3pm. I was still pretty out of it but alive.

Andy holding a Datsun with one hand, like a boss. Apparently the parking brake wasn’t working.
He helped Joel run the track and did tech inspections.

I brought my Seville. Before I found the NICO tent, I wandered all over the fairgrounds in a sea of ricers and roid-raging VW and Chevy owners. I went over the hill and found NICO’s quiet suburb. What a relief.

Wes always ends up in an awkward picture by himself.

The “Jersey Shore” crowd showed up in an Audi A4. They ignored all the rules an plowed through a fence.

Altima guys arriving.

COSWORTH! Sean brought his Mercedes 190E Cosworth. For me, this was the highlight of the event.

From Wikipedia:
“Back in the late 1970s, Mercedes competed in rallying with the big V8-powered Coupés of the R107 Series, mainly the light-weight Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0. Mercedes wished to take the 190 E rallying, and asked British race car engineering company Cosworth to develop an engine with 320 bhp (239 kW) for the rally car. This project was known as project “WAA” by Cosworth”.[4] During this time, the Audi Quattro with its all wheel drive and turbocharger was launched, making the 2.3-16v appear over-matched. With a continued desire to compete in high-profile motor sport with the 190, and also now an engine to do it with, Mercedes turned to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) (German Touring Car Championship) motor sport series instead. Cars racing in this championship, however, had to be based on a roadgoing model. Mercedes therefore had to put into series production a 190 fitted with a detuned version of the Cosworth engine. This high performance model was known as the 190 E 2.3-16, and debuted at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September 1983, after its reputation had already been established. Three cars, only slightly cosmetically altered, had set three world records in August at the Nardo testing facility in Italy, recording a combined average speed of 154.06 mph (247.94 km/h) over the 50,000 km endurance test, and establishing twelve international endurance records. The Mercedes 190-E Cosworth was also featured on the second episode in season fifteen of the extremely popular car show Top Gear.”

A “professional” drifter in a Mustang was there, sponsored by Monster. He was good but a bit boring to watch.

My wrist band.

The guy in the blue hat is Joel. He arranged and managed this event. Super guy with a cool hobby.

Sentra SE-R with almost 400,000 miles, ready for the track.

Christine’s R-package Miata. I got to take it for a quick drive around town.

Christine went into a Panera to use the bathroom and left me alone with her Miata. I was tempted to drive home and keep it.

[Review link goes here.]

Greg C., Stacey A.

Yep, that’s a Ford Ranger going sideways.

I went over the hill to see the other hooligans at Carlisle.

Josh Sheets in his SE-R

PART 17: Carlisle PA