BULLRUN 2007

BULLRUN 2007 - TEAM COCKNEY - TEAM PROFILE

2007-06-07T03:00:17Z

EAST BOUND AND DOWN WITH THE TALLEST BRIT I'VE EVER SEEN

If you happen to judge Team Cockney driver, Chris Smith, on looks alone, you'd never realize that you were standing in front of one of the coolest guys you'd ever meet in your life. Yeah, yeah, yeah - I know I've complimented tons of people on this rally and I seem to like everyone, but Chris is a bit different. There's an enthusiasm factor that is more overwhelming that his 6 ft 7in body. It wasn't his shaved head that lit up the room, it was him.

He was well aware that 2007 marked the 30th Anniversary of the original Smokey and the Bandit movie. This is why he bought a 1978 Trans Am just before the start of Bullrun 2007. That's right, it took a guy from London to not only run American Muscle, but arguably one of the most famous American Muscle cars in the history of American Automotive.

While walking around the garage in Montreal I came upon the Trans Am. Part of me was put off by the fact that it wasn't the true Bandit Black and Gold paint scheme, but I wound my neck back in when I saw the machine in action. While in the Lotus, I rallied behind Team Cockney for over a 100 miles. I was shocked at how well it performed, pulled away and manuevered tight corners. I would later find out that it was nothing to see it, you have to be in it to appreciate it.

Here's some info on the car for all of you Trans Am/Pontiac fans

Team Cockney's Engine Consist of:

-426 Stroker Motor
-Eagle Stroker Crank (Forged)
-Eagle "H" Beam Rods
-Forged Hyper Tech Pistons
-Custom Grind Cam (Computer Designed)
-Fully ported/gas flowed and polished heads to round port spec (7F6) and golf ball sized valves!!!
-MAGNAFLOW Headers and exhaust
-Edelbrock inlet
-Quadra Jet carb built to Siper Duty Spec with Larger Jets
-Detroit Locker Read End
-Rotor Conversion to rear
-Hodgkins Suspension all round 2"
-New uprated steering including shorter throw rack
-Balanced a blue-printed
-Miloden twin capacity big wing sump and windage tray
-High Volume oil pump
-High volume-high pressure water pump
-TH350 with 2500 rmp stall converter and B&M shift Kit
-Polyurethane bushings to suspension and all body mountings

As luck would have it, I was looking for passage to Savannah and the Silver Trans Am had a nice back seat. No air conditioning and the passenger seat not going back up all the way-cruching my legs didn't phase me a bit. With only an hour and a half of sleep the night before, I managed to get a few minutes of shut-eye back there.

It was every bit of amazing as I would have thought. We flew down the highway and the car seemed to get better and better into triple digits. It pulled hard and it broke gently. I was amazed to find out later that the accelerator pump on the secondaries went out early in the rally without the knowledge of Chris. That meant the carburator was receiveing half the fuel it was supposed to. Sucks for me because I still have wonder what the full potential of the car is at full tilt. It still was a ton of car even with problems.

The car also caught the attention of everyone we passed along the way. The truckers in particular just lit up the CB with every kind of Smokey and the Bandit reference possible. I also could have sworn that the North Carolina Smokey that pulled us over in front of Lowe's Motor Speedway called a "SUM BITCH".

Chris' navigator/co-driver was an excellent lad named Freeman. Freeman was so stoked to be on Bullrun that he wore a smile from ear to ear the entire week. He completely basked in the glory of it all. Chris and Freeman met back in England when Chris was Bouncing at a club called the "Double Deace" No relation to the movie ROAD HOUSE. Chris actually pulled a Daulton on Freeman having to drag him out by his shirt on one occasion. From then on they became friends and here they are driving 3,000 miles in the US on Bullrun 2007. Just Classic.

Team Cockney rallied a lot with Lamont Reeves of Team Shaphrang. "Shaphrang" means MOVE FORWARD, and that is exactly what Lamont did in his 911 Carrera S. Lamont's 911 had it all, but the Trans Am hung with it pretty well the whole way. That must have been a site for all watching a CLASSIC Trans AM and sick Porsche 911 S snaking their way through Traffic in the Bandit's old stomping ground.

(Chris & Lamont)

I caught up with Chris and Freeman in Key West for an interview. I included outtakes at the end. There is a part of the video that didn't have sound that was hilarious at the time. I started off the interview normally and shot into a question to Chris that went like this..."Why did you think it was OK to drive like an asshole for 3,000 on US roads"? At least that was the question before I started cracking up for about 5 minutes. I finally composed myself and went on with the interview.

Chris is looking forward to Bullrun 2008. Possibly in a Black and Gold '78 Trans Am. We look foward to also seeing Chris wearing a rather large cowboy hat with feather and the biggest belt buckle ever seen on a Englishman. He promises full Bandit costume if he brings the Black one.

We'll hold you to it too mate.

P.S - Chris didn't work at the "Double Deuce", but he did bounce Freeman out one night. LOL

BULLRUN 2007 - THE JVC MOBILE NAVIGATOR AWARD

2007-06-29T00:33:32Z

ACCURACY IS THE NAME OF THE GAME

In order to win Bullrun's prestigeous Navigator Award, you need to drive smart, drive safely and navigate with absolute precision. It's so easy to lock into every order a GPS device spits out, but you'll find out rather quickly that finding the Bullrun banners at the end of every segment isn't all that easy. In fact it's hard.

Bullrun organizers seem to tuck them into some nook you can easily miss if you or your navigator aren't looking close enough. Here are the teams that were consistant and accurate all throughout Bullrun 2007.

Side note: The JVC device I personally used in the orange Lotus was spot on...great GPS device.

#3 - Adam Levinson and Sri Wijegoonaratna - Team Audi RS4

#2 - Jared Riecke and Byron Burkhardt – Team Riecke

And...

# Einz - Claus Ettensberger and Joaquin Mejia - Team CEC

Claus did a fantastic job the entire way. He drove his ass off and overcame numerous obstacles and side-stepped a few landmines to get this win. Joaquin and the European Car magazine guys were active navigators in the CEC TechArt Magnum.

Congratulations Claus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Claus and David Green changing a 22 inch TechArt wheel)

(Claus - Always ready to go)

The Claus Ettensberger Interview in Montreal - Before the start of Bullrun 2007.

BULLRUN 2007 - AND THE WINNERS ARE...

2007-06-04T13:36:50Z

WHAT A NIGHT, WHAT A SETTING.

If the satisfaction of finishing a Bullrun doesn't completely overwhelm you, the awards dinner will. It's the very last time everyone on the rally is in one place at one time, but its the first opportunity of many for Bullrunners to trade war stories till the next one.

It was extra special because Bullrun set the dinner up on a beautiful Key West beach. The cool breeze and sound of ocean waves were an added bonus.

As you eat and drink the presence of the Bullrun hardware constantly holds a place in your eye. You wonder who the winners may be. People may think that these special Bullrun awards don't mean much. Try telling that to someone who just drove their hearts out for 3,000 miles and spent a decent amount of change shipping and gassing their car.

Andy Duncan and David Green step up to the stage and after a few comments to mark the occasion, get right into it.

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

THE SHELBY PERFORMANCE AWARD - FASTEST HOT LAP AT MOROSO
Nicolas Frankl - Team Twins

THE LOTUS AWARD - FASTEST HOT LAP AT CONCORD
Michael Schwab - Team Schwabie 13

THE CEC WHEELS - HOTTEST WHEELS AWARD
Peter Kolb - Darkcyd Racing - Mercedes CLK DTM

THE BULLRUN DRIVER AWARD
Jennifer Nicole - Team Lotus Girls

BULLRUN ORDERS OF MERIT

(1) Christine and Kevin Andrews - TEAM OH! CANADA
(2) Claus Ettensberger and Joaquin Mejia - TEAM CEC
(3) Jared Riecke & Byron Burkhardt - TEAM RIECKE
(4) Cabe Sipes

THE 2007 BULLRUN SPIRIT AWARD
Richard Rawlings and Dennis Collins - TEAM CB/GM

In addition to the fine Waterford Crystal piece, Dennis and Richard received a very special prize from Jay Riecke of Team Riecke.

The $25,000 for breaking the New York to LA - Coast-to-Coast World Record by Car.

As witness during the entire bet, I counted the money and it was all there, aside from a 100 that I managed to slip into my pocket when Jay wasn't looking. JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BULLRUN 2007 - TEAM PROFILE - TEAM DARKCYD RACING

2007-05-26T22:36:59Z

HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED THE DARKCYD OF LIFE?

Team Darkcyd is one of the interesting teams/organizations on the rally. On one-hand, they seem to be everywhere, but on the other-hand, they have this strange ablity to work within the shadows of what's going on. Honestly, I'm not being dramatic here. Team Darkcyd are seen when they want to be seen and blend in when they want to blend in.

Robb Rill, Team Captain and leader of Team Darkcyd, has a very serious nature when it comes to organizing his team.  But it's not the kind of seriousness that saps the fun out of what Bullrun is all about, it actually enhances it. He almost effortlessly give credibility to whatever he sets his sites on doing. He was very serious about helping other teams out along the way, offering his equipment and his support vehicles without question.

Here's an interview with Robb in Montreal. The Murcielago was back real quick and made it down to Key West with no other issues.

(Robb & Tara Rill)

Robb's wife, Tara, has a very quiet nature to her, but is very quick to make everyone around her feel welcome.  As with any group activity, there are always folks who seem to not quite fit in or navigate the fringes. Tara Rill and the people on Team Darkcyd, in a very genuine way, make sure everyone is well into the fold.

They also roll pretty heavy...

(Team Darkcyd - Bullrun 2007)

(1) Lamborghini Murcielago - Rill Main
(2) Lamborghini Gallardo - Alex & Danyell Fima
(3) Lotus Twin Turbo Esprit - Rill back-up
(4) CLK DTM - Peter Kolb & Bulent Akkaya
(5) Lincoln Navigator (Chase/Recon Vehicle) - Geoff Wall & Aaron T
(6) 18 Wheeler (Mobile Garage) - Patrick & Linda

Since I've been doing the Bullrun, Team Darkcyd's Lincoln Navigator always seems to find its way to the front of the pack. I would say that it's getting to the point that whoever drives the Navigator has to uphold the tradition of strong finishes for a vehicle that's not supposed to do much other than carry luggage. Geoff and Aaron did great this year, but Jason Garber in 2006 was in a different class of driver altogether. Top 10 for a support vehicle in the Bullrun isn't bad at all.

HERR KOLB - REPRESENTING DEUTSCHLAND

The other strong force on Darkcyd is Peter Kolb. Peter is probably one of the most interesting people you'll ever meet, especially if you're into German Automotive. He downplayed his love of German Precision this year, but make no bones about it...he's dead serious. Listening to him talk about his CLK DTM and its supercharged 8 cylinder engine is like listening to Willy Wonka talk about Everlasting Gobstoppers.

Peter always brings something special to Bullrun. Last year he brought a rare Porsche GT3 RS. This year he overdelivered and brought the very rare Mercedes CLK DTM AMG. With only 100 of these cars in existence, it's no wonder why Peter and his co-driver, Bulent, won the Car of the Rally Award.

Last year I asked him what car he'd bring for Bullrun 2007. He promised the CLK DTM. I asked him the same question this year. He said he'll bring a Gumbert Apollo in 2008. You know what? I believe him.

That's what's special about Peter. No matter how rare his car, he'll drive it they way it was designed to be driven. He'd be damned if he let his cars sit insome garage or museum. I'm happy for every Mercedes fan who saw Peter and Bulent roar past them last week. For the many troopers who pulled them over, you may never pull a better car over for the rest of your career. I hope you took in the moment.

Thanks to Robb and Team Darkcyd for another great year!

CHECK OUT TEAM DARKCYD's BULLRUN BLOG

http://www.darkcydracing.com/blog/bullrun07/blog.html

BULLRUN 2007 - MIAMI TO KEY WEST

2007-06-06T23:16:34Z

ONE WAY TO GO AND AN ESCORT

Bullrunners got up in South Beach from a hard night of partying and headed over to the new CEC Wheels showroom for breakfast. Claus was up nice and early making sure the eggs were perfect and the bacon was crisp. The food was great, but it was the fresh paint and polished cars that were crisp that morning.

Claus is a pioneer in world of aftermarket parts and accessories and represents among the finest brands in European Luxury Tuning, including BRABUS, AC Schnitzer, Novitec Rosso, TechArt and Oettinger. He also has his own signature line of wheels, CEC Wheels, to go along with other top brands such as Antera and Azev. If you live on the East Coast, check out the new CEC Wheels Tuning Center in Miami (Coconut Grove).

(The Wall of Wheels)

(The GarageMahal)

Today was my day to run in Claus' Porsche TechArt Magnum. As breakfast was winding down he asked me to pull it around and park it front of the gas station across the street. After about a five minute drive around Coconut Grove and blasting through the streets I followed his direction. I waited patiently in the SUV and saw that the route cards were being handed out.

Claus never came. It was his co-driver Joaquin Mejia who was going to drive that day.  Joaquin owns Autobahner which is a CEC type showroom in Mexico City.

Anyway, what was Claus going to do? Was he going with Team Riecke?

He had ideas of his own. He travelled to the checkpoint and onto Key West in a extremely fast and very large cigarette boat that had the same color scheme and numbers as his TechArt Magnum. He too was all legal as he met up at the mid-day checkpoint at Marathon.

After lunch, Bullrunners were treated to a speedboat ride of their own about 50 miles from Key West. From that point, the Bullrun received a police escort the whole way into Key West which was a Bullrun 1st.

(Team 430 finishing in Key West)

TEAM 430 were extremely happy to finish their first Bullrun. This team was an amazing addition to the Bullrun Rally. They drove great, they got into the spirit of Bullrun right away and they help other teams in need. Todd actually gave his spare wheel to Team Schwabie 13 back in Atlantic City.

(Tood Ford of Team 430 taking run in the '68 Charger)

Go to RallyForACure.com

Here's an interview with his team including his co-driver, Sideshow Bob...

(Joaquin rejoicing on the top of the Magnum)

(Team Twins Finish Another Bullrun)

The end point was very lively.  There were tons of people there to greet us including Richard Rawlings' wife Sue with 2 coolers full of Miller Lite. Girls were everywhere...

And the cops were happy since we didn't burn much rubber in the parking lot. Not like last year in Beverly Hills.

Chris Smith of Team Cockney had some trouble with the '78 Trans Am, but eventually got it started.

Off to the Awards Ceremony and final Bullrun 2007 Party.

WE ARE NOT DONE YET HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MORE TO COME!!!!!!

INCLUDING MORE TEAM BIOS AND THE AWARDS CEREMONY!!!!!!!

BULLRUN 2007 - TEAM PROFILE - TEAM RIECKE

2007-06-04T17:44:16Z

THE TEAM FROM NEW ORLEANS RUNS HARD AND MAKES BETS

Team Riecke came onto the Bullrun scene during Bullrun 2006 and its never been the same since. They hosted a Bullrun reunion party during SEMA in Las Vegas at the Playboy Club at The Palms. They threw a massive Bullrun Party during Mardi Gras in New Orleans and they always have a huge send-off a week before Bullrun.

Jay Riecke and Byron Burkhardt are what Bullrun is all about. They live and breath the action, the driving and partying. Although Byron navigates, he is an accomplished Porsche Club Racing Driver who hasn't had anything less than a podium finish in all his races. In addition, he's been given the "Safe Racer" honor by the Porsche Club Racing organization for flawless driving.

Word is, Byron will be driving full-scale in Bullrun 2008.

The Team Riecke car even wears a Bullrun on their licence plate.

Their vehicle is a Super-tuned Renntech Mercedes CL 600. 12 cylinders of German precesion. This thing is not even close to being stock. It's fast as hell, but low profile at the same time. It's really smooth, even at higher speeds.

During a drive, they are all business. Jay is a truly safe, but effective driver. Byron is a multi-tasking maniac with his eyes and ears wide open and the virtual communications hub for all info coming in. Team Riecke employs a logistics team back in New Orleans that track their every move using a Global Positioning System.

(In action)

All Byron needs to do is give them an address and they guide them into every checkpoint with yardage countdowns and everything.

Byron (Left) Holding court with Bruce (Right).

They also have every piece of electronics possible in the car, even stuff we didn't cover in the video below. Check it out, it says and shows it all...

Despite the electronics, they still got stopped by a trooper in Rhode Island.

Here's a pic of their ATL fuel cell. We're talkin' 600-700 miles without a refuel. A virtual Lambo, Ferrari and Corvette killer.

The support vehicle was driven by Wayne and Jay's business associate and friend, Bruce. We called these guys Batman during the rally because Bruce & Wayne turned into Bruce Wayne, which eventually became Batman. Although, Wayne looked more like a Batman Villian with his cool specs.

They drove the Brabus GL 450. Jay calls it the fastest Soccer Mom SUV in the South.

THE BET

We all know that Jay bet Rawlings and Collins $50,000 that they couldn't break the Coast-to-Coast record and lost. But there is a part 2 to the whole thing. The bet was 2 pronged. Rawlings and Collins were to come back to Bullrun and beat Team Riecke to Key West from wherever they met back up.

Both Teams decided that it was best to leave the bet at the World Record and they renegotiated down to $25,000. The negotiation ended off at Team Riecke telling Rawlings and Collins how they were going to beat them from Miami to Key West which was supposed to be the point where the Texas boys wereto meet back up with the Rally.

See, that's how Jay is. He knew that he could have won the last leg, but he felt like a world record was worth something and he was extremely happy to be a part of history.

So Jay let them in on their plan and they in fact beat every team down to Key West. Knowing full well that there is only one real way to go. Team Riecke hired 2 helecopters and 1 rather large cargo plane big enough to fly 2 cars from Miami to Key West.

Here are the cars getting loaded in.

Oh, the helecopters were used to ensure that the teams could check in during the mid-day checkpoint. Both teams checked in, got back into the copters and met up with the cars to drive to the finish line in Key West. All within Bullrun specs for compleing a day.

There you have it. This is just one example of what lengths Bullrunners go to to have fun and have a story to tell during Bullrun 2020.

GO TEAM RIECKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BULLRUN 2007 - ORLANDO, FL TO MIAMI, FL

2007-05-25T21:18:49Z

BUGS, TRACKS AND THE BEACH

We started out at 10AM from the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando. The grounds were pristine and all the Bullrun cars looked fantastic around the circular driveway. Rally Organizers, David and Andy asked the drivers make one full lap around the driveway for the helecopter above.

Many of the drivers were fine with it, but the others were concerned about other cars leaving early. There were talks of drivers doing donuts NASCAR style in the middle of the lawn. I myself told Mr Angry that managment said it was OK and to go to town - they were going to put new grass in anyway. Mike was apparently too smart for that. His car looked great in front of the fountain.

Bullrun hopped on the interstate and headed to Jupiter, Florida as Bullrunners were treated to another track day for the hottest laps yet. However; just outside Orlando, we encountered a heavy barrage of BUGS. Every windshield was just splattered with bug guts. If anyone wanted to see out of their windshields around the track, that needed to be dealt with. Razor blades were at a premium at the track and they did the trick with a lot of water.

Bullrunners had a fantastic lunch under the shade provided by the Pirelli Tires truck. Pirelli was on hand to welcome the Bullrun.

Pirelli Marketing representitive, Rafael Navarro, greeted everyone and offered a fresh set of P-Zeros for the fastest car around Moroso that day.

Here's Rafael on the left pictured with Claus Ettensberger. Claus in not "the" Michelen Man, but he is a Michelen man. Even he cannot deny the fact that Pirelli makes an amazing tire.

Everyone got a cold lap, but it was only the main drivers who got to test the skill around the 10 turn 2.5 mile road course. David Green blasted through the turns in the Spyker for the camera above.

There were talks of Peter Kolb's Mercedes CLK DTM lighting the track on fire or Danny and Brians Lotus Exige doing the trick for the fastest lap. We even had Shawn Taylor, who is a professional race driver, in the field. Vivid Racings white Porsche Twin Turbo was front runner as well.

BUT...It was none other than Nicholas Frankl in the Team Twins Corvette Z06 that grabbed the fasted lap and won the set of Pirelli P-Zeros.

Here's an interview with Nicholas before his run:

We arrived at the Ritz Carlton in South Beach at around 6:30PM. After dinner we partied at the famous Versace Mansion. On had was Actor Jamie Fox and Model Tyson Beckford.

Andy's dad, Allen, had probably the funniest lines of the rally. When asked what he thought of the Versace Mansion he said... "Oh, it's a beautiful place. You just need to be careful answering the door".

On another note, Michael Jackson (Texas), who was famous for being detained for over a month during Bullrun 2006 managed to lock himself in one of the many bathrooms in the mansion for almost a hour with no cell phone.

More pics to come.

BULLRUN 2007 - OUT AND ABOUT WITH JENNIFER NICOLE #1

2007-05-23T20:12:15Z

JENNIFER NICOLE CATCHES UP WITH KRISTINE ELEZAJ

Before we leave Orlando, we need to give a special shout out to Bullrunner Kristine Elezaj, who is coming out with her first album. Bullrunners had a chance to listen to her 1st track off the album called, "Catch Up" in Orlando at Club Firestone.

We are very proud of her accomplishments and wish her the best of luck. Please check out her music.

Her site: www.kristineelezaj.com

Jennifer Nicole interviews her in Montreal.

BULLRUN 2007 - SAVANNAH, GA TO ORLANDO, FL

2007-05-25T21:19:41Z

A LESSON IN RECOVERY

Bullrun launched from Savannah at 10AM, which we consider a sleep in day. We didn't have far to go for our 1st stop. Bullrun set up a track session just outside of Savannah on Hutchinson Island. Before the lap, Team Shelby got a little luck from behind...

Six cars at a time let it loose as there were enough straightaways to get some speed up. I had an opportunity to ride in 2 cars for a hot lap. One with Team Gotham's BMW M6 and the Frankl's Z06 Corvette. Both were amazing rides on a road course that once held an Indy race.

BACK ON THE ROAD

I navigated for Frankie of Team Gotham in his 2006 Ferrari F430 spyder. What an amazing car!!!

It had amazing amounts of power and handling, but what struck me was how smooth the power was delivered. Despite shift in gears, it was a continuous climb up to top speed. There were no sudden movements or jerking. The power transfer from gear to gear was a linear as it could be. This was no normal car. It was beautiful and we navigated to a TOP 5 finish that day. Congrats to Frankie for some solid driving.

We headed down I-95 south towards Florida and got stopped for going 1 mile over the speed limit. Just a warning as the officer wanted to check the car out, which happens a lot on Bullrun. Once we pushed off my cell phone started ringing.

SOUTHERN GEORGIA COURT DATE

11 Cars were stopped and the drivers were asked to have a few words with the local magistrate. What happened was Richard Rawlings was taking a break from the World Record Breaking Ferrari and driving MOM in the Shelby Hertz Safety Car. A Georgia Trooper attempted to pull over the entire group, but Richard was the only one to stop as the others heeaded towards the off ramp to get some gas. The trooper decided to leave Mom and Richard and get the other cars that headed into town.

Richard and Mom thanked their lucky stars and the others were detained by troopers and held up at the local courthouse. In addition to Richard, Claus in his TechArt Magnum Porsche Cayenne managed to get out without being detained. He did so by blending into a cemetary and waiting around till the coast was clear. Apparently the supercharged white SUV was far from dead and managed a stong finish into Orlando.

Everyone regrouped at Club Firestone in downtown Orlando for some go-carting and food as the Make-a-Wish collected as much donations from Bullrunners as the State of Georgia did that day. Jay Riecke was quoated as saying that his time at the courthouse were among his best on Bullrun. Maybe getting pulled over and having your car impounded isn't so bad after all.

We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando.

BULLRUN 2007 - STAUNTON VA. TO SAVANNAH GA.

2007-05-21T20:06:49Z

BULLRUN 2007 - HEADS SOUTH

Despite a major partying the night before...Serious Partying...everyone was in the line-up for an early start.

Although Claus is vigilant about his wheels and tire, he actually lost one of his sweet TechArt Wheels during this leg. At first he rolled the wheel down a hill, but Team CEC ended up keeping the wheel as a Bullrun Trophy.

Then onto our lunch stop at The Concord Motorsports Speedway in North Carolina for some hot food and hot laps. Bullrunners were treated to a Drifting demonstration from JD Motorsports Mopar Drift Team and did 3 laps themselves to determine who was the fastest for the day. It ended being Mike Schwab and Jason from Team Schwabie 13 in their Grigio Titanium Ferrari F430.

Then we headed to Savannah by the way of North and South Carolina. I was in Team Cockney's 1978 Trans which was fitting going through NASCAR Country. We passed NASCAR shrine, Lowe's Motor Speedway on the way out.

The big news when we reached our hotel in Savannah was the return of Rawlings and Collins from their successful world record breaking trip. Even the statues at the hotel adorned the 31 hour 59 minute T-shirt.

Me and the boys.

Mr Angry with Richard

Dinner followed as well as a club where Bullrunners viewed the final Bullrun on Spike TV episode. Congrats again to Morgan and Mike Alsop.

RALLY GURU HAD TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY

2007-05-21T00:25:00Z

Dear Bullrun fans,

I had technical difficulty and completely dropped the ball in terms of not having back-up equipment and managing my time.

It was very difficult as I attempted to live blog during Bullrun 2007. I believe things were more complex than they needed to be.

I apologize, it's my fault and not the hard working people who own and organize Bullrun.

I am continuting this blog hoping it can stand as a document and account of Bullrun 2007.

For those of you still coming here, please check back on a regular basis. And let everyone you know to continue to check this blog, the Bullrun Myspace and Bullrun.com.

Sincerely,

Rory

BULLRUN 2007 - ALSOPS INTERVIEW - STAUNTON, VA

2007-05-21T21:13:03Z

I had a chance to speak with Mike and Morgan Alsop in Virginia. We spoke about their experience thus far and their car. Mike actually ran "Bandit" for a number of cars, reporting any activity up ahead. It was very much appreciated by all Bullrunners.

We also had a chance to put to bed any nonsence of Mike being Morgan's father. I had an opporunity to meet Mrs. Alsop herself and she proved beyond any reasonable doubt that she is infact Mike's wife and Morgan's mother. If she is any indication of what Morgan will look like in her 40's - She's an absolute keeper. PS, the DNA test never happened.

A final note of Mike Alsop. He was responsible for a very special moment on Bullrun. After Bullrunners had the opportunity to see the final Spike TV episode, Mike said a few works to the group. He thank all those involved in the Spike show and thank all the Live Rally Drivers stating that the Spike TV show would have never happened unless they did it first.

Needless to say, The Alsops are class people. Thank you.

BULLRUN 2007 - DAY 3 - ATLANTIC CITY TO STAUNTON VA.

2007-05-21T20:57:24Z

BULLRUN AT THE SITE OF BATTLE OF BULL RUN.

The start out of Atlantic City was brisk as was the morning. This was the day Bullrun would cross the Mason-Dixon line into the 'Ole South. To celebrate this occasion Bullrun made the lunchtime stop in Fairfax County, Virginia which was contained the historic site of the Cival War battle of Bull Run.

Lunch was literally served next to the battleground itself. Besides the obvious name similarities, this stop reminded Bullrunners of the rich history this part of the United States has. All the way down to Savannah, we all felt it.

Local law enforcement were on hand to admire the cars and check out all that was happening.

After a relaxing lunch we were back on the road. Bullrunners who did not turn back towards the Inter-State were treated to among the most spectacular views in the history of Bullrun. The route card said to go to Staunton, VA, but before that, cars were to proceed on Skyline Drive that took cars well above the scenic Shenandoah Valley and Appalachian Trail.

OK, So here goes Bullrun. As discussed in prior years, Bullrun is about opposites coming together in harmony. You may be extremely exhausted, but you're having an amazing time. You may be driving long distances, but for some reason it goes by pretty fast and is absolutely tollerable.

Where am I going with this? Staunton, Virginia - That's where. Besides being a place with tons of history Staunton, VA can now consider itself one of Bullruns most amazing stops of all time. The people were amazing. People in the thousands lined the streets as we came in. Virtually every minute we were there, people were ever present.

The bottomline is, Staunton was absolutely amazing and completely unexpected. What we thought was a night off, was one of the best nights in the history of the rally thus far.

Bullrunners were asked to give autographs, including Peter Kolb and Mike Alsop.

Local news was on hand getting interviews from drivers and onlookers. Andy oblidged to offer some background for them.

I even had a opportunity for an interview. Here is a Bullrun first. It's me interviewing a reporter interviewing me.

Here is a fantastic person who represented the locals of Staunton. Many of them felt the way he did and he expressed his thoughts on the day and what was happening.

BULLRUN 2007 - NEWS - DAY 2

2007-05-17T03:09:27Z

Obviously, I'm running behind on information. I apologize, but I am looking to experience all I can on Bullrun. I can experience things if I'm in a Hotel room bloging all day.

We left from Boston early in the morning and we were supposed to meet up with a ferry that was going to take us across Long Island Sound to the North Fork of Long Island. The ferry we were supposed to be on was at 11:00AM. Apparently, Claus Ettensberger and his TechArt Porsche Cayenne rolled through Mass and Rhode Island and got to New London, CT in time for the 10AM ferry. Needless to say, Claus made it to our final day destination before anyone else.

The ferry ride lasted about an hour and a half which was the right amount of time to get over the tough morning out of Boston.

Our lunch stop was Winery 48 in Norther Long Island. Excellent stop with amazing Italian food. It wasn't so much a social stop as it was a really fine place to eat.

While there I received a mysterious call from a guy named Cory. It ended being Brian Newberry's dad and he asked me to clarify the difference between crapping in your pants to sharting which is less severe. After further review, Brian did in fact shart, so the ruling is reversed. Thank you to the Newberry's for clarifying.

Next stop is Atlantic City, which in itself is problematic. How does a rally get through New York City. Reports came in about all sorts of traffic. The Varezano Bridge thru Statin Island to the Gothels into NJ is always traffic filled. You can also go to the Queens Midtown Tunnel and cross-town to the Lincoln Tunnel. The Statin Island route ended up being the fasted despite reports of heavy traffic.

Once in New Jersey is was basically the NJ State Parkway where the pace was brisk. Team Rieke, Team Darkcyd's CLK-DTM, Team Twins and Team Schwabie 13 were among the front runners.

BULLRUN 2007 - MR ANGRY - ATLANTIC CITY-STAUNTON-SAVANNAH

2007-05-17T03:44:01Z

Ok, I've been away for days doing, well, the Bullrun. Let me tell you people, this is no joke. We drive everyday and then hang out every night until all hours, it can seriously get to you after 5 days straight... I'm flat hammered.

So, here's the deal so far. We blitzed out of Montreal and jetted to Boston were we stayed at the Intercontiental hotel. Simply put, it was beautiful. I think I mentioned that in my first report. Our second route was Boston to Long Island, NY, to Atlantic City, NJ. The morning start from Boston was NUTS... a balls out run for the Island. Once on the Island we hit Vinyard 48 on Long Islands north fork - nice place, nice food, nice people. Now, here is the deal with this, I grew up on the Island so I know it like the back of my hand. So well infact that I had time to stop at my apartment, take a shower, have a drink, watch a little TV and STILL beat the majority of the Bullrunners to Atantic City, nice right. Atlantic City was ok, I don't gamble so it's not my true fortay, but we did manage to drink quite a bit booze thus resulting in a bit of a hang over the following morning.

The next leg was Atantic City, NJ to Stanton Virgina - this was a 600 mile leg and it was TOUGH! The Charger was a rockstar yet again and ran like a champ... nothing a like a old skool big block, although we did stop 4 times for gas and that stunk.

When we hit Stanton, Virginia we were greeted with a kings welcome. The entire town came to welcome us and they were some of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of meeting. We hit a bar in town, hung out and had fun. The next morning we jumped in the Charger, got our route cards and jetted to the next location which was Savannah, Georgia. This was great run... I had the opportunity to drive another's Bullrunner's car which just happened to be an F430 Ferrari. Nice right. This thing was a scapel as compared to the Charger which is more of a sledge hammer. Driving the Ferrari was automotive bliss and fell in love with it. Unfortunately it's a bit out my price range so I think I'll stick to old musclecars.

We landed in Savannah an came in the top 15 cars... this was cool. We had found our rhythem and began to really cook along. We stayed at the Mansion Hotel which was another top notch place... beautiful rooms, pool and the food was spectacular. The next morning (today) we took the cars to a secluded race track and ran them flat out. Let me tell you, the Charger may be big, but it handles like a champ... so much so we tailgrabbed every car we were behind today... not bad for a 40 year old sled.

After that we jumped back on the highway and ran to Orlando. NOW.... I have NEVER seen so many cops in my life. The part of that really sucked was that we ran 65mph the ENTIRE way to Orlando... WOOF!! This was rough. So, right now we're sitting at the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando and about to go to dinner, so with that being said, Cheers Ladies and Gentleman and I'll talk to you soon.

RAWLINGS & COLLINS BREAK COAST TO COAST RECORD - BULLRUN 2007

2007-05-18T18:49:16Z

Richard Rawlings and Dennis Collins discuss their record breaking journey from New York City to Redondo Beach in 31 hours and 59 minutes. They flew back to the rally today and their car will be delivered in the early hours of Wednesday.

Before you view the videos, here is some information they gave me when we met this afternoon in Savannah, GA.

FACTS:

(1) Richard drove back from Montreal while Dennis rested.
(2) They pulled all Bullrun stickers off of their car in NY.
(3) They acquired an EZ-Pass from Tri-State area limo driver.
(4) Date and time confirmations were captured by Bullrun cameramen.
(5) Cameramen shot coverage of the car, liscence plate, odometer and VIN # at both the start and finish.
(6) They have receipts for all EZ-Pass and gas fill-ups.
(7) The had roughly 48 gallons in their tanks after stops.
(8) They used computer programs to calculate pace as well as GPS for positioning.
(9) The lost the drivers side windshield wiper very early in the run.
(10) It rained in Pennsylvania, but was clear the rest of the run.
(11) They took the southern route.
(12) Their wives and a camera crew met them when they arrived at the Portofino Inn. The camera crew, again, shot the car, the plates, the VIN number and odometer.

Interview videos:

PART 1 of 4

PART 2 of 4

PART 3 OF 4

PART 4 of 4

BULLRUN 2007 START INTERVIEW - GARY PATTERSON - SHELBY AUTOMOBILES

2007-05-15T04:07:01Z

Gary Patterson of Shelby Automobiles discusses the Shelby Hertz Mustang he's driving, the GT500 "King of the Road" and eludes to the upcoming Super Snake project.

Check the article on Bullrun.com regarding Gary, Amy Boylan and Shelby Automobiles.

TEAM SCHWABIE 13 - F430 STABILIZES AS WE PULL INTO STAUNTON VA.

2007-05-15T03:38:33Z

BULLRUN 2007 - TEAM SCHWABIE 13

All is well on the starting grid in Montreal for Team 13's Novitec F430 until the battery died. And problems persisted all the way to Atlanitic City.

Michael and Jason had to jump start a dead battery in Montreal, minutes before the start of Bullrun 2007. Thankfully Rob Rille, leader of Team Darkcyd, had jumper cables to help get things going for them.

Then they experienced a flat in the front right in Boston and rallied on to Atlantic City. Thankfully Todd Ford of Team 430 was good enough to supply one of his spare tires so Team Schwabie can press on. Jay Riecke lent a heping hand as well as a torque wrench.

Despite the troubles, Michael was all smiles as these issue are very minor compared to the kind of maintence issues that could have occured.

NEW YORK TO LOS ANGELES, 31 HOURS 59 MINUTES

2007-05-14T20:45:30Z

The following is a press release submitted by Bullrun Productions.

Since Richard and Dennis were on the Bullrun their car was fitted with multiple cameras. The start and end points were chosen with extreme care. A camera crew was sent to New York City and they were met with a camera crew at the Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach with them to document their trip.

A conference call regarding all footage and information took place today. All is in order.

All Bullruners on this year's rally are really happy for Richard and Dennis and cannot wait for their return to the East Coast.

PRESS RELEASE:

Bullrun 2007 – Richard Rawlings and Dennis Collins Break Coast-to-Coast Record

In the early hours of Monday 14^th May 2007, Bullrunners Richard Rawlings and Dennis Collins of Texas broke the almost 30 year old coast-to-coast road trip record of 32 hours and 51 minutes. They decided to attempt the record after taking a bet on the start line of the 2007 Bullrun Rally. They were bet $50,000 by a fellow entrant that this time would never be bettered in the modern era. Abandoning this years route of Montreal to Key West, they drove to New York City and prepared for a night start.

Brock Yates created the idea of the modern rally when he started the infamous Cannonball Runs. Since then Bullrun has taken on the mantel of the modern navigational rally replacing out and out point to point racing with their version of luxury car rallies including celebrities and drivers from around the world and a huge TV franchise supporting the Bullrun brand.

In 1979, the winning Jaguar XJS achieved an incredible time of 32hrs 51 minutes from New York to the Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach. Many thought this legendary ‘Sea to Shining Sea’ endurance time would never be beaten and indeed has proved unbreakable until now….

Having already heavily prepared their Ferrari 550 for this years’ Bullrun Rally, Montreal to Key West, they felt they had a real chance to challenging the time. With extra fuel cells and an onboard spare tire they left Manhattan on the evening of May 12^th. They phoned their wives, who promptly flew to LA to greet the would be champions.

Having created motoring history, Dennis and Richard are expected to catch up with Rally in time for the celebrations in Key West.

TEAM TRANS AM (SPIKE TV) - TOGETHER AGAIN

2007-05-14T01:43:00Z

BULLRUN 2007 - BOSTON TO ATLANTIC CITY

Team Trans Am reunites on the road again during Bullrun 2007. Morgan was on from the beginning, but Mike arrived in Boston to join up with this rolling carnival of automotive fun.

This is the 1st time Bullrun Live Rally participants are seeing Mike in person. Many have mentioned that Mike looks too young to be Morgan's father and that it may be a hoax for the Spike show. He may actually be her older brother.

There have been talks among Bullrunners to conduct a DNA test before the end of the rally. The Alsops have been too busy with the car to comment. More news to come.