Last Saturday, I was given the opportunity to attend a NASA HPDE event with my buddy Scott. I met him at Road Atlanta and watched him make a few runs with his instructor. They had a couple of different things going on that day. There were some very cool cars there to look at. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. I can’t wait to go back in November driving the nova!

As always, there are more photos in the gallery.

It all started when a few of my friends and I went to The Mitty at Road Atlanta some time in 2006. That day we were bit by the racing bug. Not long after, we went to see Petit LeMans, followed by four consecutive years of the 12 Hours of Sebring. We had been bit deep. There was only one thing left to do…

Start our own racing team!

Ok, so… a racing team. We’ve got a few guys with a passion to get behind the wheel and onto the track. We’re all pretty good at turning wrenches. On our own, not so much, but hey, between all of us we should be able to keep a car together long enough to make a lap or two around the track. We’ve got a team, now we just need a car.

Our good buddy Scott was very generous to donate his first love, a 1988 Mazda RX-7 GXL to our goal of going fast without going to jail. We do some research and find that the best class for the car with the least amount of preparation required is SCCA ITS. We check the rule book and find out that, at minimum, you need a roll cage and some other safety equipment to go racing. We do some more research and find that cage builders in our area are quoting a price of $1800 to $2500 for the minimum required just to pass tech inspection and make it onto the track. Ouch.

We begin tearing the car down and stripping everything out of it so it is ready for the cage to go in, whenever it is that we will be able to afford one. During this process, we find a gash in the floor pan, a bent control arm, and a slightly tweaked subframe. We decide that we are in over our head, and we sell the car on craigslist for $100, with plans to save up and purchase an RX7 that is track ready.

R.I.P, old girl

A few weeks go by, and we end up finding a nice looking car on ebay that is in our price range. It isn’t track ready, but has a very nice looking cage and a bunch of goodies to help get us started on our way. We spoke to the seller, he seemed like a really genuine guy. We also called the cage builder who was professional and well known in the area. We ended up winning the auction. We got a running, driving race car for a price of a roll cage. It cost about $750 to have the car shipped from Rindge, New Hampshire to Atlanta. The stars were aligned and we were well on our way to racing nirvana!

The day the car arrives, we are ecstatic. I take a couple of hours off work to meet with the transport driver and to receive the car. I am giddy like a little school girl on her birthday. The car looks pretty good sitting on the trailer. I pay the driver in cash, with a little extra as a tip for getting it here in one piece. As he is lowering the car off the transport trailer, I look under it just to see what she looks like underneath. There is some surface rust that the seller mentioned on the auction page. Oh wow, there is a lot of surface rust. Wait, i’ve never seen surface rust like this before?

GAH! We have been had! I know the car is from New Hampshire…. but Surface Rust? Come on! Here is a link to the ebay auction page.

To be continued….

We had a good time at High Falls a few weekends ago. We will be going back. The trails are great for exercise, and it sure beats the heck out of walking on a treadmill.

There are more photos here!

We ended up going to Lake Nickajack with some of Sarah’s friends over Halloween weekend. We had a good time. We got to ride on some boats see some neat stuff.

We stayed at the floating cabins at Hale’s Bar. Hale’s Bar used to be a hydroelectric dam that was used to generate power, however it has been replaced by Nickajack Dam. The powerhouse building still exists and is now used for dry dock boat storage. It is a cool, rustic place.

We rode on the lake for hours and probably saw 2 or 3 different states. If not, it seemed like it. This lake was massive. We had the opportunity of passing through the Nickajack Lock. It was an experience that everyone should have the opportunity to witness at least once.

Lake Nickajack is only miles away from Chattanooga. In fact, we ended up eating dinner at the upscale 212 Market Restaurant in downtown Chattanooga. It is considered a green restaurant and nearly all of the ingredients are produced locally. They had a full wine list, and even serve the best beer in the world, Schneider & Sohn’s Aventinus. The prices are a little high for a college student such as myself, however I felt everything was a good value for what you get. All in all, the food was superb.