JoeT
08-06-2010, 10:28 PM
Day 1 - The Journey
So the day began pretty well, left good old Maple Ontario at a decent enough time to avoid any of the traffic that the big smoke can potentially throw at you. Took the 407 all the way to Pickering then headed south to join up the 401.
Slight slowdown through Salem but wide open all the way to the border of Ontario. Interesting thing to note, most of the gas stations that used to be open by the side of the 401 is in various stages of rebuilding. Getting gas now requires an excursion off the highway onto some exit.
GPS indicated that the potential arrival time would be 4:58 and after travelling quite a distance, time revised to 4;14, no I wasn't overly speeding, not that I'd admit to it though.. LOL
Anyways, onto the trek, while driving, I was consious about the need to locate a Sunoco, since the car was tuned using 94 Octane, that's when the blackberry using google maps came into good use. It's easy to select the map, hit the "0" key to locate where you are on the planet, then click on that little dot and select "search nearby", then type in "Sunoco". It turns out that the last Sunoco just before entering La Belle Tax Province is in Cornwall. Fantabuloso, cornwall it is, for the first stop in the journy to fill up with Go Juice, and refuel the old body by injesting a nice crispy "Turkey Bacon Club" sandwich manufactured skillfully by a lovely Mexican chica by the name of Julia. A little smile couple by a shy acknowledgement is always nice to see, specially coming from someone so um er nice.
Arriving at St. Eustache at 4:18, only 4 minutes past the GPS estimation, we drove directly to the pit area of the race track. There I was met by a gentleman that handed me a nice "Subaru" Cherry Blossom coloured wrist band, and in his broken english motioned for me to sign the waiver and that the wrist band would be for the entire weekend. I accepted gladly, then proceeded to the paddocks to park, and went directly back to the registration tent, but not before being met by enthusiastic folks.
There was an air of celebration of sorts, as only the Quebecers can provide. Corn Roast, Chien Chaud, chips, trash talk and lots and lots of happy folks. Some familar some not so familiar, but now friends bound by a common interest. Folks were there from early on, taking advantage of the Test and Tune, feeling out the surface of the track. Since the last time I was three, it looks like some areas were paved, the blackess was pronounced and looked very smooth.
Drag racing started around 8:00 pm, and the straits were used as a 1/8 mile drag, a bunch of muscle cars generating loud manly sounds coupled by lots of smoke from the burnout. From the stopwatch timging which Tashko and I were using, there were certainly a wide range of times being laid down by the folks that were there. Vechiles ranged from "drag snowmobile" to full out tubbed drag sedans.
Notable Notables: My car averaged 8.8L / 100 Km for the trip. STE class is going to be a blast, Pax for STE is .850 which will be a tough one to beat.
Looking forward to day 1 of the actual race. Andrew R will put his thoughts on this journal as well, he'll be leaving the sprawling cosmopolitan of Whitby around 1:00 am, poooooooor guy. Same with Trung.
So the day began pretty well, left good old Maple Ontario at a decent enough time to avoid any of the traffic that the big smoke can potentially throw at you. Took the 407 all the way to Pickering then headed south to join up the 401.
Slight slowdown through Salem but wide open all the way to the border of Ontario. Interesting thing to note, most of the gas stations that used to be open by the side of the 401 is in various stages of rebuilding. Getting gas now requires an excursion off the highway onto some exit.
GPS indicated that the potential arrival time would be 4:58 and after travelling quite a distance, time revised to 4;14, no I wasn't overly speeding, not that I'd admit to it though.. LOL
Anyways, onto the trek, while driving, I was consious about the need to locate a Sunoco, since the car was tuned using 94 Octane, that's when the blackberry using google maps came into good use. It's easy to select the map, hit the "0" key to locate where you are on the planet, then click on that little dot and select "search nearby", then type in "Sunoco". It turns out that the last Sunoco just before entering La Belle Tax Province is in Cornwall. Fantabuloso, cornwall it is, for the first stop in the journy to fill up with Go Juice, and refuel the old body by injesting a nice crispy "Turkey Bacon Club" sandwich manufactured skillfully by a lovely Mexican chica by the name of Julia. A little smile couple by a shy acknowledgement is always nice to see, specially coming from someone so um er nice.
Arriving at St. Eustache at 4:18, only 4 minutes past the GPS estimation, we drove directly to the pit area of the race track. There I was met by a gentleman that handed me a nice "Subaru" Cherry Blossom coloured wrist band, and in his broken english motioned for me to sign the waiver and that the wrist band would be for the entire weekend. I accepted gladly, then proceeded to the paddocks to park, and went directly back to the registration tent, but not before being met by enthusiastic folks.
There was an air of celebration of sorts, as only the Quebecers can provide. Corn Roast, Chien Chaud, chips, trash talk and lots and lots of happy folks. Some familar some not so familiar, but now friends bound by a common interest. Folks were there from early on, taking advantage of the Test and Tune, feeling out the surface of the track. Since the last time I was three, it looks like some areas were paved, the blackess was pronounced and looked very smooth.
Drag racing started around 8:00 pm, and the straits were used as a 1/8 mile drag, a bunch of muscle cars generating loud manly sounds coupled by lots of smoke from the burnout. From the stopwatch timging which Tashko and I were using, there were certainly a wide range of times being laid down by the folks that were there. Vechiles ranged from "drag snowmobile" to full out tubbed drag sedans.
Notable Notables: My car averaged 8.8L / 100 Km for the trip. STE class is going to be a blast, Pax for STE is .850 which will be a tough one to beat.
Looking forward to day 1 of the actual race. Andrew R will put his thoughts on this journal as well, he'll be leaving the sprawling cosmopolitan of Whitby around 1:00 am, poooooooor guy. Same with Trung.