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One Lap of America 2001 - Bill and Mark's Excellent Adventure!
The 3rd Man

Putting together a successful racing program requires a team effort. Unfortunately for me, putting together an unsuccessful racing program also requires a team effort. No man is an island. Well, maybe I was an island before I went on the Atkins Diet, but that's another story. In fact, Bill keeps bugging me -- when he saw my picture of him standing in front of the big rigs (on the Preview page), he said "why aren't there any fat pictures of you?" The answer is simple -- because this is my website!

So in order to say thank you for the many contributions by other folks, I have put together this page. This is a chance for the people that are behind the scenes to enjoy their Andy Warhol 15 minutes of fame.

Here we see the ever industrious Neal Lord, hard at work cleaning up Mark's website programming errors. As we progress along this journey, Neal will be receiving via wireless email, updates from Bill and Mark. Neal will format and compose this useless drivel into something that you can actually read and enjoy. Without Neal, the pseudo real-time updates wouldn't take place. Right now Neal probably wishes he hadn't splurged his 15 minutes of fame on this complete waste of time. Thanks Neal!

This is Brian Provost. He is one of the brainiacs behind the Corner-Carver's website.

Despite his contributions to this brilliant website, which allows track junkies to share their fix with others, we're starting to think maybe Brian isn't so smart. Brian has been watching too much "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". You see, Brian has agreed to be a lifeline in the event that I need help. Brian has provided me with his cell phone number, which I will be selling to other One-Lappers for a fee. It's hard to put a price on this type of selfless service to others, but we'll give it a shot. Thanks Brian!

Several of the gang on the Corner-Carvers website pitched in and provided assistance to Bill and Mark. This is a picture of Steve Fuller's Mystic Green Mustang. It's one of those cars that looks green from one angle and purple from another, a great example that maybe deadhead druggy-types from the 60's occasionally get a good idea. Steve helped me assemble track video and driving tips for some of the tracks I haven't been to before. Another CC'er that was a big help was Alan Chavis. Alan maintains an excellent website of track videos and information on how to make your mustang go faster than it probably should. I mean come on, do you REALLY want to go 180 MPH in a Mustang? If the answer is yes, here is how you get there:

 

 
 

This is the Pulp Racing team, Wayne Mello, Larry the Mechanic, and Doug Hayashi. Don't be put off by the hillbilly looking t-shirts (did I tell you I'm originally from West Virginia?). These guys drive Ferraris for crying out loud, so unlike the rest of us, they don't need nice clothes to get chicks. Doug (on the right) is indirectly responsible for the existence this website. His own Pulp Racing website is the benchmark by which all other racing websites are measured, and it gave me the inspiration for writing about our journey. If you like reading about our adventures, then you will love reading about Doug and Wayne's adventures. Doug and Wayne race NSX's and Porsches, as well as really fast shifter karts, just like Michael Schumacher! He even sells really great Pulp Racing videos, T-shirts, coffee mugs, stickers, the whole nine yards. In fact, Doug is such a nice guy, that he gave Bill and Mark 4 Pulp Racing t-shirts (2 each - that's a week's supply!), and 2 awesome Pulp Racing jackets. So check out the Pulp Racing Website today!

Compaq is my employer, and a fine one at that. This allows me to earn a living, and as such makes all of this possible. My boss, Ron Davis, allowed me to take my Compaq Laptop on the road with me (well, actually I didn't ask, and he didn't say no, so I guess it's ok!). He and Compaq provided the means for a wireless modem. Ron is a renaissance man - he can brew beer, make wine, play the banjo, and when he's not bossing, he rides around on a big honkin' BMW Motorcycle. Now there is a man that knows how to enjoy himself, unlike Bill and me. Thanks Compaq! Thanks Ron!

These are the one-lap-dogs, Sydney and Shadow. They provide much needed inspirational support. When they aren't eating, sleeping, or going to the bathroom, they like to... no wait a minute, that's about all they do. Nonetheless they are a joy to have around and it will be tough leaving them for a week.

Here we see Sydney demonstrating the proper technique for catching up on much needed rest. When I get back from One-Lap, I hope to follow her example!

We leave for the One-Lap starting line on Thursday May 3rd. In the next installment, I'll document our journey to the starting line. Be sure to check back for updates...

.To go to the next story, click on this link: The Starting Line