Jawbreaker Road Rally 2009 - Cincinnati Aug 22 & 23

[PhreakdOut]

This is a event posted on My350Z.com. It's open to all makes and models. I know there will be some Subies and EVOs there. Personally, I expect to be one of the slow cars.

Jawbreaker Road Rally
August 22nd & 23rd
Starts in the early a.m. on Saturday.

PROMO VIDEO #1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IUwiWk9gOo

PROMO VIDEO #2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tsm0s4az9w4

Drivers and co-drivers navigate through roughly 6 hours worth of technical twisties and backroads in Ohio and Kentucky using the provided route map and instructions.With multiple checkpoints along the way, cars will collect Jawbreaker poker cards from the lovely Jawbreaker girls at the checkpoints; best hand wins cash! Team departures and arrivals will also be timed for the best route time based on a secret average time.
At the arrival point on Saturday, we'll all fill up a private rented parking lot downtown Cincinnati right next to our after party spot and right next to the hotel we're staying in. Afterparty with live music and VIP Jawbreaker area.

Sunday, we'll wake up before noon and head out for driving day 2, finishing at a performance shop where everyone can hangout, share road stories, and awards will be given.

Free stuff included with admission fee. (Hotel is optional)
Handful of cool awards and prizes.

More info under the "Drive" page on the website.
http://www.jawbreakerroadrally.com

info@jawbreakerroadrally.com

Applications can be found on www.jawbreakerroadrally.com . Submit one photo of your car with application. I have entered and will be in the area for the weekend.

Mike T: If you decide not to enter, I have already signed your name in as my co-pilot. It's a good opportunity to try out the Canon 30D you just got!



(I believe Konig is rumored to also be a sponsor.) Konig, if you're out there, I'd appreciate a set of 20"x9" and 20"x10" Konig Lace wheels!

[TMMK Toy]

Woulda been nice if you'd posted this sooner given that the registration closed the day before you posted this. I live near Cincy and actually wouldn't have minded doing that to celebrate my birthday next weekend

[PhreakdOut]

Woulda been nice if you'd posted this sooner given that the registration closed the day before you posted this. I live near Cincy and actually wouldn't have minded doing that to celebrate my birthday next weekend

Actually, I spoke with them. They are accepting late regs till mid week.

[Solorange]

Mike called me today to let me know about the event. Looks like a blast but unfortunatly I will not be able to make it. I close on my house this Friday and Saturday I will be camping. Have fun and kick out the 350Z at least once for me! (just don't lose control)

Chris

[michaels artic frost]

Hi Brian,

Got my Canon 30D and it's excellent. I'm just still figuring out all of the features, but have snapped a few of the kids. I'll definitely bring it this weekend.


Thanks again for putting me on as a rider.
Don't think I'll bring the Solara since the rear lip is getting repaired and painted. I'll probably drive my wife's 3 series droptop beamer. Hope the weather is nice. Have a safe trip and I'll see you and Tact Friday.

Btw, spoke with Tact and he was ok with us staying at his and his girlfriend's new home.

P.S. I'm trying to get a few SG peeps together at the last minute, but it doesn't look promising.

[tacti]

if anyone's interested, mike, brian, and i are going to have some bbq or something at our house on friday.
don't have exact time, but anyone interested, let me know.

Tact

[Black Bob]

Thanks Mike for giving me the heads up, I rarely look in this section but I'm looking to be where Chris is (closing, that is)--my bid got accepted on a house but I still have appointments to view other houses this weekend. If the appraiser, inspector and a million other parties agree by Saturday then I can make it down but everybody seems to be dragging their asses so I'm doubting it.

[99BlackSandv6]

So is this an annual event in Cincy, or just a one time thing? I might do it next year if it is an annual event.

[PhreakdOut]

Supposedly an annual event. This is the first one.

[tacti]

I'm still feeling the adrenaline from the saturday rally.
ended up I was doing the nav for brian, and it was amazing!

we left north of cincinnati, Wilmington, and go alway down to kentucky, and then drove back up to downtown cincinnati.
we made it in second fastest time, without any shortcut on our route (almost all of them except for a few cars run entire route accordingly to the direction).

I was going to take pictures while the rally, but there were no way i could do nav and photo at the same time...
so just a few pics from the rally and before/after event.








gonna do nav again next year!!!

Thanks to brian let me go with you.
and Mike, it was great to have you here at our house.
let's have some mini meet in cincy next time!

tacti

[PhreakdOut]

I do want to say one thing ... Tact has become a legend at this rally. He had his A Game out and did his homework in the minutes before the rally.
I'll explain in a few ...

Washing the car at Tact's house






Headed to the Rally








The Cannonball Run always had goofy teams dressed up with some theme. So there were a couple teams that coordinated. LOL




There was a team of professional photographers on site to shoot each team headed out.




There were some POS cars attending (as a joke) and some nice rides.
(Next year, I hope they limit the POS cars out.)


The Mustang did OK for a classic car ...




The organizer's FJ Cruiser


Just a little dirty ... no time to wash.






Bad Ass Suby! (This was used in Promo video #1)

[PhreakdOut]

More cars roll in ....







These guys were comic relief ... He spent a lot of time trying to get his car to look rusty. He gets the ugliest car award.


Another Bad Ass Ride. One of the EVOs


And another ...




The meet location was at a hotel / convention center. The registration was in the lobby and driver's meeting in one of the conference halls.

At registration, we get the following:
2x t-shirts, Wristbands for entry into the afterparty, vinyl decals for the car (including car number), a clip board with printed turn by turn directions, a highlighter, a couple bottles of water, snacks and emergency phone numbers.







The Jawbreaker Staff pose for photos:




This guy is a professional videographer. He'll roll around and try to capture what he can for a single cameraman. He shot and edited the first two promo videos. Nice work!!


On to placing the decals on the cars and the photoshoots....

[PhreakdOut]

Tact and I are car number 747. Just like the jet, I may be big but I'm fast.
























A brand new 370Z that also came down from Michigan ....






Yet another EVO


OK, these guys took the costume thing too far.


The only motorcycle to enter. He was brave since some of these roads had loose gravel and debris. Since he couldn't read the directions and ride, he teamed up with 2 guys in a Lexus SC400 and followed them.




A pair of VW GTIs arrive...




This Talon AWD Turbo was actually pretty fast. Later they would get the first speeding ticket before lunch. 114mph in a 55 zone. Ouch!









This was a bad MOFO Porsche 993. He had lowered suspension, wicked sounding exhaust, roll bars, harnesses and racing seats. Who knows what was done under the hood. Anyway, sweet ride none the less ...


Another member of the BMW group ...


Clay's 350Z


WTF on the Infinity M30???




Lee's 370Z heads to the photoshoot...

[PhreakdOut]

Right after the registration ... Tact (my navigator) gets right to work. He picks up an Ohio road atlas and starts plotting the route from the directions he just received.



Oops! The Ohio road atlas won't help when the route heads into Kentucky!



Clay and his GF / Navigator (Silver 350Z)


The Zs line up ...














More on the 993...






Lining up for the timed launch...










The launch starts at 12:00pm with 4-5 minute intervals between pairs of cars. We launch at 12:30

[PhreakdOut]

We take off at 12:30 with my 350Z leading a pack that included the red 370Z and the silver 350Z. I get to the second turn and look in the rearview mirror ... where the heck is Lee in hist 370Z??? LOL Did he make a wrong turn already ... did I do something wrong? I wouldn't see him again till the lunch stop.

Here are some of the roads. There are 5 check points and the finish. Like a normal poker run, at each check point you get a playing card. The best poker hand at the end of the day wins a nice handfull of cash. (Around a couple hundred bucks)

These roads are nice and easy to open up on. No one has pictures of the crazy roads because both the driver and navigator are working their butts off and have no time for pictures. Tact and I had 2 digital SLRs and a HD video camera and we managed only a couple shots.









Within 20 minutes of launch, we roll into the first town. We hit a stop light and see a bunch of the leading cars heading the opposite direction to make a right turn. (Oops, the directions were not so clear there but Tact figured it out) So we catch up to some of the pack but there are still a lot of cars in front. Yes, we are running against the clock but it's hard to speed in traffic.

Tact keeps feeding me directions and spotting for hazards ahead. "Loose gravel on right ... hard right ahead ... right turn in 1/4 mile." He'd keep the map handy and check off the printed turns with the highlighter.

Tact keeps me alert on each turn. A pair of BMWs ahead are not as well prepared. They notice the next turn just a second too late and have to stop halfway through an intersection. There's just enough room to scoot past and make the right. Two more down.

The Motorcycle and Lexus SC400 are ahead. The road has patches of loose gravel and I know this is my best chance. The bike is unsure of his footing so he slows down. One the next major straight, the bike waves us by and so does the Lexus.

We follow the Porsche 993 for a while until we get to a closed road. For Christ's sake, ODOT decides to do rural road repairs today. Our route is shut down ahead. The Porsche and I pull side by side in the center median of a divided highway and try to plot a new course around the closed road. Tact looks at the map and I search the Navigation system. Tact finds that we can get around in a few miles. The Porsche lets us lead the way.

The rest of Leg 1 was starting to get challenging. The hilly roads twist and turn in the forest and backroads. Tact keeps me alert to road conditions and upcoming turns. I glance at the nav to see the shape of the next 4-5 turns. Nothing sharp ... good. Keep the hammer down.

We are barrelling down a straightaway with rolling dips and hills when I see 4 large birds in the road. Some kind of dead animal covered in buzzard-like birds. The fuckers won't move. I am doing slightly over 105mph as I approach in seconds. I flash the lights and hit the horn... little effect. Now they stand and look at me. 65 ... 50 ... 40mph ... these bastards will make a mess of my car! I look for oncoming traffic beyond the road buffet and it is clear. I hit the gas to pass while still honking. The Porsche has already dropped back partly due to my speed and partly due to my little road aviary which he could see ahead. The bird take off as I try to pass. The growl of the induction must have sealed the deal. No sooner than I clear, they swarm back to their lunch and impeade the Porsche. I hit the gas. Every man for themselves! LOL.