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This is what the course looked like when I first got the the stadium (8:15 AM).
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Jarod DeAnda (announcer) and Alex Gelsomino (my co-driver) walking the course with me. |
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The car is ready to go.
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Lots of spare parts loaded up on the truck to go down to the stadium floor. |
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Pat Morro was the guinea pig for the jump to get the speed.
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The course is coming together (9:30 AM). |
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Rally America’s JB Niday was literally insane by 10 AM.
This picture is proof.
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Dave Mirra with Jesse Olsen. Jesse has built all the big jumps for me including all the X Games jumps. Thanks Jesse. |
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It was just not my day. It started off with this practice gone wrong. I was driving cleanly and tightly on the inside of the corners and I clipped a curb on the inside of a hairpin. It was a soft roll and the car wasn’t damaged much besides cosmetics. Bad way to start the day!
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Here’s the curb that I clipped (right behind the guy with the tan shorts). |
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I was really bummed and pissed. The team had put in a ton of work and I flipped the car while just trying to drive tight and clean. Not a good way to start off the day.
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Here’s the car when it made it back to our service area.
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The car came back down into the stadium in an ugly state, but the team made it look good again for the race.
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Gregg and Komar putting the car back together. It actually looked very good by the time I had to race. |
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I grabbed some lunch from the athlete lounge, then headed up to the X Games suites in the stadium to eat. My family was in there, so I thought it was a good place to hang out, visit, and eat. BUT, this lady wouldn’t let me into the suite!
Apparently, the driving suit didn’t mean much to her!
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My family joined me in the Subaru suite.
(L-R) My sister Terri, Aunt Barbara, Mom, brother Steve, and my sister Donna. |
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In my semi-final, I clipped a barrier in the stadium and one of my rear drive shafts broke. So, I didn’t think the car would have enough speed to make the big jump so I had to drive around it. I still won the heat, but I was disqualified for going around the jump. |
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The picture says it all. Not a good day.
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Back in the service area there was a ton of fans. I had some extra t-shirts so I threw them out into the crowd that was waiting for autographs.
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It took a long time to sign autographs for all the fans. I appreciate everyone coming out so I made sure to sign for everyone that was there. Here’s a couple of great fans that had bought some of my team gear and wanted me to sign it. |
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My sister Donna, my daughter Lia, and me. Lia loves to fly around...especially in make-believe space ships.
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Here’s the result of hitting the barrier at the half-way point of my heat....a broken drive shaft. |
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This is James Han of Subaru, the Motorsports Team Manager. After days like this, I wonder why they still sponsor me. Seriously, I did not have a very good day and I am unhappy with how I represented my great sponsors.
I can do much better! |
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It’s 6 pm and I am finally walking away from the service park. It’s looking kind of lonely. The team did an exceptional job preparing Dave, Travis and I (and our cars) for this amazing race. It was a long six days and everyone put in 110%. I truly appreciate everyone’s effort. I hope to be back next year to redeem myself. |
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