Lincoln, NE, Day 3

Just a little morning update because Mom has some ‘down’ time; Uncle Charlie is doing something to the car (personally, I don’t think he’s happy unless he’s doing something to the car – this is why some people like prepared cars, and other people like Mom want a stock car where they can do ‘warranty racing’ (i.e. if something breaks, it’s probably under warranty)) and Dad is watching tennis.

Yesterday afternoon Mom and Dad and Uncle Charlie took “The Grenade” (as they affectionately call the car) out for zoomies. And since no one got pictures of Mom, here are some pictures of Dad and Uncle Charlie.

And Mom took pictures of other cars, as well.

This one in particular (below). She LOVES this car. Even though she is swearing off prepared cars, she would make an exception. Note from Fi’s Mom: actually, I still wouldn’t make an exception. This is a COOL car, and it is wicked fast, but, NO. No. No. No. Seriously. Look a few pictures down. They’ve got 3 sets of springs for this thing. Three!!! And they were swapping them out to find the best set. No thanks. But it is still A Way Cool Car. And FAST.

Later that same day…

Mom took dictation in the morning, and then went off to do her afternoon zoomies with Dad and Uncle Charlie, and all three came back smiling, so I gather it went well.

Anyway, back to yesterday. Yesterday evening, there was a very pretty sunset. And I think Mom makes a good frontispiece for the sunset.

And Dad decided to play football with me. Which was great!!!

Except that that surface here is pretty rough. Good for cars and ‘grippage’, but not so good on us ‘tenderfeet’ who prefer nice soft grass. So while I got airborne a few times, I also got sore paws. So I’ve been kicking back today. Mom says she is going to go to the Hoosier tire people and explain that I am a P Mod (I am a modified poodle, and ‘modified’ is a certain type of cars raced…), and that I need some new rubber. She’s hoping to get me a new set of tires for my paws! Her argument is that while I don’t have a lot of “horse power” (absolutely NO horses here, BTW… I haven’t figured out this horsepower thing yet), I got A LOT of torque, and I corner like no one’s business. The only downside is that I would have to wear Hoosier stickers on me….

I’m going airborne here so my delicate foot pads don’t get roughed up!

Now I’m resting my tootsies!

So before Mom’s zoomies today she went walking around to get some pictures of all the different cars. And WOW. There are so many different kinds of cars.

And so many doggies! I guess I’m not the only autocross doggie. But I get the sense from Mom, who has talked to other doggie parents that I’m the only one who attended Nationals at 9 weeks old! So I’m a veteran!

Some look like cars.

And some look like race cars.

Flames! There are FLAMES on my car! (Dennis, I challenge you on that quote. I will donate $25 to the charity of your choice if you correctly identify the movie. And I’ll even give you a hint. Ed Begley, Jr. was in it. Many years ago. Actually, if Dennis doesn’t want to play or someone else comes up with the answer first I’ll give $25 to your charity, as well. So $50 up for grabs, kids ($25 to Dennis’ charity and $25 to someone else if they get there first)! And no, Granny and Grandpa – you aren’t allowed to play. Because you KNOW the answer.)

And speaking of flames. Heh.

Normal C Prepared. Especially since it is on jack stands. Pretty much typical for a CP…. But look at those jack stands!!!!

Mom talked to these people just based on their jack stands. With flames!!!! Turns out they have a Bichon (who, apparently, is rather vicious – I don’t want to tangle with little dogs, so I won’t find out if he lives up to his reputation), and came out of the Utah Region a million years ago. And, the car that is pictured above was once owned by Mom’s first instructor when she was learning to autocross (before she had a driver’s license). So yes, it IS a small world.

And some look. Well, I’m not sure what this is, except that it looks FAST. Note from Fi’s Mom: this is an A Mod car – they are (theoretically) the fastest “cars” on the course. If I understand it correctly (and I probably don’t as I’m really not a car person), they’ve got snowmobile engines in them and weigh next to nothing. They’ve got all the wings on them so they don’t take off. Or explode.

And then there are other cars. These are “G Prepared”. Don’t ask me (or Mom) for the technical explanation of what makes a prepared car versus a modified car. All I know is that any car that isn’t stock probably has all of its guts ripped out and things done to it. Some are street legal, but most aren’t. G Prepared seems to be the class for people who want to pour a lot of money into an old car that was pretty slow to begin with and not make it much faster but have it break more. Last year at Nationals these G Prepared cars ran in the same run group as Dad and Uncle Charlie, and more than one car spilled its guts (literally, with fluids and parts and things ending up on the ground, which, in autocross speak is Not Good) while they were trying to race. Anyway, they seem to have a small but die-hard following. (Which you’d have to be if your car was breaking all the time. Oh wait. So does ours…. But at least ours Goes Fast!!!)

And then there was this car. Mom couldn’t stop laughing. They’ve got this one perfect, down to the seats, headlights, and required stickers!

And no, Mom isn’t the least bit subtle in her desire for a Shelby Mustang…

Before they ran today Uncle Charlie did some work on the car today because he was concerned about the condition of the timing belt. Problem? What problem? I thought they were supposed to be see-through!

Mom was worried that Uncle Charlie had given up in frustration and stabbed the engine with a screw driver, sort of like a stake through Dracula’s heart! Apparently he was just using the screw driver to measure something. Or so he says.

Heh.

And here’s Dad doing getting ready to do his zoomies!

Now it’s time to eat dinner and go to bed. Because I’m tired!

More from Lincoln tomorrow!

*kissey face*
-Fiona, the Autocross Dog!