Unofficial Trek from Texas-Expediting in the ExpeditionMarch 10-11This is the part no one wants to talk about. In a mad rush to get home in time to meet magazine deadlines, abandoned family members, and the comfort of our own beds, we decided to drive non-stop from Houston Raceway Park to A'PEXi Headquarters in Orange, Calif. Why? Well, we don't know either, but we did it anyway. We commandeered the Ford Expedition because it had a TV and VCR. Unfortunately, we only had DVDs and a single DVD player, and we wanted something to keep us awake while we trekked through the night and into the wee morning hours. That's when two dim lightbulbs appeared over Gary's and Arnold's heads. "Let's hook the DVD player up to the Expedition!" Armed with duct tape, a pair of wire cutters, and a Phillips screwdriver, Gary and Arnold transformed the Expedition into a rolling entertainment machine that might have placed 20th in a field of five competitors at a car show. "Jay and Silent Bob" was loaded for the umpteenth time and we were on our way. After driving from 5:00 p.m. Sunday evening until 10:00 a.m. Monday morning, Arnold passed the reins over to Jason so he could get a few hours of shuteye. Within minutes, the New Mexico State Troopers were on us like flies on rice and Jason managed to get the first and only speeding ticket given to a Tuner staff member: 86 mph in a 75 mph zone got Jason 86ed out of the driver's seat, and Gary was up to bat to finish off his 4-hour total driving time for the whole Trek. After a quick lunch at a Japanese restaurant, we finally made it back to A'PEXi headquarters and, ultimately, home. Mental note : On the track, Gary drives like a madman. Off the track, Gary drives like he's still on the return lane-5 mph is the rule; 70 mph never seemed so damn slow.
High Point: Going home and sleeping on bedsheets whose cleanliness was not questionable.
A big shout-out, big-ups, many thanks, props and everything else goes out to the companies and organizations that made the Trek 2 Texas officially possible (in alphabetical order): AC Autotechnic, AE, AEM, Audiovox, Automotive Wood Dash.com, CATZ, Direct Hits, Falken, Fleetwood RV, INJEN Technology, Konig/V-Racing, Meguiar's Car Care, Nitrous Xpress, Primedia Automotive Enthusiast Magazines, RADD, Red Bull, Speed People.com and Wilwood Brake Kits.
Extra special thanks goes out to the unofficial people who made Import Tuner's Trek 2 Texas and Trek from Texas a big bouncing ball o' fun (in no particular order): DVS/Matrix, Panasonic portable DVD players, Miramax DVDs, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, the coffee growers in Colombia, the cigarette manufacturers in North Carolina, any hotel franchise that offers free HBO, American Express Corporate credit cards (for those who leave home without cash), the person who invented cruise control, Team Bergenholtz and Team A'PEXi, bottled water, and downtown Houston clubgoers. On a more serious note, our heartfelt apologies go out to the families of all the bugs that ended up on our windshield and radiator grille. Sorry.
RACE RESULTS-World Import ChallengeSome may have the coin, but they will never have the "kwan."
PRO IMPORTWinner-Grant Downing, Venom Tundra truck, 9.962 ET at 165.21 mphLow ET- Grant Downing, Venom Tundra truck, 9.156Top Speed-Grant Downing, Venom Tundra truck, 165.21 mph
PRO COMPWinner- Ed "Willy Santos" Bergenholtz, Bergenholtz CRX, 9.440 ET at149.15 mphLow ET-Stephan Papadakis, AEM Civic, 8.341Top Speed-Stephan Papadakis, AEM Civic, 168.16 mph
FWD UNIBODYWinner-Kenny "Jet Li" Tran, Jotech Civic, 9.190 ET at 150.78 mphLow ET-Bruce Mortensen, Venom Civic, 9.121Top Speed-Bruce Mortensen, Venom Civic, 160.29 mph
RWD/AWD UNIBODYWinner-Ari Yallon, RX7.com RX7, 10.33 ET at 132.10 mphLow ET-Ari Yallon, RX7.com RX7, 9.240Top Speed-Not available
ALL MOTORWinner-Co'Torres Gee, Civic, 11.289 ET at 115.09 mphLow ET-Co'Torres Gee, Civic, 11.289Top Speed-Co'Torres Gee, Civic, 117.93 mph
POWER 4Winner-Son Hoang, Civic, 12.202 ET at 109.87 mph
COMP 4Winner-Pisarn Camya, Civic, 12.377 ET at 109.93 mph
COMP 6Winner-Anthony Dowd, VW Jetta, 13.576 ET at 103.38 mph
ET1 BRACKETWinner-Bryan Sandlin, 10.901 ET at 139.56 mph
ET2 BRACKETWinner-Adam Martinez, 15.459 ET at 81.64 mph