Bullrun 2008… IT’S OVER!

Ok, so for the past week now people have been asking me for a description and or some insight into what went wrong with our 1969 Dodge Daytona replica on this years Bullrun from Calgary to Phoenix. Well, let me start by saying A LOT went wrong. We had planned, as did the other competitors to have a grand ole’ time on this years BR and we did, we just hit a few snags along way. 

Here’s how it went down. 

Snag 1. : The Daytona: July 2007 - June 2008

As most everyone knows last year we ran my 1968 Dodge Charger on Bullrun, from Montreal to Key West and the bugger ran perfectly. Seriously, we didn’t even burn a drop of oil. So at the end of last years rally we decided to up the ante a bit and build a new car. What car you might add? How bout’ a matte black 1969 Dodge Daytona. I had some professional renderings done by David Stahl < Diese E-Mail Adresse ist gegen Spam Bots geschützt, Sie müssen Javascript aktivieren, damit Sie sie sehen können > of the beast and then production began. We started with a clean 1969 Dodge Charger SE as the donor car. The engine and tranny were stout but the body was tired and needed to be redone so I had no qualms about cutting up this car.  The whole process began in July of last year and we finished on June 13th at 6 am - just 3 hours before the car left to Montana for the start of the Bullrun. We had a total of 68 miles on the car.

Snag 2.: Testing.

There wasn’t any. Now I know people are going to say to why did you do it? You’re crazy, you’re a jackass, etc… etc… etc. The deal is this - we knew the car wasn’t tested but we also that we’d be able to handle almost anything that went wrong mechanically. The engine and transmission were in tip-top shape so we knew we’d have no problems there, it was just there are a few more parts to a car then just the go fast goodies under the hood - in the end we just threw caution to the wind and decided to go for it. So at 8:30 am on June 13th I cranked up the Daytona and drove to the pick-up point at the New York Motor Club (http://www.newyorkmotorclub.com) in Harrison, NY. 

Impressions 1.0 - June 13th, 2008

HOLY CRAP IS THIS THING LOUD!! You see we may have gotten a little overzealous in the exhaust depart. Right now the car is running straight oval tubed pipes into Dr. Gas “Boom-Tube” NASCAR exit ports that exit right in front of the rear wheels. Does it sound good? OH MY GOD YES! But as a driver it’s just way to flippin’ loud so in the near future we’ll be quieting this puppy up a little. When going by any type of barrier the exhaust just resonates from both sides and is quite deafening.

New York Motor Club:

Everyone on TEAM ANGRY knew that we were under a deadline to get this car done, so that evening my cell phone was ringing like crazy with calls from friends and family trying to get information as to whether or not we’d make it. One of the best memories of this whole experience was pulling up to the parking lot of the New York Motor Club and seeing Larry Kosilla (NYMC Founder) literally jumping up and down with excitement at the site of the Daytona - right then and there I knew that all the hard work was worth it. 

Fast forward to Kalispell, MT and the gathering of “TEAM ANGRY”: June 18th, 2008

MONTANA!! The land of red meat, frontiersman and a great friend name Tim MacGowan. We arrived in Kalispell, MT the afternoon Thurs., June 19th and proceeded to the Red Lion Inn where we were scheduled to pick-up the cars and stay for one night. The next day we’d drive up to Calagary, AB to rendezvous with the other Bullrunnner’s. This was the first time that all the members of TEAM ANGRY were finally together and due to this fact I don’t think Kalispell will ever be the same again. In the beginning TEAM ANGRY started off with 10 members but by the end we’d almost doubled that number. I have to say that these men and woman are possibly the nicest most generous individuals I’ve ever had the good fortune of befriending and I consider them all family. TEAM ANGRY consists of but is not limited to the follow rock star individuals.

Ferrari F430 / Corvette C6 RAGTOP

- Todd Ford: “http://rally4acure.com/“

- Tyler Ford 

- Basil Ford 

- Ken Holman 

BMW 335XI

- Kristine Elezaj “http://www.kristineelezaj.com/“

- Marash Elezaj

Audi R8

- Andre Betz: “http://www.bugedit.com“

- Larry Kosilla: “http://www.newyorkmotorclub.com“

DODGE DAYTONA / FORD FUSION (yes… I said Fusion and it friggin’ ROCKED!) / Mercedes S 550

- Mike Musto: “http://www.mrangryinc.com“

- Peter Bergman

- Tim MacGowan

- Lamont Reeves

- Jennifer Nicole

- Cardmomain’s own John Coyle: “http://blog.cardomain.com/blog/aboutus.html#john“

MERCEDES CLS 55 AMG

- Ty Durekas

- Gabe Rinaldi

June 19th - Run for the Border:

It’s Thurs. now and all the members of TEAM ANGRY are itching to finally get on the road. Before leaving however we spied a graphics shop called “X-treme Graphics” of Kalispell, MT and decided to stop in and get some vinyl’s done for the cars. Little did we know however that we’d be there for the majority of the afternoon - don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t the shops fault, it’s just that we kept thinking of cool stuff to get made so it took us a little longer then we planned. This was also the point we’re we had the pleasure of meeting Tim MacGowan. I met Tim on www.dodgecharger.com as he is a fellow Charger nut who happened to email me a week earlier to say hello… (I think he may now have regretted that email). Anyway Tim showed up with Ranger (his really cool border Collie) and proceeded to pull out the ole’ camcorder. We talked with Tim about the all the cars, Bullrun and our plans for the week. Little did he know however that he would play a major roll in the outcome of the rally.

Problem #1.

After leaving the graphics shop we got on the road and after about 25 miles hit problem #1. One of the Daytona’s spark plug wires had fallen against the headers and burnt right through thus causing’ the Daytona to sputter, fart and come to halt on the side of the road. Basil Ford, Todd’s Dad came to rescue by diagnosing the problem immediately and after a quick fix with electric tape we we’re back on the road… at least for now. We continued for another 10 miles before the quick fix let go. We stopped in front of “Bob’s Garage” where he lent us a spark plug wire - the wire however had the wrong type of end on it but then, just as we thought all was lost this happy biker dude stumbled out of the bar next store and said he could save us with a new wire. I have no idea of his name, but I do know that his wife has the biggest natural breasts I have ever seen, I only say this  because she showed us… just because well… she wanted too. It was actually a freaky experience and one that we have on video that WILL NOT be shown on Cardomain.com because they  simply won’t fit in the browser window. Anyway, the wire arrived, Father Ford worked more magic and we continued on.

Problem #2. June 19th - 20th

We were now cruising towards the border and after a short run in with the law on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation we started making progress until of course the Daytona gremlins once again bit us in the ass. You see ladies and gentleman whilst driving I was being followed by the lovely Kristine and her father, the King of Cactus’s, Marash. They thought what there were seeing coming off the back of the Daytona was just dust or sand from the roads we were driving on. As it turned out we had a MASSIVE fuel leak. Before Bullrun we had a custom 44 gallon fuel tank constructed which would give us a range of about 550 miles… what we didn’t know however was that the fuel inlet in the tank was very sharp and thus cut through the rubber grommet that generally keeps the fuel from leaking out - this was bad. 

Keep in mind now that we we’re probably 80 miles from any type of garage, repair shop and or part supplier, it is now 8pm and we are in a 1969 Dodge Daytona stuck in the middle of Montana… things looked grim for us and I mean GRIM. With that being said the rest of Team Angry proceeded towards border with Myself, Todd and Father Ford staying behind with the wounded Daytona.

I decided to call Tim MacGowan who was and still is the only person I know in Montana to see if he could help us out. Well, not only did Tim help us by providing us with the fuel tank and all it’s accessories from his own 1968 Charger, he drove probably 500 miles to get us the tank and parts and then helped me install it at 5 am on the parking lot of the gas station where our misfortune occurred. Ladies and Gentleman, if you want to know the definition of a completely unselfish human being than look no further than Tim… he IS the definition of good people and I owe him a lot.

Problem #3. June 20th

With our fuel situation now solved and with the sun coming up we now proceeded to once again, hit the road. We bid Tim farewell and headed for the border. Life now seemed to be good… the Daytona was running ok, I was not too worried about turning into a giant fireball due to a fuel leak and I was just cruising listening to the sounds of Todd’s F430 Ferrari in front of me. We crossed the border without incident and  cruised into Calgary… well at least the Ferrari did. About 4 miles from the hotel and after 300 miles of cruising the Daytona once again decided to show who was boss. It sputtered and farted once again began and just as I turned into the parking lot of a nearby shopping center we heard a VERY loud BOOM! This boom was coil… it EXPLODED… and not like some little pop… it was a big BOOM!!! Scared the crap out of everyone. I was now getting discouraged. However, just as this happened my co-pilot Peter Bergman called me from the airport and said he was on his way with this box of tools which included a new coil. Pete got to the car and in about 2 hours the Daytona was once again running and pulled up to the Hotel Arts in Calgary.

It was all worth it.

…. it really was too. Picture this sight. Your sitting in front of this ultra-ritzy’ hotel, parked out front are super cars from all over the world. Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s, Sypker’s. When what rolls up but a NASCAR spec. flatte black 1969 Dodge Daytona that sounds like war. Heads turned, jaws dropped and the ooh’s, aah’s and HOLY SH*T’s began. This out of all the moments on Bullrun was our victory dance. People could not believe this car and it, amongst all the other cars in the Bullrun line-up was the meanest, nastiest most hardcore thing anyone had ever seen. At that very moment, life was perfect.

Starting Line June 21st.

Bullrun this year was a bit disappointing due to the fact that we only had 30 cars participating. The starting grid was somewhat subdued and the turnout was less than spectacular. However, we made it there and we were determined to have a blast even if it killed us… and it almost did. The flag dropped all of Team Angry took off. Andre in the R8 talked us into purchasing these AMAZING 2 way radio’s before the start of BR and it was probably the best thing we did. With Team Angry in full contact of each other we cruised out in search of check point #1… that was until…. 

Problem #4.

All of us were cooking right along when all of a sudden the Daytona reared it’s ugly head and died again. A screw had come loose in the carb and thus caused us to be roadside once more. We told the rest of Team Angry to go on ahead and soon there after once Pete had sorted out the carb. we were back on the road. At this point the Daytona was running beautifully, up until the point were I crested a hill and saw a motorcycle mounty staring back at us with a radar gun… SH*T… I was clocked at 154 km/h or 95 mph - at least the car was running good though.

After our Mounty incident we got back to cruising, hit the first check point proceeded to the our first destination in Whitefish, MT. We crossed back into the USA, all was good, life was grand and the sun was shinning until of course the final nail in the coffin happened.

About 30 miles from the Blackfoot Indian reservation we we’re sidelined by massive wheel failure. You see, the Daytona has custom 3 piece wheels on it and on the inner rim there are 30 bolts that hold the rim shells together. Well, 10 of 30 bolts sheared off on the passenger side front wheel causing our front tire to deflate instantly while moving at a pretty good clip. I am not going to mention the wheel manufacturer as of yet because I want to give them time rectify the problem. 

Our Guardian Angel returns.

As you can see there is a pattern going on here. Car runs, car stops, Mike gets angry, car runs again… this I can handle. The wheel however was one problem we could not fix and at this point we knew our time in the Daytona was finished. We were now stuck in middle of nowhere, the Daytona was sidelined, we were in Montana Grizzly Bear country and our spirits sank. My first call was to our now Guardian Angel, Tim MacGowan. Tim told us to see if we could get the car to Great Falls which was about 100 miles away at which time he would set up a garage space and hold the Daytona for us until we could ship it back to NYC. AAA was called, the car was flat bedded and our Bullrun Daytona was now in the safe hands of our Guardian Angel. Tim… I owe you buddy.

Saturday, June 21st.

Now that the Daytona was in safe hands we proceeded to find another car. We called the Great Falls airport and we’re able commandeer a 2008 Ford Fusion. Now, don’t laugh because this little bugger is now a legend. With ass in seat and after the best fried chicken dinner I’ve ever had with Tim and Pete, we we’re on our way - our destination, Big Sky, MT some 256 mile away. The roads were black, it was now 1am but we made it and we’re now back in the game.

Sunday, June 22nd.

With Fusion now rolling with the pack we left Big Sky and headed through Yellowstone National Park on our way to Aspen, Colorado. Yellowstone was beautiful, but cruising at 30 mph was simply killing us. All we wanted to do was cruise. Pete had now ditched the Fusion for the comfort of CLS 55 AMG, so cruising now was John Coyle and Gabe Rinaldi. Gabe is one hell of a navigator and John is one hell of a photographer and writer. This was the time for the Fusion to shine. We were now in Wyoming… there were no cops, no trees, no humans of any kind so we decided to wring out the little ford. For 47 minutes straight the Fusion was pinned at 111 mph with the A/C on getting 25mpg. Myself, John and Gabe all sat there astonished. We made one fuel stop, saw no other Bullrunner’s and came in… are you ready… 6th place for the day! IN A RENTED FORD FUSION!! CAN I GET A BOOYA!!!

Ford people, if you are reading this contact me immediately because I don’t think you know how good this little car is…. seriously, we should talk about perhaps producing some Ford Fusion “MR. ANGRY” editions - I LOVE THIS CAR!

Monday, June 23rd.

We bolted from Aspen at about 9 am and headed for Miller Motorsports in Utah. We drove some of the most beautiful roads imaginable and the Fusion, with it’s now legenday “MR. ANGRY active suspension package ” was able to keep up with the like’s of TEAM ANGRY’s teammates. (Seriously Ford… this thing is good). When we got to Miller Motorsports Park, we found another of the TEAM ANGRY cars fell victim to mechanical problems. The Ferrari F430 was having having gearbox issues, so after limping it back to our final destination in Park City, Utah we noticed that a flatbed was already on premises unloading the Porsche 928 of Team O’Canada. This was great news as flatbed driver was able to load up the Ferrari and take it to the Ferrari Dealer in Vegas.

Tuesday, June 24th.

With the Ferrari and the Daytona now both sidelined, Myself, Todd and Pete piled into the Fusion and boogied to Vegas. We ended up at the Wynn Hotel at 4:30 where we met fellow Bullrunner’s and good friends from 2007,  Lamont Reeves and Dorian Collier. Lamont and Dorian ripped it up last year in Lamont’s Porsche C4S and unbeknownst to us would be ripping it up the following day as well. Lamont also presented myself and Todd with a great surprise - remote control versions of “MR. ANGRY” and Todd’s F430, “DRTY430″. I was floored. That night we all had an AMAZING dinner at Elyce then proceeded out for a few drinks on the town.

Wednesday, June 25th.

We learned in the morning that the other Bullrunner’s had already left for the checkpoint, so instead of killing ourselves we took it easy. The Ferrari was still down due to parts not arriving on time so Todd rented a C5 Corvette Convertible to finish the rally. At that point Lamont, Pete, Kristine and Marash headed out for Los Angeles. During our ride in the Fusion Lamont had suggested that we turn in our legendary Ford and for the comfort, size and speed of his Mercedes S550. 

Now… although I do love the Fusion there are some things you just don’t turn down, a Mercedes S550 is one of them. With that being said we dropped the Fusion in LA and picked up Lamont’s beautiful S550… man what a car this is. We then proceeded to our hotel and the Bullrun party were we dined and drank. Life was once again back on track.

Thursday, June 26th.

We bolted from the hotel and went to our first stop at “West Coast Customs” - they have some pretty cool stuff happening here and from there proceeded to the checkpoint in Tucson. While at “West Coast Customs” the guys the were kind enough to sticker up the S550 in typical Bullrun fashion - let me tell ya’ll this. The big Benz may just be the worlds best rally car. 450 mile range, unparalleled comfort, speed and handling and a pimp factor that is just off the charts. This is yet ANOTHER car on my lists of must haves for the MR. ANGRY Garage.

Friday, June 27th. - the Last Day

…. and what a day it was. Picture 25 super cars going down a 22 mile stretch of dirt road down the side of a mountain. Think I’m kidding, just look at the pics. That’s Andre’s Audi R8 in front of us with an RS4 running behind. The super cars seemed to be having a hell of a time with the dirt, but not us. We simply hit a button on the dash, raised the air suspension, put the A/C on high and soaked up every bump the Apache Trail threw at us. Then later on that day we ran hot laps with it at Firebird Raceway in the big Benz with 4 people in the car LOL! Amazing… simply amazing. Then came the icing on the cake for TEAM ANGRY. You see we all left Firebird Raceway and bee lined it to the finish line in Scottsdale, AZ. The good part… no, make that the great part was the finishing order for the day: TEAM ANGRY took 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th… ladies and gentleman… it doesn’t get much better than that.

Dinner, Awards and Recap.

Well, it’s over… Friday night everyone proceeded to the final diner of the week where we dined on Sushi and other delectables. The awards were given out and we then proceeded back the Valley Ho, Hotel for a final round of drinks. We we’re all tired and beat-up and the cars were hammered, but we all had an amazing time. You see the thing about Bullrun and or any rally for that matter is its not the parties, driving or cars. It’s the people. I can safely say that I have been fortunate enough to have met some of the most amazing individuals and made some truly life long friends. We covered 3700 miles in 5 days, some of us went through hell and back and others just caught glimpses of the mayhem. New friends came out of nowhere to show us that people really are awesome when given the chance but in end we all had the one main thing that brought us all together… our love for cars. I’ve been home for 4 days now and I’m still beat, it was however one amazing ride.

Cheers Everyone - Mike