This post isn't so much of a "I changed something with my car" and more of a milestone for the car... and for me.
On March 17th, while everyone else was celebrating St Patricks Day, I was driving my Series.HyperBlue WRX STI to Salem, MO. Why would I drive to the middle of nowhere Missouri on a Thursday? Well... the intent was to sign up and volunteer to work at the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood being held there on the 18th and 19th. It was the first Stage Rally and first Rally America National Championship event I've attended, so I was eager to see my heroes in action on the backwoods stages through the Mark Twain National Forest. However, my plans got a bit of an upgrade thanks to getting a tank of gas in downtown Salem on Thursday night.
I pulled in next to Agatino Fortunato of the All Fours Rally Team. He wanted to take some pictures of my Hyper Blue WRX STI next to his rally-ified WRX STI. I was thrilled to finally meet him in person and got in on the photo fun.
Untitled by
86Reverend, on Flickr
Minutes later, a white WRX with Vermont plates and Method Race Wheels showed up to the station. It was a Subaru so I instinctively waved to the driver. The driver waved back.
IMG_0362 by
86Reverend, on Flickr
Turns out the driver was David Higgins. He had finished the recce of the stages and was filling up. So... I was kind of ecstatic and surprised and trying my best not to sound like a complete goober talking to him. David and I had traded messages before, but I've never had the chance to meet him in person. Although he seemed just as eager to see this car in person.
IMG_0363 by
86Reverend, on Flickr
IMG_0364 by
86Reverend, on Flickr
IMG_0366 by
86Reverend, on Flickr
He took some photos of my "Higgins Blue" car and shared them.
Untitled by
86Reverend, on Flickr
Over the next two days, I was the course marshal for Stages 5 and 9 on Friday and Stage 11 on Saturday. I also got a chance to spectate on Stage 16. While I was waiting to head to that stage, I visited the service area and somehow got David Higgins and co-driver Craid Drew to sign a piece of my dashboard (which I will have photos of later once I've protected the signatures).
IMG_0857 by
86Reverend, on Flickr
Long story short, I got to meet my rally heroes and see them in action... plus David asked to sit in my car and took pictures of it.... plus Higgins and Drew signed my dash. So yeah, this was not only an eventful weekend for me, but also a bit of a milestone for the car. It was also the first time this car saw gravel and dirt (and it did quite well) and it's first road trip, so I couldn't really be happier with how everything turned out!