No Alibi Notes
2002
Wade Pennington and Page Palmer lost a tire on the Discovery on Saturday�Tire shop told Wade �it was a biiiig hole�.� May have cost them 1st SOP as they finished only 8 back of Vasco.
Rebecca Rocks and Dennis Gunn were losing coolant as fast as they could pour it in on Saturday.� Towed the Sonett to get repairs.� A freeze plug was to blame.� No problems on Sunday.
Guy and David Recordon had battery and cooling problems on another of the Sonetts, but a push start at �X� and a jug of coolant after Soap Lake kept them going, albeit 6 minutes down, but only 30 late on the Rock, and zeroed the last control.
Steve Richards and Gary Reid (combined rally years off the chart) were the target of a suicidal deer.� Steve�s new Subie Wagon lost the left headlight and the battery; seems the deer pushed the headlight hard enough to crack open the battery.�� Hmmm?..� Skid plate in front of new Subie batteries?
Sasha Horst and Nicole Nuber had the Subie Loyale Wagon cookin� both days and Nicole has some interesting additions to the route book for Sunday.� The �caution, exposures for 1.1 miles� at Hole-in-the-Ground now has an addendum:� �Near Death Experience�
Bob and Michael Chandler, in Michael�s Mazda MX6 managed to catch a sharp rock just right on Sunday (after Bob�s Saturday Night Live comments about things that go wrong).� The Alfa probe was in the midst of being spliced last time I saw it.� A later coolant problem stopped their rally at the Trinidad Tunnel.
We noticed fresh skid marks off a narrow corner Sunday.� Rumor has it car #1 came in a little hot and only �superior driving skills� kept the fiberglass side up, but they probably zeroed the control.
Lee Sorenson�s new sending unit location on the driveline failed in the first gravel�the prop shaft moves around more than expected.� The magnet rubbed off.� With no input the Elite thought he�d stopped.� The driver�s display showed later and later.� Lee had gained quite a bit before Rod switched over to the axle mounted probe.
Sunday�s visit to Summer Falls brought at least one couple a little closer to nature than they wanted.� With the restrooms locked, creative alternatives brought these rallyists up close and personal with a rattler�
The Integra picked up a few more rattles too.� According to Eric, somewhere on Telford is a bright shiny exhaust tip.� Matches the one on my car perfectly.
Kirk has a story to tell about a �missing sign�
Steve likewise has a story about �Law enforcement�
And I have to point out an often-heard comment about the end of Odo Sections.� Ending the Odo at the railroad crossing caused some people to park, minutes before their out-time, on the right of way, blocking not only rally cars with earlier times, but blocking local traffic and backing cars up to the exit stop sign.� We recognized the problem, used the STOP at the end of the ramp for our calculations and tried to stay out of the way.� Others had done the same, turned left under 90 and parked on the shoulder out of the way.� Please, everyone, reconsider the RXR stop sign next time, as the crossing is in a no passing zone.� I suppose logic would dictate �zero-ing at the RXR� then crossing to find a safe spot.� Sometimes logic has a lapse��
Ron Sorem � 2002