Y2K5SRT
Enthusiast
Got back from Viper Days last night and it was a blast. Got to meet a lot of great folks and revisit several I met in Nashville. Interestingly enough, in chatting with Tom Sessions (one of the most respected Viper Techs on the planet), he said that he never opens my posts in case his daughters are around. Post ONE bikini thread and now I am the new MarkO... 
Anyway, I have never been shy about letting other people sit in my car and even drive it if they have the experience. One of our KC VCA members saw the SRT for the very first time yesterday when we met up with him in St. Joseph. He liked the car so I offered to swap rides for 40 miles or so. I drove his gorgeous Sapphire Blue RT/10 and he drove my SRT. It also allowed me to get a few pictures. Here is one from the rearview mirror:
And another as I passed him:
So we stopped later on and swapped back. In the meantime, there was another black SRT-10 that was going up with us that belonged to Mike and Cheryl. With Mike planted firmly behind the wheel, I asked Cheryl if she wanted to drive mine and I would ride with Mike. No stranger to driving Vipers (she took second place at VOI 7 for the women's Viper autocross), she gladly agreed. Of course, by then it was convertible weather and time to put the top down. She prefered to drive with the windows up, but it still made for some nice pictures. Here is her husband watching from his SRT as his wife passes him by - both with big grins...
He then passed her back, which made for a nice picture from the passenger seat:
I liked this shot, and it also gives you an idea why many think the SRT could be lowered a bit to eliminate some of the gap in the wheelwells:
And here it is, my lucky shot. You know, every rare once in a while you hit a picture that just happens to look pretty darn great. I think this would be one of those shots:
Of course, the track that hosted Viper Days is awesome (MidAmerica Motorplex in Pacific Junction, Iowa), but you have to go about two miles down a gravel road to get there. Last year they oiled it a bit to keep the dust down. Not this time. At least we put the tops up first...
Note the security guard asking if we enjoyed the gravel road as he chuckled. That and the combination of a badge and *****-white legs led us to later run him over with the monster truck that was there...
With no roll bar (but some to be seen - that will be in a separate post), I could only serve as a spectator. Knowing that Dodge would probably not have an SRT present for people to gawk, I brought along a duster and some Zaino spray to clean off the bugs just in case. Mike did the same. In between watching track sessions and meeting folks, I let people sit in the car as much as they wanted to, as well as take lots of pictures. A pretty popular ride indeed!
I also decided early on that Cheryl could take my SRT on the track during the parade laps (you know, the kind of parades that hit triple digits if the pace car livens it up). My reasoning was threefold:
1. I drove that same track in my GTS last year, so it was no big deal.
2. Cheryl was unlikely to wrestle the keys from her husband to their SRT and she can out-drive most of us on a track anyway.
3. I could get some awesome pictures of the car as it made its way around the track.
So Cheryl invites another lady along for the ride, but she is a no-show. Instead, one of our other KC members, Ryck Sanders, had his wife and young daughters along to watch him drive Bob Woodhouse's old GTS race car. Cheryl asked if either of the girls would like to ride along and both were shouting "Me! Me!". Cheryl compromised with the blessing of the track officials:
Now that photo stunk because I hurried the shot and KNEW I would have several more opportunities once she made her way onto the track. I ran out to one of the safety stands by a turn so I could get some great close ups. I focused in for that perfect first track shot, with many more to follow. <font color="red">BATTERY DEAD BATTERY DEAD</font> CRAP!! And where were my spare batteries? In the car, of course. So, no track pictures. Dang it.
So, I changed batteries afterwards and got lots more pictures of Comp Coupes (different thread coming) and everything else to be seen. Only one more picture of the SRT as we made our last stop on the way home, bug guts and all:
Hope you enjoyed!
Chris
Anyway, I have never been shy about letting other people sit in my car and even drive it if they have the experience. One of our KC VCA members saw the SRT for the very first time yesterday when we met up with him in St. Joseph. He liked the car so I offered to swap rides for 40 miles or so. I drove his gorgeous Sapphire Blue RT/10 and he drove my SRT. It also allowed me to get a few pictures. Here is one from the rearview mirror:
You must be registered for see images
And another as I passed him:
You must be registered for see images
So we stopped later on and swapped back. In the meantime, there was another black SRT-10 that was going up with us that belonged to Mike and Cheryl. With Mike planted firmly behind the wheel, I asked Cheryl if she wanted to drive mine and I would ride with Mike. No stranger to driving Vipers (she took second place at VOI 7 for the women's Viper autocross), she gladly agreed. Of course, by then it was convertible weather and time to put the top down. She prefered to drive with the windows up, but it still made for some nice pictures. Here is her husband watching from his SRT as his wife passes him by - both with big grins...
You must be registered for see images
He then passed her back, which made for a nice picture from the passenger seat:
You must be registered for see images
I liked this shot, and it also gives you an idea why many think the SRT could be lowered a bit to eliminate some of the gap in the wheelwells:
You must be registered for see images
And here it is, my lucky shot. You know, every rare once in a while you hit a picture that just happens to look pretty darn great. I think this would be one of those shots:
You must be registered for see images
Of course, the track that hosted Viper Days is awesome (MidAmerica Motorplex in Pacific Junction, Iowa), but you have to go about two miles down a gravel road to get there. Last year they oiled it a bit to keep the dust down. Not this time. At least we put the tops up first...
You must be registered for see images
Note the security guard asking if we enjoyed the gravel road as he chuckled. That and the combination of a badge and *****-white legs led us to later run him over with the monster truck that was there...
With no roll bar (but some to be seen - that will be in a separate post), I could only serve as a spectator. Knowing that Dodge would probably not have an SRT present for people to gawk, I brought along a duster and some Zaino spray to clean off the bugs just in case. Mike did the same. In between watching track sessions and meeting folks, I let people sit in the car as much as they wanted to, as well as take lots of pictures. A pretty popular ride indeed!
You must be registered for see images
I also decided early on that Cheryl could take my SRT on the track during the parade laps (you know, the kind of parades that hit triple digits if the pace car livens it up). My reasoning was threefold:
1. I drove that same track in my GTS last year, so it was no big deal.
2. Cheryl was unlikely to wrestle the keys from her husband to their SRT and she can out-drive most of us on a track anyway.
3. I could get some awesome pictures of the car as it made its way around the track.
So Cheryl invites another lady along for the ride, but she is a no-show. Instead, one of our other KC members, Ryck Sanders, had his wife and young daughters along to watch him drive Bob Woodhouse's old GTS race car. Cheryl asked if either of the girls would like to ride along and both were shouting "Me! Me!". Cheryl compromised with the blessing of the track officials:
You must be registered for see images
Now that photo stunk because I hurried the shot and KNEW I would have several more opportunities once she made her way onto the track. I ran out to one of the safety stands by a turn so I could get some great close ups. I focused in for that perfect first track shot, with many more to follow. <font color="red">BATTERY DEAD BATTERY DEAD</font> CRAP!! And where were my spare batteries? In the car, of course. So, no track pictures. Dang it.
So, I changed batteries afterwards and got lots more pictures of Comp Coupes (different thread coming) and everything else to be seen. Only one more picture of the SRT as we made our last stop on the way home, bug guts and all:
You must be registered for see images
Hope you enjoyed!
Chris
