5/29/2008

May 29th...Baja 500 less than 3 days away!

Wow what a crazed day this has been. I got up with the roosters and headed for my daily fix of an 8 pump iced chai at Starbucks. I then headed out on errands to gather additional parts and supplies. My first stop took me to PCI Race Radios where I met the lovely people over there while getting fitted for my new helmet. Woo hoo!
After that I made my way to McKenzie’s for a last minute stop that included a new seat belt then it was off to go grab a set of spanking brand new rims. DJ quickly mounted my Goodyear Tires onto them, then slapped them on the buggy and oh how sweet they look!
Ian pulled in today and immediately started doing what he does best… electronics!
We shot the intro bumper to all of the Baja 500 webisodes that we will be turning into SPEEDtv.com starting Friday and then shot our 2nd video blog.
Adrienne and Catherine are great to work with and it is always fun to put together a team and see the excitement that everyone gets in their eyes.
I think the guys will be pulling another all nighter working on the buggy so that we will be able to head south to Ensenada tomorrow.
Gonna go hop on the treadmill, do a little laundry and hit the hay.
I really miss my Rocky…I absolutely cannot wait to see him, rub his belly and take him for a ride in my Jeep…Woof…Smiles!

Baja Buggy update.


Blog…May 28th!
We shot and edited our first of many daily video blogs and got it over to speedtv.com for them to post on their site and they did! I had an idea of how I wanted all of this to come together just about 2 months ago and it is sweet to see things fall into place and make a statement!
The buggy however has kicked my crews butt to a certain extent. I feel so bad that the guys have labored so hard on the buggy in order to get her up to SCORE
Inspection rules and requirements. I do hope that they finish soon not only so we can head south by Thursday but that they can start to enjoy some of this mad process.
Ian arrives tomorrow to continue his electronic guru work that he had already begun in the buggy and the chase truck. The guys have been surviving on Taco Bell, KFC, Carls Jr and a routine stop-in at the 24 hour restaurant here at the hotel where you can grab the best guacamole, chips and hot sauce for a mere $5.00.
While editing with the film crew this evening we ordered the guac and the naughtiest nachos I have ever laid my eyes on…yummy!
I hope that everyone enjoys the blogs, video blogs and get ready for some hot footage that will be shot while in Mexico…Brace yourselves to be taken for an entertaining ride with the infamous “Buggy”.
BT

5/27/2008

Sunday May 26th...Baja 500 getting closer!


Sunday!
Less than a week to go and we will be speeding off of the start line in Baja Mexico! The guys spent the day tweaking the buggy and getting very acquainted with each other. I could not have asked for more of a dedicated crew! I spent the majority of the day answering a ton of emails from this past week…I want to say thanks for all of the fan support…awesome!
Adrienne “Editor” and Catherine “camera-lady” arrive in LA tomorrow to start filming our daily video blogs and prep for the trip down south.
Make sure to stay tuned to SPEEDtv.com for the latest and the greatest going-ons with my Baja 500 2008 race!
Also, make sure to check out my first video blog that should be posted by late Wednesday!
Speedtv.com…keyword "baja"
BT

5/26/2008

My SPEEDtv.com page!

Be sure to check out daily blogs, photos, media interviews, video blogs and live feed of my buggy zooming down the Baja 500 course via live feed that is supplied by GPS Protected. All of this and more on my Barbara Terry page on SPEEDtv.com!

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/baja-500-barbaras-blog/

Sunday May 25th 2008

Sunday May 25th 2008

9 hours of sleep 2 nights in a row and I am beside myself! I am so excited that Dickey and DJ will be pulling up to LA this morning. I am heading out to Starbucks now to grab my daily addiction to chai then going to watch some NASCAR on the big screen in my room. This day is summing up to be a greeeaaaat one!

Afternoon; The 2 Texas road warriors have arrived and we were all able to talk BAJA strategy while the 3 of us watched Dickey gnaw down on his liver and onions meal that he surprised us by ordering. Oh wow…what a “to do list” they have come up with! We will get it knocked out by Wednesday morning then head south to Ensenada, then the real fun begins.

I thought it would be good to show off different perspectives from the cast of characters, so the following is what they ended up writing regarding the going-ons that took place today.

BT



Dickey
Baja Blog 5/25/08

It’s about midnight. That’s hour 65 with no sleep. Wait . . . I did get 3 hours last night. Oh well, I can sleep when I’m dead. Twenty seven hours were spent driving from Texas to LA, during which DJ and I road tested the GPS Protected transponder and the Lowrance GPS system . . . Cool stuff!!

I still have to finish laying out the pit sequence and driver changes, so we can get everything in place. I’ll do that tomorrow. We have some open items on the BT Racing buggy list, but we should have all that under control by Tuesday. Sleep is definitely in order, so I’m off to dream of sugar plums and Baja runs.


DJ Parrish 5/25/08
Homework Assignment #1

After a beautiful trip to Los Angeles, through the mountains of New Mexico, we’re finally here. Oh man, it’s really happening. I’M GOING TO BAJA !! The BT Racing buggy is an awesome piece of work. It looks like she’s going 100 MPH standing still. I’ve worked on a lot of race cars, and this thing is unreal. I can hardly wait till tomorrow and get her ready for 500 miles of hectic terrain. She’ll be ready to rip the desert apart.

I’m sitting in the hotel watching “Wacked Out Sports” with Dickey, and all I can think about is how this show doesn’t have anything on what I’m about to take part in. WOW . . . what better way to celebrate Memorial Day weekend than among a good group of friends and desert racing. Is anything close ?? NOPE !!

5/25/2008

Saturday May 24th....counting down the days!

Sat. May 24, 2008

Finally for the first time in three weeks I was able to get more than four hours of sleep. I got nine and now I am ready to roar. We hit the road and pulled into L.A. a few hours ago. After grabbing some grub at one of my favorite Mexican food spots (Baja Cantina) in Marina Del Ray, I am feeling rested, fed and feisty.

I am going to hop on the treadmill and give Dickey and DJ a jingle to find out where exactly they are between Dallas and L.A. We are expecting them to pull in around mid-day tomorrow. I am posting a link to a video from my….or I guess I should say….my buggy and my appearance on KUSI in San Diego on Friday morning.

The camera man did a great job grabbing shots of the buggy and my sponsors. I am going to catch-up on more sleep tonight so I can be bright eyed and bushy tailed for several radio shows in the morning, of course talking all about BAJA and my buggy.

Friday May 23rd 2008...on the road getting ready for Baja 500

Friday May 23, 2008

After dealing with our truck that broke down between L.A. and San Diego we finally arrived in San Diego at 1 a.m. I finally got to sleep by 2 only to be awaken by the most annoying alarm clock buzz I have every heard in my life. But, happily rush to KUSI to do a morning show segment with Dave Stall to show off the buggy and talk shop. Everything seemed to be rolling along just fine until we got to the SCORE inspection station and were informed that we could not pass inspection due to a few technical misunderstandings.

Living in the Charlotte, NC area which is across the Country it can be difficult to get a clear understanding of the SCORE rulebook at times. The distance leaves me to do most of our communication and inquiries over the phone and being that this is my first time in the driver’s seat of my SCORE Lite Buggy I am fully aware that I do not know everything there is to know about the SCORE Rulebook, but would have appreciated a little more concise and open communication at the inspection station…that is all I will say about that, and no… my buggy was not built in the sixties, it was built in 1989.

So as I sat in the truck with the buggy snuggled in its trailer, my undying drive and determination kicked into full-force gear. After multiple phone calls were made to numerous people we were finally informed on what exactly needed to be modified on my pride and joy….The Buggy. Thinking we were going to be fortunate enough to get it dropped off at a shop in San Diego to do the modifications late Friday we soon would get slapped in the face by yet another problem that would push most people to the point of throwing in the towel and haulin butt home quicker than an ant would jump off of 150 degree concrete. The truck has broken down on the side of the highway again!!! #$@%&^(!!!

With traffic flying by at 90 miles per hour on one of the busiest freeways in San Diego and the rain coming down in buckets, the shoulder that we find ourselves sitting on was not even wide enough for a ten speed. Knowing that we only had five miles to go to make it to the KGTV/ABC segment, I remember that old saying “so close yet so far away” and boy did it keep haunting my mind. With 20 minutes to go we both agreed to start the truck to see if we could inch our way there. I now have a new realization of chuggin and sputterin.

Sports anchor Steve Smith was probably one of the nicest multi-tasking anchors I have ever met. I absolutely cannot wait to see the package of my buggy that he put together.

Rain soaked and frustrated we were able to inch our way to the local auto parts store. Lucky for us we were able to scan the truck for codes and found seven, all related to the throttle and accelerator pedal. The truck was now dead in the water…literally, because not only would it not start, we found ourselves in the middle of a gully washer of rain coming down.

Knowing that I had to make a million phone calls in order to locate parts at a local Chevy house in a town that I am not familiar with, return a ton of pressing phone calls and locate a cab, I not only realized that my Blackberry battery was on it’s last five seconds, but as I quickly scanned the neighborhood that we were in I realized that no matter what we needed to get out of there before dark or quickly become a statistic.

I will spare everyone the million terrible, horrible and haunting details that filled the rest of the afternoon and evening by saying that the truck and trailer ended up being towed to the hotel and being dropped half-cocked on the curb because of the shortage of parking.

I could not take anymore of this awful day so knowing that the truck and trailer was more than likely going to be towed and impounded, I went to the room and was lucky enough to catch an episode of Grey’s Anatomy where now it seems the McDreamy and Meredith are finally going to give it a run. …..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

5/24/2008

Thursday May22nd 2008

Thursday May 22nd...wow what an eventful day this has been!

We started off the day with the awesome people over at KTLA in LA for one of the most amazing segments I have ever done. I can now say that my buggy is a total superstar!
In LA this morning they had quite a bit of breaking news that dominated the morning show but the crew still made time for my buggy segment to roll LIVE.
Michaela....one of the morning news anchors came out to the parking lot where the live shot was set up and wanted to hop in the driver’s seat and take the buggy for a spin around the lot. So we started the segment and as she hopped in, put it into gear and spun out on my Goodyear Wranglers that the buggy is proud to be riding on.

We were able to play a little show and tell with the buggy as everyone either wanted to touch it, drive it or just sit back and gander in amazement.
I am posting about 20 photos from today’s segment so I hope that you enjoy. KTLA will also be posting the video on their web site, so be sure to check that out.

We are now heading south to San Diego to appear on KUSI and KGTV tomorrow morning “May 23rd” …..oops gotta pull over…sh@$%^%##, the truck just cut out….UGH!

Okay, we are back rolling. I scratched my head after being bumfuzzled about what possibly could be wrong with the truck so we gave DJ “head mechanic” in Texas a call to see if he could narrow down the problem and of course he did. Apparently Chevy has a ton of TSB’s pertaining to a ECU issue with some of their models. So after popping off the air cleaner and spraying a little carb cleaner we are back on the road.

It is now pushing midnight …AGAIN…and I am getting ready to hit the hay. I swear I will not know what to do with myself if I am ever able to make it to bed before midnight and sleep in after 8AM.


I am also proud to say that I used Tri Star suits out of Troutman NC to custom make my suit and my teams suits so if you want a suit made to your liking and done right …keep them in mind.

5/19/2008

Baja 500 update!

As I was telling the cool dudes on ESPN radio Sunday morning...Part of my crew is heading from Charlotte NC to LA with the buggy snuggled into the trailer. He should be pulling into LA on Monday evening with my SCORE LITE class buggy . Of course none of this would be taking place without the awesome support of all of my sponsors:
NAPA Filters, Goodyear Tires, Shell, GPS Protected and Pennzoil. Unlike most of the crew I took the easier path to the Westcoast via a huge air cruising machine!
Pretty cool as the crew chief passed through Dallas yesterday he was able to stop for a couple hours as he met up with my Co-driver "Richard Dickey" and "DJ Parrish" my head mechanic in order for them to take a gander at the NAPA Filters paint scheme which wooed and wowed them!
Both of them will be headed west to meet up with us along with my electronics guru "Ian Thomson" next Tuesday the 27th. Then we will all head south to Ensenada to go take part in pre-race festivities and of course the RACE which starts the morning of May 31st!
We will also be accompanied by our camera and editing people "Catherine Harrell and Adrienne Brawley". Stay tuned!

5/16/2008

Ramping up for the Baja 500 2008


We can not even begin to describe the excitement my team and I are feeling now that we are headed west to compete in the Baja 500 on May 31st. I will be making daily journal entries on my site and be sure to check out my page on SPEEDtv.com starting May 22nd for daily video blogs and photos of pre-race, the race and post race.
Get er done!

My chit-chat with the one and only Rob Marciano

Revving up the horsepower makes Rob’s engine tick.


How more lucky could a girl be than to spend a little time chit chatting about cars with the hottest Weatherman in the industry…Rob Marciano. I got this lucky!

Having owned a Subaru Hatchback as his first car which made his dad raise an eyebrow by bringing home something other than a domestic car Rob has owned a vast assortment of vehicles every since.
But surprisingly enough when Rob came home one day to break the news of his first car accident by rear ending someone in the family owned 1974 Impala that they all referred to as “The Tank” his dad remained completely calm.

His first scary moment behind the wheel that comes to mind was in his Subaru when he rolled upon some pesky and dangerous black ice that forced him into spinning a series of 360’s on a New Hampshire highway but he obviously made it out of that spin all intact.

Rob seems to enjoy the need for speed and was fortunate enough to take a spin in the pace car at the Daytona 500 this past spring piloted by retired NASCAR driver Brett Bodine.
Even though Brett seemed calm behind the wheel Rob felt thrilled and at the same time felt a bit nervous as they hugged the turns clocking out around 140, but without a doubt left there with NASCAR fever running through his veins. I loved his passionate explanation of going to a race in person and summing it up with the 3 S’s…
Speed
Sound
Spectacle
Oh how true this is.

Like the rest of us Rob likes the thrill of the raw testosterone that old NASCAR used to demonstrate back in the day when it was more of a sport than a business.
There is nothing like watching the drivers get heated at one another after the inevitable mishaps occur on the track making helmets fly, tempers roar and a good ole in your face hollering competition.

On his own he has revved up the speedometers needle to reach 120 and is a firm believer in buying a car a couple years old by letting someone else eat up the new car depreciation that is absorbed by the first owner that rolls that spankin new car right off the show room floor.

Rob thinks he is a pretty simple guy when it comes to vehicles as he currently owns and drives a Chevy Tahoe that gets him from point A to point B. He has his eye on a gun metal grey Maserati but hasn’t had that extra push yet in order to pull the trigger.

We seemed to agree on the fact that when owing a black on black vehicle you need not to spend the extra money on a seat warmer when living in the south. Black interior owners know how hot that interior can get in the summer time and the special dance your body has to perform when first sitting in the driver’s seat on a hot steamy day.

Rob has an addicting sense of humor and at the blink of an eye can break out his impersonation of a true southern twang of an accent which he seems to have mastered, all of which made me chuckle a lot more than I usually do.

My goal is to get Rob into my Baja Buggy and not only have him as my co-driver but throw him in the drivers seat-behind the wheel which I feel that he could more than handle the horsepower and probably take me for a serious ride that I would not be expecting.
This way I will get to see how good he is at driving a stick and have him demonstrate to me what Hopping and Bopping is all about!


Barbara Terry
May 12th 2008