Subj: The Good and Bad of It All
Date: 10/21/99
For those of you who haven't heard the trials and tribulations that took place on my second NSX get together. Here goes (I'm the 92 White/Black).
And now for the rest of the story. (It's long.)
The Good: I was able to make the NSX weekend.
The Bad: Work kept me from getting an early start to prepare for it.
The Good: I got the car polished for the event.
The Bad: I was up until 1 AM working on it.
The Good: I woke up on time and didn't oversleep.
The Bad: Wake up was at 5 AM.
The Good: I left on time.
The Bad: Three miles down the road I struck a deer doing 55 MPH.
The Good: The deer was first hit by another vehicle so it was pretty much horizontal in front of me.
The Bad: Even when horizontal, deer are taller than my 4.6 inch ground clearance.
The Good: The car front bounced over the deer like a Champ Car hitting another car's wheel.
The Bad: It came down on top of the deer dragging the carcass under the NSX.
The Good: The car was still controllable so I tried doing "S" turns to dislodge the carcass.
The Bad: It didn't dislodge.
The Good: The carcass finally became 4.6 inches tall and came out the back end of the NSX.
The Bad: The front of the car was damaged.
The Good: It only broke the lower air dam and under panels.
The Bad: The cover that covers the tow hook on front was missing and feared lodged in the mangled remains of the deer. So I flipped the carcass over and over by hand looking for the part (couldn't find it).
The Good: The part was found laying inside the front intake of the car.
The Bad: My hands and my beautifully waxed car were covered in blood and guts from nose to tail.
The Good: A State Trooper stopped to assist, filled out an accident report, and had a paper towel that I wiped my hands on before getting back in the car.
The Bad: The car made grinding noises above 25 MPH so I returned home to inspect the damage.
The Good: The noise was from a plastic cover that had dislodged and was dragging on the ground as wind flowed under the car (easy fix).
The Bad: The bolts were missing that held the cover (not a quick fix).
The Good: I had enough bolts to secure the cover that was dragging and removed the front air dam without incident.
The Bad: Blood and hamburg size chunks of meat were dangling from stem to stern under the car.
The Good: The garden hose washed most of it off.
The Bad: I was 3 hours late and would miss the tech session and maybe the group departure from the dealership.
The Good: I made contact with the NSX group and they said they would wait for me.
The Bad: The underside of the car wasn't as clean as I thought and I started to get a cooked-on garbage smell coming into the cockpit.
The Good: After many miles the blood/guts burnt off and the smell went away.
The Bad: I missed most of the tech session, car show, and a chance to drive the new Honda S2000.
The Good: I was able to get there before the NSXs departed for the country side cruise. 39 NSXs lined up and they stopped traffic in front of the dealership so we could tear out of the parking lot as a group.
The Bad: Too much traffic throughout the route and we got separated into many small groups.
The Good: Everyone had a good time driving topped with a wonderful meal, lively conversation, and many door prizes (I won a nice shirt).
The Bad: Had to get up early again to drive to the Pocono race track in heavy fog.
The Good: NO DEER STRIKES!
The Bad: I wanted to drive in the parade laps on the race track but didn't know you needed a helmet to do that and I didn't bring one.
The Good: I was able to borrow one and rode on hot laps plus drive in the parade.
The Bad: I wanted to drive faster. I could only get it up to 80 MPH in the sweeping corners before catching up to other cars. (Should have paid the money to do hot laps in my own car.)
The Good: It still was great to have a helmet on, do fast tight turns with a bunch of NSXs in front and a bunch in the rear. HONDA POWER!!!!
The Bad: It ended too quickly.
The Good: They brought the S2000 to the track and they tossed me the keys and I wrung it out on the back roads and interstate. Got the little "rev-happy" sucker up to... I mean it cruises very well at speed limit Dave :-). What a great way to spend a weekend!
The Bad: One of our group hit the concrete wall with his BMW M3, head on after loosing control.
The Good: He escaped with a slight concussion and a bloody nose.
The Bad: His car had to be towed off and a reality check that one must stay within one's limitations. Because in real life there is no reset button.
The Good: Speed is life, and in one week I get to watch/hang out with Jimmy Vasser (96 Champ Car Champion with Target/Ganassi Team) and drive a Champ Car replica at Las Vegas Speedway. Does it get any Better?
On a High, Larry