drivetofive

Odometer (NSX):  102,757

Trip Distance:  279 Miles

At long last, the event that I’d helped to plan for about a year has reached its conclusion and I must say, it’s been a wild ride.  Here are a couple more photos that surfaced of this year’s NSXPO / 25th anniversary NSX event.  First, our parade lap from Friday at Thermal raceway as captured by Bob Ondrovic.  I was only 3 or 4 cars back in the right hand lane (left as viewed in this image).

Seasoned race veteran Peter Cunningham posted a short video (taken by his copilot) that was filmed while driving my car on yesterday’s 100-mile scenic route.  I was happy to lend him the keys, and he even left it full of fuel for me!  This guy has claimed 91 professional race wins, so I hope he had some fun with my ride.

Closing ceremony last night, as taken from standing at a distance.  Each dinner table was illuminated in a different colored spotlight.  I never got to see the stage from this angle because I was always either backstage helping with something or seated at one of the front-row / reserved tables.

The NSXPO Planning Committee members handing signed group photos to Acura representatives, with Event Director Chris Willson at the mic.

Today’s events were very casual in nature.  Most of our attendees have long drives ahead of them.  Each of the three times I had to get in the elevator at the hotel to return to my room and pick up a few things to pack up my car, I ended up sharing the ride with other folks who were there for the event.  One gentleman was about to embark on his return drive to Vancouver, British Columbia.  A few newcomers joined us on the second floor of the parking garage for an informal car show, including my friend Ramon and his son (who also brought me some delicious cupcakes which I’m holding in this photo).

The casual meet & great was a nice break from the very rigid schedule we had all been abiding by for the previous few days.

Knowing that I had a nearly-5-hour drive home myself, I decided to head eastbound by about 11:00 in the morning, but not before taking a quick photo with my friend Ben Lin.  The photo was necessary since Ben & I both attended the NALM (Legend) event in Houston a few weeks ago, so we wanted to document the fact that we were now again together at a different car-related program, only 1,547 miles away from the last meet-up.  Ben’s 2005 “Silverstone” car has the updated 2002-05 front end.

I also met NSX Club of America member “Dan.”  He’s the proud ORIGINAL owner of a 1991 Formula Red NSX.  Though the paint has faded and the car has over 200,000 miles on the odometer, he has hung onto it for 25 years and doesn’t plan on selling any time soon.  I only wish I’d taken a photo of the 25-sticker-thick stack of registration renewal stickers on his license plate.

I cruised over to Rancho Mirage area and had brunch with my friends James & Daniel who happened to also be in the area.

Couldn’t help but take a photo at this storefront entrance near the JW Marriott property.

Perfect setting for a relaxing Sunday bite to eat.

My 297-mile eastbound return trip to Phoenix on I-10 was uneventful and I honestly didn’t even turn on the radio until about 3 hours into it.  My mind was enjoying the solitude and silence – it needed time to process & download the busy activities of the last several days.  I did happen to pass our HPDE instructor / Sponsorship Director Jim Cozzollino a couple of hours into my drive!  He gave me a wave and I blew past him.

Home sweet home!

Hope you enjoyed the ride over the last few days!

This entry was posted on October 11, 2015 at 7:43 pm and is filed under California, Car Show, NSX, NSXPO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.