Bullrun 2008 Recap: Part 4

Ok, so for the past week now people have been asking me for a description and/or some insight into what went wrong with our 1969 Dodge Daytona replica on this years Bullrun from Calgary to Phoenix. Well, let me start by saying A LOT went wrong. We had planned to have a grand ole’ time on this years Bullrun, and we did–we just hit a few snags along way.

If you haven’t already, read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 here. And now for Part 4:

Sunday, June 22nd
With Fusion now rolling with the pack we left Big Sky and headed through Yellowstone National Park on our way to Aspen, Colorado. Yellowstone was beautiful, but cruising at 30 mph was simply killing us. All we wanted to do was cruise. Pete had now ditched the Fusion for the comfort of CLS 55 AMG, so cruising now was John Coyle and Gabe Rinaldi. Gabe is one hell of a navigator and John is one hell of a photographer and writer. This was the time for the Fusion to shine. We were now in Wyoming. There were no cops, no trees, no humans of any kind so we decided to wring out the little Ford. For 47 minutes straight the Fusion was pinned at 111 mph with the A/C on getting 25mpg. John, Gabe and I all sat there astonished. We made one fuel stop, saw no other Bullrunners and came in… are you ready… 6th place for the day! IN A RENTED FORD FUSION!! CAN I GET A BOOYA!!!

Ford people, if you are reading this contact me immediately because I don’t think you know how good this little car is. Seriously, we should talk about perhaps producing some Ford Fusion "MR. ANGRY" editions. I LOVE THIS CAR!

Continue reading after the jump.

Monday, June 23rd
We bolted from Aspen at about 9 am and headed for Miller Motorsports in Utah. We drove some of the most beautiful roads imaginable and the Fusion, and with its now legendary "MR. ANGRY active suspension package," we were able to keep up with the likes of TEAM ANGRY’s teammates. (Seriously Ford… this thing is good.) When we got to Miller Motorsports Park, we found that another one of the TEAM ANGRY cars had fallen victim to mechanical problems. The Ferrari F430 was having having gearbox issues, so after limping it back to our final destination in Park City, Utah, we noticed that a flatbed was already on premises unloading the Porsche 928 of Team O’Canada. This was great news as flatbed driver was able to load up the Ferrari and take it to the Ferrari Dealer in Vegas.

Tuesday, June 24th
With the Ferrari and the Daytona now both sidelined, me, Todd and Pete piled into the Fusion and boogied to Vegas. We ended up at the Wynn Hotel at 4:30 where we met fellow Bullrunners and good friends from 2007,  Lamont Reeves and Dorian Collier. Lamont and Dorian ripped it up last year in Lamont’s Porsche C4S and unbeknownst to us would be ripping it up the following day as well. Lamont also presented me and Todd with a great surprise–remote control versions of "MR. ANGRY" and Todd’s F430, "DRTY430". I was floored. That night we all had an AMAZING dinner at Elyce, then proceeded out for a few drinks on the town.

Wednesday, June 25th
We learned in the morning that the other Bullrunners had already left for the checkpoint, so instead of killing ourselves, we took it easy. The Ferrari was still down due to parts not arriving on time, so Todd rented a C5 Corvette Convertible to finish the rally. At that point Lamont, Pete, Kristine and Marash headed out for Los Angeles. During our ride in the Fusion, Lamont had suggested that we turn in our legendary Ford and for the comfort, size and speed of his Mercedes S550.

Now… although I do love the Fusion, there are some things you just don’t turn down, and a Mercedes S550 is one of them. With that being said we dropped the Fusion in LA and picked up Lamont’s beautiful S550. Man what a car this is. We then proceeded to our hotel and the Bullrun party where we dined and drank. Life was once again back on track.

Tune in tomorrow for the final installment of the Bullrun 2008 recap.