Bull Run

[cvette98pacecar]

IF anyone is interested in Bull Run I just received my invite.

Hi Robert.

The next Bullrun rally will be Montreal to New Orleans, June 1 to June 7th, 2013. The 10 year anniversary of the Bullrun Rally!

As with every year it'll be a lot of fun, amazing drives, celebrities and cars and expect at least 48 hours of partying when we finally hit New Orleans...

As it's the 10 year anniversary we're planning some special events, apparel, the whole nine yards... there's also going to be some old Bullrun champions returning to mark the anniversary...

When you're ready to proceed, we will need some very brief information on who you and your co-driver are and why you want to do Bullrun plus what car you will be driving.

In the USA - you can view our television series, 9 seasons starting with Season 8 on HULU at http://www.hulu.com/bullrun-new-york-to-las-vegas

What to expect from Bullrun? See the attached!



FAQ

What can I drive? You bring your own vehicle, a friends vehicle, your Dads vehicle... a loaner....it's up to you!

What should I drive? Any car that can get you through 3,000 miles in 7 days.

How many people in a car? Normally two, if you want to bring more we can work with that and there is a supplement we charge.

Rental cars? We can recommend exotic rental car companies we have partnerships with.

Support Vehicles? You can bring support vehicles and we can speak to regarding the specifics of this.

Sponsors? Yes you are allowed your own sponsors.

Foreign Entrants? You can enter Bullrun as a citizen of any country in the world.

Other Past Bullrunners? Ice T, Coco, Mario Andretti, Carl Lewis, Vanilla Ice, Rampage Jackson, Paris Hilton, Hayden Christensen, Jason Statham, Dennis Rodman, Kim Kardashian.....to name a few!

Under 21? We do allow entrants under the age of 21 years old.

What are the costs? Entry fee for driver and co-driver is $20,000. This covers all accommodation, meals, track events, parties, car graphics and rally apparel for the whole week of the rally.

Co-Drivers? If you are seeking to just be a potential co-driver for a registered entrant we do seek co-drivers, but this is much nearer the start of the rally 6-8 weeks out.

The Rules:

There are no rules (almost). Each day you will be handed a route card at the official start, you will have to navigate to the location on the route card. Once you're reached that location (normally a lunch or track event) you will have a break before receiving another route card directing you to the finish location for that day which you will also have to navigate your way to.

[Daniel_Mc]

Robert,

Are you doing this? I'll meet you in NOLA!

Daniel

[cvette98pacecar]

Robert,

Are you doing this? I'll meet you in NOLA!

Daniel

I did this several years ago when the cost was around 8K
My brother paid for half and I paid for half. We were in top three spots for half of the event than drove threw a road runner (bird not car) at about 140 mph.
took out the condenser and radiator.
I would like to do it one more time in a ZR1 or a highly modified Z06
I was asked to drive as a co-driver four years ago. I passed it was some dumb azz rapper who thought he could drive. If I remember correctly he totaled the LP640 during a track event.

[Daniel_Mc]

Looks like the price has gone through the roof...

[LancePearson]

Robert, sounds like the Cannonball Rally Ny to California a while back only more organized.

Is there an itinerary for the NCM may 15-19 Gathering yet published? I've looked on the NCM site and here and have missed it if it is published. Am attending and want to register when it's appropriate.

Thanks.

[Blue Flame Restorations]

Looks like the price has gone through the roof...


And to the moon!!!

[cvette98pacecar]

When it was 4,000.00 a pop it was one of those things that did not need to be given much thought. I knew I had a co-driver that could drive almost as well as I could. Now, it is a joke for the uber wealthy. Which most of them cant drive let alone drive competitively.
There is a reason that you never see any real race car drivers anymore. I think Mario Andretti was the last five or six years ago.

[cvette98pacecar]

Robert, sounds like the Cannonball Rally Ny to California a while back only more organized.

Is there an itinerary for the NCM may 15-19 Gathering yet published? I've looked on the NCM site and here and have missed it if it is published. Am attending and want to register when it's appropriate.

Thanks.

Lance, we have a board of directors meeting tonight to get everything finalized. There should be a post with the entire itinerary.

[Fully Vetted]

...itinerary.

There's the word I was looking for in my other post!

Show off...

[LancePearson]

There's the word I was looking for in my other post!

Show off...

LOL, FV. One of us is an author with some published mystery novels...so, I know how to use Spell Check is all. I really hope there is a group ride of some sort as I can't do the pre ride. I am going to drive up to the Wazoo's event 4/6 in Carlisle, PA and go up about 50 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Va. taking the longer back way and avoiding DC. they are at Miller of Carlisle Productions who does 17 car shows a year home and that morning one Z is getting it's plenum pulled and new injectors installed. I hope to take photos of that and want to see under SOMEONE else's plenum first, then an expert is going to demo how to wash and correctly polish our z with lunch at Millers then two hours to go through the Miller family car collection which goes back a ways with Corvettes and includes some historic ones. They had room for 30 people and when my trip to England got cancelled when Man. Uted changed the game date due to their successs in the Champion's league I was able to rsvp yes and they had a spot for me. There is a waiting list. Corvettes in Carlisle each summer is a big deal and these are the guys, Miller family and one other, who put it on. I'll go up the day before, be there the day then drive home the back way again the day after. I just go W. from metro Richmond until I hit the Blue Ridge Mountains then do about 50 miles up the Blue Ridge parkway along the spine overlooking the Shenandoah valley then skip over at Waynesboro, Va. to I 81 and zip up to Carlisle, Pa on the Interstate. I could do another 106 miles on the Skyline Drive but it's speed limit is only 35 mph and that's too slow for Z land. I'm really looking forward to the event and meeting and watching them work some of the legendary Wazoo guys. There will be a pro photog there to take Zr-1 photos for possible use in a Zr-1 calendar later perhaps. Should be plenty of Z's that day. I've offered to photograph the work on the Z on the injectors if someone wants to write up a technical narrative for the Heart of The Beast subsequent issues if it hasn't been done already. Dinner after the cars with whoever wants to eat together locally. I just got a Hampton Inn room for two nights. Cancelled all the England flights, hotel and ticket. The new date is one I can't make and it's not certain so i give up on international travel to see a soccer match.

[XfireZ51]

Lance,

Big game last night w AC beating Barca 2-nil.

[LancePearson]

Crossfire...I noticed that this morning. Can you believe that Real Madrid's Christiano Reynaldo and Barca's Lionel Messi scored over 150 goals combined, all play, league, champions league? Amazing guys. I read somewhere late last year that Man Uted had been signed by Corvette as their sponsor and that part of the deal was they were giving each first team player a new Corvette. Wish I played!

I had a ticket to see man u play man city in their April 6 Derby at Old Trafford but they did well enough so far in the Champions league they changed the date to the 8th and made that subject to change and my dog sitters can't do that. They cancelled the 4/6 ticket is how I found out and that ticket cost me $561 u.s. as it was so I gave up since it's too variable to do internationally with the limitations I happen to have. I'll enjoy the Wazoo Carlisle event at the Miller home equally as well and not have to trot through customs either. Maybe next year I can get a ticket to the finals of the Fifa men's world cup in Rio in July. They go on sale late this year. Will see though the flight is three hours longer. No over the pole routes to Rio.

[XfireZ51]

I don't want to divert the thread too much further, but does that mean Van Persie and Rooney are driving Vettes?

[LancePearson]

They got their cars last week I think it was. they had their choice and some picked family cars like Van Persie with kids. Rooney picked a Camarro and Carrick picked a Corvette. The deal is for $519,000,000 to Man Uted over time by GM. The Gaffer, Sir Alex, would not let any player under 23 pick a fast car like the Vette or the Camarro with h.s. engines in them. C. R.eynaldo when there had a little problem. I don't remember what he wrecked but something like a Ferrari....

http://www.kckrs.com/manchester-united-got-their-chevys-and-everybody-looks-thrilled/

It's gonna take a lot of Corvette sales to pay back $519,000,000 of advertising.

[Fully Vetted]

Wait a minute...over half a Billion dollars?! They learned nothing in bankrupcty did they?

[LancePearson]

multi year deal but it seems like a lot to me as well.

[Fully Vetted]

Typical GM bull crap. Sponsor everything with a bass boat, four wheels or 2 legs and then explain to congress they need bailout money because the unions are bleeding them dry and nobody wants to buy their crappy cars.

[XfireZ51]

I recall that this was a deal signed just before the GM Chief Marketing Officer got canned. Forget who he was, but this was seen as a reason why he isn't there anymore.
Here's the story:

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/30/business/la-fi-mo-gm-ewanick-fired-20120730

[LancePearson]

Typical GM bull crap. Sponsor everything with a bass boat, four wheels or 2 legs and then explain to congress they need bailout money because the unions are bleeding them dry and nobody wants to buy their crappy cars.

Its also true that a company who loses 50% of their market share to asian new competitors thenhas huge amounts invested in excess capacity which is idle and hits the bottom line hard. This at a time when honda, toyota, nissan, hyundai, kia all entered a world market that could produce 90, 000, 000 cars a year when sales were 40, 000, 000 a year. You are lucky toyota does not own gm now! CHRYSLER faced the same thing and after mercedes lost $30billion of the 38 billion theey overpaid for chrysler,,, eventually Fiat ended up owning them. Volvo owned by a chinese co now, jaguar by an Indian company, tata I think....rolls by the germans and Saab...gone along with olds, pontiac, plymouth, et al. Not just as simple as you say though pensions were an issue as well. Biggest changes in the industry in maybe 50 years. I wonder how you keep a dedicated vette factory going on 13, 000 cars a year....and basically take an entire year of that off to make a model change.

Methinks the vettes we love are not guaranteed a future at all. Will see by 2015 if they even survive...it is an issue.

[Fully Vetted]

Its also true that a company who loses 50% of their market share to asian new competitors then has huge amounts invested in excess capacity which is idle and hits the bottom line hard.

And that happened because people got fed up with spending hard earned money for crap that wouldn't last 100,000 miles. So, they started buying the best product for the money and they ended up buying foreign cars.

I thought they had learned their lesson until I read about their Man U sponsorship. Put half a billion dollars into product development and technology advancement and half a billion dollars into sports team sponsorship and see which has the greatest ROI in 10 years.

Idiots. They deserve whatever happens to them. Unfortunately, their employees do not...

[LancePearson]

The net result of the asian capacity increase in car making is that virtually all cars work very well nowadays. Personally....either investment in ten yrears might have similar r.o.I. you need both and I am not qualified to set anyones ad budget....all I know is you cant spend zero and from where the industry is there is still too much capacity so swaying people to your product is also importtant. Is this the best way? Beats me but it is one of the ways. Most marketing today is push marketing rather than pull marketing so quality thru r and d is insufficient, need some but is it enough? Not by itself. If that is a ten year deal with the biggest sports franchise on the plsnet...man uted worth $3, 000, 000, 000 who is to say that annually is bad? I dont know tho it seems a lot to me

[Fully Vetted]

Develop your product line, develop your product line, develop your product line and you end up making the best product possible. Then sales will not be an issue. I'm not saying spend $0 on sponsorships. Of course not. But, that much on 1 sponsorship makes no sense. At least to me it doesn't.

[LancePearson]

FV, as I said, it seems a lot to me as well. Selling about 13,000 cars a year is maybe a billion dollar stream of income....so dumping that much divided by the time of the sponsorship per year into it seems heavy to me but GM tends to look at Corvette as their flagship and Marque and may be spending a bunch on that one thing since they cut way back everywhere else...don't think they did super bowl ads, etc. As someone else said, ad money is always second guessable and the ad guy has been replaced to it may just be a bad buy of ad according to the current crop. It seems to me like you to be too much for that one thing but I don't really know their thought process. I do hope they have one.....and there's the worry!

Have a great day. I'm frustrated as I screwed my face replacement on my bose radio head up yesterday...far more important to me right now! LOL.

[boostedmaxPSI]

June 1st -7th is the same week for the Hot Rod Power Tour. I will be on that :p

Looks like our paths will almost cross. Ft. Worth, Texas to North Carolina.

[Fully Vetted]

Frank, I was going to ask you if you were going to do the Power Tour. Are you taking it all the way to NC? I was thinking of doing the leg to Little Rock and then hanging out there for a couple of days. Depends on a couple of other trips I've got planned.

[Kevin]

Methinks the vettes we love are not guaranteed a future at all. Will see by 2015 if they even survive...it is an issue.

the vette has been dying since the mid 70s....still here

[boostedmaxPSI]

Frank, I was going to ask you if you were going to do the Power Tour. Are you taking it all the way to NC? I was thinking of doing the leg to Little Rock and then hanging out there for a couple of days. Depends on a couple of other trips I've got planned.

As it stands now, I will be going the full distance in my 66 Mustang. Should be a blast.

[cvette98pacecar]

As it stands now, I will be going the full distance in my 66 Mustang. Should be a blast.

I think We should start planning a power tour 2016 event.

[LancePearson]

the vette has been dying since the mid 70s....still here
sales in the 70's: 40,000 a year...now? 12,000 or so....that's not healthy or growth.

[boostedmaxPSI]

I think We should start planning a power tour 2016 event.

Let's do it. I'm up for any time I can get out, hang with buddies and see some of the less travelled roads.

[Fully Vetted]

I think We should start planning a power tour 2016 event.

Are you suggesting our own Power Tour or joining in on the existing Power Tour? And how about 2014?

[cvette98pacecar]

Are you suggesting our own Power Tour or joining in on the existing Power Tour? And how about 2014?

I think the more time that we allow members to get ready for this event the more participants we will have. Depending on starting point and ending point I might be able to join the cruise in 2014.

[Fully Vetted]

I agree totally. Three+ years just sounds like a heck of a long ways away. You've got a lot more experience at this than I, though.

[cvette98pacecar]

I agree totally. Three+ years just sounds like a heck of a long ways away. You've got a lot more experience at this than I, though.

The problem as you know is Geographical, If we could plan this for several years we could possible get a lot of the West Coast ZR-1.
We are trying to add a floating venue, What I mean by floating is a third venue that would change from year to year. For instance we could do Jets and Vettes 2014, Black Hills Corvettes 2015, Power Tour 2016.

[Fully Vetted]

Yep...that makes sense.