It’s been over a week since I’ve completed the Fireball Run so I have had time to decompress and get back to the normal grind.  After replaying the adventure of a life time in my head and catching up on all the rest I missed, I now feel it’s time to review my coast to coast journey.

First off my co-driver Bob and I both felt that it was quite an honor to be one of the select few that were invited to participate in the Fireball Run’s “Race to Recover America’s Missing Children.”

Event organizers J. Sanchez and Martin Blake did an unbelievable job in putting such an event together; starting with getting national sponsorship from such companies as FedEx, GM, Clear Channel, RadarBusters and the Insurance Office of America, getting communities along the rally together as participants, planning out the rally from coast to coast, and putting together business professionals as participants in this event. My hats off to both!

The overall mission for the Fireball Rally was to bring national exposure in locating missing children with the Child Rescue Network and the assignment for each team was to place as many recovery posters out for each team’s sponsored child along the 3500 journey. Our child was four year old Francisco Rios – Carriere who was abducted on March 3, 2004 by his non custodial father.

At each stop Bob and I made along the trip, we took the time to speak with people passing out Francisco’s poster. In Beaumont Texas, my co-driver “The Veil Guy” even went that extra mile. While I was inside the local Walmart shopping for supplies, Bob stood outside and handed out over 300 posters to shoppers!

From day one at our starting point in Orlando, to the finish line seven days later in Hollywood Bob and I logged in over 3700 miles.

During our journey we logged 28 Ka band, 7 K band and 1 X band radar hits and one laser hit.

Even with all our high tech speed counter measure equipment that we had installed, we were not immune. On I-10 in Florida we were travelling well above the posted speed limit, when we spotted a trooper traveling on the opposite side of the highway after clearing a row of trees in the median. Bob reacted immediately in breaking as the officer simultaneously activated his instant on Ka radar gun. We were pulled over and given a good “butt chewing”, but it could have been worse if we were not paying attention to the road ahead.

Other drivers in the event were not as fortunate, even though it was stressed by event organizers not to be “stupid”.

One driver was arrested after being clocked at 145 in his Vett, and one team received three separate citations for speed all above 90!

Bob and I took the advice of a long time Cannonballer who placed third in the event after he related “I like 70, love 85 but never go above 90, that speed is jail territory!”

Our success in safely navigating the rally ticket free came down to a number of factors

First and foremost we applied a formula that I began using when I started teaching defensive driving over 20 years ago, my “Radar Roy’s Rules of the Road”
1: Know the exact location and speed of surrounding vehicles
2: Constantly scan the road ahead, as far as your eyes can see
3: Pay attention to the road surface
4: Watch oncoming traffic from as far away as possible
5: And lastly “watch out for stupid” who is stupid? Every driver on the road INCLUDING YOURSELF!

Secondly we applied all the techniques that I’ve developed in “How to Maximize Your Radar Detector” from proper mounting of the detector(s), properly interpreting the alerts of our detectors, paying attention to “clues” to other methods of speed enforcement devices such as the painted lines indicating Vascar or aircraft speed enforcement, keeping the detector in Highway mode for best sensitivity, and lastly reacting immediately and properly when an alert is given.

Third, Bob and I worked together as a TEAM! I’m not going to deny that The Veil Guy and I had our moments after being in the same car for seven days and driving over 3500 miles, but for the most part we worked together as a team.  The number one responsibility for the navigator was watching out for the driver. These meant watching ahead for hidden troopers and tell tale signs of speed enforcement, figuring out solutions to our clues for the rally and navigation.

The bottom line, you have to have trust in each other’s abilities, mainly their driving abilities. This was echoed by other Cannonballers who related if you’re with a driver that you cannot trust, you’ll be stressed and never rest between navigating and driving.

Speed Counter Measure Review
During our journey we tested the top radar detectors made today that included; The Beltronics STi, the Escort 8500 X50, the Valentine One and the RX65. I had also planned on testing the new Escort 9500i, however this unit was lent to another team that I sponsored and they had mechanical problems that left them at the starting line.

All the top radar detector’s performed well as expected, but early on I took I took favor to the STi’s ability to sniff out Ka band faster than the other detectors that were in our arsenal and used it as the main unit throughout the rally.

The Whistler Pro 78 also did a superb job during day four and when compared to the STi was just a little slower in reacting to alerts and only falsed one time.

The only radar detector that I felt was a disappointment was the Cobra XRS R7 as I found its falsing annoying and it totally missed a Ka alert of one trooper in La.

In New Mexico the STi and the Blinder M-25 both alerted to a laser hit, however we never could figure out where the officer was hiding. When both units alerted, we were 25 miles over the posted speed limit, which would had easily justified a very expensive citation. However after slowing down we were never given chase, so I can safely assume that our Blinder Laser Jamming system and the Veil saved us in this encounter.

After being on both sides of this industry for over 30 years, I did find it surprising that the Mississippi State Police still used X band. I have often recommend to clients to turn off X band on their detectors unless they were driving in NJ or the southern parts of Indiana. I’m glad that I didn’t follow my own advice in this encounter, even though the patrol car was unoccupied.

Next Year’s Plans
Bob and I have been invited back to participate in next year’s rally therefore I have been thinking of devices that we would include with our radar detector arsenal along with plans to improve our scoring.

CB Radio: Just like the original “Smoky and the Bandit” several of the Fireballers used CB radios to communicate with truckers of impeding speed traps.

Beartracker Scanner: Several of the Cannonballers were also using the Beartracker Scanners that would alert of trunk mounted transmissions in the police radio spectrum.

iPhone: I had brought my iPhone and laptop computer that was equipped with a cell card to access the Internet to help solve clues while on the road. For all instances I found it much easier and more dependable (at least on this trip) to use my iPhone. Therefore next year, I’m leaving the laptop behind.

Over the last 15 years, I had received extensive training in defensive driving techniques along with high performance driving techniques from Bob Bondurant’s driving school and executive protection driving by the US Secret Service. However I admit that when I got on the track this year, I was very rusty. Therefore prior to next year’s rally, I’m going back to Bondurant to freshen my track skills and hopefully pull down some better times.

I’m also a diehard Harley Davidson enthusiast. No, I’m not thinking of running my Screamin Eagle coast to coast in next year’s rally, but would like to figure out a way to include it for some of the events. So I’m considering using my Harley Davidson Edition F-250 with my Screamin Eagle in the bed, and then perhaps run the bike on the track!

See you Fireballers Next Year!!!

Las Vegas to Los Angles

You could see it in all the contestants faces; relief, sadness, anticipation. The week long Fireball run was about to end.

For me the rally was a great opportunity to meet and know 150 people that I had never met before. Sure there were blow-ups; one sponsor threw a tantrum after the judges discounted his team’s bonus points and one team was caught cheating as one member at a checkpoint was emailing the photo to the other driver at check in. But all in all, during the rally the majority of the contestants played fair and had a great time.

This morning we lined up at the Henderson resort and the mayor joined us in our morning driver briefing. Then we were provided our sealed envelope containing the clues for the day with the mayor waving the green flag we were off to Hollywood.

As Las Vegas is a vacation Mecca, every day is rush hour so I had laid out plans to use surface roads to bypass the congested highway traffic. The only problem was that I didn’t plan for road construction and road closures and found this to be a fatal error, as we were one of the last cars out of Sin City.

After finally getting on the Interstate I opened our sealed envelope for our clues:

Clue one: Have your photo taken with the Mad Greek in Baker California.

Clue two: Proceed to the Route 66 museum in Barstow California and purchase a gift that will be donated to a children’s hospital

Clue three: Go the original “Casa Del Taco.” This chain of restaurants now has over 490 locations and is only second to Taco Bell in Mexican food flair. Here we would be given your next clue after you ordered at the drive through.

Driving this area of I-15 before, I recognized the Mad Greek as a Greek Restaurant in Baker Ca, just off the Interstate. I then used my iPhone to obtain the address of the Route 66 museum and programmed it into the GPS.

As we were going to be driving through one of the most congested areas in the US on our way to the finish line, I wanted to be sure that our detector of choice for this day would have the ability to filter out most of the false alerts but still have superior range and sensitivity against the CHP deadly K and Ka radar guns.

So as I rummaged through my extensive  arsenal of radar detectors that morning I had only one choice the Escort 8500 X50

Since first being introduced in 2005, the 8500 x50 has proven itself to be the best moderately priced and dependable radar detector ever made.

Alert One – Ka
South of Vegas at mp 65 on I-15 our 8500 gave its first warning of the day. Approximately a mile later in the south bound shoulder, we observed a Nevada Highway Patrol unit on the side of the road with another car.

Alert Two – Ka
At MP 8 on I-15 our 8500 alerted 33.7 Ka, just as we slowed down and crested a hill, a northbound NHP passed at high speed.

Just shortly after this encounter, we received a text message that the Black BMW (the same BMW that was stopped in Oklahoma twice and was not using a detector) had been pulled over on I-15 after finishing up their Del Taco stop and was cited for going 105.

At MP 1, we pulled off the Highway and went to a “Terrible Herbs” gas station to buy a California newspaper for our state sign photo. The clerk told us that they didn’t sell any California papers and the next station was fifteen miles down the road.

I went out to the parking lot looking in the trash bins by the pumps and found a Barstow newspaper. As we pulled onto the highway, the California welcome sign was on our right and we snapped our photo.

Alert Three – K band
As we continued on our leg to Baker on I-15 our 8500 alerted 24.1 K band. After coasting down to the speed limit, we spotted a CHP unit parked in the median facing our direction.

Twenty miles later, we pulled off the interstate into the small desert community of Baker and located the Mad Greek Restaurant. We had a bystander photograph us standing in front and we then took a short ten minute break.

Just prior to turning onto the highway in Baker, we noticed a two man CHP patrol car exit from the interstate I followed them to a gas station. Again working with the magic of my badge, I convinced the two reluctant CHP officers to pose for our trooper scooper photo.

Alert Four – K band
At mp 254 on I-15 our 8500 alerted 24.1. As we were driving on a flat desert highway we  allowed the car to coast down to speed limit and two miles later we spotted a CHP on the west bound shoulder with a pick-up,

At 12:45 PST we arrived at the Route 66 Museum and between Bob and me we purchased over $200.00 worth of stuffed animals and books to give to a sick child in the hospital. We then proceeded to the original Taco Bel restaurant drive through and ordered some cold drinks. Here the clerk told us that we had to go back to the location of the museum to find the Chamber office to obtain our next clue.

We arrived at the Barstow Chamber and I was provided with another sealed envelope with bonus point cards. I selected the following:

Bonus One: Drive backwards to Calico and take a photo of their cemetery
Bonus Two: Find the Banana Museum and take a photo
Bonus Three: Take a photo of Sammy’s Star
We headed back north twenty miles to the ghost town of Calico and located the Ghost Town of Calico and took a photo of the cemetery.

Utilizing my iPhone, we located an address for the Banana Museum in Hesperia California, programmed it into our GPS and headed back south on I-15.

Alert Five – Ka band
At mp 119 on I-15 our 8500 alerted 34.6 and we slowed down spotting a CHP on the side of the road with another pick-up truck a mile south.

Arriving in Hesperia we located the Banana Museum just as another Fireballer was pulling out from the parking lot. Bob got out and we quickly snapped a photo and we were back on the road headed for the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

As we entered the greater LA area, traffic was very congested so we backed off and drove with the flow of traffic. Our GPS was programmed for Hollywood and Vine and after passing a few small accidents with disabled vehicles on the highway, we finally turned off to the LA surface streets.

Arriving at the Walk of Fame, I found a tour guide selling flyers, handed him a ten and asked where “Sammy’s” photo was. He pointed a block down so I ran with iPhone in hand, snapped my own photo and headed back to our illegally parked car.

Our finish line was several blocks away at the Sofitel Resort. We maneuvered around traffic and fifteen minutes later crossed, placing twentieth for the day!

With the stress of the race lifted the other contestants loosened up and we began discussing our 3500 mile plus journey across nine states.

Batman and Robin also complemented the Escort 8500 X50 that we provided to them for the race, saying that the only time that they had gotten pulled over was by a trooper wanted to take a photo of the Bat Mobile for his son.

The Black BMW team related that the next time they ran a rally like this, that they were going to first look me up, so we could outfit their car commenting “What ever you guys sell must work and it has to be allot cheaper then three speeding tickets.”

In the coming days or weeks, after decompressing, I am will follow-up my seven day experience to discuss some valuable lessons Bob and I learned during this incredible experience.

Track Day Two – Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Today was track day number two and the Fireballers headed out the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. At 9:30 m we had our driver’s meeting and were broken down into two groups; professional and intermediate.

I was scheduled to be in the intermediate morning group running against another two Beamers and an Audi. Prior to the timed race, we were allowed three low speed track runs to identify the line of the track.

As my group was the last of the morning races, I had the opportunity to watch the other racers and identify the tricky areas of the course and to speak with the professional race car drivers on how they maneuvered the two mile track. Turn one was the sharpest of the turns and was at the end of a half mile straight away. Several cars ran off the track into the gravel safety area as they braked and turned too late while entering this area of the track. I set up a visual marker on this turn where the more successful drivers were beginning their braking maneuvers and their turning apex.

I was the third car in my group of four and my only two goals in this race were to keep the car on the track and to keep enough distance between car four and myself. Each car had a ten second break between them from the starting line. The green flag fell and I was off. As lap one was not a timed lap, I took this as a final opportunity to test the visual markers I had made along the track. As I approached lap two, I opened up the 540i to full throttle on the straight away, set up my line for turn one and successfully maneuvered through this area. Feeling more comfortable I picked up speed for my final two laps and crossed the checkered flag on the straight away at 87 mph.

We then broke for lunch and Bob starting getting ready for his afternoon run.

Race one for the afternoon run was the sports class. Car number 29 was a 2004 Dodge Viper with team members Artie Malesci – Florida, Jeffrey Donovan – California and Rich Minga – San Diego. At this juncture of the rally they were ranked eight overall and second for sports car class.

After the warm up lap the race began and the cars were off. As the Viper was speeding up coming out of the final turn, the driver lost control and slammed into the cement retaining wall.

The front end of the Viper exploded upon impact sending engine parts and debris just short of the timing booth. The cement barrier was pushed back four feet and the Viper spun into the center field of the track.

Gasps streamed from contestants and bystanders while the red flag was waived to stop the race. An on seen ambulance that was parked on the opposite side of the wall drove infield as the driver stuck his hand out the window with a thumbs up, indicating that he was ok.

Track staff immediately went to work, first assisting the driver, then removing the oil and debris field on the track and then removed what was left of the Viper onto a flat bed truck.

Looking around at the Fireballers, I noticed many visibly shaken at witnessing such a horrific accident thinking they may have lost a fellow driver.

The Fireball staff shut down the race for an hour until they were able to recoup and have another drivers meeting. Several of the drivers in the intermediate class decided that they would drop after watching such an experienced team wash out into the wall.

Tonight we have a Fireballer party where we get to “gamble away” our accumulated points on the black jack table.

Albuquerque to Henderson

This weekend kicks off the Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Festival and as we were leaving the hotel we saw dozens of balloons already in today’s morning sky. Breakfast and starting line was at Saint Pius High School on Coors Blvd and Saint Joseph’s way. The morning school schedule was arranged to allow the students time to come out to see cars and crew.

The official count of entries for this years rally was at seventy five the evening of the pre-race. However eight cars, including my sponsored TransCon Ambulance dropped out from the starting line because of mechanical difficulties. Starting this morning leg we had forty eight cars left in the rally.

After we pulled into the parking lot, a group of students escorted us to their cafeteria where they served us a hot scrambled egg and bacon breakfast. After eating we came out to the lot just as the students were being released from their classes.

Once they laid eyes on the Bat Mobile, students twenty deep circled. Neil the owner and driver of the Bat Mobile fired up the rear jet engine (a large propane burner) and a four foot blue and yellow flame blew out of the rear. Neil then loaded up the rocket launcher and shot a projectile across the parking lot. All the students applauded and cheered.

The Albuquerque police department began mobilizing for their escort of our group while the Arch Bishop led the drivers and crew in prayer. The mayor of Albuquerque then gave a short speech and then started the race by waving the green flag.

The Albuquerque police had shut down northbound traffic on Coors Blvd. and all west bound traffic on I-40 (during morning rush hour) and we had clear sailing to the outskirts of town.

Being from Arizona I was very familiar with today’s route and even had a pretty good idea what today’s challenges laid ahead. At the New Mexico and Arizona state line I knew of several Indian souvenir shops that included the Chief Sitting Bull’s store and the Tee Pee Cigar store. I had commented to Bob and to the Blinder Xtreme team the evening before that I would expected one clue would be to find the chief and have a seat next to him.

I also figured that about lunch time we would be pulling into Winslow Arizona and commented that we would be standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona eating lunch.

As I was the designated driver for today’s leg, Bob as my navigator had the privilege to open the sealed envelope with today’s clues;

Clue One: find the big tee pee, put on a head dress and strip down to your skivvies and sit Indian style in front of the doorway.

Clue Two’s clue was on a prerecorded CD. Bob stuck the CD into his player and the Eagles song “Take It Easy” began playing.

We made a beeline for the state line while other Fireballers were trying to obtain clues on their laptops before they got out of range of the Albuquerque cell network.

I had hoped to do a comparison test of the 9500i during this trip; however my only Escort 9500i radar detector was sitting on the dash of the TransCon Ambulance that had broken down outside of Orlando.

Also over the past several days, other Fireballers that were using some of those “cheaper brands” were impressed with our arsenal of the high end units and begged us to borrow them as over one third of the group during yesterday’s run were pulled over and cited.

So today our arsenal was whittled down to our old trusty Bel STi and the Cobra remote. We plugged in the STi hoping that we wouldn’t have another 33.8 encounter as we had the evening earlier, pledging that we would send the unit in after our return for the firmware upgrade.

It wasn’t far outside of Albuquerque when we received our first hit on 24.1 K band. A half mile later we observed a white Sheriff’s car east bound on I-40 moving in our direction.

At mp 48 on I-40 we received our first laser hit during the rally when the Blinder laser jammer and the STi went full alert as we approached an overpass. We slowed down and looked over, under and around the overpass and never saw a trooper, false alert?

At 11:40 MST we arrived at the Arizona New Mexico border pulled off the exit and drove to the Tee Pee Cigar store. Bob stripped down to his under ware, put on his cowboy boots and head dress and sat at the front door for his picture.

We then drove next door and picked up the Navaho Times published in Window Rock Arizona and took off for the Arizona welcome sign on the highway.

After snapping the welcome sign we headed for the corner in Winslow Arizona.

A few minutes after arriving into my home state, we received a text message that an Arizona DPS officer was sitting in the median at mp 305 running 35.5 Ka. At mp 307 the Bel STi gave a short alert of 35.5 and then again as we neared mp 306. The detector then remained silent as we approached, giving us a good indication that the trooper was using radar in instant on mode.

We entered Winslow at and I drove to the corner of 2nd and Kinsley and located the Fireball Staff tent. Before we could receive our stamp, we were told that someone from our car had to sing the tune that put Winslow on the map. I started signing and a member of the Winslow Chamber asked me to stop because if anyone heard me, they would take the town off the map, she then gave us our sticker.

We had a quick lunch and were then handed an envelope containing the location of the finish line of today’s leg, the MonteLago Resort in Henderson Nevada.

The evening prior my daughter Erin called me saying that she had broken her leg and was in the emergency room. She expected to be released later that night, but the doctor told her she would have to remain in bed until she could be looked at by a specialist on Monday. She now lives in Flagstaff, so I thought that I would quickly stop in for a visit.

Also while in Flagstaff I figured that we could stop by the DPS Northern Command Center to get our trooper scooper photo.

Just after leaving Winslow, at mp 130 our Beltronics STi alerted to 34.1 and a short time later observed a white Sheriff’s Office vehicle parked in the median. Then at mp 148 we received our second 34.1 and a mile later observed an Arizona Trooper parked in the median.

After arriving in Flagstaff we got on Old Route 66 and drove to the Arizona DPS center. A few minutes after arriving we spotted a trooper. I badged him requesting a photo and he obliged.

We then drove to the west end of Flagstaff to my daughter’s townhouse and paid a visit. She was glad to see us and we spent a few precious minutes relating the events of the past several days.

Heading back onto the freeway and Bob and I began discussing plans on how we could make up lost time, as now we were at the rear of the pack. As we were going to cross into Nevada at Boulder Dam, I knew that there were no stores in the area of the dam to purchase a Nevada newspaper for our state sign assignment. I called Bill, a friend of mine in Kingman and asked him to call around the area to find a store that sold any Nevada newspapers. He called back in a few minutes relating that the Flying J Truck Stop in Kingman had a pile of Nevada newspapers. I asked if he could call back and ask the clerk to put one on hold for me, as I knew that any Fireballer ahead would take the entire stack.

We had clear sailing on I-40 leaving Flagstaff. We did get a text message after leaving the town limits that there was a DPS trooper at mp 65, but we figured that he would be long gone before we closed the 100 mile gap. However at mp 66 the STi alerted 35.4 and there at mp 65 we spotted the officer.

We flew into the Flying J for our newspaper and surprised the clerk when we gave her a five dollar tip as we had the last Nevada newspaper left in the store.

At this point in the today’s run I commented to Bob that my legs were beginning to cramp from sitting behind the wheel the last five hours and asked if he would drive the remainder of the trip. He jumped behind the wheel and I took over navigation.

I knew the location of the report from prior trips into Vegas, but I was interested in seeing what our GPS would estimate our arrival time at based upon our location. I was surprised to see that my recently updated Garmin was giving a route on the Boulder Highway as the fastest route as I knew a much faster one using Lake Mead Hwy.

Traffic was unusually light crossing the Bolder Dam and we stopped at the Nevada welcoming sign to take our state sign photo.

Bob and I had made up some valuable time while on 93 from Kingman and we had passed a third of the group up prior to our arrival at the Dam. I knew that these Fireballers didn’t think of getting their newspaper in Kingman so they would be forgoing today’s state sign bonus points. However this would give them an opportunity to catch up with us.

Sure enough as we drove into Boulder City we saw five Fireballers behind us. I commented to Bob if our GPS showed Bolder Highway as the route to the resort, I would suspect that theirs did too. So we tried to figure out a plan to ditch them so they would take the longer route.

We attempted several times to slow down to allow them to pass, but they knew I was from the area and we suspected that they wanted follow behind.

As we approached the Boulder Highway exit, Bob sped up and began merging into the turning lane. All the Fireballers behind us followed suit. Then at the last second, Bob turned left back onto the highway, while the remaining group remained on the exit.

We continued on to Lake Mead Highway and turned off to head to the resort.

We pulled into the resort seeing that at least half of the other contestants had been us on today’s leg. However family first, my daughter was glad that I took a few precious minutes away from this rally to spend it with her.

Tomorrow is track day number two, and then we are off to Hollywood!

Oklahoma City to Albuquerque

This morning after packing up the 540i “The Veil Guy” and I headed to the memorial site of the Farley Federal Building to pay our respects to the victims and the families of the Oklahoma City bombing. We parked just outside the memorial entrance and took time to read many of the hand held inscriptions that mourners have taped on the front fence, along with flowers and other tokens of respect.

We then drove back to yesterday’s finish line at Brick Yard Stadium, which today also served as the starting point. Lined up in front of the Fireballer vehicles were numerous motorcycle officers from the Oklahoma City Police Department and two local area news station remote trucks that were performing live interviews with other contestants.

After lining up our car, Bob and I walked up to the motorcycle officers and introduced ourselves. Being a retired officer and a Harley enthusiast myself, we quickly began swapping war stories. Mounted on each officer’s bike was the new Stalker 2 hand held radar gun. The officers also told me that they also use the Stalker laser guns, but because of the portability and small size of the Stalker 2, that this was their main weapon of choice.

The officers also confided with us to be careful heading into Elk City, as they heard that the Oklahoma State Patrol was setting up a large welcoming reception for us.

Oklahoma City’s Mayor gave led a morning prayer for the safe passage of the Fireballers, waved the green flag and we were off.

The motor officers provided a rolling escort for us to the on ramp of I-40, right smack into morning rush hour traffic.

Bob was the designated driver for this leg while I was the designated navigator. The detector selection today included the Bel STi and an Escort 8500 X50.

Once on the Highway I opened our sealed FedEx envelope for today’s clues.

Clue One: Get your lunch from the legendary “Big Texan” in Amarillo. Here you’ll need to kiss a cow, swim from Laredo to Amarillo, then convince Bobbie Lee to stamp your route book.

Clue Two: Built by the Swiss in 1966, it rises to 10,000 feet above Albuquerque and spans over 2.7 miles – it is the longest of it’s kind built anywhere in the world. Here we would be handed the location of the finish line.

Rules for this run were that we could not enter the town of Albuquerque prior to 5:00 pm (the start of rush hour)

Clue two was easy as I’ve been to Albuquerque many times before and immediately recognized this clue as being the Sandia Tramway. I fired up my iPhone for clue two and found Big Texan restaurant in Amarillo on Google.

After traveling about 30 minutes, we started receiving a solid hit of 35.5 on both the Bel STi and the Escort 8500 X50. About a mile later we saw three Oklahoma State Trooper cars setting up in the west bound lane.

One mile later we passed another trooper who was hidden, parked behind a bridge embankment. Our welcoming reception was forming….

An hour later, as we started entering into Elk City, both the Beltronics STi and the Escort 8500 indicated a 34.7 Ka alert, a half mile later we saw an Oklahoma Trooper parked in the median facing our direction. Then a few seconds later, the detectors began alarming 34.7 Ka. A mile further we observed an unmarked Dodge Charger parked in the median.

A mile after the Charger we then started receiving 34.7 alerts on both detectors and about a minute later we saw our third trooper in Elk City parked in the median.

Leon from team Blinder Xtreme then called us and said that an unmarked Crown Vic had just pulled out from ticketing another Fireballer and was ahead of us turning into the median. Just as we were getting the details, both detectors alerted again, this time to a 35.5 and we saw the Crown Vic ahead.

Leon also related that he had spotted a east bound trooper about three miles ahead of us that was not running radar and a silver Sheriff’s car running K band four miles ahead.

A couple of minutes later both detectors alerted 24.1 K band and then we observed an approaching Trooper eastbound on the horizon. A mile after this encounter the detectors lit up 24.7 and we saw the silver Sheriff’s car parked in the median.

Text messages were flying back and forth between Fireballers; five cars stopped at mp 109, Black BMW stopped at mp 38, white Audi stopped at mp 37. Bob and I thought at this point it was wise to pull off and get some gas and a cold soda. As we exited the interstate, we observed a white marked pick-up truck hidden on the side of the overpass.

After pulling into the station, the white marked pick-up pulled in behind us. We struck up a conversation as I peaked inside the car, I observed  a VASCAR unit on the transmission hump. I commented “You’re still using those old VASCAR units” and the officer replied “We use everything we can.” The pick-up left and we headed back to the den of Troopers.

We were receiving text messages that the black BMW that was ticketed in Elk City was closing the gap behind us, a few minutes later we received another message that they were again pulled over at mp 89.

As we approached mp 51, we saw the flashing overhead lights of a trooper. Passing, we saw that they had the blue vet with “We brake for Ka” sticker on the side of the road with a trooper.

At mp 50 we received a K alert at 24.7 and as we crested a hill, we spotted another trooper parked in the median facing our direction.

At 10:20 am, Bob and I crossed back into Texas and we found a new welcoming committee was forming. We were using a white Audi that ahead of us for our “rabbit.” At mp 165 the Escort and Beltronics unit alarmed 34.7 and almost immediately we saw a black and white Texas DPS trooper car pull out from behind a row of trees and giving chase to the Audi.

Team Blinder Xtreme called us again telling us that the Texas troopers had the Bentley and the SRT pulled over three miles ahead of us.

As we approached mp 0 in Texas both detectors alerted 34.7 and just ahead we saw a Texas trooper with a black car parked behind traffic cones.

Our first project after arriving into New Mexico was to find a New Mexico trooper for our photograph and a New Mexico newspaper for our state sign photograph.

Five miles into New Mexico we saw a trooper off the side of the road with a disabled motorist. We pulled safety off the road, parking a safe distance away from the officer and stepped out of our car showing my badge. I first asked if we could be of any assistance to him or the motorist and he thanked us saying that everything was under control. I then asked if he would allow me to photograph him and his patrol car, he gave he related that this was fine. Bob stood next to the officer and we got our shot.

We traveled another 25 miles until we came across our first gas station. We gassed up and got our New Mexico newspaper and headed back to the state line for our sign shot and then headed west for Albuquerque.

At mp 357 the detectors made their first alert in New Mexico on 24.1 K band. A mile ahead we observed a silver unmarked patrol car in the median.

As we entered the town limits of Albuquerque the Escort 8500 X50 alerted 38.8 while the Bel STi remained silent. Behind us was the Blinder Xtreme team using a STi and a Valentine One and reported a 38.8 alert.

A few seconds later we noticed an east bound Albuquerque Police Department vehicle.

A few months ago the Beltronics had a software revision that addressed this 33.8 issue when earlier models would sometimes block out alerts on 33.8 frequency based upon the threshold, filtering the alert as a false alert. The unit that we were using in our car did not have the 33.8 software revision, the Blinder Xtreme team had.

Being familiar with the layout of Albuquerque, we drove to the area of the Sandia Tram via county roads that were outside of the city limits. We then parked a few miles away from the check in location at 4:30 pm.

At 4:55 we drove to the lift area and took our photograph with the lift person and provided the location of the finish line, the Albuquerque Art Museum.

We snaked our way through rush hour traffic south on I-25 then west on I-40 to our exit and then processed to the finish line.

Today we ranked 14 out of the 65 cars running today’s leg, finishing 15th in overall points and 3rd in class.

Houston to Oklahoma City

Day Four of the Fireball Rally started out with the Heart Stopper Breakfast, a Denver omelet, pancakes, biscuits and gravy. After chowing down, we headed to the morning briefing and checked in for today’s leg of the event.

We were handed our sealed FexEx express envelope that contained the clues for today’s run, instructed that we were not to open it until we were on the road. We knew that we would be heading up to the Dallas Forth Worth area so we contacted a member of the RadarDetector.net forum “Outrun” who lives in that area and made arrangements for his assistance in deciphering the clues.

Last night our overall team ranking moved to sixteenth place from third, after the track results. However other competitors were still impressed with our showing as Bob and I were both rookies, competing against veteran Cannonballers.

Today was my turn to burn-up the highway with Bob acting as navigator and we chose the Whistler Pro 78 and the Bel STi as the detectors of choice for today’s comparison.

After the morning briefing we lined up our cars and at 8:00 am the green flag was waved. As we were on our way, Bob opened the envelope and today’s first passage control point was the Dallas Lamborghini dealer, with our final destination reading: “Finding a boat house in Oklahoma City is like finding a needle in a haystack nonetheless, your mission is to lose the regatta and find the boat house, Once located find a boat to tow. You’ll then be provided an envelope containing the exact location of the finish line.”

We called “Outrun” and he was able to look up the address of the Lambo dealer and we programmed it into our GPS. Jason then said that he would try to figure out the clue for OK City stop.

Twenty minutes later “Outrun”called, saying that he was sure that it was the Chesapeake boathouse adding that after finding their address and telephone number, he called and they were being very evasive.

Having what I would consider the best in speed countermeasure equipment at our disposal, we had an edge over the other Fireballers. Therefore Bob and I decided to try our best to take back our ranking on the highway, prior to the next track event in Las Vegas.

Alert One – Ka
Just as I started burning up the I-45 Interstate, we received our first alert on the Beltronics STi on 38.8 Ka, with a second Ka alert on the Pro-78 ten seconds later. I slowed down and about one mile later we observed a Texas DPS unit on the southbound lane performing a traffic stop.

After traveling a safe distance away, I opened up the throttle “North Bound and Down!”

Several other Fireballers learned of our countermeasure equipment and related to us that they would try their best to position themselves a safe distance behind us, while we acted as their “Rabbit.”

False Alert Ka band?
The Whistler Pro-78 did remarkably well in filtering out false alerts when compared to the STi, as the only alert that I would even consider happened at mp 157. The Pro-78 lit up Ka full bar while the STi was silent. The alert lasted for approximately ten seconds.

There were no towers or buildings in the area that were visible, that I felt would cause such an alert. But to be sure I slowed down waiting for some response on the Bel STi but never received one.

Looking in the mirror at this point, I saw ten other Fireballer vehicles in my mirror, all staying behind and chatting on their CB radios.

When I felt that it was again safe from the previous alert and there was a break in traffic, I opened the 540i full throttle to distance myself from the pack.

Ka Alert Two
At mp 184 the Beltronics STi chirped a few 33.8 alerts which is normally an indication of instant on. A minute later the STi and the Whistler then began chirping short bursts in unison. Three miles later, we spotted a trooper on off the parked in the tree line on the south side of the highway.

I had dropped down to a respectable speed at this point and checked my mirrors, no Fireballers were in site.

Ten minutes later, we began receiving text messages on our cell phone from other contestants, warning of the trooper we had just past and of a few others a few miles ahead.

Bob and I discussed if this was a ruse to try to slow us down, or a real warning of impending danger. Taking no chances we stayed with the flow of traffic.

We quickly learned that we fell for their trap as five Fireballers passed us in the slow lane.

As we were now entering a congested area, we allowed them to go while we increased our speed to the 80s level.

The congestion seemed to work in our favor as the other Fireballers got caught up and we were able close the gap.

Just as we were hair of taking back our front position, a vibration started in the engine area and we began hearing a loud grinding noise when I accelerated. I backed down to forty five entering Houston, hoping that we could limp into the Lambo dealer.

Fifteen minutes later we arrived at the Lambo shop while the other four cars that beat us were taking their lunch break. We contacted “Mike” the manager of the dealership and he related that he would call the BMW dealer around the corner and he would explain our situation and see if they could get us in right away.

As we pulled into the BMW Dallas service center, service writer Sue came out to great us with a small army of mechanics. Bob worked out the service details while the shops master mechanic pulled the 540i onto a lift and began plugging in computers. Another tech began checking fluid levels, and another began inspecting hoses! Bob and I looked at each other in amazement, as their entire shop became our very own pit crew.

The service manager Peter then came into the shop, offering us water or snacks!

The lead mechanic Phillip instructed his crew to check and replace several sensors and check various hoses and fittings. In forty five minutes, Peter had the BMW off the lift saying that the car was road ready and repaired. Sue had our address and credit card information and said that she would send us a bill after they figured out what to charge.

Peter commented, “We want our cars to lead the pack, so get out, drive safe and have fun.” We were back on the road.

We checked in with the Blinder Xtreme team for updates and he related that we were only twenty cars behind the lead car that were thirty five miles ahead.

We knew that these drivers would still need to get today’s Oklahoma newspaper for the state welcome sign photograph and to also find a Oklahoma State Trooper to photograph to gain bonus points for today’s leg. If we could figure out a way to accomplish these tasks in a timely manner, we would catch up and take the lead.

Alert Three – Ka
Just after leaving the Houston area, we received our next Ka alert on 34.7 on the Bel STi and a few seconds later the Whistler alerted Ka band. Approximately a mile later, we observed a Sheriff’s Office patrol car driving south.

Leon from the Blinder Xtreme team called us saying that they got today’s Oklahoma newspaper. They also related that the Oklahoma welcome sign was just past the state line, after a bridge and was difficult to see because an exit sign was posted right in front. Leon also related that there was a brick wall with “Oklahoma” text just past the sign and that other Fireballers were stopping at that for their photograph. Leon related that he would hide his paper in the area for our use.

We arrived at the state line to first recover the newspaper. As we did a Fireballer pulled up, snapped their photo at the wall and began running back to their car. I commented “That’s not a sign, that is a wall, the sign is back down the road.” The driver replied “You’re just trying to trick us and drove off.”

Fireballer rules state that the state signs must include a photo of the car, today’s state newpaper, and the driver. So we positioned ourselves in the proper position and snapped our photo. Just as we were walking back to our car another Fireballer pulled up asking to use our newspaper. Feeling charitable, I gave the co-driver the paper and the driver photographed his navigator without their car in frame. Knowing that their photo would not qualify, I asked for the paper back and we quickly drove off.

At mp 45 we were closing in behind a semi in the left lane. During the rally, we used the cover of other vehicles ahead to our advantage. As I was preparing to merge into the passing lane, the semi turned on its left turn signal and turned left. There in front of him was an Oklahoma State Trooper vehicle exiting the freeway.

I pulled behind the trooper, following him into a Shell gas station. As he exited his car I greeted him with badge in hand, asking him if he would mind posing for a photograph. Bob positioned our car next to the troopers, we shook hands and I thanked him and we drove away as he began gassing his car.

With the two bonus point details under our belt, we made a beeline for Oklahoma City.

At MP 85 we caught up with one of the Fireballers that passed us in Houston. We fell behind them a quarter of a mile. A few miles later the STi and the Whistler alerted at approximately the same time and the brake lights of the Fireballer ahead lit up.

I quickly decelerated and as the Fireballer went under an overpass. Behind a bridge pillar I saw a black and white. As I passed he was in the process of backing up and positioning his vehicle for chase. However when I looked back in my mirror, I noticed that he was pulling back into his “speed trap position.”

Nine miles south of Oklahoma City we checked our watches, 3:45. Our assignment sheet said that we could not check into our first stop until 4:30 or face disqualification. So we mapped out a strategic location where we could wait. At 3:39 we swooped into the Chesapeake boathouse with five other Fireballers.

Bob ran out to get our boat and the location of the finish line while I positioned our car for a quick get away. Bob tore open the packet removing a sheet with driving instructions for a location called the Brick House on Mickey Mantel Drive. While following the directions, something just didn’t seem right. So Bob plugged in the street name into the GPS and discovered that the instructions led us in the opposite direction. Just as I was trying to figure out a location to make a safe u-turn, a Fireballer in a blue Corvette in front made a reverse power turn and was going the same direction that our GPS indicated. I made my safe u-turn and caught up to the Vet at a traffic light.

There on the corner we saw a baseball stadium “The Brick House.” The light changed and we followed the Vet onto Mikey Mantel Drive. Looking in the mirror I saw another BMW closing down.

I stopped as Bob ran to the check point tent. A few feet away from the finish line Bob dropped our “wooden boat” and the navigator of the BMW ran past.

Last night our team “Smoky and the Bandit” finished up number three in standing for total points.

Today Fireballers headed out to the MSR Houston race track located in Angelton, Texas. During the nine day Trasncontential Fireball Rally, we have two track events, with the next being in Las Vegas Nevada.

MSR Houston is a private motorcycle and automotive race track offering advanced drivers training, track usage, race car development, and other necessities for to the racing enthusiast.

To compete in the Fireball track events, drivers must have prior track experience with certification and their cars must pass a pre track inspection.

Co Driver “The Veil Guy” received his training and certification from the NHRA while he was a drag strip enthusiast. I received my training at Bob Bondurant’s racing school at Firebird Lake in Phoenix, certified in executive protection and high performance driving.

We started the morning off with a driver safety meeting with the rules and layout of the racetrack explained.

We were then broke down into three groups; drivers with professional racing experience, drivers with prior Cannonball or Fireball racing experience, and the novice class consisting of drivers without race track experience.

Bob was scheduled for the morning group, while I was scheduled for the afternoon group.

There were a number of classes of such as; high performance, luxury, pickup truck, mid size and mussel car. Each class was then broken into groups not exceeding five cars.

Each group then had two practice runs with a track official leading the way driving the track’s line through the tight turns and corners. After the practice run we then briefed with track officials to discuss our final run.

The point run consisted of one warm lap, three race laps and then one cool down lap. Track times would not be released till later that night on the Fireballer website.

During the morning run, I stood in the pit crew area measuring speeds of the contestants in the short straight away with my Kustom Pro Laser. Speeds passing this area ran from a low of 55 to the high of 91 with the average speed around 74 mph.

I figured that if both Bob and I could feel comfortable getting the car up to at least 78 in this area, we would have a good chance of finishing the day with a higher point average.

During Bob’s run I clocked his speed at 76 in this area twice, putting us a little higher then average. However when Bob came off the track he seemed concerned about the car’s performance saying that he felt a strange vibration coming from the transmission and heard some grinding. The car was parked, allowing the engine to cool down for my afternoon run.

During my run during the warm-up and the first lap the car seemed to handle nicely and I passed the pit stop area while reading a speed of 77 on the speedometer. However as I turned into the next bank of turns the “check engine” lit up. Figuring that I didn’t want burn the car up, making our team ineligible for the remainder of the rally, I backed down while paying attention for engine noise or vibration.

After completing my run, we allowed the car to cool down and then a team member assisted us in resetting the car’s computer, while we checked all fluid levels.

Tomorrow we are off to Oklahoma City with a lunch stop somewhere around Dallas. As long as you’re not a Trooper, we invite you to watch for us along the Interstate.

At 6:00 am co-driver The Veil Guy and I began preparation for day two of the Fireball.

We first the pulled the 540i next to a dumpster unloading shovelfuls of candy wrappers, empty soda bottles and even a couple of cigar wrappers that we accumulated the day prior. We then sprayed the interior with air freshener in an attempt to deaden a “stinky sock odor”.

Both of us brought a small arsenal of detectors and handheld radar and laser guns with for our trip. Our prearranged plan was to field test as many detectors that we could, during our endurance cross country rally.

Bob and I agreed for day two, we would do a side by side comparison of the new Cobra XRS R7 with the Bel STi.

I brought my Toughbook, Garmin GPS and iPhone, used extensively to locate landmarks, download maps and to solve clues for this event.

Bob and I also had six video cameras and two digital cameras between the two of us, but both forgot purchasing tapes for recording.

After topping off our gas tank, we headed out race day two’s staging area located just off the western bank of the Mississippi River. An entourage of local media was already present taping and performing live interviews for the local news stations.

As we pulled into formation we were greeted by various local dignitaries that included Baton Rouge City Council personnel, the Chamber of Commerce President and the State Visitor’s Bureau President.

We performed a final cars inspection and checked in and received a FEDEX envelope containing the clue for the first leg of our journey and told that we were not to open the packet until we began driving on the Interstate.

At 9:00 am the count down began and a local Baton Rouge television news reporter waved us on with the green flag.

As we pulled onto the Interstate I opened the sealed envelope and read our first clue. “Proceed directly to the Red Stick – According to legend Baton Rouge’s name came from a notation on a map used by French explorer Pierre le Moyone in 1699”

With the Toughbook already fired up, I went directly to Wikipedia to try to obtain information about this ‘red stick’ with hopes of beating out other rally contestants who have been known to change and/or delete clue information on this interactive research site.

Wikipedia had vague information on the red sticks location being in the area of the state capitol so we headed off to the state house. As we pulled into the park there were already ten other Fireball cars parked infront and another ten following behind us.

Wikipedia mentioned that the Red Stick was a tall Cypress pole that was smeared with animal’s blood that apparently served as a dividing line between the city and local Indian tribes. None of us expected to find a red pole with blood, but assumed that there would be some historical marker, so Bob and other drivers fanned out and walked what seemed to be a ten acre park, while I and other navigators remained in the car doing Internet searches.

I found a link on Google Maps to a private blogger’s website making reference to the Red Stick as being located behind the Capital Building and even had a google map pointer showing its location. I waved Bob over and we drove behind the State Capitol building and found a state corrections center. There were several employees in the lot and none ever heard of anything called a “red stick” but suggested that we go over to the State Capitol Police Department located across the street.

We went over to the police building and met an officer who was in the parking lot loading his patrol car. He mentioned to us that we were the fifth person who walked into the secured parking area asking for the location of the “red stick” He too replied that he never heard of any such thing but directed us back to the park saying that there were all sorts of memorials and historical markers in the area and to check them out.

We arrived back at the park, finding that most of all the other Fireballers either had left in frustration or were tracking down a better clue. Looking up at the entrance of the State Capitol building we observed two gentleman wearing red jackets standing at the entry way. Bob sprinted up the twenty fights of stairs asking about the red stick. Both related that they also never heard anything about any red stick, but that a state historian was in the lobby and perhaps he could offer assistance.

Bob walked inside finding the first knowledgeable person on state attractions and he provided a detailed map to the location where we would find the marker of the “red stick.”

Once Bob arrived back in the car with these directions, I plugged them into our GPS and we were off to a park ten miles away on bank of the Mississippi River.

As we pulled into the park we saw the Bat Mobile and Team Blinder pulling out. They directed us to a young lady that had the next clue and mentioned that at least ten other teams had beaten them to the park.

We checked in and were then given our next clue “Do the hokey pokey and turn around as you’re about to break to one of Louisiana’s most celebrated residents; Mike VI” ancestor the legendary Mike, who tragically died as a result of kidney disease in 1956. Journey now to the den located somewhere near Death Valley”
I fired up Google and searched for “LA Mike VI death valley” and instantly came up with a page for the LSU stadium. It then made sense; the tiger mascot for LSU was named Mike. I did a search in our GPS for the LSU Stadium and headed south.

After arriving at LSU stadium we went to the glass enclosed den of Mike VI and met with a Fireball representative who then gave us our next clue, “Believe it or not, only once a year the people of Plaquemine LA find sanctuary in a tiny place which at one time even tested Ripley’s belief.”

As the clue was obvious that we would need to head to the town of Plaquemine LA, I plugged the town into the GPS. As we arrived onto the interstate, I had researched that this was named the worlds smallest church by Ripley’s Believe it or Not, that it was located on River Street, just outside of Plaquemine and had Google Map its coordinates for the GPS. We headed west on I-10 to the Iberville Parish exit.

Annoying False Alerts
While reroute to the Iberville Parish exit, we had already logged over fifty miles during which time the STi remained silent. However the Cobra XRS R7 seemed to false alert every few minutes on either K or Ka band. Feeling overwhelmed with these falses and needing Bob to to focus his attention  to driving safely in this performance event, I started to become concerned. I asked if Bob was ok with the unit and related that we needed to “know and understand our ememy, the other Fireballers”  who were using Cobra’s detectors.  I said that I would turn the unit off after getting a confimed hit on both units.

While turning off at the Iberville Parish, we noticed a small gas station with a Game and Fish pick-up at the pump. We both figured that this would be a great time to grab a cold drink and to confirm with the Game Warden that we were on the right track.

At first the game warden seemed clueless when we explained that we were looking for the Madonna Chapel Church in Plaquemine but the his eyes widened as another Fireballer pulled off the highway and headed out and stated “I know! You’re looking for the worlds smallest church, don’t follow him, I know a short cut!” The warden then penciled out a detailed map though the backwoods of Bayou country.

We thanked him and headed out following his directions. Neither Bob nor I had ever been in this part of the country and found everyone we encountered to be very kind and helpful. This was especially true when we pulled alongside an old beat up pickup truck with two elderly people seated in the bed with a few younger children in the cab to ask directions. A middle aged man replied that we were going the right way, “just continue down there a bit till you come to the Popeye’s Chicken place and turn right.”

Our country back road eventually intersected Highway One and we drove up to the Popeye’s Chicken and turned right, finding River Road.

As we neared the church we saw several other Fireballers heading the opposite way and figured that even though we may not be first, we were close to the front of the pack.

About a mile away from the church I noticed other Fireballers on a dirty road heading away into a farm field and commented to Bob, “I wonder if that is the next route we take on our next clue?”

We arrived at the church and greeted by the caretaker. We entered into the cramped quarters of the church, paid our respects and lighted a votive candle for safe journey for all Fireballers. The caretaker provided us with a packet then offered to take our photo as we stood in the doorway.

As we walked back to our car we met with another group of Fireballers who were just getting ready to depart. They asked if we had stopped on the side of the road to ask direction and related that we didn’t. He then related that he stopped to talk to a man down the road directions and then paid him five dollars to give wrong directions to anyone else.  We chuckled as I told him that I did notice some other Fireballers heading out to a farm field away from the church.

Next stop Prejean’s Restaurant in Lafayette for lunch. I fired up the address in the GPS and we were off, first heading down Route 1 to I-10 west.

As we crossed Bayou country on a network of bridges, Bob related that the LHP Sergeant  we met earlier said that his favorite area to work laser was on the Whiskey River Bridge, just west of our location.

We had tested our Blinder system and we both felt comfortable that we could easily beat out a LTI 20/20 if such an encounter should occur, but kept our eyes peeled.

STi 2 – Cobra 0
At mp 132 we received two separate short alerts on 34.7 Ka band on the Bel STi while the Cobra radar detector was silent. A mile further down the road the STi went full alert and noticed the activated blue lights of two LHP vehicles ahead, each parked on the Interstate across from our location. It wasn’t till we were almost directly across from the troopers traffic stop that the Cobra made any alert and when it did, it alerted K band.

Bob and I both commented in earlier postings on our blogs what we observed as being a very narrow off center of axis problem with the Cobra unit. This very same situation was witnessed again during this encounter when the Cobra would not alert on off axis police radar signal, until the unit was very close in proximity to the originating source.

At this point my sensory perception as today’s navigator was becoming overwhelmed by the Cobra’s falsing, so I shut the unit off and made it my first project to remove the unit when we arrived at our lunch stop.

During our stop we were treated to some home-style Cajon cooking, none of which I can pronounce let along spell. The meal was a bit spicy but wonderful. After our meal, we were provided with our next clue packet to open once back on the road. I disassembled the Cobra detector and installed my trusted friend, the Bel RX65.

At this time, the Blinder Xtreme team phoned me and related that his Blinder had gotten lit up on the Whiskey River Bridge by a trooper. His co-driver Ray, had slowed down after the Blinder laser jammer activated and the trooper never gave chase.

Once back on the road we opened our packet and our next clue read “Today’s finish line is located just under the largest fire hydrant in Texas.” This time I pulled out my iPhone, brought up Google and searched for Largest Fire Hydrant Texas and immediately brought up a page for the Texas Fire Museum located in Beaumont Texas. I plugged in the address into the GPS and we were off, back on I-10 heading west.

Here Bob commented that he felt more within his element by having two detectors running simultaneously that he knew that he could depend on and opened up his 540i to a respectful speed on the open highway.

The driver packet indicated if we arrived at the finish line prior to 3:00 pm, we would be disqualified from the event, as this would indicate speeding. We checked the estimated time of arrival to the finish line on our GPS and it indicated 2:15. However we still had two other assignments that we had to complete, a photograph of our car at the Texas welcome sign and a photo of a Texas DPS officer standing next to our car.

K band alert
The only radar detector alert we encountered after our lunch stop was a K band alert at MP 10 in LA. Both detectors alerted simultaneously and in a few moments we noticed a Sheriff’s vehicle on a traffic stop.

At the Texas State line Welcome Center, we bribed another Fireballer for their Texas newspaper and we snapped our picture.

Then through some intel work though some contacts we have in Texas, we learned that there was a Texas DPS substation located in the rear of a licensing office outside of Beaumont. Upon arrival we found the station closed, but found a trooper gassing his patrol car up in the side equipment yard.

We introduced ourselves and explained our quest. He related that he would be happy to offer his assistance and graciously posed for our photograph. As we still had over 45 minutes to kill, Bob began asking the trooper about the speed enforcement equipment that he and his department used. The trooper related that all of his radar and laser equipment was from Stalker (a Texas based company). Bob then asked if he had seen or used the new Pro Laser Lite from Kustom as he removed it from our arsenal of speed equipment. The Trooper walked over to the higway frontage with the Kustom gun and began shooting the Interstate traffic at over 1500 feet away. The officer commented that he liked the guns performance and the ease of use.

Still having a fifteen minute window we thanked the trooper and drove to a staging area around the corner from the finish line. At exactly 2:57 pm, we drove out with a few other Fireballers that had gathered into the parking lot of the Fire Museum.

We checked in, provided proof of our assignment photographs and headed over to the chow line.

During the next hour the remainder of the Fireballers pulled into the finish lane, many commenting that they had not completed that day’s assignments.

After the qualifying drivers checked in the mayor, fire chief and tourism president came up to the Fireball stage welcoming us to their fine town and presented trophies.

Team “Smoky and the Bandit” Beaumont – First in Texas…

Day one of the Fireball Transcontinental Rally.

Last night we received our driver packet with instructions that our first leg was to start at the Amway Center in Orlando. It also stressed that this rally was not for speed or best time, but to obtain points during our coast to coast journey while arriving at the various legs during a predetermined timed window. If we arrived too early it would indicate that you were speeding and you were disqualified. Arrive too late; you’re disqualified for that day’s leg of the race. For leg one, organizers estimated that it would take eight to nine hours to drive from Orlando to the Mississippi/Louisiana state line, a distance of just over 600 miles.

I was then notified that my sponsored car, the TransCon Ambulance had blown its driveshaft while driving down from Indiana and that they were in the process of trying to locate another. It was doubtful that they would make it to the first leg of the race.

Assignments for the day:

Assignment one was photographing at least three State troopers with patrol car while it was parked next to your car with driver.

Assignment two was to photograph each states welcome sign while holding a newspaper dated 9/29/2007 with the car in the background.

Assignment three was a riddle to solve that we were given upon departure of the Amway Center. The riddle, “chill out with the Queen of Bagdad”.

Prior to arriving at the starting point, I fired up my Garmin Zumo GPS and located a FHP barracks that was on our way. As we were pulling in, a Lieutenant FHP officer was checking into work. I identified myself as a retired deputy and began telling him about the rally. He stopped me mid sentence while chuckling and related that all the troopers in Florida were aware of the race and he would allow us to photograph him and his car because he understood that our race was a charity event aimed at raising money for the “Missing Children’s Network.” However he requested that we drive smart and safe.

The Veil Guy posed for the photograph, thanked the Lieutenant and we were off for the staging of the event.

At 8:00 am we arrived at the Amway Center, checked in and made final adjustments to our car. At 9:00 am the Orlando Police Department provided a motorcycle escort for the seventy plus cars entered into the rally, onto Interstate 75.

Once on the Highway I did a Google on my laptop and found that there was a Dairy Queen just off of I-10 in Bagdad Florida, riddle solved.

As we were aware that the Florida Highway Patrol use mostly Ka radar, we decided that we would pair up the Beltronics Sti radar detector along side the Valentine One and do a side by side comparison of the two.

Alert One – 35.5
It didn’t take long for our first alert as just ten miles north, the V1 radar detector gave a short alert for Ka and a second later the Bel STi went into full tilt alerting at 35.5 (Ka Band). As we crested an overpass a half mile away we saw a FHP vehicle parked in the median running instant on radar.

Alert Two – 34.7
About fifteen miles later the STi alerted first to a 34.7 (Ka band) and a few seconds later the Valentine One lit up indicating Ka band. We crested another overpass that was over a mile away from our first alert and saw that a “Fireballer” pulled over with a trooper standing next to the driver’s side door.

Alert Three – 34.7
The coast was clear the next fifty miles till our STi detector lit up again at 34.7. The Valentine radar detector lagged behind a good three seconds before it first alerted Ka. Ahead we saw a trooper parked in a row of trees in the median approximately a mile from our first warning.

At 10:45 am we arrived at the I-10 turn off and headed west. It was here that I began explaining to my co-driver the reason for the painted horizontal lines that crossed the pavement in sections. These I related were used to measure distance at predetermined locations so police could measure speed using VASCAR or another timing device from patrol cars or aircraft. I cautioned him to slow down after crossing the first set of lines and count out at least another set prior to speeding up, to avoid these types of speeding violations. Just as I finished, the “Blinder Dude” from Blinder Xtreme Team called on my cell phone relating that he was forty five miles behind me and that he had just received a citation for doing 91 in a 70 and that he was clocked by aircraft.

Alert Four – 34.7
West through the panhandle of Florida seemed pretty uneventful the first 150 miles. During this leg we had the Astron Martin, another BMW, and the Ferrari Spider all taking turns at the rabbit position (lead car in pack). Just 20 miles east of our Bagdad stop, co-driver The Veil Guy took lead with the Aston Martin a quarter mile behind. As we crossed a clearing of trees in the median, we saw an approaching FHP vehicle east bound approaching us, as the Veil Guy started to decelerate, both detectors lit up simultaneously, giving us a good indication that we were just nailed with deadly instant on.

In the mirror we both noticed the FHP vehicle turn into the median and as he pulled onto the pavement the Aston Martin pulled into the right lane allowing the officer to cross and to give chase.

Pretty much knowing that our goose was cooked; we pulled into the shoulder and awaited our punishment. As the trooper’s car pulled up behind, horns of the Aston, BMW and Ferrari gave short beeps as they passed.

The trooper walked up to the driver’s side and asked the same question that I uttered thousands of times before in my law enforcement career, “Do you have any idea how fast you were going?” Bob, being an old pro with several tickets under his belt from prior encounters just sat there with a dumbfounded look and uttered, “No, was I speeding officer?” He replied, yes, ninety in a seventy mile an hour zone. After Bob offered up his driver’s license, I asked the officer if he needed to see my identification too as I removed my license from my retired sheriff’s badge case. He asked where I was an officer and I replied that I was from Arizona and that I was on business (didn’t say police business) and had met with a Lt. (dropping a name) from his agency earlier that day.

He walked back to his car and a few moments later came back telling us that we needed to slow down…..

Realizing we had lucked out at this encounter, we maintained a respectable speed until pulling into the Dairy Queen. Here several of our teammates were waiting to see if we were going to make it into the check in. The clerk of the Dairy Queen then also came out  saying that she had heard over the FHP scanner that troopers were lined up waiting for a group of Fireballers twenty miles out, that someone had called in that we were driving over 140 MPH.

The Veil Guy and I both chuckled saying that we were not part of that group, however we had been pulled over for doing ninety.

We picked up a Florida newspaper for the photo shoot at the state line and completed our assignment at the “Queen of Bagdad” and heading back onto the Interstate. At this time the “Blinder Dude” called on his cell phone saying that the white Corvette had been stopped doing 140 mph and that the driver was arrested and taken to jail.

Alert Five – 34.7
A few miles west of Bagdad after going underneath an overpass, we received a 34.7 alert on both detectors simultaneously. Looking over into the entrance ramp, I observed a FHP vehicle clocking west bound traffic from behind.

Alert Six – 34.7
A few miles west of the state line we got another 34.7 alert simultaneously on both detectors as we passed a thick grove of trees in the center median. We never saw an officer, but assumed from the nature of the alert, that one was on the other side of the median shooting east bound traffic.

After crossing into Alabama, we pulled into the rest area and scrounged through some trash bins to find a newspaper for the Alabama welcome sign. Finding several, we took them all (as not to leave any for other contestants) and rode over the State welcome signs and got our first set of photographs.

Driving on the bay bridge on I-10 approaching Mobile, the STi went full tilt 34.7 for at lease one mile while the V1 remained silent till it started finally it began chirping. Over on the east bound lane we saw what appeared to be a police light bar pass behind a cement bunker.

Here we fired up the GPS locating the area Highway Patrol Office in downtown Mobile. Here we saw several Highway Patrol cars, but no officers. We then searched the GPS again and found another AHP barracks a few miles west.

Alert Seven – 10.506 X band!
A mile south of the barracks the STi indicated that we were getting a strong alert on 10.506 X band and the V1 was also alerting to X band. First we brushed it off as a false alert until we noticed as we approached the GPS location the signal was getting stronger.

We arrived finding a parked Alabama Highway Patrol car with an antique Python dual band antenna system installed in the car, parked behind an empty double wide trailer. Bob and I both commented that we were glad that this car was parked as normally we both shrug off X band alerts as false alerts as they are so rare.

The remainder of our journey through Alabama was pretty much uneventful and we pulled into our semi final staging area at a rest area at MP 2. Here we turned in our packets and several troopers from Louisiana were staging to provide our group with a police escort to Baton Rouge.

I chatted with the Sergeant who related that his troop used the LTI 20/20 laser gun exclusively on I-10. I asked him if he ever encountered a car with laser jammers and he related that he had never heard of such a thing. I grabbed my Kustom Ultralyte laser gun from the our car and handed it to the Sergeant as another Fireballer with a set of Blinder M20’s installed on his Chrysler pulled into the rest area and asked him to shoot. At first he seemed somewhat confused at not obtaining a reading and then commented that I should get my laser gun checked out and calibrated.

As the Bat Mobile drove in with an Escort 8500 X50 that I provided for the rally, I asked  Batman and Robin if they had any police encounters and they related that they made the first day of the race ticket free, but that they had gotten allot of stares from parked troopers and passing motorists.

As cut off time approached for the semi final check in approached all the Fireballers lined up their cars. Leading the pack were two LHP patrol cars and to the rear there was one LHP patrol car. At exactly 6:00 pm we headed into Louisiana from with a full police escort.

The officers provided us escort through the state on I-10 until we arrived at Baton Rouge. Here the Baton Rouge Police Department took over and provided escort to the motel, arriving at 7:15 pm.

Day one was a blast and we all arrived safely minus one competitor.

After the today’s event another competitor commented that our regiment of radar detector tests that we were performing, maybe the most intense “real world comparison test” that has ever been performed and that he would be interested in the results so he could gear up for this springs Cannonball Run.

Today was the first meeting of all the racing contestants and getting the cars decaled, inspected and checked in. I took this as an opportunity to checkout all the cars while my teammate the “Veil Guy” made last minute tune ups to our BMW 540i sport.

My first project was checking out all the speed countermeasure equipment that many of the cars were using and I was shocked and somewhat disappointed in what I saw.

First off entry into this race is not cheap, it costs over $10,000.00 for the full entry. The cars are not cheap either. There is an Aston Martin, a couple of Bentleys, a few Lambos, a Ford GT40, and couple of Ferrari to boot. But when it came to radar detectors I was shocked to see that some of these drivers really skimped in this area, counting six Cobra’s, one RMR C-450, and even a KAT!

I chuckled when I passed the car with the Rocky Mountain Radar jammer as he was bragging to another driver how his unit was able to jam out all police radar and laser thinking to myself “I wonder how many miles he is going to make it before he gets his first ticket and finds out what a POS detector he really had.”

There were many drivers however that did do their homework and two even mentioned that they had been reading my blog and forum prior to the race and did make some smart buys.

On the high end of the radar detector spectrum I counted four Bel RX65’s, four Escort 8500 X50’s, two Valentine One’s, one Bel STi and one Escort 9500i. One Aston Martin driver that identified himself as a Radar Detector net forum member took me to his ride to show off his Blinder M40, his Veiled headlamps and a SR7.

I then met with the owner of the “Bat Mobile” while he was in the process of installing his Escort 8500 X50 to the dual cockpit style curved windshields. It was certainly a challenge installing the unit above the rocket launcher and booster rocket switches.

Tomorrow at 7:00 am we line up and depart for our first leg of the race, Baton Rouge LA.

Check in tomorrow night for more updates.