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Bull Run rally


TomoHawk

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Is anybody watching the Bull Run rally on Spike TV? (Tuesdays 10p, re-airs Thursday 11p)

What do you think about the format of this rally; the day part is a 300 - 400 mile run from one city to the next, then an "Extended competition" (obstacle course) in the afternoon or evening, then a night run to the next city.

I like giving the teams a choice of a chosing the highway course, called "highway" or driving on their own routes, called "my way." Picking up a time bonus on the "my way" route seems to be a great thing if you're a little behind in time.

The best thing about the road course part is that they aren't making a big thing about the cars driving 100+ MPH the whole time, because they aren't. It just shows that you can compete at legal speeds.

busting the bulbs in the obstacle course looks like fun, but some of the teams don't really like having to scratch up the paint to do it. I'm not sure I'd like that even with the bumpers on the 280Z. Aren't those bulbs filled with Mercury vapor?

the flag babes are a nice touch, but I think they could rethink their costumes just a little, and they don't smile much. :( maybe a $10 fine for every time the TV camera catches them not smiling will fix that.

They initially said that the Bull Run rally is for exotic cars? I don't see how a Honda, or a TransAm or W-30 Olds is considered exoytic? And that cars are supposed to be invited to compete, but even that is a strange thing. According to the Sponsor, you need to get your car on CarDomain, and people vote on it to get into the rally.

Any of you west coast guys notice the rally or the TV support crews?

thx

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Yeha I saw the 1st episode :)

I was highly impressed with some of the thought that went into this but the elimnation part is pretty Lame.

You figure if someone is allways eliminated every week then pretty soon it will it will be a race between 2 cars.

Or worse, 3 or 4 cars that are to far apart where no ones close to each other for head to head on the street competion like what you see now when theres 3 cars at a time trying to pass each other in traffic ^_^

As far as paint on the cars go I thought about that too when I saw the F150 crash through wall as part of the competition.

But you figure if you enter in a race of anykind other than a Street Race or casual Track Meet then you better plan on using the low grade stuff because things such as Guard Rails, Concreat Walls (ouch), and the dude diving in on the inside of your apex is gonna take paint.

Or so I read in a article on selecting paint for either Street, Track or Show use.

Track is cheap

Street is whatever

and Concurs is expensive

So anyone entering Bull Run needs to grab a rattle can :cheeky:

2 for a buck at the Dollor Store,

your choice of colors !

~Z~

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If you win the thing, and you get the $200,000 , then I suppose you can afford some more bodywork, and maybe even refresh the whole car, except for the F-150 and the TransAm, which are fairy new anyway, and would just need some paint on the front.

I'm surprised none of the csars has a bra on the front.

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Does anyone know when the Bull Run rallies actually occured? Like when was Spike TV out there with Carmen Electra & the 'flag babes' & all recording the show? This article is from the Reno, NV stop two years ago (Summer 2005), so maybe that's when they were there, not in March of this year, as I doubt WA has nice weather in March. There was also a statement by the shows organizer/producer, Andrewn Duncan.

They invite feedback on the show, but it's probably too late to suggest anything, unless they have this rally series again sometime.

I'm kinda surprised that there weren't any purpose-built cars more apt to compete & win (with a very good driving team) on the show. That, and an overall map of the sections that were used. I'll have to watch the next 6 weeks ofthe series to see where they went.

thx

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  • 2 weeks later...

For you northwest U.S. property owners, this is where the Bull Run rally has been to so far ( 4/17)

Whitefish, MT

Athol, ID

Seattle, WA

Portland,OR

Winchester Bay, OR

Redding, CA

Vallejo, CA

Alameda,CA

Reno,NV

winnemucca,NV

Elko, NV

Wendover, UT

Salt Lake City, UT

Anybody have an idea of how you could map that entire route, and maybe post a picture of the map?

BTW- the Nissan 240SX was eliminated on the first day. :hurt:

6 more legs to go (6 shows/weeks) SPIKE TV, 10pm ET, Tuesdays

thx

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FYI, here are the rules ( the ones that were posted to the BullRun forum):

1. No GPS or Satellite Navigation systems can be used.

2. No cell phones.

3. No laptop computers.

4. No radio or CD player.

5. Speeding = severe penalties. Arrest = disqualification.

6. Each start of day, cars can only leave when instructed to do so.

7. Cars must start and finish each day under their own power, or the power of their drivers.

8. Cars outside the maximum time allowed for each leg get picked up by the ‘reaper’ and towed – they’re then out.

l

#1: obviously no help allowed because they want you to navigate so you can get lost!

#4 is an odd rule. Why no music? It could be considered a safety measure, but not allowing the radio, means you'll need teamwork to keep going & to keep your sanity. There may be another reasons ( interferes with the cabin-cam?).

#6 could use some clarification. In the show, it looks like a kind of LeMans start, but if they're timing the cars, they should wait for the starter to tell them when to leave, and the mad dash you see on TV could be for show, or to see who gets to start first, which has some effect on the finish order, because you can employ tricks like blocking the road so a car can't get ahead of you.

Some lamers on the BullRun forum were claimining that the show is lame because they mistakenly think it's a "race." Nope... it's a Rally, so speed isn't exactly the highest priority. They stress the highway-legal speeds constantly, and that's a good thing, IMO. You'll even see the occasional message on the bottom reminding you that "driving while tired is bad" or other stuff (peeing while driving?) So I'll side with the show's producers, who are giving you entertainment without glorifying the illegal stuff. Then they even throw in the extended challenge in the mid-day- checkpoint to help even things out- or mess you up more, depending.

There has only been one incident yet (currently on Day 6) that had one team video another speeding (Rule #5), and things almost got physical at the end of the day. Mr. Goldberg should have reminded the teams they need to police themselves, so if one team messes up, that the breaks, even though there are two camera cars, and a helicopter constantly there with the video going.

IMO, Mr. Goldberg's un-aired comments are very funny! For a big guy with attitude, money, and a repputation, he can really be a sport with the practical jokes on himself.

I would like to see a little documentation about how the show is put on. I figure there are two teams of girls, trucks, and RVs. They're constantly leap-frogging to set up the next day's stop so it's ready when the cars get there in the afternoon for the checkpoint/competition, then in the evening. Too bad the show is long over, so maybe they'll do it the next time.

thx

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snip

BTW- the Nissan 240SX was eliminated on the first day. :hurt:

snip

Negative. The Scion TC was eliminated at the end of day 1... The 240sx went out the end of day 2 due to engine failure. They killed their RB26 with low oil pressure. The F150 is a joke and an insult to the comptetion... the wife and I are hoping the Trans Am wins (although her second fav team is the Lotus... she likes the fellas mohawk). We also joked about putting the Z, with about $12k I think I could build mine into a winner minus a pretty paint job.

Last year Ed and I saw a bunch of "real" Bull Run cars on our way back from the NorthEast Z adventure in Syracuse. Mostly expensive exotics (ie: many Lambos and AMG MB's).

I too have been curious about the flourescent bulb busting. They are charged with Mercury Vapor and Argon or Neon. Heck, even some landfills won't take them.

Nate

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Were those pics from the BullRun "Race?" The one where they actually drive fast, and no Spike TV/Bill Goldberg? The story on the (police car) must be interesting, and I'm sure it had raised a few eyebrows, even in the U.S.

I'd love to run the rally, or any rally, FTM, but I don't think my car is up to it, mechanically. IMO, the car is limited to 3500 RPM or 70 MPH with the engine & trans combination it has, but the gas mileage is decent (about 300 miles/tank.)

The choice of navigator shouldn't be too hard for me. I'm easy to get along with, and my style of driving is easy to learn ( I just like some lead time before lane changes/exits/turns/etc.) That's why I like my Mapopolis software.

Finding a navigator close to home is tough tho; everybody's busy. I could probably pick one up someplace, like on the way, like you suggest.

thx

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