Thread: 1st annual Spring 2008 "Tail of the Dragon" meet - April 4, 5, 6
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Old Apr 8, 2008 | 02:56 PM
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JaneBridges
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From: Vincennes, Indiana
Default re: 1st annual Spring 2008 "Tail of the Dragon" MEET!
My friend Julie wrote this article about this past weekend. I'm very touched by it and want to share it with you all. Unfortuantely, I can't get the picture to transfer. I'm hoping someone out there will help me get these pictures on this forum so you can see what I would love to share.





Oh Whatta Rush!


Ever wish someone would give you a really Hot car? Someone loaned me a HOT car for the weekend and I gotta tell y’all about it. A luscious beast of a car, Crossfire SRT6 tames 316 curves in 11 miles with ease, but not without a raised heart rate and massive dose of adrenaline. My adrenaline buddy and adrenaline (gotta have more) dealer is Dr. Jane Bridges. She is owner of not one but two SRT6s. One is setup for road course, usually the enclosed kind such as Putnam Park, usually #26. The other is the daily dose dispenser, #61. Both are charcoal and externally identical baring a few numbers on the IU license plates. Also, the racer version sports Michelins "streetable" race tires and the other OEM Continentals.
Crossfireforum.org group held a Crossfire gathering at Fontana Village Resort, NC April 4, 5 & 6 of 2008. It was a stereotypical lodge for a mystic mountainous area in the Smoky Mountains National Park. It is a sacred place. Our sins there this weekend will eventually be forgotten. Some folks touted 30 mpg while some of us more aggressive drivers polluted at the rate of 20-24mpg in these God-given 6 bangers. The VW Rabbits, oh, I mean, GTIs added to the noise pollution. The sound of a happy Crossfire is music. My radio was off.
There were four or five dozen Crossfires of various years, colors, coupe, and roadsters. Some sported modifications while most had their classic beauty in tact. Pictures can be found at killboy.com and US129photos.com. As normal now in the digital age the picture taking was abundant, especially the morning we all gathered the Crossfires at Fontana Dam. Killboy was there for the professional shoot. The glorious smoke of the Great Smokey Mountains hung seemingly unreal in front of us and often enough, right on top of us.
US129 between the Foothills Parkway and Deals Gap, NC is the world famous Tail of the Dragon. Famous motorcycle world champions have hung items on the Tree of Shame there in Deals Gap including MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden of Owensboro, KY. They are items signifying many misjudgments slaying the Dragon. Even though motorcyclists come from across the country to push it in the 319 closely nested curves, automobile drivers utilize their autocross skills for satisfaction. The mental struggle is to keep it on the safe side (right of yellow, left of white). There is a bit of a roulette challenge that the oncoming drivers stay on their own side on a road course that is famous for deaths and varied tragedies. Successes are cherished.
There was only one totaled Crossfire SRT6 on the Tail that weekend. The driver and passenger are fortunate and fine. They were Dragon Tailers from the area. Never take fire for granted either. The passenger had totaled his Crossfire the week before the gathering. With all the forgiving embellishments of ABS and Traction Control, the cars still have a human factor.
Hellbender 28 is a stretch of US28 in North Carolina that allows for longer acceleration before heavy braking. Without further elaboration, there was an overdose for a few folks. Hellbender is a favorite.
Charohala Skyway is a highway that runs across the Charohala Mountain range in North Carolina. As an event, a caravan of Crossfires made a big loop through US129, US143, and Hellbender28. It was loads of fun to drive. The visibility in the skyline was often reduced to ten feet when the altitude was around 5,000 feet. The normal ability to see for miles was robbed by the moisture. This might have been good as we were then able to focus on the task at hand – not crunching a valuable machine and staying alive. The highway cost $100,000,000 to construct yet not the slightest bit straight.
Dr Jane has my appreciation and I consider her the world’s most generous racer. She is tough on the road and sweet in the heart. Thank you, Dr. Jane! It was also a pleasure to share her Crossfireforum.org friends, but not least her great friends Barb and Gary!
Julie Grundhoefer
Ref: tailofthedragon.com