the traveller in me wakes up...

..and I meet the FASTEST INDIAN in the world -Narain karthikeyan

2010-10-30T23:28:00.000-04:00

one fine day, when I was browsing through the nascar website, something struck my mind...wait a minute..I'm sure I know somebody from India drives a NASCAR (apart from me .. lol ) ..that is who we all know as the fastest indian in the world -Narain Karthikeyan !!

NK started his NASCAR venture with the team Starbeast motorsports driving a Chevy truck in the NASCAR Truck series. more on this later.

now while browsing through NK's site I realized he lives in Charlotte, NC. I then quickly found 'contact' link on his website and quickly emailed his manager..but I never heard back.

I forgot about it all..

then, for whatever reason I can't remember, I looked up the truck series schedule and was pleasantly surprised to see a race coming up at Talladega Super speedway..it's a 2 hr drive away for me. Back to 'contact' link on NK's site..found NK's manager's (in India) number and quickly called him..guess what, the request to meet him at the racetrack was treated positively and he said he'll work on it..

I did not hear from him for quite a few days and then comes the surprise ..an email from Megan Nagle ,PR and Media Rep. of Starbeast Motorsports. It was about the 'meeting' ..then on, we got onto discuss about this 'meet NK' event. That's it...I was set to meet the man who has made India famous in the motorsports field.

I respect him for all the achievements he's had by far..stuff we all dream of doing but end up nowhere close..

..and then Megan called me on friday and gave me Narain's Schedule. He had a drivers meeting at 11.00 and he would be free by 12 ish..wasn't a problem at all for me coz I had absolutely nothing planned for the saturday..Atlanta to Talladega Speedway is a 2 hr drive and so I planned to leave at around 9.30am so I'd reach by 11.30 with 1/2hr to spare considering the traffic around the track area..sounds like a plan right? what can go wrong ? no ?

..and then the worst did happen...friday night was Halloween party time and yupp..I had my fair share of 'flavoured' water...ok ok I had a lot of it..totally forgot the next day's drive. reached home by 4 am and passed out..see..now you can almost guess what happened eh...ya ya ya..woke up at 9.15 am and quickly did my morning duties and drove off at 9.45am..now this was getting very close to disastrous but nothing was lost..

drove faster than I should have ,which is quite normal around Atlanta. Now remember all that 'flavoured' water always has to trouble you the next day..the trouble called Hangover..I'm no superhuman and it hit me too..quite bad and an hr into my drive I even regretted my decision and thought of driving back but then, I kept going anyway..once I got into Alabama the speed limit dropped down from 70 (in Georgia) to 55 mph.

not everybody knows that..the 25 harley group did not. they ripped past by at 90's..i did not want to get ticketed and my throbbing headache ensured I drove within the speed limits..the time? well, I was going to reach bang at 12.00..didn't get too worried..

I guess I spoke too soon..remember the bikers, well, guess what, one of them crashed out big time with parts of his bike strewn all around the median...he was alive..don't know the extent of injury though...this created a mess of the traffic..3 mile pile up..howz that..now I was screwed..messaged Megan about this so she'd know. cleared my way and got back on track with a 15 minute delay. Luckily there was no traffic and I reached at 12.15pm..

and parked up..I did not expect this big a crowd considering it was truck series and not the chase series.

I was late and did get things out of schedule..did that affect my meeting ?

...now late I was..reached at 12.15 for a 12.00 appointment. quickly called Megan and apologized for being late but she said " all is ok..don't worry..Narain is just 10 minutes into his drivers meeting..it'll take a while..let me know where I can spot you and call me from there "...I hung up and then started to wonder..his meeting was at 11.00..did the meeting time get postponed? did he get pissed off that I was not on time? what to do next?

that's when I realized this stupid thing called time zone..Georgia is in Eastern time zone (GMT -5 hours) and Alabama is in central time zone (GMT -6 hours)..meaning my 12.15pm was actually 11.15 am..dang ..so I was actually early..blame this on hangover (hey..somebody has to be blamed eh) So now, I had all of 45mins to spend before my meeting at north tunnel.

cont'd

a taste of Southern Hospitality

2010-05-15T21:56:00.000-04:00

Southern hospitality is a phrase used in American English to describe the generalization that residents of the Southern United States are particularly warm and welcoming to visitors to their homes, or to the South in general....and last weekend, i had a taste of that and bucket loads of that !!

Rodney Jacobs, my Manager where I work lives in a 25 acre property which is actually in the middle of nowhere. yupp. its woods everywhere and plonk in the center is the house.

He had been talking about his fishing trips and all the hunting and generally about the things he keeps doing. I just mentioned that I need to see his house. and guess what, there came up the plan to meet at his place for dinner. he asked if i was ok with that plan..hell ya...what better job do i even have on a saturday in a lazy town.

So I picked up a bottle of white wine and drove down to his place which is 18 miles away from where I live. pulled into the mudpath which is his driveway only to get jolted by a speeding go kart.WTF. It was Rodney with his characteristic smile who just did his levels best to scare me. Then he sped along and took me to his home.

now his house is something everybody will like. a complete resort of sorts. calm, silent,serene, no noisy neighbours, no traffic noise. cool climes. swimming pool to dip in, pool table, gym etc.

phew..when i'm still soaking all this , Rodney suggests we tour his property. I thought we'd be walking in the thick woods but no..hes got other plans. go kart !!

this machine (made by Maxxam) is monstrous I tell you. very very torquey. those tyres will grab anything like a leech. awesome grip. that roll cage ensures no branches come and hit you in the face. We then blasted across the woods. and then, after the tour is over with, its time to see more of the go karts capabilities. we go across the highway to a mud road and thats where it shows different colors. Rodney goes drifting in it and powersliding et all. it was just awesome and I could not have gotten enough of it.

after all this adrenaline rush, we went back to his home and picked up his truck with his boat tagging along and went to a creek where we would get the boat into the creek and then into the river.The flint river. The river looked rather dirty but i was told it is muddy coz of the rains.

The boat was a Grumman fishing boat with a 50hp Mercury marine engine. Now, down here, they take fishing very seriously. after a car and a truck , boat is the next valid important investment of these southerners. Various types of boats are available depending on the purpose of usage. this was a fishing boat whose purpose is to just cruise around the river/lake and get perched up in some corner from where one would fish. does that mean this is slow? no way..this is quite fast too.fast enough to be lethal. lethal coz this boat cannot handle the big waves that get generated as 'wake' caused by other boats.

the other types of commonly bought boats are the water skiing boats which are rather fast and have wider hulls to handle wake and cut thru them coz skiing needs speed.

yet another type is called pontoons. these are not hull based design. they have two huge air filled long tube on which a flat body is attached. this is made for a relaxing cruise around the lake/river. it usually has a big sofa and a bed for sun bathing too. its a lounge mobile of sorts. seen people make a barbeque while on a pontoon.
The ways of having fun.
enough of digressing. by now, we had got our boat into the creek (which is more like a cross road) which leads into the river. I was taken aback by the vast number of people who drive up in their RV (campers) along with boats, park alongside the river on timeshare properties and just lounge around. its their fave activity. we then reach the river. interestingly, these guys don't use the river haphazardly. they use all their road manners on rivers too. LHD. yupp. they ride along on the right side of the river with oncoming boats to the left. I like that kinda sense and sensibility. River is where all the action is. this is where i see all kinds of people water skiing, jet skiing or lounging around on pontoons. some people even dock on the side and go swimming and diving. all this in a river which has alligators. wow. the 2nd last creation of GOD that I'd like to avoid at all costs. snakes take the 1st place.

this river feeds into a lake called lake Blackshear and we rode the boat till the lake and turned around at the marina. the marina is like a big parking lot of sorts for boats. there is a small man made beach of sorts out there, a club a resort etc to hang around. We then turned around to get back to the creek where we started out from. passed by many such creeks. now this creeks also serve for stopovers for people to buy stuff for fishing and stuff for fishermen..mostly beer and fuel. Returned to home base and in time to start cooking.Rodney made fish fry and french fries and coleslaw. after a sumptuous dinner with wine,we went around and toured his touring bus.it is a fantastic ride to have. it is perfect to go holidaying in with place for 6 people.its got a refridgerator, microwave, 2 Audio video setups (for the front and rear lounges), dining tables,shower , toilets and a place for six people to sleep and closets,

Rodney pops a surprise. takes me to the truck we've been riding in and opens to rear door. HOLY QUAKERMOLY !! there were a dozen guns in the back !! all types of them. pistols to rifles to shot guns...

phew. that sight was something else. but then, thats not the whole deal. we went target shooting !! He lives in the woods and has no neighbours to worry about. Him and I started shooting at a Target. I got to fire from all the guns he had and boy was it fun. It is really not that bad to focus on a target. i did not hit the bulls eye but i got close. all that from a novice. the best of them all was the 12 gauge shot gun. the target board would not serve the purpose. he had a spare plastic hood of a lawnmower. set that up and he fired once. half the hood gone. then it was my turn. to my surprise, i blew it to pieces. man..i could not believe it. guess what, i think i'm hooked onto it. I may go back for more shooting soon. I'll have to buy ammunition though.
after it got dark, went back home for desserts and then after chatting around for a lil while longer, ended my day.got back home.phew what a day.

see picture slideshow below

Formula Drift 2010 @ Road Atlanta

2010-05-09T00:58:00.000-04:00

was always curious about Drifting and had seen enough and more videos but when i got a chance to see it, there was no way in hell that I'd miss it.

Drifting refers to a driving technique and to a motorsport where the driver intentionally oversteers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels through turns, while maintaining vehicle control and a high exit speed. A car is said to be drifting when the rear slip angle is greater than the front slip angle prior to the corner apex, and the front wheels are pointing in the opposite direction to the turn (e.g. car is turning left, wheels are pointed right or vice versa), and the driver is controlling these factors.

the above is obviously not the stuff that i can type out. pulled it out from Wikipedia.

Formula Drift is a championship which is held nationwide and features some top notch teams and privateers. its very much like INRC that we have. privateers who impress the sponsors get sponsorship deals. Need For Speed did sponsor one such privateer.

enough of digressing. This event that i went to was held at Road Atlanta which is a motorsports park.

they have a calendar of events covering all types of track races. This is known to be one of the best racetracks too (they claim). The days events actually started in the noon with free practice for all participants starting at 2pm. I planned my travel such that I'd reach there by 1pm just so i could get to see these cars up close. I parked up and walked towards the Paddock/Pits area.passed by some nice cars on my way...

went ahead to the Paddock area where all the participating cars were being worked upon. I wanted to get a close up look at these cars coz there has to be something magically different in these cars to make them go sideways.Just as i entered, my attention went towards to the far corner of the area where i saw tyre smoke and rumbling V8's. it was the dodge stall !!

and those V8's rumbling were Challengers and Chargers in SRT 8 HEMI's. they were drifting in a track made specially by Dodge. this had nothing to do with the actual competition. stood and watched it for a while and then i saw this..a board which said FREE THRILL RIDES .

oh yes. thats when i realized that the passenger seat was part of the thrill ride on these drifting 425HP V8's. left the rest of my paddock visit to air and got in line for this ride of a lifetime.this is where my eyes where stuck on all through the wait for my turn.

and when my turn did come, what a ride it turned out to be..watch this video and esp the 2nd half which is just phenomenal. must watch

guess what , i got greedy and went again :) while i was waiting for my 2nd turn, this is what this guy with the charger did...he did this super awesome burnout...!!

after all this adrenaline rush, i went to the track coz the knockout session had already begun.i walked up to the viewing area and marked up my space. it was gonna be at the spot where i could get as close to the cars as possible at a turning. no zoom zoom on my camera (busted).

and then it happened..the 350Z ,which was fitted with a V8, that was on the track cracked its gearbox and went
around spewing oil all over the track.

so now come the cleaning squad. its a long process with a truck dragging along a bag of ash and some other stuff that absorbs oil. then a tractor comes with a huge blower which blows off all the dust and all the debris. after this brief disruption came the action !! ..this is an event worth visiting and guess what,it only gets better after you know the rules. i understood that well enough to know whats going on.

the race eventually resumed.

phew.the knockout session was incredible. watch my video coverage of the race.

a video of the line up and launch

Don't forget to watch the picture slideshow below

discussions @
http://gearheads.in/track-racing-track-days/formula-drift-road-atlanta-t1897.html
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intl-motorsport/81138-formula-drift-drifting-championship-i-there.html

exotic car festival 2010,celebration,FL....been there

2010-04-17T22:50:00.000-04:00

Florida has beautiful weather, sunny and warm ..so say the Americans..well, coming from India, I've seen enough of sun and warmth and did not really look fwd for that weather..but..wait a minute..good weather means everybody will want to live in Florida..meaning rich guys too..meaning exotic cars too...aah..see, now you know where I'm headed..all this while, I was trying to see why I should be going to Florida and here I just found the reason..and just then with a weird stroke of luck, i saw some post about a certain car show happening in a town called Celebration in Florida. the show is called Exotic car festival

saw some videos on youtube and i knew it.I had to go. this place is a cool 5 hrs drive away from where i stay.

Now since I had no intention to go anywhere else in Florida, I decided that the most sensible thing to do will be to drive out early in the morning like 4 am and reach destination by 9.30 am. show was to start by 10.00am.

As planned , i did leave at 4 am. multiple stops for fuel, breakfast, coffee, energy drink etc later, i finally reached Celebration,FL. as soon s i took the exit towards Celebration i realized there was something different about this place. the whole town looks different. a lil magical if i can say. it looks like a movie set. the entire town has this luxury and richness feel to it. very unlike any town/city I've ever seen in US. on reading, I understand that this town is developed by The Walt Disney company. So that explains the magical fairyland touch to the town.
I drove all around town and found myself a parking spot and walked to the venue. most of the cars passing by are exotics of one kind or the other. Custom Range Rovers, AMG mercs, BMW M's are dime a dozen. matter of fact even the current gen muscle cars stay away from this place coz the competition is an all out european assualt so to say. i was flabbergasted at the sight that i saw. long lines of ferrari's. the kind we'd go gaga over when we spot it on indian roads. why even in US its a rarity. this event is only a congregation of these rare cars.

i reckon there could've easily been around 200 ferrari's in and around that event. now all these cars belong to either owners, dealers or auction houses and sadly, these cars spend most of their times idle. on shows like these or in their temperature controlled garages. the miles that these cars ever put on are the ones while driving into or out of a trailer.

the Bugatti Veyrons were a sight to behold. they are some of the rarest examples ever made. the chrome and blue variant is the pur sang bleu version and was bought for 2.9mn $ !! yupp..thats what its worth. and guess what,both the bugattis in the pic are owned by the same guy.wow. there was another Veyron in another part of the show and that was owned by yet another super billionaire.

Now, ferrari had arranged a drive for all Ferrari challenge series cars at a racetrack called Sebring Speedway. those cars were displayed too. interesting to see was a ferrari 360 challenge with Force India Decals !! on close look it was an Indian who owned and raced it. the name India is flying high eh.
Also of particular interest was the 2004 Ferrari F1 car which belonged to one of the super rich collectors.
after seeing the entire line up, drove out of there by around 3 pm to reach home 6 hrs later.

mindblowing show this one and I for once , did not mind the long drive.

the pix in the below slideshow are a must watch.

discussions @
http://gearheads.in/super-cars-section/exotic-car-festival-celebration-t1676.html
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/international-automotive-scene/79849-exotic-car-festival-2010-celebration-fl.html

Incline Railways,Chattanooga,TN

2010-04-11T01:18:00.001-04:00

The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway is an inclined plane railway located along the side of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the United States. Passengers are transported from St. Elmo's Station at the base, to Point Park at the mountain summit, which overlooks the city and the Tennessee River. The railway is approximately one mile in length. it is single track except for a short two-track stretch at the midway point, allowing operation of two cars at one time, and has a maximum grade of 72.7%. It is billed as the world's steepest passenger railway.

watch the photo slideshow below

Ruby Falls,Chattanooga,TN

2010-04-11T01:18:00.000-04:00

Ruby Falls is a 145-foot high underground waterfall located within Lookout Mountain, near Rock City and Chattanooga, Tennessee in the United States.
Ruby Falls Cave features many of the more well-known types of cave formations including stalactites and stalagmites, columns, drapery, and flowstone The Falls are located at the end of the main passage of Ruby Falls Cave, in a large vertical shaft. The stream, 1120 feet underground, is fed both by rainwater and natural springs. It collects in a pool in the cave floor and then continues through the mountain until finally joining the Tennessee River at the base of Lookout Mountain.
wikipedia told me all of the above.I did not know this at all LOL

pics @

SeaQuarium, Miami,FL

2010-04-05T01:20:00.000-04:00

had a whale of a time and I mean it literally. where else can you see a whale dance to the tune .

pix @

The Mysterious Coral Castle,Miami,FL

2010-04-04T01:23:00.000-04:00

About 30 miles south of Miami, Florida, in a town called Homestead, lies an unusual—some would say impossible—structure, composed of coral rock. Called the Coral Castle, it has a colorful past. It was the life's work of a reclusive Latvian immigrant named Edward Leedskalnin, who built the complex after being jilted by his sixteen-year-old sweetheart on their wedding day.

source: livescience

Universal Studios,Orlando,FL

2010-04-03T01:24:00.000-04:00

This theme park is mind blowing.

pix @

Stone Mountain Park,GA

2010-03-21T01:15:00.000-04:00

Stone Mountain,is dubbed as “the largest exposed piece of granite in the world". This misnomer is most likely a result of advertisement by granite companies and early park administration. In actuality, there are larger exposed granite landscapes throughout the world. There is an interesting carving on the side of mountain of Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis.I've no clue who they are.

.

Georgia Aquarium,Atlanta,GA

2010-03-21T01:14:00.000-04:00

The Georgia Aquarium, located in Atlanta, Georgia is the world's largest aquarium with more than 8.1 million US gallons of marine and fresh water housing more than 100,000 animals of 500 different species. The aquarium's notable specimens include four young whale sharks, two beluga whales and two manta rays.

pix:

Providence Canyon State Park, GA

2010-03-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

Providence Canyon, which is sometimes called Georgia's "Little Grand Canyon" is considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia. Providence Canyon actually is not a purely natural feature — the massive gullies (the deepest being 150 feet) were caused by erosion due to poor farming in the 1800s.

RiverQuarium,Albany,GA

2010-03-07T23:58:00.000-05:00

A quick day visit is what i was looking for. Albany is a city some 45 minutes drive away. I happened to find this attraction. Its called , RiverQuarium. The Flint RiverQuarium is a 54,000 sq ft aquarium located on the banks of the Flint River in Albany, Georgia, United States.

..and it snowed in Georgia !!

2010-02-14T23:52:00.000-05:00

it generally does not snow here not like in the NE of US but then, one fine day, it did snow.

Peachtree City,GA to Americus,GA

2010-02-11T23:54:00.000-05:00

I had to relocate base location to client's plant further south of Georgia

Buying a car- The craigslist experience

2010-02-06T23:46:00.000-05:00

I had to go buy a car and my only source of database was craigslist

BLR-FRA-ATL- Peachtree City,GA

2010-01-30T23:38:00.000-05:00

For the past 2 US trips of mine, I'd flown on Air France and I was very pleased with it but this time around it was on Lufthansa.

Talladega Speedway

2008-11-01T17:18:00.000-04:00

was always curious about Nascar. I've always been an ardent fan of F1 but never knew what this sport has that gets US gripped enough to ignore the existence of F1.
I had planned to visit Talladega Speedway which was an hrs drive away from Leeds,AL where I stayed. Left early in the morning to reach the racetrack by 8am.

more pix

discussion @
http://gearheads.in/track-racing-track-days/drove-nascar-t484.html

Mercedes Benz Inc.

2008-10-30T21:54:00.001-04:00

I always knew that Mercedes manufactured its SUV's in US and I also knew that it was in Tuscaloosa,AL.

pix @

discussion @
http://gearheads.in/vintage-classic-cars/mercedes-museum-tuscaloosa-usa-t483.html

Around the town of Moody,Alabama

2008-10-26T17:24:00.000-04:00

Vintage Bike Race @ Barber Motorsports park

2008-10-19T17:20:00.000-04:00

was the town of Moody really Moody?? Well, the Mood was definitely upbeat in the town of Moody
coz of this annual event called Vintage Bike Race and the venue, Barber Motorsports Park

Driving in US

2008-10-14T00:13:00.001-04:00

The last time that I visited US, I had tried to get myself a DL out here. So, I had read all the driving rules thoroughly. Lots of rules trust me. Courtesy driving. Safe distance blah blah blah…can turn here , can’t turn there. Speed limits everywhere. Awesome roads but shit speed limits.We have no good roads but we rip down any roads at high speeds. Ironic isn’t it. Driving on the highway is big time tension for the first few times.70 mph (115 kph) is the speed limit on highways. All cars are running at 70 mph. no room for error. Believe me I was watching the mirror more than the road looking out for cops coz that’s the last people you’d ever want to see out here. Preplanning is a must while driving out here. No paan beeda/cigarette stalls or dhabas to ask directions. Miss an exit (to get out of highway) whoop….you’re gone. Next exit could be 5 miles away and getting back in line a big pain. Now , the road signs are excellent. Good warnings of exits but while busy trying to look out for cops, crazy truckers and occasional rash driving cars, its real easy to miss exits. Luckily I haven’t missed any exit else I’d get lost.
My car comes with cruise control. That’s the 1st thing I do. Switch on cruise control as soon as I see a speed limit signboard. Yaakappa kireeku. The highways are really tempting to overspeed. Only once I did do 110 mph while overtaking. That’s it. Got back to cruising.

Rental car

2008-10-14T00:06:00.001-04:00

Voila Rental car!! The prev trip of mine , I did not have a proper license but this time, no sir, no repeating the old issues. I got me a proper license just in time. Got me a rental car from Avis. No other rental car guy would rent it out to me coz I didn’t have a major credit card from US. Sad logic. I got myself a brand new Nissan Altima. Fully loaded car came with keyless system. Keep the remote in the pocket and that’s it. Walk upto the car and press a button on the door handle, door lock opens and starting the car, simple. Button start. Sports car style. Awesome car but driving in US is tensing. There are so many rules to follow. It is so easy to drive in India. No rules are good rules. I’m sure all agree to this.

The biggest headache out here is insurance. You ain’t surviving anywhere without insurance. I took the car without insurance (costs lesser). The savings are good but, its one hell of a risk. Even if somebody else bangs into me, I get screwed big time. Lots of trouble. Gave back the huge amazingly powerful Nissan Altima and got myself the cheapest car. A brand new black Corolla (the one we know as the Corolla Altis in India). No bells and whistles and very basic. This time, I took this with Insurance. Tension gone. I now have the almighty power I can now bang into anybody and not worry about paying for it!! Wicked.

Super 8 Motel

2008-10-12T23:37:00.001-04:00

I stayed at a motel called super 8. 6 miles away from office. This was the only place closest to anything called accommodation in this hamlet.This motel was basic enough and the rooms big enough to live in. had all the basic amenities and was maintained well. Air conditioned makes it easier during weather changes as it was getting colder.
distance to office 6 miles!!! Now the next big problem is travel!! …well the 1st day, my colleague from clients place picked me up but thereafter was a question mark.

10th Oct '08-Bangalore-paris-atlanta,US-birmingham,US-Moody,Alabama.

2008-10-11T20:32:00.000-04:00

This being my 2nd trip to US, I thought it was a smooth sail away. That it was. I took Air France again and yet again stopped over at Paris. This time, 5 hrs of waiting!! Agonizing. All through that time, luckily for me, there was a public internet kiosk. Well ,had to pay for it though. How much? how about $ 6.00 for 15 minutes of internet. Daylight robbery. Then on, it was PS3 which helped me pass time. Played F1 on PS3. easily made all the top drivers look silly on the track .I had so much time, I perfected it too. Finally jumped into another Air France flight only to realize there was yet another flight to take after Atlanta. Damn. Painful it was. Well, finally, touchdown in Birmingham. Now this is Birmingham in Alabama, US. Not the one in UK. General knowledge improved eh.Took a cab to the village called Moody 25 miles away.
Alabama is in the southern part of US. Lots of mountains and nice scenic roads. Had heard a lot bout Alabama some good some bad and some nasty things to watch out for. Hoped for the better of all.