Yikes! Check this video out of some horrific crashes involving our favorite little vehicle:

It’s been a while, I know, but I hope you all are doing well. Life has been busy for me over the past few months. After a $7000 AC replacement bill, my track budget for 2009 pretty much vaporized. I had to miss Sebring last month and I am having to cancel my plans for Daytona later this month . But alas, the house is now cool, which is important in South Florida!

The MINI scene around here has been pretty much non-existent over the past few months. I have heard similar stories from other regions as well. Some believe the new MINI owners buying cars are not as enthusiastic about the MINI and its culture. Of course, there ARE enthusiasts out there buying new MINIs, but I would have to agree that the numbers seem much lower.
Read the rest of this entry »

Man, let me tell you… this summer has been brutal! Not only did we hit new heat index records here in South Florida (hitting 110 earlier this week), but my AC died at my house and left me and my family sweating for several days. Thankfully we were able to sleep at a neighbor’s house and took a trip to Orlando to stay in a hotel to keep cool. The week before, we were sweating it out in the hot South Florida sun at Palm Beach International Raceway for the Braman MINI 50th Birthday Bash. What a fun time that was. Huge props to the folks at Braman MINI for putting on one heck of an event.

There were MINIs from as far away as Jacksonville to came down to celebrate. $10 got you in the track for the whole day of go-karting, drag strip runs, auto-x and more! I took Scooter out on the drag strip and managed to click off a 15.098 second 1/4 mile. In that run, I actually beat a brand new Infinity G37 . Unfortunately, my day got cut short because I had to go start dealing with my ailing AC, but I still had a blast!

Palm Beach’s Braman MINI will be following Vista MINI’s lead in throwing a birthday bash for the Mini on Sunday, June 14th. Braman appears to be putting out all the stops for this event - a full day at the track for ALL Mini/MINI clubs to attend. This is the first time I have seen a local dealer in South Florida attract MINIacs from all over the state for a dealer event. It should be a lot of fun and a great chance to see people you don’t get to see except for larger events like Mickey and MINI.

MINIacs will be able to try their hand at autocross, a road course and even try out their MINIs on the drag strip at the newly renovated Palm Beach International Raceway (formerly Morosso). A live band, “Ever So Klever”, will be performing and there will be plenty to do for the whole family. An event flyer is located at the link below, so if you are in the “region”, come on out and say hi!

[ Event Flyer ]

[ Map of Event ]

[ Club/Event Sign-up ]

Thought this was pretty cool! Check it out:

A few friends of mine made the trip over to MINI United 2009. I am still waiting to see some of their pics but fellow Sunshine MINIs member, mk1coopers, who is over there posted some pretty sweet photos that I think are worth a look at. Check out the link below for more!

MINI United 2009 Thread @ SSM

Like other dealers around the world, Vista MINI will be hosting a 50th anniversary bash to celebrate the Mini’s 50th anniversary. A full car show and BBQ is planned and a fun time will be had by all. If you will be in the South Florida area on May 31st, make sure to stop by and say hi. A big thanks to all the hard working people at Vista MINI for putting this event on! Click the banner for all the info!

Another great track weekend is in the books. As usual, a fun time was had by all. The weekend started off at a fast pace with the MINIs laying down some fast laps. A few Porsche drivers came over to the MINI garage to examine more closely why they were getting passed by these little cool cars. I am happy to report everyone finished the weekend safe and sound, even though the grass at the speedway is a little shorter after some of the lawn mowing that took place;). Here is a video from one of my sessions. It starts off slow, but gets going pretty good… Enjoy!

Big thanks to the various messages you all have sent in regarding my my last post. Things are settling down a bit now and it is time to try to get back to “normal” (whatever that is!). I plan to do just that by getting back to the track this weekend . April 25-26, PBOC will be hosting another track weekend at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. If you are in the area, stop by and say hi!

I talked a long time friend of mine into bringing out his brand new G37 to see what it could do. It is fun to watch the excitement as someone gets ready for their first track day. As usual I will have video and photos . Stay tuned!

As many of you know, it has been a rough 6 months for me and my family as we have watched my father-in-law battle stage 4 cancer. Sadly, he lost his battle today and the world lost a great man. He fought so bravely and with such determination, that there were times I thought he had the thing licked. Unfortunately, the cancer kept coming back with vengeance, that ultimately overcame him.

Through it all, he stayed positive and showed us all how to live day by day, cherishing the things most important - family, friends and God. I was lucky enough to be with him in his last hours and, while I am saddened to see him go, I take comfort in knowing he is not suffering anymore. I may have lost a father-in-law, but gained an angel up in heaven looking down upon me and my family.

Thanks so much for all the prayers and words of support that I have received from many of you. This is indeed a great MINI community.