2nd Place in Luxury, 11th Overall
Well, we made it. While I would have preferred that the title claimed our overall victory in the inaugural Fireball Run, I am very pleased with our final results. The score was based on a multitude of factors and to be very honest, the rules kept changing as the event progressed. When you get 45+ teams of highly competitive individuals, loopholes will be found and rules will be challenged. At the end of the day, Evan drove our G.L.A.Mobile within an inch of its life on the track and earned the respect of every other driver out there. The Saab impressed as well. We never once dreaded getting into its wonderful seats and were amazed at how well it put up with the beatings at the track and then performed flawlessly on the highway. The other Fireballers were impressed as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if we sold a few Saab’s this week.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our amazing sponsors; Saab Automobiles and GLEE.com. Without their generous support, we wouldn’t have been able to take part in this race. If you are in the market for a new vehicle, please check out Saab’s lineup. Also, if you want a smart alternative to social networking, join GLEE.com; it is free and it is a wonderful site.
Many people have asked us why we took part in this race and why we had to make a point of being the first out gay team. There is no simple answer to that question. To be honest, we did it for many reasons. First, it was for a great cause. The Child Rescue Network faces huge challenges in their goal to find missing and abducted children. We were honored to be a part of that quest and help raise awareness as we drove across the United States. Secondly, Evan and I wanted to inspire GLBT youth (of all ages!) and show them that you can follow your passions and be out. If we can inspire at least one person out there that is struggling with their sexuality and thinking it conflicts with their desires to be a race car driver/business person/accountant/actor/mechanic etc, it was worth our time.
We also believe that the best way to gain acceptance in society is to take part in our passions without any apologies for our sexuality. By taking part in this event, we made friends with people from all over the United States that happened to be heterosexual. They looked at us as fierce competition and car enthusiasts that happened to be gay. Our new friends even came to our defense when we were being unknowingly harassed by truckers in AZ and NV (see day seven). We’d like to think that everyone we met, raced and partied with left this race with a different opinion about what it means to be gay. That alone was worth spending a week in a car and driving all over creation. Oh, did I mention it was fun?
Check out the video below for a final compilation of our representation at the track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Apologies for the quality. Next year, we’ll bring a proper video camera.