That time of year again!

Hello all, the 2011 Charge of the Headlight Brigade is almost upon us. This is a 13 hour endurance race at Virginia International Raceway http://www.virnow.com/ . I am very excited to say I will be driving a BMW in this event! I have my Trevor Project logos ready and waiting and am having some embroidery done on my suit. I will be tweeting updates throughout the race and will put links in for results and such. This is a great step in the right direction as I got some private support to move forward with Racing for Diversity!

The 2012 plans involve Pro racing and trying to get the word out on many important subjects. I am hoping to bring light to some of our bigger problems like LGBTQ suicide issues, bullying issues, our environment and health and fitness issues with adults today.

I am also excited to say I am doing The Smart Ride 8 in November! This is a 165 mile ride for AIDS/HIV funding. We go from Miami to Key West and should be a great time for a great cause! If you want to make a tax deductable donation you can go to: http://thesmartride.org/ and make a donation...dont forget to use my rider number (#354). The training I have been doing for this event has opened up a new hobby/fitness training routine that I am really enjoying! Cycling in Florida is pretty flat but we make up for it with speed and headwinds! I just started riding with a group on the weekends and they regularly hit 28-32MPH for a good distance! Its amazing how fast a group can go and how it pushes you individually. I have been dropped out the back of the group for the first few weeks but am now beginning to hang with them. Speed averages on my bike computer are now cresting 20MPH after 50+ miles! I have never been able to do that before. My overall fitnes has improved dramatically and my mountain biking skills have also improved with sheer speed and strength. My legs and butt have also reaped many benefits ;-} but I still won't shave my legs.



I am still trying to reach Elton John, Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin and others to see if they would like to be a part of my diversity project. Imagine if they helped with thier resources! I could have a green racing project that helps LGBTQ youth with a great message! It would also benefit everyone with acceptance! If anyone knows how to reach out to these people please pass the word on!


I am working with Holly Chervnsik at Stinger Sports Marketing and we are working towards some great things!

I hope to see more positive things in the near future so stay tuned!!!

Evan

Year End...

Well the last race of the season for me was a BMW Car Club of America club race (BMWCCA) in Savanna, GA. I was planning on driving my friend Craigs M3 in IP (I Prepared) and Robs 325i in ITR (Improved Touring "R"). Friday was a sprint race, Sat was the Endurance race and andother sprint on sunday. I am a co-driver in the endurance races and I was to start in the M3 and finish in the 325i. Thursday testing went well and both cars were very competitive on old tires posting some pretty fast laps so we were happy going into friday. Craig had a decent qualifying effort for the sprint and started 2nd in class and Rob due to some other factors entered the car in IP (there were no other entrants in ITR and it is no fun racing yourself). For what it was he did great! With 3 laps to go a Spec E36 car being lapped by Craig in the epic battle for 1st spun in front of him in a 100+MPH corner. There was not much for Craig to do but hit the brakes to minimize damage. They hit and Craig continued on with lots of damage. The car was not leaking anything and the temps remained good so he finished out the race holding on to 2nd place. Rob finished safely in 7th in class posting some respectable times. We worked until 2AM saturday then right up to Enduro qualifying to get the car straight. Its amazing what you can do with chains, trees and F250's. Got the car ready just in time for a rainy qualifyer. I love the rain and tend to be real fast but the car kept popping out of 4th...a very important gear! we ended up 9th on the grid and 4th in class. We quickly tore into the car looking for something and found 2 destroyed transmission mounts. We barely had enough time to swap them in and put dry tires on (it stopped raining) and tweak the setup (never got all the adjustments done for the dry). I got the start and it was evident that the transmission may not survive this one! I got it to work pretty good and worked my way up to 2nd catching the leader pretty easily (man I wish that transmission worked!) and pitted in 2nd overall. Craig got in and held on as long as he could but the trans kept getting worse. He limped home in 3rd in class and 6th overall...not bad for a car that had been rebuilt at the track with beer duct tape and zip ties! Anyways I got into Robs car and his clutch was starting to slip. It wasnt too bad but it will need to be fixed before the next one. I only did about 3 laps and the checkers fell. Long and eventful weekend! Thanks to all the guys from BMWCCA and VDCA (Vintage club) that came over and helped pound the car back into shape!

See 'yall next year!
evan

Road Atlanta

Well we went to Road Atlanta for the BMWCCA Endurance Race and won it! Great racing and great people. Our next event is in Watkins Glen NY in 2 weekends. On my way to NC from Florida last week I lost the right rear wheel on my truck on 95 north. Traveling at 75mph the truck turned left. It was scary but luckily it just damaged the truck. now I am in NC with a broken truck needing $$ repairs. I am pushing to get it fixed so I can get home! Well thats it for updates.

Follow me on twitter (evanmdarling)!
Evan

Back from Ohio

Well I'm back from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the BMWCCA Club Race over Memorial Day Weekend. The weekend started out pretty good as the car felt great in my session. Later in the day on friday the car started to get hot. I replaced the water pump and thermostat and found no leaks. The car seemed better on Saturday as the owner raced it in the 2 sprint races and did pretty good. Sunday arrived and I got in to qualify for the enduro and after a warm up lap and half a hot lap the car got real hot. I pulled in to see water pushing out of the over flow and all the needles buried. We packed up and drove home. I was really hoping to make it a 3peat as we won at Roebling Road and Virginia International Raceway and this would have made 3 at Mid-O. Oh well! It was not a drama free weekend with the tow either! On our way through Virginia, a boost pipe blew off the truck (a piece of the air intake system) and the hose clamp went through the LR tire while we were climbing a hill at 2K feet. we replaced the tire with the spare and tried to limp back to a ford dealer but really couldn't move off the highway. We pulled out the Honda mini bike and I rode it down I-77 to get the part...

Updates and Ups and Downs

Well I almost completely finished my move to Florida. I have been going back and forth to NC trying to get all my stuff secure. It has been a difficult few months! I got back from VIR (Virginia International Raceway) 2 weeks ago after racing in the BMW Car Club of America endurance race. We had a great time and finally won! My co-driver, Craig Lippe, did a great job behind the wheel and with strategies. We won by .503 seconds! What a great time! This is coming off the last time I drove it. that was Roebling Road where it was pissing down rain and we won that with the bonus of an overall pole position! The car we were driving is a BMW M3 running in IP ("I" Prepared is a class with limited modifications to the car). I got back to FL and received a call from one of the top Grand Am teams. I needed to come up with some money to get up to VIR again to race in the Grand Am race! Well my fundraising skills are not so good and it was short notice so I tried to the last minute. Didn't make it. I am still pretty depressed about it but there isn't much I can do about it now but try for the next one! Someone please step up and help for Mid-Ohio in June!

I have some great strategies for sponsors and would like to put them out there for discussion. I am and always will try and support non-profits. The Trevor Project has always been very high on my list as it is one of our most important assets as a community. here is their website:

http://thetrevorproject.org/home2.aspx

I believe having info on this organization on my car in front of a televised audience would do a great job getting outlets like this in the mainstream media where it is most needed. Many of these kids are not exposed to GLBT media and have very few options. By getting the word out in front of a predominantly straight oriented market, more people would be reached! Help me make this happen!

On another note before I went to VIR for the BMW race I went to Wellington FL for the first ever Gay Polo League Polo match. Wow what an exciting sport! I had no idea...These guys move fast on these horses and play pretty aggressive! Here is a link to their website:

http://www.gaypolo.com/splash/

I have also tried to contact Ricky Martin about sponsorship or support for me and the Trevor Project but I have not heard back from him or any of his agents. It seems almost impossible to get through to some of these people. Maybe he will see this...never know!

Well that's all for now!

More Fun!

On another note I am building a BMW 325is for club racing and instruction. It is just in the dissasembling stage right now ($300 car) and it is real dirty. I will start putting the cage in it next week then I would like to start building it. These things are expensive! I will be instructing with it privately and with various clubs. This car will be in front of BMWCCA drivers and fans so this could be a cheap way to get your companys name out there! Or just get some instruction on some of the best tracks in the world! I will be frequenting VIR, Road Atlanta, Carolina Motorsports Park, Roebling Road, Rockingham, Daytona, Sebring, Homestead and more...email me at evan@edarlingenterprises.com for more information!