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

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!