1999 New England 1000 diary can be found here.
Ok so this page is not real pretty (other than the cars!) but here are some pics from the New England 1000 rally that my dad and I participated in last spring in Maine and New Hampshire. My Dad has a 1965 E-Type Jaguar (4.2 straight 6 XK engine) that is his pride and joy. He had it restored and modified from a dusty old junker to the beauty driver it is today. Dan at Classic Jag created a real winner by eliminating all the original shortcomings of the original (inadequate cooling, lousy electrics, etc.) and added some extra punch (5-speed with a real stump-puller 1st) but still kept the original flair of the E-type. This is no trailer queen, this thing is an awesome beast deserving of its name "Jaguar." Of course since it is British it does leak oil, but the car is a hoot to drive!

Dad invited me to join him for the NE1000, and despite all the things going on in my life at the time (The whole TPD thing had collapsed and we were preparing to leave the UK for an uncertain future) I came along for nothing other than the diversion and some quality time with my father.

We did very well, despite a broken speedometer/odometer and no 5th gear(!), accumulating a mere 3 seconds of penalty time over the 1000 mile TSD section and, despite two total amateurs at the wheel we did quite well on the track events too. We finished first in our class and 5th over all in a field of about 50-60 cars. Beginner's Luck I guess, but I suspect the fact that we get along so well and were having so much fun helped too. Dad has invited me back to this year's NE1000 and I'm really looking forward to it. You can read my Dad's narration of our week here.

Above and below are shots of my favorite car at the Rally, an Auburn Speedster. Wow.

Classic Cop Cars kept an eye on us.

"Hey Dad, sure you want me *racing* this thing?"

This was a lunatic freelance magazine photgrapher in a real nice Datsun 240z. I guess seeing cars you remember from you childhood at a "classic car" event signifies that you have reached adulthood for real.

Dad brings the beast through the infield chicane.

On the Dinner Train.

Two E-types head to head on the dragstrip. Our missing 5th gear hindered us from doing well as shifting into 3rd was always problematic. Frank Filangeri and Clark Nicholls smoked Dad when Dad missed the shift. I finally got it down on my 3rd try and turned in a 10 flat and left a Ferrari a distant speck in my rearview. heh.

Great shot of Dad going around the oval. He mis-counted his laps (dad was a lawyer, not an accountant!) so he was allowed a second chance. =)

The baffled winners show off their trophy.