In just a few short days, my son and I will be setting out on MINI Takes The States 2016 with over 1,000 other fellow MINI owners on the most epic cross-country road rally!! Since I will be driving, Christian will be tasked with navigator and dj duties as well as blogging duties along the route. Stay tuned for daily updates (hopefully lol) as we head North and then West!
Next week kicks off the most epic cross-country rally I have ever been a part of – MINI Takes The States 2016!! In addition to seeing parts of the country that I have never seen before, we will be raising money to help Feed America through the MINI Defy Hunger Give a Meal Team Challenge. To help raise awareness, I have put together an Apple Watch face that you can download and proudly display that showcases the Just Us League logo and the MINI Takes The States 2016 badge. Remember to show your friends and let them know how they can help feed those less fortunate right here in the USA!
DOWNLOAD BELOW: (Once you save the image below, you can set it as a custom watch face on your Apple Watch! ENJOY!)
I am excited to be leading a team for MINI #DefyHunger Give A Meal Team Challenge! As a Team Captain, I’m helping Feeding America raise funds to help ensure that the important work of Feeding America continues.
48 million people in America don’t know where their next meal will come from. Many are working families, children and the elderly. Every dollar that I raise through MINI #DefyHunger Give A Meal Team Challenge will provide up to 11 meals for those struggling with hunger.
And you can help by joining my team or supporting my fundraising efforts with a donation!
Whether you become a team member or support me with a donation, I thank you for generous support!
Thank you!
A few of us in our local MINI club are trying to plan a track weekend at Sebring later this year. To get some practice in, I hit the track in Forza 6. Here is a quick 3 lap race at Sebring in a 2013 MINI John Cooper Works GP, recorded off Forza 6 on the Xbox One. The controller I used was the Thrustmaster TMX Force Feedback Steering Wheel and Pedals. The GP’s horsepower in the game was upgraded slightly to just about 300hp due to some in-game mods ;). Enjoy!
As promised, here is a video showing one of our Dragon runs from MINIs on the Dragon 2016 a couple of weeks ago. Myself and my friends Todd and Terrence took a spirited ride down US 129 aka The Dragon and it was an absolute blast. Hope you enjoy!
Last week I took Clark up for MINIs On The Dragon to join about 900 other MINIacs driving the mountain roads of North Carolina and Tennessee. The previous MINIs On The Dragon events I attended were done in my previous 2006 MINI Cooper S, Scooter, so I was looking forward to bringing my 2016 F56 MINI up there for some comparison. I have spent quite a bit of time working on setting up Clark to at least match the handling of Scooter and driving the Dragon (US 129) is a sure way to test the setup out.
Let me first start off by saying that I love the F56 JCW Pro Tuning Kit Exhaust!! When it is in track mode (with baffle open), the MINI just sounds mean! It adds such a visceral feel to the driving experience that many owners have asked how does one go about leaving the system in track mode all the time (remember that by default, the baffle is closed and you must press twice on the bluetooth remote to open it up)?? 
Continue reading How To Set The F56 JCW Tuning Kit To Permanent Track Mode
Some people have asked what is involved in installing the NM Power Module and have asked for an install video. After speaking to Jerry at NM Engineering, he put together the following video to take all the guesswork out of an already simple procedure:
Big thanks to Jerry for putting this video together!
It was a hard fought day at Laguna Seca! The MINI JCW Team battled through spins, flat tires and penalties to finish 14th (#73), 21st (#52) and 23rd (#37). Early on, the #37 MINI driven by Ethan Low really was showing some promise battling through the field to get as high as 4th. Unfortunately, later in the race, the #37 would be parked for accidentally engaging reverse gear while in the pits. The #73 MINI had a scary incident when it spun after having a slight off. Luckily no one hit the MINI and all was well. The #52 MINI did not spend too much time outside of the 20s today. The car seemed to not have quite as much speed as the other 2 MINIs. On the plus side, no MINIs ran out of braking power today ;).
Photo Courtesy of MINI JCW Team
If you want to read a very nice detailed summary of the race, check out the race results article over at MINIRaceFan.com. Eddie over there put together a very nice post-race report. Also, if you didn’t get a chance to catch the action live today, it will be re-broadcasted May 8th on FS1 at 8:00am ET.
I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen the pictures but it looks like the #73 MINI fell victim yesterday to another surprise boot spoiler deployment lol.
Let’s hope this doesn’t happen today in the race!!
Photo Credit: Norman Nelson (Motorwerks Magazine)
