Preparations for the 2006 Bullrun event took place at the Gansevoort Hotel in Manhattan.  Cars rolled in throughout the Friday before the event.

MagnaFlow’s weapons of choice were the new Audi RS4 (sporting 420 hp and released to the public only days earlier) and the Panoz Esperante GTLM. From the start, it was clear that we were going to be underdogs, despite having Mario Andretti on our team (at least for the first day).  We were to be matched against cars like the Lamborghini Murcielago, the Mosler, a bevy of modded Vettes, AMG Mercedes’, Porsches and Ferraris.

This morning, we’d start off where we left off, the beautifully lavish Toronto Hilton. Good food, a great room and a great night’s sleep gave us the rejuvenation we needed.

Before I share our highway hi-jinx, let me say for the record that Toronto is a wonderfully scenic city populated with great people. I’ve long described living in Canada as being akin to living in an apartment above a really great party, but after a short time, it was clear that this part of Canada had its charms.

Day Three began in Chicago at the House of Blues.

To mix things up a bit, the tour would actually have to trek north aways to a Ferrari dealer near Lake Forest, Illinois, just north of Chicago.

Once again, there was a mad dash to get to the first stop, a scant 35 miles away.

For today’s drive, JP Clinging and I would once again take the helm of the RS4, this time, with an official Bullrun cameraman in the back seat. This was one of the great ironies of the event. We had a relatively benign looking 4 door sedan, and while it didn’t garner the attention of every onlooker, it certainly captivated the hearts and minds of many with the added bonus of a back seat. I can’t imagine doing 3800 miles inside the cramped quarters of a true sports car, but here we were inside a car that performed as well as any of them with tons more room, an attribute much appreciated by passengers.

As we prepared ourselves for Day 5, drivers took a moment to enjoy a beautiful morning in Vail. The sun was shining, the air was clear and soon, speculation began on today’s destination.

Scuttlebutt suggested that we’d be in Vegas, so already, teams began mapping certain routes.

To get a leg up, on a hunch, I began calling ahead to hotels to see which one would be hosting our arrival. Phone call #3 was to Caesar’s Palace and voila, I hit pay dirt.

The event was winding down, but the enthusiasm and testosterone levels remained high for the start of Day 6.

This morning, we departed Caesar’s Palace for breakfast at the Shelby America facility at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Despite the fact that no one was watching, all the front runner cars set a blistering pace as we headed for LVMS.

Today, JP woke up way more hung-over than I did. Despite drinking more than I had in 20 years, somehow, I woke up fresh and ready for the new day.  I remember little of the night but JP filled me in. Apparently, I spoke to every girl at the party…a lot. In fact, I even exchanged phone numbers with some girl who claimed to be “girl filler.” According to JP, I broke the ice by telling her that I was girl filler, too (albeit in a different way).  I must’ve lost the number or my wife confiscated it when I got home, but my instinct tells me that this young lady probably would’ve preferred it if I didn’t call her anyway.