I left NC at 3:45 A.M. and pressed hard down I-85 south. Alternating between CD's and the local radio stations, the miles melted away. The worries about gas turned out to be for naught as there was plenty of 87 octane to go around. I pulled off the highway at Chateau Elan at 9:45 and popped into the local grocery to find mixers and paper plates. Life was looking good, but something about 40 pounds of ice and a deadline always seem to spell trouble.
The merchandise loaded and prepared for the last miles to the track. I turned the ignition key and absolutley nothing happened. The battery in the relatively new Honda decided that Road Atlanta wasn't in the cards and that was that. I could hear the race cars from the parking lot , but finding a battery took priority.
I noticed a gentleman loading a cooler and assumed he would be a race fan with jumper cables. My intuition was close. He had jumper cables, but was a local guy who spoke little english. We communicated beautifully through hand signals and smiles. We got the car to started. I shook his hand, thanked him, and the car stalled again. I asked where a parts store could be found and for another jump. He shrugged, helped start the car again and I was off.
Once on the road I noticed that hitting the brakes killed the igntiion. For what seemed like eternity, I rode around the country side near Road Atlanta looking for a community, much less a parts store, hand braking and clutch starting all the way. It seemed hours until I found this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSPNMCvh18M A cool town going for a worlds record within 3 miles of the track. If not for the battery, I would have never known.
Here's to the fine folks of Hoshton, GA.
