Days 8 & 9 Duluth to Fargo, ND

It rained, thundered, and lightning struck for half the night, but by 7am the storm had mostly passed and turned to a light drizzle.

Saturday and Sunday are important days to do well. Every other day you can throw out your worst leg’s score, but not these two days. You have to keep all of your scores. To win it is imperatito run as flawless as possible.

We were running on wet roads, and safety is our first priority. When we are rallying, we will slam on the brakes to split speeds at signs or as we come into stop signs. Driving on wet roads makes that style of driving a little more dicey. We tried to continue to be careful while being as aggressive as possible. We kept our cool to make it through.

We stopped for lunch at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, MN. It was still lightly raining. The track was full of people. They were watching a drifting exhibition, and the entries in The Great Race coming into the track. When we stepped out of the car, we watched Nissan sports cars sliding around the track as they did a short course of drifting.

We quickly left the lunch stop and headed to our next starting point. The rain continued to lighten up, and the skies turned blue with white fluffy clouds.

Once again we were on country roads heading toward Detroit Lakes, MN. The last two days the rally master (person who designs the course) steps it up by making the course more difficult. He will create mazes, or make participants cross each other’s paths at intersections with the intention of creating confusion and chaos. Staying calm is very much apart of this crazy game.

We came into Detroit Lakes along the lake side. There were children playing on the lake’s edge and people in lawn chairs awaiting our arrival. The weather was cool by our standards, but clearly not to the people of Detroit Lakes.

We finished the day strong with a total score of 6 seconds. We were pleased with our score. We had the lowest raw score, but unfortunately without a factor, we came in second for the day to a father daughter team in their 1939 Ford Pickup.

We headed to a local pizza joint and joined friends and other racers for an early dinner.

After dinner we hopped back in our cars and made the hour drive West to Fargo, North Dakota. We spent the night in Fargo and prepared for the last day.

Unlike the 8th day, the 9th day is a short but busy day. The course is full of mazes and speed changes.

The morning was cool and the winds were strong. At one point we were traveling in the same direction as the wind at 50mph. A cloud was right over our head and we could see it’s shadow traveling with us. We adjusted our speeds for the winds when we were traveling in different directions.

Fargo is a mostly rural with a nice downtown area. North Dakota State University is on the edge of downtown. The people were warm and welcoming. The city was so excited to be the last city and last state on the Great Race. Since the first Great Race, North Dakota and Rhode Island were the only two states the race had never visited. Fargo is known for being the last state most people visit when trying to hit the 50 states. Like most people, it was also our last state to visit.

The race provides mentors for each rookie team. Each year we are given one or two rookie teams to help. Christian and Brandon adopted us as their mentors. We met them two years ago in Delaware, and we were proud to see them win the Sportsman Division yesterday afternoon.

We have another team, Ken Kylie and Mike Roberts. They just finished their second year on the race, and they finished 5th in the Sportsman Division. We are so proud of their great finish.

Last but not least, we (mostly Brad) are mentoring a third team. Ahna Holder and Della Smith are the mother daughter team from Seattle. Della is 17 years old going into her Senior year. This is her second Great Race, and they finished with 8 seconds the last day. Everyday Della would work with Brad and soak up new information. We are hoping for a spot on the podium next year. We are beyond impressed with Della’s abilities to pick up on the navigation techniques.

We came into the day with no expectations. We drive a modern car with no factor, it would be tough to come in the top.

We surprised ourselves by having the second best raw score overall, 1 minute and 2 seconds for 9 days of rallying. We ended up in 3rd place in the Expert Division and 6th place over all. The biggest surprise was we tied for the most perfect legs (Aces). We ended up winning the tie because our score was the better score. Aside from having some trophies to hang on our walls, we walked away feeling good about our execution. We feel even better about the teams we have mentored and their achievements!

Once again, thank you Barry Jason for being a great mentor. We love passing it on to younger generations. We can’t thank you enough for all of your effort and patience.

Thank you to Mustang Country for a flawless 2300 mile journey with zero breakdowns!!!

Thank you to our friends at Southern Auto Auctions for your electrical assistance. Our hazard lights worked perfectly after your late night fix.

Thank you to McCollister’s Auto Transportation Group Inc, we couldn’t do this without you. Thank you for the sponsorship and all of your support!!!

We can’t thank our friends and family enough for all of your messages and support. We love sharing our journey. Thank you for following along!