We started the RRC (ROUSH Road Crew) Homestead event on Saturday at 2:15am. I hit the road leaving Orlando at 4am. I made great time since the roads were clear, right up until I entered Broward County, traffic became heavy, drivers became aggressive, and law enforcement was everywhere… The only snag we came upon was I-95 being shut down about 90 minutes away from the hotel due to an accident… We detoured and still made it on time, thanks to the trusty in car navigation. We got to the hotel lobby at 7:45am which gave us plenty of time to grab some breakfast and meet a few ROUSH owners pulling into the parking lot.
At around 8:30am, we got to meet our RRC staff, got briefed on the day’s activities, and received our event package; tickets, maps, wrist bands, etc. There were approximately twelve or so ROUSH vehicles; several 427R, one 428R, a couple of Stage 3 Mustangs, P-51A, 540RH, and a Stage 1 F-150. The convoy was lead by the RRC’s very own red 2010 540RH press car (which will be featured in the 5.0 Mustangs magazine in a couple of months) and followed by RRC’s white and blue striped 2010 427R support vehicle.
After approximately 40 minutes of trying to keep the convoy together through busy south Florida traffic, traffic lights, and toll booths where half the cars had SunPass (pre-paid toll accounts that enable bypassing the toll plaza) and the other half cash, we all successfully ended up at Homestead Speedway. As we driving around the speedway toward the back infield entrance, we could hear racecars roaring down the track!! We were all staged in line to enter the Speedway via the track. They had to time it so that we could enter in between races since we actually drove on the backside of the track!!
We were corralled in the infield, after which we headed out to the garages to meet and greet the ROUSH Performance team drivers Jack Roush Jr. and Billy Johnson. On our way there, we were told that the team had been disallowed and lost their P1 qualifying time due to some non-conformant part. We learned the team was placed at the very back of the starting grid.
As we were walking through the garage area, I kept falling behind trying to absorb and take pictures of all the cool stuff that was going on. As I look up and see the group converging in a circle, I tried to sneak a peek to see what the hoopla was all about and to my surprise Jack Roush, the man himself was there!!!!! The RRC staff never let that cat out of the bag; everyone was so excited and stoked about seeing Jack Roush. He even went on to explain exactly what happened to the team and why they got disallowed. Seems like the interpretations of regulations got a little cloudy; the team understood it one way as the race officials meant it another way. But that didn’t seem to faze him (Jack Roush) nor the team at all since they stated they had the best driving team and car…
As the race team lowered the car on its tires after completing final inspected for the race, we all got to hang out in the garage and drool all over the car, parts, tools, etc. The race team even answered all our questions, no matter how mundane they were. We learned that the ROUSH Performance team is not using Ford’s new 5.0L engine at this time. Seems like the engine is being over taken by electrical gremlins. They prefer to wait for all the “bugs” to be ironed out before jumping on the 5.0L bandwagon. The engine they are running is a ROUSH-Yates (sealed) 4.6L “Cammer” engine that outputs approximately 400 horsepower to the crank. They said with the experience they have with their current setup, the chassis and engine are dialed in perfectly.
Once the meet and great, autographs, and pictures, were over, everyone was on their own until 3:30pm after which we all had to get back to the corral parking area to get ready for the parade lap right after Jack and Bill’s race. At 11am the Mustang Challenge race got under way followed by the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (Jack and Billy’s race) at 1:15pm.
We kept bumping into members all day long as we tried to spectate from all the corners of the track…we even bumped into Jack Roush while he was supervising Jack Jr and Billy’s race.
As we headed back to the corral to get ready for the parade lap, we re-joined the rest of the crew. They were all hanging out with a couple of hoods open and sharing stories. I got to see a 2006 Stage 3 with over 750 twin turbo rear wheel horsepower on race gas along with some other very cool cars. At that time we were all made aware that Jack Roush just completed his 400th career win; Jack Jr. and Billy took first place!!! Shortly after we got our chance to drive our cars on the track. We went through the NASCAR oval in Turn 3 and 4 and under the flag stand. Once we reached the infield, the ride was over.
We sure wanted at least another go at it.
Once we got back to the corral, about half of the members headed back home… The rest of us stayed to watch part of the Rolex race; of course my girlfriend was cheering for the Patrick Dempsey racing team. Then after, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. Reservations were made for Rock Fish Grill near the hotel. After some great stories and food, the night ended pleasantly at around 9:30pm…
Unfortunately, most of the members had returned home by the morning. All that was left of the twelve or so cars were four; two RRC staff cars and two member cars, a Stage 3 and the P-51A.
At 8:15am we were off on our cruise heading the Florida coast toward Key Biscayne. Wow, what amazing weather and scenery, it couldn’t have been a more perfect day. Our first stop was the Cape Florida lighthouse where we got to climb 108 stairs up and then down. The view up there was spectacular and worth the 216 steps. While we headed back to our cars after touring the historical sight, we noticed a group of people hovering over the cars. A group of French tourists were fascinated by our cars. One of them even told the other, you don’t get to see four ROUSH Mustangs together like this. I think one of the RRC staff members even sold a car because one of the tourists inquired details about importing one back home; I think what sold him was the 800 HP package they were offered…
As we left the parking lot, each of us revved our engines as we were bid fair well by our admirers. As we continued with our cruise, we stopped by one of the beaches for a photo opportunity. Again, some more admirers came by to check out the cars and take some souvenir photos. We ended our cruise in Ft. Lauderdale for lunch at an outdoor restaurant overlooking the waterway with cruising million dollar yatchs and boats. It was a picture perfect ending; although no one wanted it to end…
We are eagerly looking forward to the return of the ROUSH Road Crew staff to host another event in the Southeast region; preferably Florida…
Photos: Kimberly Scott
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