Our 2010 Dustball 1500 Rally Testimonial

From the Dustball Website

2010 TEAM TESTIMONIALS

#00 Team New Mex Express:

"The 2010 Dustball Rally was, and is the premiere event of its kind in the world, if you ask me. The event this year added a much needed element, night time driving, into the mix. For rally purists, this type of driving offers drivers and teams a challenge that you cannot prepare for, unless you mount additional rally lights. The teams also stepped up their game in their attempts to bring their own gimmicks to the rally, a tradition we are glad to see catch on. All teams did this in good spirits and nobody caused any damage or sabotage to the other cars. This run in the AMG was more comfortable for my team and we didn't have to overextend ourselves or the car and still did ok at the end. Was nice to see a podium full of veteran teams. The field was diverse and most teams survived.

For Team New Mex Express this was a rebuilding year. New car, new team, fresh outlook. We went in with no practice as a team and shared our fair share of struggles both in and out of the car. We could not have asked for a better learning day that day 1 of the rally. The two part rally really through the new members for a loop, they had not been in such an endurance event before, and by Alamosa they began to crack, after a quick stop, forced by me, we had dinner and watched a few weary teams drive by. This made us feel at ease and also uneasy knowing we had a while to go. Once back in the car we began to make that ETA shrink, minute by minute we anticipated our arrival to the warwick hotel more and more. Arriving exhausted we got the first real sleep in days, knowing we gave it our best shot. The gimmicks this year were a challenge because most were not available online, if they were, they differed from the signage at the site. We also encountered getting lost, due to a high speed pass at a directional change. We all learned from this and had a good time catching up on our home turf. Once we reached the santa fe plaza we took a moment to reassess our roles and pressed on, once we caught back up to you (thanks for waiting for us in Alamosa) we knew we were going to be ok. Running into (literally) cyprus hill in the elevator was fun too.

Day two (rest day) we grew as a team, my team mates expressed displeasure with the late drive, but had to be reminded of the challenge, I told them that day 1 is the test, both mentally and physically to shake you to the core. Day two would feel better, we made adjustments, mainly our music selection and reassignment of tasks to make the trip back more enjoyable for the team members. We also used the late night out as an opportunity to unleash our brand of gimmick on the parked cars. You may have seen them, if not wait for next year!

I enjoyed this rally on a whole other level,I played peace keeper and coach to my team mates, they shined in their duties and that was all the accomplishment I was hoping for.

A treat for me, was to run against and get to meet Mr. Williams, He really pushed the envelope on rally spirit and him and Matt set the benchmark for winning very high. We feel a best as we have in many rallies about the answer sheet, and even found a couple bonus stickers, when we stopped to look..

I have no complaints, its the one week a year i look forward to, an escape from the evils of the world, a chance to let it all loose and drive like a cannonball run event. Keep improving it as you have each year, keep the vision Willie has instilled in you, it may not please everyone, but if it gets one more team involved, thats all that matters. they will be hooked on it."