I heard more nose whistles than I did last year. I spoke to someone who said "It does sound interesting" ......If I could have brought this guy a hot roastbeef on a Kaiser I would have had it sewn up.......but I was granted an "Oh all right ...send the information to ..._____.com. .....Made me feel like I should be shoving silver dollars and cake through the phone line...Anyway, the biggest stumbling block was after I mentioned the NBC sports networks involvment and Coverage beginning on Jan. 5th he still found a way to say "but how will people find about it"....well ......You and the PAPER.....right...but no I stayed cool and took the gum out of my mouth so when my foot went in it would not get stuck....For get mentioning websights...that's when his dog started pissing on his desk I think. Taking on the lones subject of the Robby Gordon entry was a tabboo I picked up on righjt away so as I spoke I swayed to the rally itself. Trying my hardest to do the old "It's your idea switch" I'd be pissed I suppose but as long as we get what we want I think it'ssafe to say a freelance contract is not going to appear under the tree any time soon......semicolon/halfassed...it's all the same to me. So for entertainment purposes I cut up what I had and compressed it into this and sent to every wall and cubical that I thought mattered....those boys at the Charolette Observer....are they on board or what.....Gary Shwab I think...here's what I tried and what I found and was told "What local impact does this have"?........I don't know real newspaper man shit I guess? Any way

Imagine Trucks as big as the ones that collect our recycling bins tearing across desert dunes and rocky trails in 120 degree heat for two weeks and 5600 miles day after day with nothing more than a dotted map to guide them, a dotted map of a vast empty landscape. Imagine a lone motorcycle rider with nothing but an LED screen with a guide that only gives him land marks to do the same, with nothing but what he carries to get him through breakdowns, hazards and for some, lone nights lost in a prestine landscape void of mercy. Imagine a car or small truck doing 125 miles an hour down a sand dune and finding nothing but a rollover waiting for it at the bottom. Imagine spending over one million dollars on one vehicles' effort to enter. Imagine manufacturers spending over 8 million dollars to send a team of 4 or 5 vehichles. Most of which will fail to see the finish line if at all the half way point known as "rest day". Imagine this is all done criss crossing the unforgiving yet beautiful landscape of Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. If you can capture that vision, that chaos and the ruthless traveling to become the one team who can say after 15 days they not only survived the tougest race on the entire planet but did it in the shortest time, then you are talking about the Dakar Rally.
168 motorcycles, 50 quads, 143 cars and 67 giant trucks will be put against the elements in the 2015 Dakar Rally. Set to run January 4th to the 17th it will be broadcast on the NBC sports network at 4:30 pm Monday January 5th with updates every day there after to keep you up to date on the previous days action. This years Rally promises to be another great spectacle, and, one can only wonder what unforseen events lay ahead. In 2008 terrorists threatned certain competitors and sanctions and the event was cancelled. From that year forward the rally has ben run in South America. where it was moved from the original course from Paris France to North Africa. Rivers flooding their banks and washing out trails leaving competitors unable to continue or stranded have been one example of how the landscape and terrain always play a huge part in determing the outcome. It's hard to imagine how such wonderful and prestine beauty could be such a deadly foe, yet it is, and it loves to play it's part.
Aside from the geographical and geological challenges that have racers sometimes running in all but the right direction, the scale of effort put forth by each team plays a deciding factor as well. And that's where we come in. The United States. We have one entry in the Cars, with over 140 cars running, only one American team. It's not a big team with backing in the millions of dollars like Mini Cooper with 10 cars entered or like Toyota who has more than that many running, not all factory backed teams mind you but when compared to the one lone United States entry one can hardly see the point in splitting hairs. Peugeot has a new bigtime team this year with multiple entires. Peugeot though not a big name here in the states is a force to be considered, and make no mistake this a global race with global entries that feature efforts from around the world. And those far reaching efforts bring us back to where we started, our single car entry. Being headed by Robby Gordon a noted Indy car driver and NASCAR driver he also carries many championships in other forms of racing including the 24 hours of Daytona. With multiple stage wins in the Dakar Rally already to his credit Robby Gordon knows his business around the rocks and has full intent on bringing this years Dakar Championship home to the States. Home to his shop in North Carolina where the vehicle, "The Gordini" was built, built from the ground up and is not connected to any big multimillion dollar board meeting but more to a tireless group of guys who rely as much on a tape measure and a sandwich that the big boys do on a stock market report and the price of gold. Make no mistake, this team, although they chose to drive down a highway with strips attached to the Gordini to test air flow rather than spend thousands on a wind tunnel, they have a first class built for speed operation. Air flow for a desert race you ask? Well, at 110 plus degrees air tempreture, getting ever aspect of cooling into the engine and in the vehicle is critical....not to mention last year when the Gordini was doing 120 miles an hour down a sand dune, or was it 140 miles an hour....160? No matter, speed is a main focus on some stretches and on sponsorship. That's where some of the funding comes from, Speed Energy Drink, Toyo Tires and Traxxas remote control. I'm sure every T was crossed and every I was dotted for this years event. It's the biggest race in the world being entered by the biggest heart in the racing world from greatest country in the world with one the smallest teams in the world. How can you go wrong with that? Follow along as the rally unfolds on NBC Sports Network 4:30 PM starting Monday January 5th and each day there after. For greater detail you can join Robby Gordons fan page and information hot spot at planetrobby.com