It's flexible. The car and equipment must be there for the test day Friday. It's possible that, due to an utter lack of vacation time left, I may have to fly in. Thus, Matt will be forced to drive the rig down, and would certianly love to have company (Dave...? Melissa...?) Best guess, figure leaving Tuesday, staying overnight somewhere that night, then arriving at Road Atlanta at a leisurely pace Wednesday. If absolutely necessary, it can be done in one LOOOONG day (we left RA at 7:00 AM Sunday last year, and arrived at my house at midnight same day...)

For cost references, my last year trip was 2139 miles using 278 gallons (including travel to and from the track), averaging 7.7 mpg at an average $2.28 per gallon, for a total gasoline expense of $632. We are most fortunate in that our ace co-crew chief, Tim Rogers, lives in nearby Sugar Hill and loves to have overnight company that feeds and beers him well.

Also, don't forget that vacation season is coming to a close, and gas prices are expected to begin dropping. Those of us that remember last year will recall that gasoline this very day a year ago was approaching and surpassing $3 per gallon in the wake of hurricane Katrina. By the time the ARRC rolled around the prices had decreased dramatically (as my average cost above indicates.) So, anything's possible. - GA
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Greg,

I understand what you're saying about fuel prices, and they have been on the decline around here the last couple of weeks, but I'd still budget an extra 15-20 percent for fuel. Let me know when you guys are leaving, and we'll make arrangements on that door.