2011 Las Vagas - Miami

Las Vegas to Miami – arguably one of the best Bullrun rallies ever! The rally launched from the famous Fremont Street in Vegas, but in order for the drivers to receive their first route card, they had to zipline down to their cars. This year, numerous famous names participated in the rally: The Dudesons came all the way from Finland to participate in the rally. They drove a very cool ‘Dudesons Very Special Forces’ pink camouflage Hummer H1. Ice-T and Coco returned in a CEC-modified Mercedes SL55-R, Vanilla Ice joined the rally in the Firebreather Movie Car from the supernatural thriller, Jinn, The New Boyz rode along in the Team Neff RV, Socialite, Amber Rose showed up in a white Bentley Continental Flying Spurr, and MMA star, Josh Barnett drive a supercharged wide body BMW M3 by VF Engineering. The usual suspects were also present in their one-of-a-kind supercars. The rally left Freemont Street at 5:00 p.m., and for the first time in Bullrun history, the first driving leg was at night. The rally stopped in Scottsdale, the resort town of Lajitas, TX, Dallas, New Orleans, Montgomery, AL, and down to the Sunshine State finishing in Miami. The drivers got to see some amazing scenery, drive some fantastic roads and make some life-long friends. Along the way, there were a whole lot of pranks, and not just from Team Wu. The Dudesons really stepped it up and brought a whole new level of craziness to the rally. Team LuckynutZ and the DTA Posse also messed around with a few teams. This year’s rally showcased the camaraderie between participants and their shared love for the open road. The rally saw Bullrun veterans, Claus and Joaquin of Team CEC trying to re-claim the Navigator Award in their tuned Mercedes C63 AMG. Team LuckynutZ so desperately tried to hold onto their title, but ultimately it was Seth and Tony in the Hudson Jeans GT-R that took home the Navigator Belt. 2011 was a truly competitive year – with so many teams trying to reign navigationally supreme.

 

Navigator Award:

The Navigator Award is given to the team that has the best overall navigation across the entire seven days of the rally. Superior routes and decision making will land teams ahead of the pack at each checkpoint, and this year there were a number of teams that were in contention:

  • 3rd Place Navigator Award: Claus, Joaquin and Todd - Team CEC
  • 2nd Place Navigator Award: Robby Gordon and Company - Team Jeep/ Speed Energy
  • 1st Place Navigator Award: Seth and Tony - Team Exotics Rally/ Hudson Jeans

Spirit Award:

The Spirit of the Bullrun Award is considered by many to be the most prestigious award on the rally. The award goes to the team that encompasses the true spirit of the rally; having fun, making friends, sticking with it even in adversity, and doing the rally in style.

This year the award went to Team People's Power and Gas' own, David Pearsall!

David has done Bullrun for three years now, but this year he not only brought his Maserati GranTurismo, but also his Lamborghini Gallardo and his Ford F-650 Limo - which served as the official Bullrun party vehicle. Despite his Lamborghini breaking down, David continued in style. Everyone on the rally loves David Pearsall and his crew, and he truly deserves the Spirit of the Bullrun Award this year!

Hot Lap Award:

  • Every year Bullrun hosts a Hot Lap Challenge at one of the tracks we visit. The award has always been won by Nicholas Frankl in the past, but in his absence, someone had to claim the award. Of course it only makes sense that Racecar Driver, Robby Gordon wins this award! His time on the track was faster than anyone else by a mile! Nice job Robby!
  • NOLA Motorsports: This year Bullrun visited the NOLA Motorsports Go-Kart track just outside of New Orleans. The drivers buckled themselves in for a morning of Kart racing. Six heats of ten were done, taking the winner of each heat and putting them into the final round. Nick Steinman of Team Royale won the NOLA Motorsports Challenge, beating out Robby Gordon, who came in second! Congratulations Nick!

BOM Award:

The Bullrun Order of Merit Award (BOM) goes out to the teams that show true dedication, and even though they aren't contending for the Navigator Award, they still have fun, and enjoy the rally to its fullest.

This year two teams claimed the BOM Award:

  • Lori and Courtney, Team '65 Mustang, who spent each day of the rally at the back of the pack, but took in the scenery and had a great time. They partied harder, and enjoyed every aspect of the rally. 
  • The Dudesons, Jukka and HP, in their pink camouflage Hummer h2. The Dudesons were always wearing an array of costumes and playing around with the other drivers. They probably had the most fun on the rally, and we'll never forget them showing up to the start line wearing diapers, and leaving the rally wearing pink Monkey suits.

Team DTA Rogue Award:

The DTA Rogue Award goes to the team that showcased the true 'Rogue' nature of the rally. The award goes to Bill Sheppard and his son, Bryce, who bought a $120,000 Mercedes for the rally, and faced adversity every which way right from the get-go. They rocked the rally in hardcore style, and despite many unwanted encounters along the way, they stuck with it and were really bad ass the entire way! You guys are Rogue!

CEC Best Car Award:

The CEC Best Car Award goes to the team who brings the rarest, or best performing car on the rally. The award, handed out by Claus Ettensberger, went to Ice-T and Coco, who drive an ultra rare Mercedes SL55R with an SLR style hood, SLR style wheels, and so many performance mods, that the added 'R' means it is a street legal race car.

Honorable Mention:

This year we saw the youngest Bullrunner ever participate on the rally. Gianna Lopez of Team JebAng! officially turned 2-years old on the final day of the rally, and celebrated her second birthday in style upon arrival in Miami. We've never had a 2-year-old participate on the rally before, but she stuck with it like a trooper, and enjoyed it as well!

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