BULLRUN 2013: The final run! (Day 7 + Awards Night)

This is it – the final day of the rally. Today is make or break for the teams eyeballing the coveted Navigator Award. With the rally heading into New Orleans, a few teams have a home-town advantage. The Big Easy Banditz, NOLA Bangers and Rolling 7 have all shown us their superior navigation skills thus far, and could possibly bring home a 1-2-3 podium finish for New Orleans. But there’s still a few other teams that could snag the title. The drivers were handed their first route card, sending them off to Middendorf’s for lunch. Team NOLA Bangers took pole position heading out of Memphis, but a number of teams jostled for position.

Team Wheelz Up and Team N.O. Legs, the GT-R coalition, drove together to the lunch checkpoint in their stealthy black monsters. Both of these teams have performed very well on the rally thus far and have shown us the true might of Godzilla!

Arriving first to the lunch stop was Team Big Easy Banditz in their Mercedes ML 63 stealth machine.

Once everyone’s’ bellies were full, the next route card was handed out, guiding the teams to the NOLA Motorsports Park.

In order to get their next route card, teams had to take to the track before they could receive their route card. The final card diverted teams to a ferry crossing in New Orleans, where the drivers would make their final dash to the finish line on Bourbon Street at the Royal Sonesta Hotel. For some teams, the rally ended in a foot race. Since Bourbon Street is a one-way street, any team approaching from the wrong side had to run down the entire block to check in.

While en route to the final checkpoint, Ricky Chancey employed one of his devious plans. Before the rally, he built a fake police car and hired a friend to pace the rally andscare any drivers who tried to break away from the pack while he and Billy took a different route to the finish line. When it came to the ferry crossing checkpoint, BIlly Blatty hired a police motorcycle escort to take the Banditz directly to the finish line. Additionally, a few of the motorcycle cops stayed back at NOLA Motorsports to hold back the rest of the Bullrunners while Billy and Ricky surged on ahead. It certainly paid off for them. Well done boys! There’s no rules on Bullrun! Billy did the exact same thing in 2009 when Bullrun was leaving New Orleans for the finish line in Austin, TX, to secure Richard Rawlings and Michael Collins the Bullrun Navigator Award that year.

Good morning Memphis, TN!

 

Team N.O. legs hits the road with the Team Wheelz Up GT-R right behind.

The teams headed off to Middendorf’s for lunch, then onward to the NOLA Motorsports Complex.

Team NOLA Bangers took pole position heading out of Memphis, TN.

Team Big Easy Banditz were the first to arrive to the Middendorf’s lunch checkpoint.

 

Team Texas and Team Wheelz Up are ready to roll!

The drivers headed to their final checkpoint, a ferry crossing, before heading to the finish line on Bourbon Street.

Bourbon Street was laced with hundreds of spectators as the Bullrun 2013 drivers arrived.

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2013 Bullrun Awards:

• Bullrun Mud Run Award: 
  Drake Kemper (Team Royale)
• Winner of the actual footrace through the mud:
  Billy Blatty (Big Easy Banditz)
• Honorable Mud Run Mention:
  1-Dave Pearsall (Team Pearsall)
  2-Greg McManus and Sean Cook (Team Squatting Dog)

Nola Hot Laps Go Kart Award:

• Jan Sellis

Bullrun Order of Merit:

• 1- Jay Reicke and Steve Tramuta (Team Reicke)
• 2- Mitch and Tony (Team 2500HD)
• 3-Efren Castro and Anthony Curzco (Team Ferrari)

Best Rookie Team

• 1- David Sellers and Brian DeGuzman (Team 4Mati)

Diamond C Audio Hottest Car Award

• 1 – Michael Schwab (Team 13)

Best Hairstyle

• 1- Ricky Chancey (Team Big Easy Banditz)

Bullrun Hall of Fame

• 1- Alex Proud (Team America, F*** Yeah!)
• 2- Kevin Andrews and Dwayne Andrews (Team Oh! Canada)
• 3- Christina, Nicole and Danielle Demas (Team Texas)

Bullrun Navigator Award:

• 1- Ricky Chancey and Billy Blatty (Team Big Easy Banditz)
• 2- Miguel Quezada and Rodolfo (Team Precision)
• 3- Dudley Geigerman and Bobby Couvillion (Team NOLA Bangers)

Spirit Of The Bullrun:

• Phil Ayache and Drake Kemper (Team Royale)

Everybody eagerly-anticipated the Bullrun award ceremony. Nobody knew who won the Navigator Award. As Andy and Dave took to the mic, we learned who outperformed the rest of the Bullrun crowd.

Ricky Chancey and Billy Blatty, Team Big Easy Banditz, claimed the 1st Place Navigator Award. After placing second last year, it was only fitting that the duo from New Orleans move up one spot to claim the top prize.

As BIlly Blatty notes, Ricky Chancey might be the only Bullrunner ever to win the Navigator Award once as a Navigator and once as a Driver.

Special Thanks:

Bullrun would like to thank a few people for helping us update our Facebook page throughout the rally and contributing photos and information to this year’s rally recap blog.

Thank you to Bullrunners: Ricky Chancey & Billy Blatty, Courtney Barber, Drake Kemper, Nicole & Christina Demas and Shaun Viola.

A very special thank you to Bullrunner, Jeb Lopez, for all your rally updates, videos and photos that helped make this Bullrun recap possible.