Trek 2 Sonoma

The Trek 2 Sonoma was a tapestry weaved with inspiring sights, the thrill of motorsports and a road trip in hopped-up imports. The previous two Treks, both to Texas, called for 2,000 arduous miles of driving over five days. The 2003 version was 800 miles in four days. Factor in the seascape sights of Pacific Coast Highway and factor out the prairie-like flat lands of New Mexico and Texas and the 2003 edition had a much freer vibe.

The Trek 2 Sonoma, sponsored by Mazda and presented by Toyo Tires, started with surfing at the Huntington Beach, Calif., pier, and ended with racing at Laguna Seca (ALMS endurance/ Speed Touring Car) and Infineon (NHRA Sport Compact drags), with a whole lot of shenanigans in between. Turbo was represented by our Mazdaspeed Protege and Scion xB project cars.

After shaking the sand out in H.B., the convoy of 20 cars headed north to Oxnard for some hot laps at the Jim Hall Kart Racing School. Drag racer Stephan Papadakis spent the afternoon with us putting in some hot laps at the school before returning to the AEM race shop to prep his Pro RWD Civic for the impending Sonoma event.

Our next stops were Santa Maria Mazda and Pismo Beach, where we stayed overnight in sight of the pier. After a long night with a full cooler, our intrepid event organizer, Eric Williams, staggered into the Pacific for a midnight splash. Bullocks the fact that a fatal great white shark attack had occurred yards from his spot days earlier. Luckily, Grey Goose vodka is a known shark repellent.

As the second day dawned, the Trek continued north. We stopped at a public park in San Luis Obispo that had a skate park. Since the skaters and surfers we were expecting on the Trek cancelled due to a big event, our skate team consisted of "Honda Tuning" freelancer Greg Leone and "Import Tuner's" Gary Castillo. No limbs were broken.

Our afternoon stop was in Cal State University, Monterey for an impromptu car show. There was a mobile dyno on hand for those brave souls wanting the answer to the "how much power?" question. There was a portable half-pipe, a DJ and plenty of ambiance.

The motorsports kicked off on Day Three. We drove 20 minutes from Monterey to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in nearby Salinas for a LeMans-series race and the accompanying Speed World Challenge Touring Car race. This was major racing; the food was even more expensive than NHRA track food. The day went very well for Trek sponsor Mazda as Jeff Altenburg of Ellicott, Md., took the win in a Tri-Point Motorsports Mazda Protege.

The highlight of the day, and of the Trek for many, was a two-lap blast around the Laguna Seca circuit. They were only pace laps, but we did 80 mph at some points and tires were squealing in the corners; it was a good, hard drive. We spent the night in San Francisco and sponsored a party at ChiChi Club on Broadway. After a lot of bass and Bass (the beat and the beer), the last day loomed.

The blast up Highway 101 to Infineon Raceway was an hour and a half. We arrived in time for our biggest Turbo magazine/NHRA Track Conduct Seminar, consisting of 59 guests. Drag racer Kenny Tran helped out as we talked tech, technique and delved into the intricacies of bracket racing. Soon the action moved to the 1320 and it was hot and heavy. In the final rounds, save for Nelson Hoyos' victory over a broken Lisa Kubo, the money races were too tight to call from the starting line.

The winners collected their Wallys and the Trek was officially over. We scattered so we could get back to Southern California at a decent hour. We drove the equivalent of the Trek in about seven hours. The low-intensity driving format worked well. We had 28 cars on our lag and more than 30 cars on the Seattle-to-Sonoma lag. Next year will be bigger and better.