Dave,

At the risk of sounding trite, what can I say: I found you and Mark just after you got started on this awesome adventure we call FFR, and I've been a staunch advocate ever since. Unfortunately for me, financial disaster has once again dashed my dreams of building one of these beauties myself (the Daytona is my first choice). Alas, there is hope as my new employer may be interested in doing a fund raiser based upon auctioning off a car after the build! (Your recommendations in this regard would be very much appreciated.)

I've visited your Wareham facility a few times and met both you and Mark. I've watched this unbelievably positive community evolve, and I've yearned to be a part of it, one way or another. I vow that some how, some way, I will find the key to unlock the door to becoming a contributing member of the FFR experience. I'm a gearhead, plain and simple. It's all I've ever done, and all I care to do. It's my passion and somehow everything always comes back to it one way or another, for me. My wife often say, "Oh, if it's not about a car or an engine, you're not interested!" My response: "And the problem with that is?"

Unfortunately I was not able to do my build with my Dad before he left this place, and it saddens me that I could not share such a great experience with him. I know however that I will vindicate the old saying: "Where there is a will, there is a way!" , and when I do, my Dad will smile down on me as I do smokey donuts in his honor on my car's maiden voyage!

My Dad you see was one of those guys who, although he never had a passion for automobiles like I do, he was mechanically inclined and he did most of his own automotive repairs. (He was a military aerospace designer who actually designed parts for the LEM - Lunar Excursion Module, that was used for the Moonshot). Well in "Holding the Light" for him as he replaced a starter, or did brakes or exhaust, he set the hook in me, for what would ultimately become my passion.

For the past 30+ years I have worked in many technical automotive roles: heavy truck technician, Ford factory field service engineer, an Allison Transmission Certified Technical Training Instructor and so on. Currently I travel the country teaching for NAPA Autotech, which for me means sharing my passion for all things automotive with those I can touch in what I feel is a special way, by helping to make their lives a bit easier when it comes to diagnosing and repairing vehicles. I think of it as getting paid to bench race! Yea, I get paid to share my passion and at the same time I help others put food on the table! It's a great feeling!

So you see, in coming full-circle, I truly admire what you have done with FFR, because in many ways it parallels my passion for sharing all things automotive with those who are jazzed by this wonderful world of high performance automobiles. As Gary Cheney stated in one of the videos, "You give us the canvas" so as our own version of automotive "Arteests", we can paint these beautiful works of automotive art!

The fact that this phenomenal "FFR Community" has developed is the icing on the cake, and in many ways, this is the greatest part of the experience! Although I have not yet been fully dipped in the FFR chocolate, I hope to be before I leave this world, and what a sweet taste it will be!

Thanks Dave for creating, and bringing such a positive and enabling high performance automotive community experience into this world! You are a true example of the power of what one man can do to make a difference, and the automotive world is infinitely better off because of you!

Bravo!

ProfessorGT