2010 Branson Z Fest - Trip Report & Pics (Heavy Download!!)

Club or Z related chit-chat.

2010 Branson Z Fest - Trip Report & Pics (Heavy Download!!)

Postby zinistr on Tue Jun 08, 2010 11:03 am

First let me start off by saying that the Branson event is, well, different than other "Z" related events I've attended in the past. It's based obviously in Branson, MO at a Ramada that sprawls three buildings that acts as the central point for the event. It was a great time, we had three Ohio-based cars in our caravan along with Eric (MaxxAction) from IL join us for the ride out.

This round, I left Zinistr at home for the first time in ten years of driving to Z events as I didn't have time to prep her and deal with some basic maintenance. So, I decided to take the 370z Nismo. That decision left me happy one minute but also feeling like I was cheating on Zinistr. :( at the same time. The 370z NISMO handles like a slot car, but 350HP just didn't cut it on the straights and her stock-ness was killing me after a couple days.

My parents went along this round with the Z31T and Ray Haren (aka "The Crippler") in his '91 TT also went with his gal, Linda riding shotgun. It was hot as he!! the whole trip with track temperatures of 130-deg. F. I did manage to win some raffle stuff (GT-R lightweight pulley, 370z lightweight pull, 350z Brembo ceramic pad set, a shirt...). Given I showed up in a stock Nismo I didn't place in the car show as it was people's choice (modified cars got most of the attention) but I did get an award for having the best reaction time at the drag-strip. Can't wait for the go-fast goodies to arrive from Stillen...hehehe. 8) Ray also wasn't in show-mode given he didn't have his '72...but the parents' Z31T did take a 2nd place award in the Z31 category.

I credit Mike "Pickle" (nick-name) and the rest of his team for putting on the event remotely (Mike lives in Kansas City), despite a few minor details it was a blast of a time. If you haven't put together a large Z event, you cannot appreciate the amount of planning and work that goes into one of these. The Branson team did a great job...you should definitely consider going to Branson next year. Just set your personal expectations a bit, the structure is a bit lacking (by design) and that seemed to cause a bit of confusion for those of us first-timers more accustomed to having clear-cut schedule of events and good area maps. I also suspect that the People's Choice style car show also kept some more of the cars from coming out, too.

Despite the name of the event, Branson is actually more of a "Nissan" event rather than Z-focused event (i.e. even the t-shirt had a GT-R on it rather than a Z. I also suspect the artist wasn't a GT-R guy given only the rear wheels were spewing smoke in the graphic...whoops...). I also managed to get Vuk with AMS to lend me his girlfriend for an impromptu photo-shoot with the Nismo. :D

Branson Z Fest is a very different experience (and much better) in many ways over ZDayz (i.e. the roads weren't overflowing with slow cars and dangerous bikers). The runs through the Ozarks (especially in Arkansas) are JUST AS GOOD if not BETTER than the roads around Fontana IMO. However, the Ramada is a 2-star hotel...it was difficult to find a good place to unwind inside. ZDayz has a definite edge there as the cabins are one of the big draws for me to go to Fontana. In all, I think I heard 157 cars were expected at the car show, but just over a hundred showed...not sure what happened to the other third. :-/

They also had a few folks from Canada, England and one gent from Finland who lost a bet and had to have a "Z" shaved into the back of his head during the closing awards ceremony. There's a real sense of community amongst the regular attendees of the event...that goes a long way to help me want to go back.

Anyhow - here are some pics...enjoy!! ;)

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Chris (Zinistr) - "The Picky Bastard"
'91 609rwhp TT "Zinistr", 93 Convertible TT "Z MASTR", '09 Nismo 370z #196
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zinistr
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