A co-worker told me his daughter's old car was available. She had gone to college and did not need it anymore. I decided to check it out.

It was a dark night, and as my flashlight shone upon the beast I cringed; what a homely little car that is! Where's the trunk?

I could not see myself driving this hideous contraption, but the price was right (I think it was $100 for the radio and $50 for the car around it.) And I could not walk to work. It needed a little tinkering before being roadworthy, and Pete helped me with this.

One problem was the alternator seemed frozen. Careful placement of a pipe wrench on the pulley solved the problem. That week I had her towed to a garage for more work and an inspection sticker.

I got used to the look of it, and it made a decent car. She carried me on several snowboarding trips to Sugarloaf, a Pirates game or two, and the daily drive to work. I even used her to assist a friend in pulling his boat from a sticky spot on a lake (see pictures at bottom.) I drove this midget for about two and a half years. Then she started having little problems here and there. I didn't want to mess with it, and felt it was time for a new ride. I got a wicked deal on a '91 Explorer 4WD from another co-worker. I sold "The YOTA" to a buddy on 3/9/2000, for about $200.

I went to Wiscasset Raceway for the season opener, April 13, 2002. I hadn't been there in about 10 years, and was anxious to watch some good short track racing. The "Screamin' Demon Liteweight" division came out, and to my excitement a Toyota FX-16 GT-S was among the entries! I thought back to my old "Yota": how good she handled, and how quick she got up to speed. The seed was planted!

I asked my buddy what he intended to do with the old Yota. He had been involved in an accident with it a few months prior. She was just sitting in his dooryard rotting. He said "I'm looking to clean my dooryard up, if you want it we'll haul it down to your place."

I made it to the races a few more times in 2002. I went to the pits on one occasion, hoping to meet some racers and pick their brains a little. Ironically, the first person I introduced myself to was the fellow that ran the FX-16 GT-S on opening day. His FX-16 GT-S got totalled, and he was now running a late 80's Corolla sedan. He liked his FX-16 so much, he offered to buy mine sight unseen! He still has first refusal if I go that route, which is unlikely for now.