Our Daytona at the famous Shell station recreation at the Gilmore Automotive Museum.
Greetings from from Ypsilanti, Michigan!
Rallying in Michigan today was mostly about dealing with other race cars not being where they should be. There is this massive ‘Franklin’, powered by a giant Hall-Scott truck engine, called ‘Zeus’, which is best described as a blunt instrument. Behind Zeus was the Japanese team in the Toyota 2000 GT. Both of them ‘backed into’ the car a minute in front of us, who had to drop back 20 seconds to avoid these two cars trying to be in the same spot at the same time. Eventually this whole furball backed into our minute, causing us to have to back up 20 seconds. Continue reading “The Great Race: Day 6”→
Our lunch stop today was in Wapakoneta, Ohio, birthplace of astronaut Neil Armstrong. We just happened to be parked next to the Japanese team driving the Toyota 2000 GT. Along with their million dollar car, they have their own TV and media crew following their American adventure. It’s always quite a show when they come to town.
By Steve Hedke, who is representing ACM with his wife Janet and their daughter Allison in The Great Race, going on now through July 2. Follow along on their adventure here.
Today’s Route: Indianapolis > Wapakoneta, Ohio > Auburn, Indiana
‘Knee high by the Fourth of July’: if you’re familiar with that phrase then you must be from the midwest. Indeed, the corn was knee high, and ‘cornfield rallying’ is really a ‘thing’. The farm roads are grids, many times along county lines, and the rallying consists mostly of stop signs, speed changes, and right or left 90 degree turns. Continue reading “The Great Race: Day 5”→
We literally don’t even know what state we’re in, but it sure is pretty. They don’t put up the state line signs on the backroads, so this is probably Kentucky.
By Steve Hedke, who is representing ACM with his wife Janet and their daughter Allison in The Great Race, going on now through July 2. Follow along on their adventure here.
Today’s Route: Bowling Green > French Lick > Franklin/Indianapolis
It’s a good day when the car doesn’t need repairs, the weather is cool and clear, the scenery is delightful, and you didn’t go off course. It’s a better day if it includes good scores. We had 3 of the 4 legs work out very well, and one not as much. Sometimes though, it’s the rally itself has to overcome the hardships. Continue reading “The Great Race: Day 4”→
By Steve Hedke, who is representing ACM with his wife Janet and their daughter Allison in The Great Race, going on now through July 2. Follow along on their adventure here.
Greetings from Bowling Green, Kentucky!
Our journey today began in Chattanooga, and we wound our way north to cooler weather and hillier country. The rallying got a lot more fun as the back roads twisted and turned: it’s hard to control speeds when the road won’t stand still. We also had some traffic issues today: sometimes you hit those rural intersections with no cars at all in sight, and sometimes you’re stuck waiting for the traffic to clear as your penalty points rack up. Making up for lost time can be the most challenging part of a day, and we weren’t the only ones. Continue reading “The Great Race: Day 3”→
Cars gather after lunch on a narrow country road waiting their turn to start abeam a Speed Limit 35 sign. Imagine living there and encountering such a sight!
By Steve Hedke, who is representing ACM with his wife Janet and their daughter Allison in The Great Race, going on now through July 2. Follow along on their adventure here.
After the stifling heat and humidity of Florida, Day 2 up through Georgia was 20 degrees cooler and a welcome relief to both cars and crews. The roads turned from flat to gentle rolling hills, then some actual mountains as we motored into Tennessee.
Once again the top 20 scores were truly awesome: no one has seen such tight competition this early in the rally. Once again the course was fairly easy, but this time the race encountered church traffic, trains, farm equipment and just plain old traffic to deal with. Continue reading “The Great Race: Day 2”→
Approaching the official starting gate in Jacksonville, Florida.
By Steve Hedke, who is representing ACM with his wife Janet and their daughter Allison in The Great Race, going on now through July 2. Follow along on their adventure here.
Not only did we have a big crowd at the start, our overnight stop in Tifton, Georgia really filled the Parc Ferme for the entire 2 hours we were there: note the sign on the theater marquee.
The big day has finally arrived: time to be introduced to the crowd by Corky Coker and take the green flag waved by ‘Big Daddy’ Don Garlits. Jacksonville turned out a great crowd to see us off: we were on display in starting order for about 2 hours. The start includes a color guard, the Star Spangled Banner, a prayer for safety, then each car is flagged off individually. Continue reading “The Great Race: Day 1”→
On the rally course in Florida. Flat, smooth and green, with temps in the 90’s and high humidity. The route can loop on itself so that you see cars coming from the other direction. The problem with the scene in the other lane is that the cars should be one minute apart! If you see 3 close together, at least 2 are likely to be out of position. We were doing just fine.
By Steve Hedke, who is representing ACM with his wife Janet and their daughter Allison in The Great Race, going on now through July 2. Follow along on their adventure here.
First thing this morning was the mandatory meeting. Introductions, welcomes, thank-you’s and scheduling items were covered. After a short break, the rallymaster covered rules and regulations, followed by a “˜how to rally’ session for the rookies. The route instructions for today covered a half day run after lunch. Today the route instructions were carefully explained page by page: this will not happen again. Continue reading “The Great Race: Trophy Run”→
Pre race inspection and ‘stickering’ goes in an assembly line fashion. Yes, along with the Corvette and Mustang, that is indeed a real Auburn Boattail Speedster, owned by Chad and Jenny Caldwell.
By Steve Hedke, who is representing ACM with his wife Janet and their daughter Allison in The Great Race June 24 – July 2. Follow along on their adventure here.
This will be one of the easiest days of the race. Our check-in time was 3:06 pm, which gave us time for a leisurely Cracker Barrel breakfast, to do some shopping for supplies and run the “˜measured mile’ to calibrate the electronic speedometer before doing the remaining paperwork.
The speedo calibration run is a set of instructions that take you out to a section of Interstate that has relatively light traffic. The timed portion will start abeam of a specifically chosen roadside sign, and you stabilize your speed to exactly 50 mph. Holding 50, you check off several more signs and using the stopwatch the navigator records the times as we cross by the designated signs. The instruction sheet tells you how much time each set of signs should take, plus the elapsed time from the first to the last. You compare your times to the ones on the sheet, and that’s your error. The speedometer has 4 “˜wheels’ on the back to adjust it for running fast or slow. As it turned out this time we were within 0.18 of a second of the ideal time, which is really just about perfect for over 13 miles. We do this every morning on each day of the race. Continue reading “The Great Race: Check-in and Tech Inspection”→
Reliable’s driver loads the Daytona for shipment from Santa Clarita, California to Jacksonville, Florida. We directed him to an easily accessible spot in an industrial park, near the freeway. It was pulled in behind fellow racer Peter Gray’s ’40 Chevy coupe, and Bob Marek’s VW Beetle was picked up next in El Segundo. The truck was full of west coast Great Race cars before it headed east.
By Steve Hedke, who is representing ACM with his wife Janet and their daughter Allison in The Great Race June 24 – July 2. Follow along on their adventure here.
The Great Race is like a big clock. It starts ticking when you send in your application, which you need to do early because it sells out fast these days. At first time is measured in months; hotel reservations, forms, car preparation, airline reservations, booking the car transporter, a hundred logistical details that you don’t want to put off until the last moment. Continue reading “The Great Race: Arrival in Florida”→
Our ’64 Daytona going through tech inspection and receiving its sponsor decals. Required safety equipment includes a fire extinguisher, first aid kit, drinking water, tow rope, flares, and safety vests. Tech also checks for horn and lights, free play in steering and brake pedals, the authorized speedometer, clock, and covered odometer.
By Steve Hedke, who will be representing ACM with his wife Janet and their daughter Allison in The Great Race June 24 – July 2. They are posting regular updates on their adventure here.
Choosing the right vintage rally car is all part of the fun.
The Great Race is a Time-Speed-Distance competition where you are given the time and speed, but not the distance. Rally computers are not permitted, and GPS lags behind the car and is virtually useless. You get a pencil, the route instructions, a time of day clock and a stopwatch. That’s it. The lowest error on a timed section wins, and it’s calculated to the hundredth of a second. Best score possible is a 0, called an Ace. Many Aces are scored in each race: the competition is that close! There is a prize for the most Aces, and you’re going to need 10 or 12 to win. Continue reading “The Great Race: Choosing a Rally Car”→
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You are now being redirected to America’s Car Museum’s partner organization (America’s Automotive Trust) for the completion of your transaction. To continue, please click on the link below.
You are now being redirected to America’s Car Museum’s partner organization (America’s Automotive Trust) for the completion of your transaction. To continue, please click on the link below.
