...because we needed one. Like in all things, the best laid plans are often derailed, and my family's trip to The Race of Gentlemen started off no different. After planning for a long while on loading up in our '39 Deluxe Tudor and making the trek in style, our own plans were dashed at the last moment by non-car related issues. But rather than cancel the trip entirely, we loaded our late-model and latched onto @MrModelT and his convoy down the coast at the last minute... The next two days were a soggy drive down the coast, through some of the worst storms that our side of the country has seen in some time. More to follow...
After an over night stop to stay on a boat in Sacramento... ...and some tourist traps along the way... ...we made it to Pismo on Friday evening.
While we waited for the beach to open, all the race cars, and some others, congregated in the pre-pit lot...
...but not without a hitch. After a couple hours of waiting for the tide and storm surge to recede from the racing and pit areas, the participating cars fired up and lined up to run down the ramp to the beach. I hopped back on @MrModelT's roadster for the ride through a downpour. But after the first few cars bogged down in the loose, wet sand, the organizers could only send a few cars at a time. The interludes were spent digging swamped cars and bikes out to make room for the next wave. By the time our turn came, the instructions were to stay off to the sides of the ramp, and before hitting the bottom, gun it to power through the increasingly poor sand at the bottom. I didn't get any shots of the run, as I was too busy holding on to the cooler, and for my life, but we were captured in the act by Sherm Porter: We spent the next hour or so watching the other cars and bikes blast down the hill and contemplating whether or not the beach would be opened for drag racing, or if the event would turn into a hillclimb...
And then, lines were formed. Fences were opened. And racing happened! My kid had a great time staging...
Thanks for the racer's perspective! Here you are coming back from the last run of the day.... More photos: https://www.instagram.com/californiaspeedandstyle/
Sorry for the delays guys, just got home after the last few days of road-tripping. The last set of pics, from the last part of Saturday and the morning of Sunday are forthcoming...