Before hanging out with Corky Coker, I had no idea what the Great Race entailed. Frankly, I thought it was an excuse for a bunch of old farts to take a few weeks...<P><P>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Is this the same Great Race that Interstate Batteries is involved with? I've always wanted to see and hear that!
If you've never done a TSD (Time-Speed-Distance) Rally, I'd encourage you to try one. Even if it's in a modern car they're still a lot of fun. Texas A&M University Car Club has a good Rally Series near me that's usually well done, including at least two night rallies.
In 2005 Roadstar and I were in Davenport IA when the Great Race came thru town. After checking out all the rides we were lucky enough to be invited into Frank(?) Currie's motorhome and get shown and explain to, the workings of the race and how each morning you get a booklet with exact blow by blow directions to follow. It was pretty intense looking. It was funny, Mrs Currie made a comment about her husband having to do exactly everything she says while on the road. Very sweet people and it was at that point I thought to myself I wanted to do it one day.
Wouldn't it be a blast to have a Hamb Run with the same idea that actually goes from coast to coast?? If we were all wealthy and could afford two months off with overnight stays at hotels for that long of a time it would be a blast. Just dreaming............
In 2003 they started the race at the City's new rec center 4 doors down from my house, such an cool event. Each entry has post cards with pictures of their car and the stats, that they hand out. When the cars leave, they clock them out one by one. Just about every one cranks them up some leaving the parking lot. There is some quite unique iron running!
Looks like the rules have relaxed a bit. I saw them pass through NY (Binghampton I think) about 20 years ago. All the cars were like '48 and older I think. Still just as cool though.
They came thru Montana several years ago. I was impressed with the guys piloting an early Healey roadster ....... not alot of room for spares and these guys looked BEAT, I'm not sure the goggle marks around their eyes would ever go away. s.
There is one and it's called "Race to the Salt. Takes place the begining of next month. No doubt in my mind there will be 100 or more HAMB folks participating.
Rallies can be fun, alot of the ones I have done have a bunch of cryptic clues involving weird road signs, monuments and landmarks. You have to figure out what the guy who made the map is telling you to look for or you really get lost and have to backtrack and make up time (done the usual way, hauling ass). I think the One Lap of America (cannonball) is the same sort of thing.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=117200&page=2 Link to pics from when they came through our town last year.
Came through here and spent Tuesday night. Some righteous banger speedsters and 32's. Of course, Corky and his "fleet" (2 racer/speedsters and the Honest Charlie 32) was in it. Nicest guy you would ever want to meet. Sure hope I can get a "retirement" job with him. I try to post some pics later.
they are stopping in Norman Oklahoma from 6:00 to 8:00 tonight( July 5th)..I'm taking the kiddos to look over the old iron. FrankBoss
I have always wanted to do it. When I was at Coker I talked to his son about the race, he's been going on it with Corky since he was a kid. His excitement for it really put me over the edge. One of these days...
I was fortunate to run it 3 years in a row in the mid 80's. Stock Model A sedan. Can't say enough about the experience and the great people I met along the way. Did some of Canada one year. There was a year limit then and Interstate Batteries was the main sponsor.
Way Cool!!! I called Honest Charlies the other day to talk to Mike Goodman and they told me he was out for a couple of weeks. I checked out the Great Race website and see that he's running it in the '32.
Is that gold car pictured, the original that the cool chassis that was at the detroit autorama was based on? edit: this one
If you go back into old car magazines the use to hold TSD rallys for street rods in the early fifty's. That sure would beat park and shines on a Saturday afternoon.
here are some of my photos from the stop in Norman. some are of the acctual participants and some are of local stuff that folks brought. the rain chased me off so i didn't get everything. it was a cool event though, and cool that they rolled up 2 blocks from my house. here are some of the local cars starting with an A original down to the mechanical breaks and factory pin stripe: *** *** *** ***
**Raises hand** Looks like they are pulling in to DFW this evening. I think I'll go grab my camera at lunch and head to Lewisville after work - Matt
Cars in Norman Oklahoma last night where they were warmly greeted by torrential downpours interspersed with a steam bath. Cokers cars were great but there were many others just as nice. I didn't really understand the guy in the new Vette with the 53-54 retro body on it but at least he was competing. Looks like a lot of fun and tons of work. They did say that the attrition rate yesterday was very high and there were a number of cars out of the race or broken down. The silver deuce with the blown flathead sounded great.
GREAT RACE 2008 - New York to Paris One hundred years ago, the crack of a gold-plated pistol triggered the beginning of the “Greatest Auto Race”, a worldwide endurance test of man and machine. 17 men dared take part in hopes of proving that the newly invented combustion engine powered automobile was not only a practical, durable machine, but could meet the demands of a future on the move. GREAT RACE 2008, New York to Paris, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the “Greatest Auto Race”, one of the most important motorsports events of the 20th century. (Learn more about the "Greatest Auto Race") On May 30, 2008, an international field of teams will follow in the tracks of those daring adventurers who participated a century ago. Participants with the some of the most innovative automobiles in the world will line-up alongside historical machines, all pointed west, aiming to repeat a milestone event that last took place 100 years ago. The “Greatest Auto Race“ of 1908, was inspired by the success of the landmark Peking to Paris race, held one year earlier. The French newspaper Le Matin and later, The New York Times conspired to top that earlier event and stage “the toughest race ever devised.” At the time, there was little hope that the combustion engine powered automobile could withstand the rigors of such a monumental undertaking. Was it possible, at a time when according to the London Daily Mail newspaper that “the motor car, after a woman, is the most fragile and capricious thing on earth”? “The Greatest Auto Race” of 1908 was underway within a few months. On February 12, 1908, six of the most modern automobiles of the era, representing France, Germany, Italy and the United States lined up in Times Square. 17 men, eager to prove that they and their machines were capable of enduring the ultimate automotive adventure, waited for the start. The crack of a gold plated pistol and a roar from 250,000 people sent the racers on an adventure that has never been repeated, until now. All along racecourse people cheered, urging the drivers on. Celebrations were held, toasts made. The world watched. The Greatest Auto Race was so audacious; it achieved as much popularity as the London Olympic Games of 1908. Three continents, 22,000 miles / 35,000 kilometers and six months later, teams from the Germany, Italy, and the U.S., finished in the City of Light, proving once and for all, that the automobile could withstand the rigors of every day life. The world has never been the same. The demands of an ever-changing world present man with perhaps its greatest challenge, Global Warming. Recent findings by the International Panel on Climate Change validates what common sense tells us, that the earth is warming and we must find a substitute for fossil fuels. (Learn More) “There is no question that the increase in greenhouse gases are dominated by human activity … the warming of the climate system is now unequivocal,” Susan Solomon of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. IPPC Report - February 2, 2007 (Learn More) A century later, teams from every Nation are invited to join together to once again prove the viability of a new automotive technology, those that are powered by sustainable energy. Can participation in THE GREAT RACE by the next generation of sustainable fuel powered automobiles have the same impact that the early machines achieved a century before? Can today’s adventurers endure the elements and 22,000 miles / 35,000 kilometers, like their predecessors? We invite adventurers from every Nation to participate in this once in a lifetime historical event and help shape the future. Who will take up the challenge?
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