Back to the 50s car show
Motor with us down the mighty Mississippi
We have just heard from Sister McRae and she reports that she is safe from the terrible tornado which hit her hometown of Granbury, Texas, last night. She says the damage is about five miles from her house and that it is severe. News reports say that several were killed and that dozens more are seriously injured.
We received an article, written by Howell Dennis in the Crowley Post Signal about the preparation for the Great Race stop in Crowley, Louisiana, and just had to share it with you guys. Check it out!
Most Great Racers recognize Chad Nelson and his yellow Model A boattail speedster, and if you have been following the Great Race blog for any length of time you know that Chad is building a new Model A speedster for the 2013 event. And most of you probably know that Chad started in the Great Race as a X-Cup team member. After that, he was so hooked on the Great Race that he competed as a private entry. Then he went back to his hooks and put together his own X-Cup team as a mentor to the youth in his hometown in Florida.
Y’know… After you’ve done it once – or a few times – this Great Race thing just gets in your blood (along with the leaking motor oil and coolant). I’m pretty much hooked and want to go every year! It’s the most fun you can have in the front seat, and I really like my Great Race family. In fact, it’s better than our real family reunions each year (maybe because Corky wasn’t mean when we were little, like certain siblings that shall remain nameless). Still having a Day Job, it can be difficult to get away, but usually there’s a way…
After running NO XQS, aka the Great White Whale (’61 Imperial convertible) three times – using the secret weapon of its comfort and reliability (ha!) to try and offset a total lack of handicap factor for such a ‘new’ car; AND after spending weeks under it last year, removing tar and gravel from its (‘sposed-to-be white) undersides from when last year’s GR found a hot, freshly tarred road and ran us in a maze three times over it for good measure; well, I decided I would retire old NO XQS to the show and shine circuit. In its place, I decided on a more true-to-the-spirit Great Racer! It’s a ’32 Buick straight-8, bought without body. So I designed a new speedster for that chassis and set to making it real.
A little snow didn’t stop Beth Gentry and Jody Knowles from winning the 8th annual All-Stars for Autism rally in Joplin, Missouri, last weekend. They edged out defending Great Race champions Barry and Irene Jason and the always steady Bill Harper and Larry Blair. Gentry and Knowles, who won first place in the Expert Division in the 2012 Great Race, were competing in their 1932 Ford Cabriolet.
Click HERE for the story!
Editor’s Note: I just got this note from Alan and Mary Travis saying they will not be able to participate in the 2013 Great Race, but I thought everyone would enjoy seeing what interesting things they have been up to the last few months. –Jeff Stumb
Ted Stahl and Team Stahl has Great Race fever. Last year’s rookies from Michigan in a 1941 Packard convertible had more fun than anyone. So what do they do to top 2012? They have entered two teams for 2013. Ted and Mary will be driving a new 1934 Ford Phaeton on the rally down the Mississippi River starting in St. Paul on June 22. And Brett and Dan Stahl will be in the ’41 Packard.
Click HERE for the story!
We just loved the Hot Rod Television coverage of the 2012 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. Apparently Speed loved it to! If you missed the airings of the 2012 event the first weekend it aired, Speed is re-airing the show twice more in May. You have two chances to set your DVR, the first is Thursday May 2 at 4:30pm E and the second airing will be Saturday May 4 at 9:30am E on Speed. Check your local listings for times and possible schedule changes, but that’s the info they’ve handed us and we are excited!
The producers at Hot Rod TV did an outstanding job cramming 2,400 miles into a half hour. The show has already aired several times on Speed and it appears that there are several more to come. Set your DVRs, tell all your friends and remember there’s still time to get involved with the 2013 Race both as participants and as staff. Contact Jeff Stumb with questions about either.
Editor’s note: The following information came to us from our friend Wally Burchill at the Minnesota Street Rod Association, the organization which puts on the Back to the 50s Weekend in St. Paul each year. More than 12,000 cars and 120,000 people will attend, making it the largest three-day car show in the world. And the Great Race will start right in the middle of the event this summer.
The 2013 Minneapolis Auto Show opened to the public on Saturday April 9th with some surprising vehicles garnering a lot of attention which were not current models the public could buy at their local dealers on Monday.
Click HERE for the story!
The 2013 Great Race Schedule of Events has been released by race officials, and the first activities will take place Thursday, June 20, at the host hotel. “The 2013 Great Race is going to be another terrific event, and it will start off with a very busy Thursday in Minnesota,” director Jeff Stumb said. Keep reading for more schedule information, as well as a link to the full schedule of events.
