A New Team Fredette Tradition: Honoring Those Who Served

Team Fredette’s history with the Great Race goes back more than 25 years and, like many things in the Fredette family, it started with Wayne Fredette. 

In 2000, Wayne and his brother, Richard, entered the Great Race in a gray 1934 four-cylinder Ford pickup. Rallying quickly became a passion for Wayne as he navigated those first two years. Once Wayne was on his own several members of the family took a turn in the navigator’s seat. 

“I got involved in 2003 when Pops needed a driver, so he could navigate,” Jeff remembers. 

In 2004, Wayne started to rebuild the ’33 Ford that Jeff located out west. This was to become the yellow truck they compete in today.

Then, in 2005, Wayne decided it was time for Jeff and Eric to give the Great Race a try as their own rookie team. They did more than give it a try, they won the Rookie Division that year.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

More than two decades later, the Great Race remains very much a Fredette family affair. It gives us an opportunity to be together while continuing Wayne’s passion for rallying and for the Great Race. Over the years there have been victories, challenges, breakdowns, Aces, thousands of miles and countless friendships made along the way. Many know that Wayne continues to inspire the team as his ashes ride in the boys’ toolbox in the back of the ’33 Ford.

Team Fredette went on to join the Grand Champion division after winning the overall in 2018 and 2025. 

And in 2026, another Team Fredette tradition was born, somewhat unexpectedly.

Several years ago, Eric came up with the idea of flying two flags on the back of the 1933 Ford pickup. On the driver’s side would fly the American flag. On the passenger side would fly the flag of whichever state we were rallying through that day. As we crossed state lines, the state flag changed.

The American flag remained.

Until one day when I was watching Jeff and Eric working on the truck and noticed that the end of the American flag had become frayed.

“That flag needs to be retired,” I told them.

Respect for the American flag has always been important to us. Our fathers were veterans, and my own appreciation and reverence for the flag grew even stronger when I attended Girls State while I was in high school.

So I made Jeff and Eric a promise: I would order enough American flags that they could begin every day of the Great Race flying a new one.

That simple promise started something none of us had really planned.

We began talking about what should happen to each flag at the end of the day. Rather than simply taking it down ourselves, we thought it would be meaningful to ask veterans at the finish line to lower and properly fold it. Once folded, the flag could then be presented to a veteran in the crowd as a small token of appreciation for his or her service. 

What began as an idea quickly became much more.

Our first ceremony took place at the finish in Collinsville, Illinois.

As Jeff and Eric crossed the finish line, Jeff spotted two veterans in uniform. In typical Jeff fashion, he stopped on a dime and asked if they would help us retire the flag. 

Great Race announcers Scott and Jason helped bring the crowd into the moment, inviting the veterans to lower and properly fold the American flag that had flown on the truck throughout that day’s competition.

Then came something we hadn’t expected.

The veterans suggested another man in attendance whom they felt deserved to be recognized. He was Vietnam veteran Jerry Dallape. 

The folded flag was presented to Jerry as a patriotic keepsake and a small token of our gratitude for his service to our country.

The emotion of the moment caught all of us by surprise.

Jerry cried.

We cried.

And then Jerry surprised us once again. He had written a book about his experiences in Vietnam, Vietnam Guns and Fury, and presented Team Fredette with a signed copy.

Here we were trying to thank him for what he had given to our country, and he was giving something meaningful back to us. 

That was the moment we knew this tradition had become something bigger than we originally imagined.

From then on, the American flag ceremony became one of our favorite parts of each Great Race day. At every organized evening finish, veterans from the crowd helped lower and fold the flag, and another deserving veteran was selected to receive it. 

Over the course of the race, we met some wonderful men and women who had served our country. Some we have even stayed in contact with.

One of the most meaningful ceremonies came at the end of the race in California, when we were surprised to reconnect with an old friend of Jeff’s, Dave Bergquist.

Dave, originally from Illinois and now living in California, rode enduros with Jeff many years ago and is a career Marine veteran. Joining him for the ceremony was SFC Cuevas from Blair High School JROTC.

Together, they lowered and carefully folded the American flag that had flown on the ’33 Ford that day. Jeff and Eric then had the privilege of presenting it to Dave as a small token of our gratitude for his service to our country.

It was a special and unexpected reunion, an old enduro friendship, a veteran being honored for his service, and a fitting way to close out the final flag ceremony of the race.

Perhaps it was especially fitting that this tradition began as America celebrated its 250th birthday.

Traveling the Great Race gives you a unique view of this country. We roll down main streets lined with local businesses. We meet car enthusiasts who appreciate the history of the automobile, families who come out to welcome the racers, and thousands of patriotic, down-to-earth spectators who make each stop memorable.

The Great Race is certainly about vintage cars and competition, but after all these years, we know it is about much more than that.

It is about people.

It is about communities.

It is about history and tradition. 

And for Team Fredette, it is also about family as we continue something Wayne started more than 25 years ago. 

What began with one frayed American flag became an opportunity each evening to stop, reflect and thank someone who had served our country. 

It is now one of our favorite Great Race traditions. 

And it is one we intend to continue.