Nice Packard 120 driven by wife Pat while husband Pat tells her where to go.
The Hemmings Speedster almost didn’t get on course this morning when the throttle linkage on our new Stromberg 97 popped off on the way to the morning tire/speedometer test. Luckily it was only two miles down the road and we were able to catch up to them and reattach it in time for them to get to the starting point and get going when it was the Speedster’s turn. Today was a day of breakdowns for other racers as well. Last year’s winners Rich and Ken Fredette broke a crankshaft pulley but were able to replace it during lunch and get back on course after only having to take a DNF for one leg and a two-minute penalty for being almost an hour late for their designated start time for the first afternoon leg. Another Model A team exploded a transmission case and limped into lunch but were done for at least today while they chase down another transmission. Corky Coker had some oil issues but it appears he’ll be back on course tomorrow morning after repairs. The Hemmings Speedster ran well and the team got their second ace of the competition. Total time for the day was 11 seconds off, good for ninth place overall and first in the Sportsman class. Lunch hospitality today was courtesy of Greenville, Kentucky, as they vie for the $5,000 first prize for best lunch stop of the week. They did a great job and were more than friendly to all the competitors. Tomorrow everyone goes at it again, heading towards a lunch stop in Dickson, Tennessee, and returning to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to finish.
Lots of Fords in this years field but a surprising amount of great old Mercurys too.