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2009 VCRA AT THE MOTHER ROAD RALLY
2009 The Mother Road Rally
April 24th -
Joplin, Missouri
They came from coast to coast and border to border..all looking to cash in on a posted purse of nearly $8,000 PLUS make a leap in the VCRA National Points Race. Each team was eager to tackle old “Route 66” and see how they would fare. It seemed as though mother nature was even on board for this one…there had been consistent rain showers for days leading up to the event. But when the green flag dropped, the skies cleared , the sun came out and away we went. In fact, temps were in the upper 80’s on Friday…a little sun burn for the open car folks according to Jim Menneto as he debuted his 1932 Ford Speedster. But I heard no complaints about that!. A jaunt up to Jasper, Missouri, have a pit stop, and back to the hotel that afternoon. Nice little ride in the country side, or so you would think. The surprise of the day was that there were 24 Ace’s scored. WOW! Our old friend Curtis Graf, with Ty Holmquist navigating, scored an amazing 4 Aces in eight legs. Yep, that’s right, eight legs in three and a half hours. But look out, here comes Team Hedke and Team Loubiere each with three Aces! And a host of other folks including the eventual day winners, Team Jason, with two Aces.
Of course, you have to understand the psychology of a rally…..the eventual winner of the event did not have an Ace on stage one. Was he discouraged? Guess not! Anyhow, the scores on Friday would not be that significant because of the “cumulative score” process. The worst two legs of stage one and two would be discarded, then add the total of stage three for the overall winner. Raw scores in the teens and twenties were the order of the day on Friday.
Now it is time to get serious. Try a little harder on Saturday..make no big mistakes.. still have a leg that can be tossed, but what if I did not do well on Friday? Cannot make a mistake today or I am in bad shape. So away we go. After a loop around Grand Lake, a Grove, Oklahoma pit stop, cross over Pensacola Dam, then on to the lunch stop at one of VCRA’s best friends , Dave Kane and his famous Route 66 Packard Museum, then back to Joplin. Team Jason had looked good on Friday, but by the end of Saturday, they were in 9th and Team Fredette had climbed to 1st. Now the tossed legs come into play. Team Loubiere, Team Hedke, Haverty & Hewitt and Knowles & Gentry had begun to show their stuff. The over all points leader going into the event, Hersey & McDorr had taken a little spill to 18th. Things are looking strange now!
O K…Sunday morning..time to bear down and do your thing. Any mistake now could be a disaster. Skies look good..no rain..lots of wind though. A short morning run to Sarcoxie, Missouri through the rolling hills of the Ozarks. A trip down another section of old “Route 66”, and back to Joplin to decide a winner. No legs thrown out this day.. and some folks showed they still had what it takes. The top thirteen cars on Sunday had adjusted scores of 10 seconds and under. Team Jason made a valiant run at Team Fredette, but the final score showed they got “Old Car’d” by a mere .54 second….yes, that’s fifty four hundredths of a second. Team Fredette (that’s Richard & Ken) had gotten the job done. Congratulations guys!!!
Third place went to Knowles & Gentry, fourth to Team Loubiere and fifth to the old fox Curtis Graf & Ty Holmquist. A great lunch at the awards ceremony and some memorable stories, of course. Then it was time to head home.
The points race took a twist also..now Team Fredette leads former leader Hersey & McDorr by 31 points. Knowles & Gentry are right there with only a 45 point deficit. It ain’t over yet by a long shot.
A big thanks to all who came from far and near to be a part of this great event, and to all the volunteers who help us make it happen. We truly appreciate your support…and we look forward to seeing you at the HEMMINGS CHALLENGE Vintage Car Rally & National Points Finals in Springfield, Missouri.
Mother Road Rally a Huge Success
TEAM FREDETTE WINS!!!
Sugar Valley 2012
Great Race 2012
Coker Challenge 2012
Pumpkin Run 2012
All Stars Challenge 2012
