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VCRA at THE HEMMINGS CHALLENGE 2009 | ||
 2009 Hemmings Challenge
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| Stage0 | Stage1 | Stage2 | Stage3 | Stage4 | Stage5 | Event | DropStage1 | DropStage2 | DropStage3 | DropStage4 | Drop Stage5 | ||
 Pat Brothers (both of them) 'worked' the crowd to produce a very successful Auction for Autism |
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that we had “Hot Time” in Springfield, Missouri at the ’09 Hemmings Challenge. Literally…the temperatures hovered in the upper 90’s for the better part of the week…with a couple of brief, but rather breathtaking, dips in temps to middle 70’s with some real rain and wind…then drive out of that right back into the 90’s. All in all, everyone said better the heat than rain..so be it!!! And so it was…44 of the best rally teams in America, plus an old friend from down under (the crazy Aussie), made for some exciting times. From the time they all started to gather at the host hotel, (Ramada Oasis), there was a buzz about who might be the winner…and would that guy, or gal, be the winner of the event as well as the Points Champion. At the general meeting we were treated with a posting of the colors by the local VFW and a spectacular rendition of our national anthem…that was followed by our poster boy, Justyce Gardner leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance and a “Gentleman, and Ladies, Start Your Engines”…and the race was on!! Speculation soon turned to reality as the competition began with the practice rally. The current points leader, Richard Fredette, began to show his muscle right out of the box .. scoring the best score of the day..a stout 5.90 seconds. And how about the Silver Cup folks..Dortch & Renfro with a winning 18.60 seconds. At the end of the day, and after a few in the Fire & Ice Bar & Restaurant (you had to be there to know what you missed there) it was concluded that we had a race in the makin’. |
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Stage One began with clear skies and “HOT” as the forecast…and hot is was. Off to Warsaw, Missouri we go!.. See- sawing through the Missouri countryside was the order of the day. Warsaw had great food and a cool place to eat! Neat deal! Six legs and plenty of instructions to negotiate. At the end of the day, the Gold Cup leader was again Team Fredette, with a great score of 6.49 seconds. Team Joiner & Team Caldwell made up the 2 & 3 slots for the day. In Silver Cup, Team Martin stepped up the program and scored a winning day of 13.11 seconds, followed by the Best Chairs entry of Wenholdt & Miller (remember that name) and Habetz & Regan. Our hats off to the Tin Cup entry of the T. Terriers …they just got better and better as the days progressed. Stage Two looked eerily like the day before…hot again!!! OK..Lets go to Nevada, Missouri. And go we did….From the hills yesterday to some of the flatlands unusual to Missouri. In Nevada, we stayed kinda hot…they could have never predicted this kind of heat…yep, real heat!!! But go we did, and when most could see nothing but a vision of Fire & Ice ( you shoulda been there) the day was done, and a new face to the winner of the day! Team Tourje said, Hey, Lookie Here! A great score of 5.39 seconds. Team Loubiere started to make noise with a good 5.67 and Hersey & McDorr said they were not about to give up either with 5.85 score. In Silver Cup, Team Martin was beginning to make a statement with a 6.90 score followed by Team Hudson with a 6.93 and Wendholdt & Miller with a 7.00 second (there these guys are again) Clem Lange must have a training camp in the back of his chair factory somewhere. Stage Three began as the past two….looked like no rain, but pretty hot. Oh well, better hot than wet! Off we go to Carthage, Missouri. First thing out of the chute, road construction..emergency signs directing the way. Hope that is not a sign of things to come. Off we go through the rolling hills of the Ozarks…up and down..up and down…sooner or later we surely will get out of this. Got to Carthage and had a great meal in a cool building courtesy of Precious Moments..even had a massage therapist on hand…really!! A great touch for some of the elder competitors (you know who you are).. Then rally our way back..ooops…railroad tracks buckled..emergency instructions.. detour…back on course and away we go! Oh yeah, how about a thunderburst ( that’s a bunch of rain with high winds for a few minutes) temps down to mid 70’s for a while, then back to the mid 90’s. A plenty exciting day for most. But in the end, with visions of Fire & Ice on the horizon, the Team of Ferris & Sears prevailed with a winning score of 10.71. They were followed closely by Harper & Blair (13.80) and Team Jason (16.50) Somewhat surprising was Team Fredette’s fall from grace to a 25.37…what’s going on? In Silver Cup, (here they are again) Wenholdt & Miller scored a winning 13.00 seconds followed closely by Team Martin ( and they keep showing up) with a 13.80 and Miller & Garrison with a 21.78. Stage Four was greeted once again with the promise of some warm temps..perhaps even hot. We shall see… as the clouds began to cluster, one might have thought that there would be a cool down in site….Not to worry…Off to Mountain Home, Arkansas. Seems a two stage speedo check saved the day for Lange & Sickbert. A flat tire on the speedo wheel, but was in the first half. Got a reading with the spare, and down the road they go. The lunch stop at the fair grounds provided a great crowd of curious onlookers, some good music, cool air and food and drink. Then it was off to see the Arkansas countryside. Over the river and thru the hills, around and around we go..kinda the order of the day. Oh yeah, did I mention another little downburst of rain and high winds that caused a few anxious moments! Seems mother nature was kinda following us around, just to see if the folks could handle it!! No big deal…some got wet…some didn’t…carry on!! At the end of the day (after fixing a major brake issue) it was a victorious venture for Coker / Cunningham with a 4.41. So very close behind was Team Jason with a 4.62 followed by that little guy in the black garb that doesn’t say much..he just scores well.. Mace / Henley with a 5.04. In Silver, Habetz & Regan jumped up to let everyone know they were still there with a 7.67. They were followed by (here they are again) Wenholdt & Miller with a 8.50 and then Team Hudson with a great 11.97 (another one of those young guns you better be watching). So now it was time tom get your game face on…final day coming up…no legs pitched on Friday. Who will it be? Stage Five began like all the rest…temps up…nervous drivers..anxious navigators. No mistakes or its all over. Lets go to Lebanon, Missouri via some of the areas more interesting routes. So I’m going down this road at 20 MPH when a sign says “Pavement Ends”. OOOPS! Is this the right road? Am I just plain nuts? What to do? Bet this is one of those “Gotcha Guessing” deals those nuts that lay out the course do. Sure as heck, I’m right..they didn’t get me to bite that time…but whats next? Things were happening pretty quick in some instances. If I can keep my stuff together, I might have a chance…Arriving in Lebanon we were greeted by a live band, great food, cheering folks and cool air comfort….A pause that refreshed for sure. Then it was back on the road for the final legs to the finish line. Zig, then Zag..how about a maze or two…then a transit that did not leave me enough time for personal problems. The temperature caused some problems for some. At end of the day, for the day it was Team Sharp with a 5.67 followed by Team Fredette with a 6.49 and Coker & Cunningham with a 6.93….in Silver it was (you guessed it) Wenholdt / Miller with a 9.00, Team Hudson with a 12.60 followed by (yep, its them again) Team martin with a 14.49. OK..We know who won the day…Who are the overall winners for the event after the worst three legs are pitched? Gold Cup is won by Coker / Cunningham with an adjusted total score of 32.76 seconds …In second place is Team Jason with a great time of 39.60 seconds and in third is Team Loubiere with a 42.21. Silver Cup is won by Wenholdt / Miller with a 40.00 second total adjusted score, followed by Team Martin with a 51.75 second score. In third, Team Hudson showed the way with a 1m06.78 second score. Tin Cup is won by the Titusville Terriers with a score of 1m41.26s (we are real proud of these guys and gals…and they showed a real spirit in the pits as anytime anyone needed help, they were there..THANKS KIDS!)/ Tour Division was won by Team Tipton with a score of 2m31.28s And Finally, The National Points Championship is awarded to the #58 car of Richard Fredette who offered kudos to his navigators, Ken Fredette and Bill Loubiere |
