Hemmings 2010

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2010 HEMMINGS CHALLENGE

2010 Hemmings Challenege

July 25th - 30th ,2010

Bowling Green, Kentucky

Final Race Results

“TEAM JASON” WINS AT BOWLING GREEN

The Fourth Annual Hemmings Challenge kicked off under hot and sunny skies on Sunday afternoon in front of the Bowling Green “Hot Rods” baseball stadium. Led out of the starting gate by Jim Menneto and Mari Pazrizo in car # 1, Team Hemmings Motor News, fifty four teams took the “Green Flag” after Justyce Gardner gave the command to “Start Your Engines”!! And so the week went….each team vying for a winning position, both in daily prize monies as well as the overall championships in their divisions.

The PRACTICE RALLY revealed some surprising results, and amazing scores. In Championship Division, how about a 0m01.63s score for car # 10, Guy Mace and grandson Caleb Henley!! Think that was a fluke? No way…many time champs Graf / Holmquist scored a 0m02.45s, tying with Reeder / Stone, another grandfather / grandson team, with a like score. (tie goes to the first Ace). Where were the eventual winners on this first day? Merely plodding along with a very respectable score of 0m05.81s score, which, by most standards, would be viewed as a great score on any day. The Sportsman Division had a different look with eventual winners Caldwell / Caldwell scoring a great 0m06.48s score. That was followed closely by Hurst / Hurst (0m08.97s) and Mitchell / Mitchell (0m09.72s). Rookie Division was won with a 0m13.52s by Phillips / Barnett – X-Class by the Titusville Terriers with a 0m28.98ss and Tour was headed up by Walters / Walters with a fine 0m32.80s score.

So the stage was set for a really competitive rally. The talk at the evening “Watering Hole” was centered around the amazing times set by some of the teams! Could they hold on to a streak like that, or would they clutch under pressure?

Stage One: Under sunny skies, the destination was Greenville, Kentucky, and a great venue featuring a “Chicken Salad Sandwich” to die for!! Temperatures hovered in the 90’s, and began to take its toll on a few teams. Plaster/Plaster, in the X-Class, arrived in town with a major hole in the side of the transmission. Last years National Points Champion, Fredette/ Fredette, lost the front crank pulley. After a helping hand from Naomi and the Titusville Team, and a major parts trading deal between the two broken cars, Fredette was up and running, however, Plaster/Plaster were on the Tommy Sweep. Team Fredette, considered one of the top contenders, was hampered by further problems, and struggled to get in by the allotted time to avoid a DNF. They made it with only minutes to spare, and lived on to race another day. Reeder /Stone topped the field with another amazing 0m02.45s score for seven legs. Barry and Irene Jason - Championship Division Winners Jason / Jason (pictured) and Kuck/Kuck rounded out the top three in Championship Division. Sportsman was led by our event sponsor, Menneto / Parizo, with a great 0m11.41s score. Chad & Jennie Caldwell - Sportsman Division Winners Caldwell /Caldwell (pictured) and Anderson / Davies rounded out the top three. Rookie was handled smartly by a newcomer, in a great ’32 Ford, Gibbs / Gibbs. X-Class was won by the Titusville Terriers, and Tour was dominated by Walters / Walters. Another evening reception at the “Water Hole” was enjoyed by all, with the main topic of “Who can top that 2 second score by Reeder / Stone.” Worry not, let’s get ready for day two!!

Stage Two: More sunshine and downright hot! Off we go to Tennessee. Lunch stop destination is Dickson, after crossing the Cumberland River. A few clouds gave some promise of cooler temperatures, but the humidity cancelled that idea, and hot was the order of the day. A car show, a great rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, guys and gals in costume, a good lunch in the Roxy Theater, and a generous crowd was on hand to greet the cars. Made the return trip a little harder as the lunch, coupled with the heat, made some of the teams a little sleepy, I am told. Six legs of rallying, and the Championship Division is handled by Haverty / Pusey with a super score of 0m10.08s. Kuck / Kuck are right there followed closely by Coker /Bell. In Sportsman, Miller / Garrison showed they had their stuff together with a winning score of 0m14.11s, followed by Habetz / Regan and Caldwell / Caldwell. Rookie Class was handled readily by Gibbs /Gibbs, X-Class by Titusville Terriers and Tour by Walters / Walters. Another evening at the “Water Hole”, and all seemed to be having a good time. Lots of work going on in the pits. The heat was beginning to take its toll on cars, and people. Just missed a downpour, welcomed by all to cool things off.

Stage Three: The rain was over and the skies cleared, humidity was up, and you might imagine, it was getting hot again. Off again, this time to Bardstown, Kentucky, Bourbon Capital of the USA. After a little run through Mammoth Cave National Park, it was on to the rolling hills, passing the boyhood home of ole’ Abe Lincoln. Coming into Bardstown, the road construction looked a little intimidating…but, not to worry. Cheerleaders, bands a playing, and spectators lined the street as we made our way to the parking area in the Farmer’s Market. A super meal of fried chicken with all the fixin’s topped with deserts like Momma makes furnished by the church ladies (they really know how to make it right). Then off to the restart at the Heaven Hill Distillery. Again, six legs of rallying, and the team of Mace/Henely showed they had not given up just yet with a 0m4.89s score in the Championship Division. They were followed up by the ever steady Jason/Jason and Coker /Bell teams. In Sportsman, Caldwell /Caldwell showed they had the staying power, besting Menneto /Parizo and Mitchell / Mitchell for the top three spots. Rookie’s Garrison / Sheldon showed the way in that class, X-Class was again scooped up by the Titusville Terriers. Tour Class has been dominated by Walters /Walters ( they say it’s the paint job!) The finish this day was at the National Corvette Museum with a dinner hosted most graciously by Gary and Jean-Ann Martin and the Clay Miller family. Great food, three birthday boys and a cooling thunderstorm completed the day. Unfortunately, the toll on cars was beginning to mount. Four teams suffered varying degrees of car failure, and were unable to continue. Among those, Fredette/ Fredette suffered engine problems, Gibbs /Gibbs had a believed rear end failure, Plaster / Plaster’s transmissions troubles continued and Lowe/Lowe could not get the Corvette to fire despite the efforts of Naomi and others.

Stage Four: A pretty long day ahead as we are off to Tell City, Indiana. A little cooler this morning, but the temperatures are sure to rise as the day progresses. Heading due north for a spell, then off through the country side to cross the Ohio River. A tremendous welcome in Tell City, car show, spectators, flags everywhere welcomed the racers on the City Hall grounds. A home cooked lunch of BBQ with the trimmin’s, deserts you could not pass up and photos of every team taken on the spot ( a very nice touch). After lunch, it was a return trip across the Ohio River, and through the county side back to the home base. When the smoke cleared, in the Championship Division, it was Team Graf / Holmquist showing they were still not out of this deal with a great score of 0m5.71s for six legs of rallying. Feeney /Feeney and Mace /Henley rounded out the top three. Sportsman Class began to tighten up with Team Mitchell/Mitchell really showing the way with a tremendous score of 0m04.86s. They were chased by Caldwell /Caldwell and Anderson / Davies. Rookies Garrison / Sheldon led the Tour Class and X-Class was once again won by the Titusville Terriers. Tour leaders Walters /Walters had withdrawn, but were still the class leaders. Once again, all racers congregated around the “Watering Hole” to discuss the coming final day. Cumulative scores for the first four days are now finalized..everyone is aware that the final day allows for no mistakes. The leaders tonight must perform well on Friday, or they may take a tumble from grace. The pressure is on..who can stand up to the task? Friday will tell.

Stage Five: A short day is on tap, but a difficult one is expected by most. Some jitters are apparent in the lobby as the teams work on their instructions. Each team that is in contention knows that any mistake will spell disaster. Another hot day is store. Will the car survive?…Will I survive? Those are the questions swirling around in the leader’s minds. So off they go headed for Glasgow, Kentucky, the final lunch stop of the event. A civilian accident marred the start by some…was this a sign of things to come? Everyone made it through that incident, so here we go. Arriving in Glasgow the racers were greeted by cheerleaders, bands playing, a great crowd of spectators and were treated to a lunch guaranteed to make you yell uncle. Top sirloin steak sandwiches, corn on the cob, desserts you could not ignore and cool drinks for all. Would that make you unable to concentrate in the afternoon sun? Not much sharing of scores this day. The teams kinda stayed to themselves, knowing that they had to keep an edge of some sort. As the teams came into the Rail Museum in Bowling Green, the tension was building. Staged there for a few minutes to assure the scores were correct, the finish line was but a few blocks away. At the signal, all cars proceeded to the official finish gate, and the winners announced as they crossed the finish line. Team Jason/Jason had won the day with a great score of 0m04.15s and the Championship Division. A consistent performance had paid off with a total score for the five days of 0m26.56s. Reeder / Stone jumped up the ladder to second position and Feeney/Feeney captured the third place. In Sportsman Division, Caldwell /Caldwell won the final day with a 0m26.73s, and First Place with a cumulative score of 1m08.04s. Mitchell / Mitchell and Anderson/Davies finished up second and third respectively. Garrison/Sheldon won the day with a 2m36.80s and First Place in the Rookie Division with a score of 6m08.48s. Rounding out the Rookie Division was Phillips / Barnett and Richey/Richey. X-Class was never in question as the Titusville Terriers ran away with the title with a 3m05.96s score. Team Plaster/Plaster made a great showing for their first year in the second and third spots. Tour Division was a fun thing by two teams..Walters/Walters withdrew to attend a wedding, however their Model A entry had the best score over the Team of Lowe/Lowe. They are both winners for having fun!

Recap: Bowling Green, Kentucky lived up to the reputation of being a car city…the CVB coupled with the Holiday Inn and Sloan Convention Center provided a great base of operations for the 4th Annual Hemmings Challenge Vintage Car Rally. The folks at the hotel displayed “Southern Hospitality” at its finest. As did everyone we worked with to make this event happen. The “Silent Auction”, produced again by Pat & Pat Brothers, was a huge success. A huge thanks to those that so generously donate to this great cause. Totals for the charity will be posted when finalized. The DVD is being prepared by Peridot Pictures, headed up by Dorian and Elaine (Mayor) Walker. They worked very hard to capture this event in its truest form. As soon as it is available, we will post on the web site. Justyce said he had a great time, and congratulates all the winners! In his eyes, you are all winners. The “Host Lunch Stop City” award was won by Bardstown, Kentucky…the voting was extremely close as all cities presented great venues. At the awards banquet, it was generally agreed that the rally was a huge success. A huge thank you to all sponsors, volunteers, staff and particularly you, the racers.

As plans develop for next year, as outlined at the awards banquet, we will make them available. We hope to be able to make a formal announcement at the Coker Challenge (get your entries into that now). Thank you all for your support!