Great Race 2019

The Great Race is a nine day event, that starts three days before the actual rally begins. Brad and I had the luxury of driving to Riverside, California on Wednesday for the beginning festivities that go along with the Great Race. It is the first time we have been able to drive our car to this event.

The first few days are filled with business/race items including registration and technical inspection, a meeting for all 487 people that are involved in the event, and The Trophy Run. Then there are the evening events including a welcome reception, a concert and a dinner.

During these different activities we have time to catch up with old friends and meet new people. We stayed very close to March Air force Base in Riverside, and met a young man who is an F16 pilot. He asked us about the race and was comparing it to things he does as a pilot. Not quite the same thing because we are on the ground, but needless to say enjoyed meeting him. We appreciate the men and women who give of themselves to be in the military and protect us all. We also enjoyed meeting David Neville who was in Riverside investigating a recent loss not far from the base.

On Friday after our meeting, we headed toward Menifee for our Trophy Run. The Trophy Run is a warm up of sorts. We think of it as cleaning the cobwebs out of our brains, but scores do count in a tie situation at the end of the rally.

The Beginning:

Saturday, June 21st, 2019

Brad and I would like to thank everyone who makes this event possible for us. First, our families, thank you Betsy, Dad, Janet, Lisa, Madison and Matt for coming to Riverside this morning. We loved having all of you with us. We also loved the surprise from Mike, Nema, Melissa and Troy. Cheri, Scott, Deanne and Joey, we are so happy you could join us as well. And last but certainly not least Susan, thank you for coming out and bringing Mike, and most importantly thank you for taking care of Mike so we can make this crazy fun journey. Along with Susan, this wouldn’t be possible without Shari at Descansando Properties. Thank you Shari for keeping the ship sailing.

To the rest of our family and friends, thank you for the messages and well wishes.

We also cannot move on without thanking three people who help keep Jane running. First and foremost to Jeff at Mayfair garage, this year has been a challenging one for you, and you still were able to work on Jane. You are in our thoughts and prayers and as you have made Jane get through each rally we know with your positive attitude and strength you too will succeed in your personal challenges.

To Chris and his team at Newport Motorsports, thank you for the last minute repairs on Jane.

Lastly, leave it to Deaver, thank you to all at Deaver Springs who put new Springs on Jane at the eleventh hour. We appreciate you taking Jane in on Monday and returning her the same day. She is riding great!

So, now to the start, as you can see we loved having a great group of friends and family at the start. We couldn’t have asked for a better day. It was warm, by eleven, but not the hundred degrees we normally see in Riverside this time of year. The race started with somewhere between 125 and 150 cars. We don’t know exactly how many started.

We began lining up at 8:30 this morning. We were the seventh car to line up and when I stepped out of the car, to my surprise was our friend Mike Orduno. It was a great and unexpected surprise. Today is Mike’s wife’s Birthday and he left the house early so she could sleep in and surprised Brad and me. Happy Birthday to Renee! We spoke with him for a few minutes and I turned around and saw two more of our local friends. Our friends Melissa, and Nema and his son Troy, had come to see us off as well. We put Troy in our car and then walked to look at all the entries.

We met up with family and friends at the start and walked around and looked at all of the cars. Today is really the only day that we can see all of the cars that are participating. Each day as we come in we are staggered so you never know what cars you will see.

Which brings me to one more thank you, to The Reliable Carriers Team, thank you for sponsoring Brad and me. Running with the front of the pack is such a special privilege. We also know that Jane is in good hands when she is on one of your trucks.

After the fan fair and fun, we headed North to Victorville. We did our calibration run driving up the Cajon Pass. The calibration run is how we make sure our speedometers are set correctly, and headed to lunch. There was a small crowd in Victorville and little Route 66 Museum. We took a quick walk around the museum, took one picture, and headed back out to rally.

Route 66 Museum, Victorville

We started rallying in Victorville and made our way across the Pear Blossom Highway toward Lancaster. We rallied for several hours around the high desert and in the hills. The Joshua Trees were plenty and at one point we were hit by a tumbleweed. Like much of Southern California because of all the rain this year, much of the desert is still very green.

We finished in Lancaster late this afternoon and enjoyed our first ace of the year and an an early dinner with friends and fellow racers. After dinner we met some local young ladies who represent the North Los Angeles County area, and had earned titles as they recently won their local pageants. One of the girls shares her Birthday with Brad this coming Monday, and she also shared with us that the #7 was her favorite.

We have had such a big day, and tomorrow there will be more to add. It is now 11:30 and this has not been proofed, so please ignore my mistakes, but know we will have much more to share.