Day 1 Great Race 2022 Warwick, RI to Fargo, ND

The 132 entries for The 2022 Great Race drove across town from the hotel to Rocky Point Stat Park. We were greeted by droves of fans, young and old alike, lining the road on the 3 mile drive. It may have been the best start ever. The people of Warwick were out to see our old cars. When we reached the park, the line of fans waiting to enter the park was over a block long in both directions. We arrived about 8:45, and parked our cars in order of start.

The park may be an old theme park, and it’s location is beautiful. Over looking Narragansett Bay and down toward the Newport Bridge the park has rolling green lawns, and incredible bay views. There is also a beach on one side of the park.

We rallied for a little more than half the day from Rhode Island to Windsor, Connecticut. The day was cool with partly cloudy skies. The speed for the past two days was 24mph. We drove for hours at 24. That probably sounds slow and boring, but try holding 24mph on winding undulating roads. It is not easy! Truth be told, we drove other speeds as well, but we drove many miles at that slow speed.

New England Air Museum

We finished the day in Windsor CT, and enjoyed a lovely evening at The New England Air Museum. The museum has many great old aircraft, but the center piece is its B-29. It is one of 20 left in existence.

We were fortunate to be able to enjoy one of the best finish line meals we can remember, all under the wing of the B-29. Connecticut has quite a bit of farming despite the harsh winters, and our dinner highlighted some of the local fair. Fresh summer veggies, chicken, salmon and delicious ice cream sandwiches from a local dairy. It was perfect!

Eating dinner under the mighty B-29 Super Fortress.

We were having a small electrical issue with our hazard lights, and there was a team of men who were there to help with car issues. They were so kind to work on our car in the rain while we ate dinner.

After dinner we walked out to see how the car was coming. The guys were still working, so we walked down to an open hanger. We were standing inside to stay warm and dry. As we stood there a truck pulled in with a couple of guys from the museum. One man introduced himself, and said he had worked at the museum for over 40 years. He is a 90 year old man named Neil. He shared with us the story of the restoration of the B-29, and showed us some work they were doing in the hanger. Neil is incredible, his aircraft knowledge, and how they were built was so impressive.

After working on the car in the rain with little luck, we took the car to our friend Larry’s shop. There, the guys had all the tools and a dry space to work. They fixed the car in 5 minutes. They were persistent and so kind. We are so grateful to Mario, Don and Mike for all of their efforts. Sometimes, Supermen don’t wear a capes!

The race is not won or lost the first day, it is an endurance rally. We were happy with a fifth place finish for the day, and a total score of 5 seconds, but we also know that will change quickly.

Thanks to you all for joining in the journey.