Great Race Day 7, Wichita, KS to Garden City, KS

The morning was warm when we started, but nothing like the day before. I think most people recovered from their dehydration and over heating, and their cars were also back on the road.

Our friends and mentors JeanAnn and Gary Martin have been fighting electrical issues on their 32 Ford for the last few days, and this morning was no different. They had changed every electrical element on the car, and the only thing left was the battery. We ride with an extra battery, and gladly shared it with them. They help us everyday, and we are always trying to give back. This was our opportunity! The battery seemed to do the job.

The morning started off with traffic which makes Brad’s job navigating a little more difficult. He has a math formula he uses to calculate our speed losses and it changes when we have to start and restart in traffic. We made it through the morning commuters, and finished our run. Again, we were driving through tall fields of corn. We ran in circles around the corn fields and farms, and then headed for the Brit Spaugh Park and Zoo.

As we were driving toward the zoo, the first thing I spotted was a bird aviary. I didn’t really know where we were headed, and I told Brad I had just seen it. He said this must be where we were going.

We arrived at the zoo to a nice crowd of people. They offered us hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch. We typically will pass on the food and just grab cold waters. Brad and I sustain ourselves on protein bars. We don’t want to be too full and tired in the afternoon.

Today proved that practice to be a good one. We ran at 50 miles per hour for about five hours. There were very few instructions. The only directions came when we went through small towns where we would lower our speed and then continue right back out to 50mph.

We were in west Kansas, and if you wonder where Kansas steaks come from, they are here. The end of the day we saw and smelled the lovely aroma of feed lots.

We finished the day in Garden City, KS. There was a large car show and crowd, it had a very festive feel.

The evening was cut a little short as the wind picked up and the skies darkened. Thunderstorms were heading our way. We all scurried to our cars, and quickly headed to our prospective hotels. We prepped the cars for the night and prayed we didn’t have the golf ball sized hail they were predicting.

We lucked out again, the storm went to the north of us, and our cars were protected.

We want to wish Anna Hardcastle a Happy Birthday!🎈🎉🎂

Last but not least, thank you to our sponsors, McCollister’s for your continued support of our team and The Great Race. Mustang Country, Jane will need you when we return, but she is hanging tough through the heat. Thank you for your support!