Great Race Day 9

Augusta, Maine to Gardiner, Maine

We ended the day in dreary cold weather yesterday, and this morning was the exact opposite. The rain had stopped, the sun was not shining, but the air was warm. We have never experienced warm and muggy weather in Maine, so it caught us off guard. Needless to say we have experienced much hotter weather on this rally, so it was not unbearable by any stretch.

We had the same routine as yesterday, we headed to the hotel around the corner early. We prepped the car and there were many nervous people. The rally was tight in the top 10 cars. We have not looked at the standings the entire race. We knew our scores and knew the scores of those who were doing well. We did not think we could be anywhere near them.

We were relaxed, but continued to focus and tried to do well. A lot can change on the last two Championship days when you cannot throw out a leg. Mistakes can add up to big times for teams.

We rallied through a huge maze where there were rally cars 20 seconds in front and behind us. The rally master does this to confuse you. We made a series of right turns, also designed to see if you can keep your place on the page. The trick is to not follow the car in front of you. We did pretty well at keeping track except for one speed hick-up, we were going 35, and should have been going 30. Brad spotted the error and corrected as best we could given we didn’t know exactly how long we had gone the wrong speed. Aside from that the day felt really good. We were able to correct and or take time delays where needed. Now it was just a matter of others messing up worse than we did.

We had a pit stop before the finish at a fellow racer’s private car collection. They asked we not post pictures on social media.

The collection consisted of 160 cars. It was incredible, every car was perfect. Peter the owner of the collection is definitely a Ford guy. He has every 1930s convertible Ford model made. He also had some LaSalle’s, Dodges, and Chevrolets. Aside from vehicles, he has a great collection of vintage automobile memorabilia including gas pumps, soda machines, and cutouts that were lighted with a waving mechanical arm.

The building also has a portion of a wood motorcycle racetrack with vintage motorcycles positioned on the track as if they are racing. They had a documentary playing on a tv near the track that spoke about a wood track in Beverly Hills, California.

Peter completed the new building a few weeks ago. It was absolutely pristine. The cars all shined! The 160 cars were dusted and cleaned by two other racers who are friends with Peter.

After our visit to the car collection, we headed out in our starting order. The finish line was not far from Peter’s collection. We crossed the finish with Brandon and Allan of Mustang Country and thousands of locals waving us in. The streets were full of people, and the local police continually pushed the spectators back so the cars could drive through.

That evening we had our final lobster meal, and an award ceremony. Brad and I ended up pulling it together, we finished 8th overall and 4th in the expert class. We are always happy with a top 10 finish, and this year we were really happy.

We completed another rally, and thanks to Allan, Brandon and the team at Mustang Country, Jane ran great! Thank you for making the journey to be with us at the finish line.

Many thanks to all who helped us complete this month. JeanAnn and Gary for taking care of Jane after Michigan. Thank you for picking us up and getting us through our jet lag. There is a list a mile long of all you have done for us this race, and past races that we are grateful for. You are the most kind and generous people. We feel blessed to be your ducklings.

Thanks to Jimmy for carrying our luggage around the country. Thank you for helping us every morning and afternoon. We are so appreciative for your kindness.

Thank you Jane and Sherald for making the journey to Maine. We are grateful for our friendship.

Thank you to our team at home. Madison, Marianne, Lauren, Kalli, and Dylan. Thanks for keeping the office running and the pups safe.

Thank you Chino, Valentine and Joel for all you do year round.

Thank you to McCollister’s Transportation for not only delivering Jane safely, but for your sponsorship. We appreciate all McCollister’s does for us and the race.

Thank you to Billy and Ronny for following the race the 2300 miles in your rig. It is such a pleasure having you on the rally. We know it is a thankless job picking up people who have broken down. Fortunately, we have never needed your service, but we appreciate you being available.

Lastly, thank you to Jeff Stumb and your team at Great Race. We love the rallies you put on and look forward to 2025!

Great Race Forever!!!