Oklahoma looks oh so pretty

June 22, 2026

Joplin, MO to Oklahoma City, OK

The morning started with pouring rain.

Despite the rain, the rally continues on. We left Joplin early this morning and headed West toward Claremore, Oklahoma.

The morning was spent driving portions of the original Route 66 roads. They are hard to describe, but it is like they are curbed and have dirt on either side. Many of them are only slightly paved. Between the rain and lack of pavement, the roads made many of the cars a muddy mess.When we arrived in Claremore, some of the cars were absolutely brown with mud.

Claremore, OK is the hometown of the Will Roger’s Museum. Throughout the town you see representations of Will Roger’s.

Will Roger’s was a cowboy, actor/vaudeville era comedian, and personality. He was loved by his home state of Oklahoma and his mark remains in Claremore.

Aside from acting, Will Rogers was a syndicated news columnist and wrote political pieces. He died in 1935 in a plane crash at the age of 55.

After lunch in Claremore, we headed toward Oklahoma City. In this part of tornado alley you see the harshness of the weather. As you are driving you see the occasional remains of trees split by lightning or broken from strong winds. The trees are bent and the tops beaten by the wind.

We saw more roadside attractions including restored old gas stations, a giant statue (think 20’ to 25’ tall) of a native American with a head dress, and another giant statue of a man grilling with a chef’s hat.

We were so happy to make it to Oklahoma City with no mechanical issues and our radiator holding together.

The day ended in Oklahoma City Stockyards.

We had a warm greeting from the people in The Stockyards. There were mounted policemen and a long horn named “Beebo”. He was a calm long horn that had been a pet since he was 2 weeks old. He is now 18.

Beebo was the big attraction at the finish. The owners put a saddle on the long horn and offered the opportunity to sit on a long horn. Having never had that experience or opportunity I couldn’t pass it up.

We also had a surprise visit from our sponsor’s Sales Manager Steve Capra and Danny McCollister (4th generation working at McCollistor’s ). The made the trip out from New Jersey to wish us well, support the brand and visit with race organizers. Steve works closely with the race organizers and provides the beautiful “sweep truck”for the rally. Billy Madsen and his partner Ronni have been driving the sweep truck for the past four years. We are so grateful for their sponsorship of the rally and Car #7, Jane!

We had a delicious steak dinner at a local steakhouse called McClintock’s Tavern and Steakhouse. McClintocks and Cattleman’s steakhouse hosted dinner for the entire field of teams on The Great Race.

Mustang Country has been taking care of Jane for many years, and this year they have their own X-Cup entry. X-Cup teams are made up of young people, typically college age and younger. The X-Cup encourages young people to share in the vintage car culture. Mustang Country’s Allan and Brandon are sponsoring 3 young men who are driving the Mustang below that they built for the rally.

Aside from making sure their car is running and all is well, they have also been there for us. We called them on Saturday at the end of the day in hopes that they would have a radiator that could be sent from their shop to a hotel along the course.

When we arrived at our hotel this evening, there was a brand new radiator waiting for us. We are so appreciative and lucky to have friends like Allan and Brandon at Mustang Country. Thank you for keeping us on the road!!!

Thank you to all who brought us one Stage closer to Pasadena. Tomorrow we head for Amarillo Texas. Go Jane!! Go Great Race.