Monday, June 23, 1997
Vintage car rally coming to West Texas
By KEN ELLSWORTH / Abilene Reporter-News
SWEETWATER - Rain or shine, old cars are fun, which local media
members found out Sunday as they drove vehicles dating back to
1941 in a light rain during a road rally around Lake Sweetwater.
It was a timed, but not a serious, event in which the object
was to complete the 23-mile course in a predetermined "ideal
time" unknown to the contestants.
"The speedometer didn't work, so we just winged it,"
said Sweetwater Reporter Editor Don Rogers, who drove a pink 1956
Lincoln owned by local businessman Bill Haley.
The car's windshield wipers weren't working either.
"At one time I offered to get out and wipe the windows,
but we just went on," said Rogers' navigator Kathy McCoombs,
the principal of Sweetwater Intermediate School.
The purpose of the event, staged by Sweetwater's Diamondback
Riders Car Club, was to spark interest in vintage vehicles before
the arrival Thursday in Sweetwater of participants in the MBNA
Great Race XV, a coast to coast vintage-car rally.
"I just love 'em and I enjoy driving 'em. I've got a brand
new pickup, but I drive that '42 (Chevrolet pickup) every day,"
said Waylon Clark, explaining the appeal of old cars. He and his
wife, Melvelene, both members of Diamondback Riders, co-directed
the media event and provided two of the vehicles.
Steve Strain, driver, and Gary Strickland, navigator, both
Abilene television sports anchors, won the Sunday media rally
driving a 1955 Ford owned by John Bewley.
Great Race drivers will stop in Sweetwater for a lunch provided
by the Sweetwater Chamber of Commerce on the square of the Nolan
County Courthouse. The lunch stop has been dubbed the Snake Pit
Stop and is expected to begin Thursday at 11:45 a.m.
In honor of the event, Sweetwater's Diamondback Riders are
having a vintage car show on the courthouse parking lot. The show
will begin at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. All of downtown will be blocked
off to parking for the benefit of spectators, who will have a
chance to see the pre-1951 vehicles up close and speak to the
rally drivers.
Entertainment will be provided by the 22-piece U.S. Navy Ceremonial
Band, which travels with the Great Race and plays during stops,
using the event as a recruitment tool.
Local musicians will also provide entertainment Thursday during
the Sweetwater festivities.
The Great Race began in Sonoma, Calif., June 21 and is expected
to end July 4 in Jacksonville, Fla., some 4,000 miles from the
starting point. The field includes a Stutz Bearcat, 1930s BMW
road racers, Hudson Indy racers, Harley-Davidson motorcycles,
and a vintage Peterbilt truck. The collective value of the field
of more than 100 vehicles exceeds $5 million.
Following the Sweetwater stop, Great Race participants will
drive east on Interstate 20 to Tye, where they will receive complimentary
fuel at the Wes-T-Go Truck Stop from 2:45 p.m.-4:45 p.m. Spectators
will also be able to view vehicles and talk with drivers in Tye.
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Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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