Industry pioneers and NOLN contributors, Larry Read and Scotti Lee are going on a new kind of adventure in exactly 11 days. The duo along with Read's buddy, Joe Perkins who restores cars and is also a mechanic and 130 other antique car teams will trek along old Route 66 in a 1939 Buick from Kirkwood, Missouri to Santa Monica, California. The nine-day road rally is called The Great Race and tests driver/navigator teams' ability to follow instructions and the car and teams' ability to make it on a cross-country trip.
[caption id="attachment_1441" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Read's 1939 Buick that will be making the trek on old Route 66. The team has nicknamed it "Blue 92."[/caption]
Read, Lee and Perkins will go through all kinds of terrain and make drastic altitude drops along the way. Perkins is the driver, and Read is the navigator. The rules state they can't have access to cellular or GPS devices so they'll be relying on Read's map skills.
Lee is in charge of driving the chase vehicle. He will follow a different route than Read and Perkins. The chase vehicle will carry extra parts and supplies should the 1939 Buick break down along the way.
"It's a process called ride, repair, repeat," Read said. "The chase vehicle can only meet up with us at night where we spend the night. If we break down before we get there, there's a sweep vehicle that will pick us up and take us in. Once we arrive at the rest spot, we start working on the car all night to get ready to go in the morning. We will also be counting on our connections in the quick lube industry. If our car needs something we plan on calling on our quick lube friends in the towns along the route."
We plan on checking in with Team "Blue92" (the name of the Buick they're driving) throughout the race and will be reporting how they fair. Read said out of the 130 cars that start the race, only 90-95 will finish.
To read more about The Great Race including specific rules, sponsors, checkpoints and prizes visit their website: www.greatrace.com
