It's all about the cars and the people. One hundred vintage cars on a unique adventure across the country that touches the lives of thousands of people during a two-week period. It is our opportunity to be heroes and stars for a short time, sign autographs, to see parts of this wonderful country and interact with friendly people that we would never see otherwise.

The small town venues are definitely the best. Whole towns shut down and turn out for our arrival. All along the race route, there are fans sitting in vehicles, on tractors, wagons, or lawn chairs, waving and cheering. Americana at its best. And we got to be a part of it! Something that only a very small percentage of the population will ever do.

And the opportunity to share this special time with my only daughter was the icing on the cake. We had a wonderful time together, not only growing even closer but developing into a team where we began to even anticipate each other's next thoughts. We are so thankful to our Lord for allowing us to live in a free society where we can enjoy such events and giving us the health and resources to participate.

The Great Race family is as caring a group of folks as ever gathered together. The Staff is extremely professional and always available to help in any way. Participants are competitive but totally unselfish when it comes to keeping a fellow competitor in the race. Tools, parts and sweat are freely shared to keep everyone on the course. There are many examples of this but two really stand out. On Day 7, race leaders Greg Cunningham and Sam Goeppinger damaged their Model A engine beyond repair. After getting towed to the finish line, they replaced the engine overnight with the help of a lot of other crews and were back on the course the following day. On Stage 13, last year's winners Pike and Hadskey (in 2nd place at the time) suffered a nonrepairable failure to the rear end of their Hudson racer. Learning that the speedometer on a fellow competitor's car had failed, they pulled out theirs and installed it in the other car.

Race fans along the route are just as zealous and helpful. Sometimes a plea for some hard-to-find but critical part is made by announcer Motormouth at one of the finish lines. Invariably, some local fan will produce the part. One of our rookie teams had the rear end on their 1941 Packard totally disintegrate. A local speed shop worked all night on the repair, even fabricating some of the parts to keep them in the race. They finished fifth in Rookie Class.

Along the rally route, close friendships are made very quickly as we share the experience. Brian "Motormouth" Goudge and Tommy Hudson (of Tommy's Trailers) were two of Dawn's favorite kidders. Every time Tommy saw her in one of her 50's outfits, he would break into strains of "There she is, Miss America…", and Motormouth would often have her get out of the car at the finish line to show off her outfit.

Most teams have a story or two about getting to the Big Event. But the best one we heard was from a scrappy father-son team in a 1951 Studebaker. Dennis Parker (the father) is an oil worker in California and Joe is a Junior High School science teacher from Dallas. Dennis bought the Studebaker on eBay 4 days before the race. He flew to West Virginia where the previous owner met him at the airport with the car and the title. Dennis got about 50 miles before the car broke down. Fortunately the little town where he was stranded had a Studebaker restoration mechanic who took a day to get the car race ready. After getting to DC and through technical inspection, Joe arrived and they spent the Trophy Run day installing a speedometer. They had no performance data on the car and no rally experience whatsoever. They started the race, they completed the race and they finished in 57th place and scored two Aces. They also provided our comic relief and we howled as they related their daily experiences.

Dennis and Joe Parker -- Our Heroes!!

We cannot wrap this up without acknowledging those who provided encouragement and support. Without them we could not have participated, let alone finished.

--- Family. Of course, without the unselfish commitment of Sharon and Jeff, it would have been impossible to make this trek. They not only took care of all the family details in our absence but offered continual encouragement as we checked in with them each night. We will be forever grateful to them for their sacrifice.

--- Extra special friend Bob Mead. He gets the credit (blame?) for getting me hooked on this in the first place. Then he loans me his speedometer, race clock, and trailer; helps me develop the performance charts; and agrees to develop and manage this website. He often stayed up well past midnight, waiting for my report, so he could get it on the site in time for your morning review. If you have enjoyed following us, please give Bob a big thank you. He can be reached at mead@vallnet.com.

--- Support Crew Dick and Barbara Stumb. Although they had to take an unfortunate break to return home for a family emergency, they returned to the race as soon as possible and continued their great support.

--- Focus on the Family Support Crew Keith and Anna Mae Phillips who took over baggage duties for us when the Stumbs had to leave and unselfishly volunteered to do any errands we needed.

--- Al Pereira, mechanic of the R&M Auctions Team, who carried our spare parts and equipment when the Stumbs had to leave, and, more importantly, provided critical assistance in helping me with the ignition problems.

What a Trip! If you have enjoyed sharing this adventure with us, we would love to hear from you. Dawn can be reached at jdpears@comcast.net and Jerry's email is jlgregg@juno.com.