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2001 7th |
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or ... a 1920 Speedster Undergoes an “Oprah Like” Makeover |
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Rudy
Saarela patrols the competition looking for an edge at the
start of the “Desert in Bloom” 200-mile Endurance Run. |
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Beth Horine looks like she is on a mission to win the “Desert in Bloom” |
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| A terse DaJuan admonished everyone to fill up with gas after lunch since there will not be any services where you are going. Her promise came true as the route headed south through Grandview across I-82 into the Horse Heaven Hills. Glade Rd provided the afternoon hill climb challenge. A steep, switch back laden, 2-lane highway tested radiators and cornering suspensions. It was fun!! At the top, the route headed back east along the ridge top. The gravel road seemed to go on forever with out a soul in sight. The next paved road was Weber Canyon Rd that was like a descent into hell. The afternoon temp was turned up a notch or two as the canyon walls radiated the day’s heat. It was a good thing that it was down hill. A couple more turns had the group heading back into West Richland and cooling down along Columbia River Drive. Flagger Fred Reichlin welcomed the hot, dusty, drained and dehydrated folks across the finish line. Coolers of adult beverages and water were as welcome as a cool breeze. The talk around the finish line was the afternoon route and wondering how many went to Oregon on an unmarked road. Evidently, only one car guessed wrong and went south instead of north. This event finished up around 3pm so folks had a lot of time to rest and recuperate from the grinding course before heading for bench racing cocktails and dinner. It was there that we found out how cars #380, a 1928 Chev Speedster, had to use an “ingenious” fuel pressurization system just to finish. | ||||
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There
was a lot of gravel roads but they were good ones on the
“Desert In Bloom” |
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| The top ten finishers included rookies and folks that have a lot experience with endurance runs. All three of the new cars finished the route, but only one was in the top ten. Kevin Pharis pushed his car to its limits for the whole run and finished first, but way too early and was deep in the standings. Rae’cing Murray navigated for the first time in three years finding all the checkpoints, plus didn’t get lost, but took an extra 26 minutes than the preset time to finish 19th. She said “numbaa” 40 was impressive for comfort and roominess. No cooling, oiling, or fueling problems either. Flint Olsen drove #39 to a 4th place finish. His navigator didn’t miss a checkpoint and unlike Dad, went north instead of south on the unmarked road. The Oregon team of Don Shreve and Tim Knapp garnered 3rd place in the 16-valve Roof OHV powered Model T. Herb Mettler and his navigator took 2nd in his Model T Speedster. Veterans Bill and Jan Hills topped the group by being only 0:01:47 later than the preset time in their #72 Model T Speedster. The top 3 finishers will receive a shirt or windbreaker with the “Desert in Bloom” logo embroidered on it. Art Reichlin explained how his son-in-law, Steve Lindberg and navigator Karan, had to hook up a tire pump to maintain fuel pressure for much of the afternoon. With duct tape sealing and holding the pump hose over the vent hole the navigator would periodically pump air into the tank to keep the car going. For their finishing efforts they received the trouble trophy. | ||||
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