HEMMINGS CHALLENGE
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Fifty four of America’s premiere rally teams, including seven past world
championship teams, took the green flag on June 23rd to begin the 2nd annual
Hemmings Challenge Vintage Car Rally in Rogers, Arkansas. For the next five days,
under near perfect weather conditions (only a brief rain on Monday hampered the
entire event weatherwise) the racers rallied to five select “Host Cities” for
spectacular lunch stops. These cities, all vying for a $5,000 prize for “Best Lunch
Stop”, Van Buren, Ar, Joplin, Mo, Claremore, Ok, Muskogee, Ok and Eureka Springs,
Ar each welcomed the racers with their selected theme that exhibited tremendous
enthusiasm and originality. After a delicious lunch and a brief rest, the racers
rallied back to the Embassy Suites host hotel in Rogers each night for a well
deserved rest and, perhaps, even an impromptu rally school in the hotel lounge.
Tuesday’s day of rallying finished at the Simple Pleasure’s meeting center just
outside of Bella Vista, Ar. A special dinner of Cajun food was enjoyed courtesy of
Tony Chachere’s Creole Foods out of Opelousas, La. (Thanks Guys!) Along with the
great food and special drink, there was live entertainment and a good time was had
by all. ( And thanks to Richard Fredette for arranging that)
So how did it turn out..well, here are some interesting facts: number of husband /
wife teams – 9 , number of father/son-daughter & grandfather / grandson-
granddaughter teams – 11 , brother /sister team -1, high school teams -1 with a
contingent of 10 team members….what a blessing that we have so many young folks
coming up in the sport (and as I spoke with some of the younger ones _WATCH
OUT-these kids are smart!)
All the results are on the web site, but here are the highlights:
Daily Winners: (1) (2) (3)
Monday Gold #19 Weyer/Curtis #17 Kuck/Kuck #4 Reeder/Stone
Silver #34 Fredette/Fredette #39 Dorth/Renfro # 22 Habetz/Regan
Tuesday Gold #17 Kuck/Kuck #27 Stumb/Stumb #37 Harper/Blair
Silver #38 Martin/Martin #85 Campbell/Campbell #48 Harris/Webster
Wednesday Gold #66 Knowles/Gentry #19Weyer/Curtis #3Loubiere/Loubiere
Silver #10 Mace/Heneley #54Miller/Garrison #44Anderson/Davies
Thursday Gold #35 Jason/Jason #17 Kuck/Kuck #3 Loubiere/Loubiere
Silver #92Mitchell/Mitchell #10Mace/Heneley #99Brothers/Brothers
Friday Gold #35Jason/Jason #88Coker/Cunningham #20Lange/Sickbert
Silver #99Brothers/Brothers #44Anderson/Davies #64Maher/Michelson
Ace Winners:
Total number of Aces scored Gold Cup – 87 WOW! Ace Winners with 8 Aces - #17 Kuck/Kuck
Total Number of Aces scored Silver Cup - 26 “ Ace Winners with 4 Aces - #10 Mace/Heneley
Overall Winners of the 2008 Hemmings Challenge
Gold Cup 1st Place - #19 Weyer / Curtis - total score 0m43.31s
2nd Place - #27 Stumb/Stumb - total score 0m46.40s
3rd Place - #35 Jason/Jason - total score 0m48.51s
Silver Cup 1st Place - #10 Mace/Heneley - total score 2m06.54s
2ndPlace - #99Brothers/Brothers - total score 2m13.63s
3rdPlace -#39Dortch/Renfro - total score 2m28.92s
Tin Cup 1st Place -#137 Nelson/Titusville - total score 10m27.84s
Tour 1st Place - #52 Darrow/Darrow - total score 5m13.00s
HOST CITY WINNER:
After the votes were tallied, and it was a very close vote indeed, the city of Muskogee,
Oklahoma was declared the winner of the “Best Lunch Stop” for the Hemmings Challenge. I
think you will agree that all the cities we visited were truly winners…each had a special theme
and every one had their strong points..but you, the racer, have choosen the winner..
CONGRATULATIONS MUSKOGEE…a $5,000 check is on the way for your favorite city
project.
Congratulations to the winners and to all those who participated! You are all truly
winners…with your help, and the tremendous response to the silent auction headed up by Pat &
Pat Brothers, we were able to contribute $10,000 to the Autism Society of America. As soon
as the fiscal year ends we will post the total additional dollars VCRA will contribute to the
charity.
And how about a hand for the Embassy Suites!! What a great venue! And to the city of Rogers
for inviting us..and to our sponsors, a hearty thank you….you are the ones that make this all
possible..we, and all the racers, truly appreciate all you do! And a special thanks to all the
volunteers who took their time to make this a successful event..we cannot do it without you!
Now its on to the next VCRA event…get your entry in now to the Michigan Cider Run in
Livonia, Michigan….September 5-7…as it develops we will post information, but we all know it
will be a great event…and it’s the first “Points” event… ENTER NOW..entry forms on the web
site.
THANK YOU ALL….WE HOPE YOU HAD AS MUCH FUN AS WE DID!!
MORE LATER!!!
| HEMMINGS CHALLENGE HUGE SUCCESS “BEST CHAIRS PROVES THEY ARE THE BEST!!” |