2014 Hot Rod Power Tour

[a_d_a_m]

I just got into town Tuesday night and have spent the last day or so recovering.

It was a blast. Dad and I had been talking about this for a few years now, and finally decided to pull the trigger on it.

We left early Friday morning and encountered much fog on I-77 in Ohio.
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We didn't see any PT cars until we got into Mabscott, West Virginia. At a gas station, we saw these two guys and talked to them for a little bit before hitting the road.
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Once into North Carolina, I saw a sign for Wilkesboro and remembered that there was a NASCAR track in N. Wilkesboro that shut down in the '90s. There were some great races there, and I figured it might be worth a 20-minute diversion.

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After snapping this picture, I noticed an old man shuffling towards us very slowly. I wondered if we'd be getting shot, or if he'd called the cops on us, or just wanted to see what we were up to.

Turns out, he worked at the track for 50+ years and had the keys to the joint. So we went inside and up into the grandstands with this old fellow who later introduced himself as Paul.

This was our vantage point, as Paul spent about 45 minutes talking to us about the good ol' days. Dude's got quite the memory.
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As you can see, it's fairly run down...
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We said our farewells and headed to Mooresville, hoping to score some Robert Yates Racing merchandise. After stopping at his engine shop and finding it pretty much closed for the day, I took this picture.
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Penske Racing South is nearby, so we also stopped there. The last time I was at PRS, it was in a much smaller building and they were running Dodges. This place was much nicer...

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After this, we hit Roush-Yates Racing and I finally scored some Robert Yates swag - a license plate with the old logo! Then it was off to the hotel, where we found this cool-ass wagon, part of a group of cars we would later dub the "Iowa Gang".
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We also met Bob and Mary, who own this amazing 1953 Packard. It has an LS3 under the hood, is bagged all the way around, and is about the only 'murdered out' car I'll ever like.
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Bob is a cagey old dude who knows his stuff. He and Mary hung out with us for the first two nights. Bob drank some of my Tecate.

There were tons of cars every day. This is maybe 1/10th of the cars at Z-Max.
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The night before we departed for Knoxville, we were sitting along the roadside in front of our hotel (there were several hotels on our road) watching cars go by. Occasionally, someone would do a burnout. Later, someone emptied the water out of their cooler into the road and made a burnout box. The police were not impressed. I took this from my room as I was getting ready for bed...
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We left Charlotte for Knoxville fairly early, and encountered a really sharp Pacer.
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There were some pretty roads.
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And some small towns near Lake Lure.
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And some cool cars.
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This guy was at STAP 2010.
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This guy was not. He got lost at one point and had to follow us to get back on the route.
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We found a BBQ joint along the route that was EMPTY. They had a smoker going and it smelled good, so we stopped. This '57 Ford came in after us. Also - This would have been a good picture, had my finger not been in it. This happened several times this weekend; I don't know why.
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[a_d_a_m]

This isn't even close to all of the cars at Chilhowee Park in Knoxville.
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Heh.
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This one was more of a rumbler, though. Big block.
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This thing hauls a trailer that's made out of some tubing, a Coke cooler, and a dinette set. It's hilarious to see a table and seats rolling down the road.
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You know you want this...
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I also met a guy from NE Ohio named Gary. He was on his first PT with his grandson, Anthony. Gary just bought his low-mile Marauder earlier this year. I resisted the temptation to call him Mr. Odder (look at his plate).
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I think this was on the Knoxville-Charleston run, but I don't remember where.
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Saw this guy pulled over between Knoxville and Charleston with an El Camino with his hood up. They were trying to figure out why the car made a loud 'bang' noise and broke down and wouldn't start. We stopped to render assistance. The Impala dude was checking for spark and I'm staring at the carb thinking 'it's bone dry'...
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We checked the fuel pump, found it was working, and got the guy a few gallons of gas. Fired right up. Mr. El Camino will need to fix that when he gets home.

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We diverted off of US-119 and got on WV-52. This was the most fun road of the whole PT. We went this way because I wanted to see this.
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The cemetery is at the top of a very steep, very tall hill. The path leading up to it is mostly large rocks that aren't really that stable. It makes for a precarious and exhausting climb. Also, the mosquitoes are AWFUL once you get about halfway up. But then there's Devil Anse Hatfield to greet you when you get there.
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I didn't take too many pictures once we got into Charleston, but I did see the Duke boys in our hotel parking lot.
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And then we were back in Ohio.
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...which is very flat compared to the other states I was in this past weekend.
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I celebrated my return with this heart attack at the local bar.
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Didn't see martyo :(, but did meet a few other MMN members, as well as some non-members. My first two MM sightings were non-member SB cars...

[tbone]

Their route goes right in front of our dealership here in Crystal Lake, IL on Rte. 14. I've been watching them on and off all day......
Pretty cool!

[a_d_a_m]

I'm sure there's a ton I'm forgetting, such as - holy crap, I met Robert Yates again, and his son Doug this time. Robert is always a class act and one of the best engine builders ever.

Got their autographs. :D

[WhatsUpDOHC]

Thanks for the post and pics!!!

It was a nice read at lunch.

[tbone]

I saw 2 Marauders pass by today.

[a_d_a_m]

Some Knoxville-Charleston highway footage...
C_6-DPgJFSY

[FastMerc]

Pretty cool stuff you got there, I liked the old speedway and remember watching races there years ago.

[a_d_a_m]

That's the place where Rudd spun Earnhardt out in '89, giving the win to Geoff Bodine.
GSi3gQ3_sZo

[pantheroc]

Adam, Great post! Thx

[RubberCtyRauder]

Neat Adam! I like the old track pics! By chance were you going thru Stow, OH, Route 91 the other day say 1:30pm ish? maybe wed.?

[a_d_a_m]

I was in Stow but it was in the Grand Marquis...

[RubberCtyRauder]

A friend of mine lives in Stow and said he saw a black marauder with tall tires in the back..I know you have the 285's so I thought hmmm..Adam? when he told me. Member 2 mercs lives in Ellet which is south on 91 so maybe he was out in the area, but he doesn't have tall rear tires, but was in the process of getting new tires..so might have been him

[rayjay]

Great post! Thanks :beer:

[Mebot]

Awesome write up! Thanks for posting. See some beautiful cars and some gassers in those pics. Did you speed up your cruising video? It looks great though

[a_d_a_m]

Did you speed up your cruising video? It looks great though I sped both videos up; don't remember exactly how fast each one was. I figured the videos would be better shortened...

[Merc-O-matic]

Adam....great photos. What was the story on that all BLACK PACKARD
convert (1953)? Also, the guy in 1998 Lincoln Mark VIII was at Summit
Raceway on Sunday (6-15) at the Ford Nationals NMRA car show....this guy
does get around!

Gotta Love It!;)

[a_d_a_m]

The black Packard is owned by a Minnesota couple named Bob and Mary. It has an LS3, air ride, and a completely custom interior. Really a beautiful piece of work. He had a brake issue that dad and I helped diagnose in Knoxville.

[Mebot]

this is so cool on so many levels

I'm getting ready to drive across country & it's no por power tour, but you pictures and videos make everything worthwhile

[frdwrnch]

Great post! Thank you very much for sharing.

[a_d_a_m]

I recommend anyone doing any long-distance traveling check alternate routes that aren't interstate.

You'll see a lot of cool stuff.

[Mebot]

I recommend anyone doing any long-distance traveling check alternate routes that aren't interstate.

You'll see a lot of cool stuff.
I'll be heading west in a couple weeks. thanks for the suggestion!