Some facts about Route 66: It was commissioned in 1926; It was finished in asphalt in 1937; It starts in Chicago and finishes in Santa Monica; It crosses eight states and three time zones; It is 2,249 miles in length.

In 1960 a new television show called Route 66 was introduced to America. The show starred Martin Milner and George Maharis and ran through the 1964 season before disappearing. The concept of the show was two young men driving Route 66 and encountering various adventures. In reality, very few of the shows were filmed on Route 66 and the road was rarely even referred to in the script.

The third star of the show was the car that was driven, a Chevrolet Corvette. The first season it was a 1960. Chevrolet updated the car throughout the series and the final season featured a 1963 Stringray. The show has endured as a cherished part of the American Culture. It also led to one additional fact about Route 66: The Corvette is a Route 66 icon.

In 2018, my wife Sue and I participated in the Route 66 Fun Run in Arizona. We drove our 1966 Mustang to and from the event. This year she indicated that a repeat of that trip was off the table. She said she would fly to Las Vegas and I could pick her up there. I was not totally comfortable doing a solo trip of that length with any of our classic cars. As it turned out, we both flew to Las Vegas and rented a 2017 Corvette and drove that for the Fun Run. Much more comfortable than the old Mustang and how can you beat driving an open car in 80-100 degree heat when it has air conditioned seats?

The Route 66 Fun Run is sponsored by the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona. It began in 1987 when a group of people, mostly from the Seligman and Kingman area got together dedicated themselves to getting Route 66 its historic designation. The event has now been going on for 32 years with the continuing goal of preserving and maintaining the highway.

Once again this year, nearly 800 cars were registered for the Run. Cars of all makes and years are welcome. The variety of vehicles is impressive with cars from the early 20s through late model vehicles. Foreign and domestic vehicles are both welcome. The large majority of the vehicles are classic cars and hot rods. Once again this year it appeared that the largest single category of cars was the Corvette. We observed everything from a tie-dyed Subaru to military vehicles, T-buckets to DeLoreans and roadsters to limos.

The Fun Run is a two day event that starts in Seligman and proceeds to Kingman for a huge car show on the main street. The Run continues the next morning departing Kingman and proceeding over the mountains, through Oatman, and ending in Topock.

The Corvette we were driving performed flawlessly. Being virtually brand new (only 6,000 miles) that was to be expected. Not everyone was so lucky. We encountered a 1952 Chevy pickup that was temporarily stranded along the road. Apparently running out of gas on the first day had led to some dregs from the bottom of the fuel tank being picked up and causing a clogged carburetor. A few minutes with a wrench and screwdriver and it was back on the road in short order. In keeping with the nature of these types of events, several cars stopped and offered help, including a Sheriff’s Deputy.

This is an adventure well worth attending. Preserving this historic highway should be something that all car lovers can support.

Hemmings Motor News “Great Race,” Sponsored by Haggerty Insurance, an annual event since 1983, evolved into what it is today, a time-speed-endurance rally for vintage cars, 1974 & older. Each year there is a different route. In 2019 the starting point was Riverside California and the finish line was Tacoma Washington at The LeMay, America’s Car Museum. It was about a 2300-mile trek.

Some 150 cars/trucks/participants left Riverside on Saturday, June 22nd and finished in Tacoma on Sunday, June 30th. The Overall winners were Howard and Doug Sharp, a father son team who drove a 1916 Hudson and hailed from Fairport New York.

The race has become so popular it usually fills up well in advance and would be participants, must put their name on a waiting list just to get a spot. There are classes, cash prizes and what looks like just plain fun traveling with like-minded car crazy people.

Jim Estes and Bill Nelson took a short trip to Hood River Oregon, one of the stops, to get some pics and learn about the race and the participants. They asked me if I wanted to go too but I had other commitments for that day. I did make it to Vancouver Washington for another stop later that day.

A kinda comical story was the 4 guys from Finland who started the rally in a 1910, 11, 12 or something, Simplex. The Simplex threw a rod early on day one so… They bought a Mercedes sedan in which to finish the rally. The Simplex was an open car (as were most cars from that era) so these guys from Finland were outfitted with leather helmets, goggles, rain gear etc. but with the Simplex out and a later model Mercedes sedan, stand-in, (closed car) it was decided that they should continue in an open car, they might as well make the Mercedes stand-in an open car too. They cut the roof off, windshield and all! In a tribute to the retired Simplex they attached the broken rod from the car to the hood of the Mercedes. There is a picture of the Mercedes crossing the finish line in Tacoma, on the web site.

www.greatrace.com. It sounds like this could be just plain fun.

In some of the pictures you’ll notice cars that are plastered with stickers that look alike. The significance of these stickers is, each one represents a different Great Race that the car participated in. Obviously, some of these folks a diehard rallyers, participating year of year.

Next years race route starts is San Antonio Texas on June 20th and finishes in Greenville South Carolina on June 28th. They say there is $150,000 in prize money, WOW! For more info call 800-989-7223 or email jeff@greatrace.com. Or visit their website.

He could have been anything. His father was Martin Revson, a founding partner of Revlon Cosmetics. He was rich, well educated, athletic and looked like a movie star. According to their sister Jennifer, Peter and her brother Douglas excelled at all things but chose to drive race cars.

While attending the University of Hawaii in 1960, Peter entered his first race. To the chagrin of his mother, it seemed he was a natural at this endeavor as well. He finished second in his first attempt, won his second outing and was reprimanded for aggressive driving in the third. Aghast, his parents promptly withdrew their financial support. Peter took the balance of his funds earmarked for college and moved to England. There, he nurtured his relationship with Teddy Mayer (whom he had met while attending Cornell). Mayer was more interested in the business side of professional racing and did not drive. Through their association, Revson made good contacts and ultimately gained access to more sophisticated machines.

After knocking around Europe for a few years, “Revvie” (as friends had begun to call him) returned to the United States to race big bore sports cars. The new Canadian American (Can-Am) series had just been introduced with advertised purses that exceeded those of Formula One. Both Peter and Douglas were front and center from the inaugural race on. Peter performed well enough to capture the attention of Ford executives and soon endurance racing and pony car seats were being offered. Meanwhile Mayer (who was by now managing Team McLaren), was on hand to monitor Revson’s progress.

When Douglas perished in a racing accident in 1968, Peter was understandably shaken. The brothers had made a pact however, and both had agreed to carry on even if one had paid the ultimate price.

In ’69 Peter got his first opportunity to race at Indianapolis. His mount was an underpowered Brabham but he squeaked into the Show and motored from dead last to fifth. After finishing in the money at Sebring as well, actor Steve McQueen hired him to co-drive his Porsche 908 in the 1970 edition of their twelve hour contest. The story has become legend as the factory teams one by one fell by the wayside and the duo of Revson and McQueen found themselves leading the event. Literally in the eleventh hour, Team Ferrari pulled Mario Andretti off the bench and put him in their sole remaining entry. In total darkness, Andretti began turning laps at qualifying pace. He eventually caught and passed the little Porsche and crossed the finish line twenty four seconds ahead. Reportedly McQueen took most of the credit for their near upset but the more informed recognized that Revson had done most of the heavy lifting.

Finally in 1971, Mayer felt that Revson had reached his full potential and offered him a contract with Team McLaren. Peter responded by putting his state of the art M16 on the pole at Indianapolis and finished second in only his third start in the 500. In Can-Am racing he was now driving for the dominate team. Revson won half of the races outright and finished on the podium in another three. His points accumulated were enough to earn him his first championship.

In spite of his successes, Mayer didn’t offer him a fulltime ride in Formula One until the following season. In this arena Revson was winless although he finished in the runner-up spot once and in the “show position” three times. The result was a fifth in the 1972 point standings. In Can-Am racing McLaren had lost its edge and the title had gone to Porsche. In Indycar a McLaren had won its first 500 but that was in the capable hands of Privateer Roger Penske.

In 1973 Peter’s dream of winning Formula One races was realized when he won both the British and Canadian Grand Prix. When Mayer had the opportunity to hire ’72 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi (who came with Marlboro sponsorship) however, he did so and Revson was left without a ride. For the 1974 Formula One campaign Revson signed with Don Nichol’s new Shadow Team. The ensemble failed to make the first two races on the schedule and jumped at the opportunity to practice prior to the third round in Kyalami South Africa. On 3/22/74 Revson crashed his DN3 racecar when a titanium ball joint failed at a high rate of speed. He was reportedly killed instantly.

“He gave 100 percent of himself every time he went out on the track,” Jennifer Revson told George Levy in his book on the Can-Am. “He hated losing. He hated coming in second. Had he lived, I believe he would have realized his goal of becoming World Champion.”

Graffiti Weekend in Roseburg Oregon has a lot of things going on every July. One of the happenings is the Petersen Collector Car Auction, held at the Douglas County Fair Grounds.

This year offered a number of very nice collector cars. As usual the auction was well attended. My friend Bill Nelson and I have been making a habit of going to this auction each year for the last several. There were some great deals to be had. I shoulda bought that last car across the block… what a dummy I am.

The 60 Biscayne was really nice and it went to a new home. So did a very nice 63 Chevrolet Impala.

Petersen’s Auction is a family owned and operated, Oregon based company that really does a great job with each of their auctions, usually three per year. This one in Roseburg in July and two in Salem, one in the fall and one typically in February. Check them out either as a buyer or a consigner. You might find your next old car treasure, or you could thin your own herd.

Visit their web site www.petersencollectorcars.com to see what’s coming up on the block in Salem September 28.th Or call Curt or Susan @ 541-689-6824.