by Steve Hedke

We had both our best and worst days of Greatracing back to back in 2012. After winning the day outright with an :02 (:01.6 with factor, our best score ever), and an Ace on the first leg of the next day, our car was eliminated from further competition by a distracted local driver. We were not seriously hurt, and finished the race in a rental car. In 2013 Janet and I joined two other great teams so that we could still participate, but unfortunately not with each other, and Allison stayed home.

We’re pleased to announce that Greatrace 45 is back as a family! Janet, Allison, Steve, and the Roadster are once again ready to rally! The Ford is already on its way from California to Maine via our friends at Reliable Transportation. They collected our car and got it home for us in 2012, so we know Mike and Cindy White will take good care of the hot rod for us until we get there.

We are still insured with Hagerty, who took great care of us both during the 2012 race and after we got home for the rebuilding process. Their service was way above any reasonable expectations. Both sponsors are now part of our extended GR family.

During the extensive repairs the ’29 A-V8 has undergone a number of improvements. All four of us just barely made it to the VCRA rally in Springfield, Missouri for a ‘shakedown’ run a few weeks ago, where we managed to tie for 5th overall. The car wasn’t completely finished, and the run was made without tops, which hadn’t arrived yet. We hit a strong thunderstorm on the first leg, and we were still able to pull an :02 on our first time back in competition with a very ‘open’ car. And the stupid top was waiting for us when we got home.

Despite a ‘squawk’ list to deal with when we got back home and some rallying errors (dumb driver type) we were sure glad to have a chance to practice and get the kinks out. Thanks Rex Gardner and VCRA for a good rally.

We have been Greatracing since 1999. We love to rally the roadster as a family with a special needs child, which we’ve been doing now since 2006. It has encouraged spectator families who have had similar life issues to deal with along the way. Allison is always the most enthusiastic team member on the rally. If she smiles and waves at you, and you don’t know her, just smile and wave back. Seconds mean nothing to her, its all about the fun of the drive.

We are also thrilled to have veteran Greatracers Gloria and Leonard Harpenau as our support crew for 2014. They are very special to us, having made friends with them way back in our rookie year. It’s so great to be back as a team for 2014, and we’re really looking forward to rejoining and rallying with our extended Greatrace family.

‘Ride, Repair, Repeat’. It’s what Greatracers call fun.