The Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Coker Tire welcomes its newest major sponsor, ROGO Fastener Co., Inc. Established in 1992, ROGO Fastener Co., Inc. is based out of Middletown, New York and serves the Mid-Atlantic and New England areas with products and solutions for the automotive industry. ROGO is an American founded company, led by automotive enthusiasts Dan and Katie Rogosich.

“We are excited to welcome ROGO Fastener Co. to the Great Race family,” Director Jeff Stumb said. “Many shops and car builders in the Northeast are aware of ROGO’s extensive product lines, and rely on them essential shop supplies, and we intend to introduce this company to a new group of potential customers on the Great Race.”

ROGO has thousands of customers in the body shop, repair shop and automotive dealership networks. The company provides quality American-made products, such as bins, cabinets, bolts, nuts, abrasives, chemicals and many more products used by shops and individuals in the automotive and motorcycle industries. ROGO also serves marinas, truck fleets, agricultural operations, and manufacturing industries.

Dan and Katie Rogosich are excited to be a part of the Great Race, both as a major sponsor and as participants. The husband-and-wife team plan to enter a classic car in the 2023 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Coker Tire, and they’ll be sending a service truck along the entire route to provide parts and service during those evening repairs in the hotel parking lot.

This partnership offers great exposure to the ROGO Fasteners Co., Inc. brand, as the event passes through nine states, stopping in 18 cities from St. Augustine, Florida to Colorado Springs, Colorado and adds to a great collection of sponsors for this annual time speed endurance rally for classic cars.

Great Racer Rock Rookey Passes Away

It is with great sadness that I inform you that Great Race veteran Rock Rookey has passed away after a brief battle with cancer. Rock has been a navigator for the last decade, smiling all the way, as he and Larry Tribble made their way across every part of the country in a 1955 Chevrolet. He was an accomplished SCCA racer and an avid motorcyclist. I visited Rock at his home in East Windsor, Connecticut this time last year and was impressed with his collection of vintage motorcycles (see attached photo). Rock’s obituary is below, including tomorrow’s funeral arrangements, and includes his full list of accomplishments and a great photo of him with his Great Race hat on. His smile and positive attitude will be missed, and although he is gone far too soon it is comforting to know he did live a full and exciting life.

–Jeff Stumb

Rockwell T. Rookey, 69, of East Windsor passed away on Saturday, September 3, 2022, at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford. Born October 25, 1952, in Springfield, MA, son of the late Rockwell and Helen (Papafil) Rookey. He is survived by his partner, Marcia Hughes of East Windsor; his siblings, Ronald Rookey and wife Marcy of Suffield, Rodney Rookey and partner Karen Dardanelli of Suffield, and Evangeline Christian and husband Karl of West Suffield; a cousin who was like a brother, Brian Stephenson of East Windsor; nieces and nephews, Crista Rookey and partner and son, Justin and Van Houseman, Ralle Rookey and wife Lauren Rookey, and Kate and Ryan Rookey; and Marcia Hughes’ daughter, Jessica McNeil and husband Joseph and their children, Maci and Daisy McNeil.
Rockwell, “Rock”, spent the first ten years of his life in Enfield before moving to Suffield in 1962. After graduating from Suffield High School, Rock attended Norwich University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in 1975. He quickly became a well-respected civil engineer in the industrial flooring industry which grew throughout his career until “retiring” in 2012, after which he continued with consulting projects, volunteer projects, and many personal hobbies.

The motto for Norwich University was “I will try”, which Rock certainly lived up to throughout his life of trying many, many things. His avid passion for motorsports started as a young child after rebuilding a minibike found in the rubble of the Old Enfield-Suffield bridge. As soon as he could, Rock began racing autocross in his Porsche 914, followed shortly after with finding a calling with road racing. He quickly made a name for himself in a number of racing organizations, the SCCA, the HRG, and earned Rookie of the Year with the Porsche Club of America. Rock kept meticulous care of his beloved ‘73 Porsche 911 which he raced for nearly three decades before venturing into the world of road rally as a navigator in The Great Race over the past decade. When not at the track, Rock could almost always be found in the garage, tinkering on cars and motorcycles alike. Rock never backed down from a challenge, no matter how big or how small. His love for learning, resourcefulness, respectable record keeping, and get-it-done approach kept him busy with multiple projects at a time while rarely did he let anything go unfinished.

Rock was a true adventurer with a love for travel, arguably beginning with an 11-month road trip to California in 1977. After blowing the motor in his Porsche 914 only a few days into the trip, in true Rock fashion, he was back on the road just three days later after sourcing and swapping a new engine in the parking lot of a local garage. Since then, Rock has logged hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of miles on his motorcycle throughout the US, becoming an official member of the “Iron Butt Association”. Travel did not end at the bounds of the US – he enjoyed motorcycle excursions in nearly every continent, including through the Himalayas and the Andes, India, Canada, New Zealand, Patagonia, and much, much more. Along the way, Rock’s sociable and charming energy resulted in befriending people from all over the world, from a wide range of different backgrounds.

After retiring in 2011 at the age of 59, Rock did anything but relax. In addition to the continuation of his many adventures, he dove deep into his passion for original Indian Motorcycles, ultimately becoming the treasurer of The 101 Association as well as finding his very-own 1928 Indian Scout. He was an active member of the British Iron Association of CT and was voted as Rider of the Year. As a long-distance rider on a BMW, he was also a member of the BMW Club. Most recently, he was a leader in helping his brother Ronald rebuild his ’63 Ford Galaxie.

Rock was exceptionally proud of the projects he accomplished working as a professional engineer for the University of Hartford’s Engineers Without Borders. Most notable, Rock provided training and technical assistance on the development of a multi-grain thresher, facilitating three interconnected business markets in rural Western Kenya: fabricators of the thresher, distributors of the machine, and production of grain as a cash crop by small-scale farmers. Working alongside his partner, Marcia, the two further developed their own relationship and built a beautiful life together over the past decade. They shared a passion for their abundant vegetable garden, beekeeping, their social work in Kenya and India, and travel. Some of their favorite trips included a vacation to California, a motorcycle trip around Ireland, and multiple motorcycle trips to Canada to visit Marcia’s daughter and two granddaughters.

Rock’s welcoming energy, kind ‘do no wrong’ demeaner, and gentle humming will be missed by friends and family. It was clear that the values most important to Rock were family, community, and making a genuine connection with others. Anyone who had the honor of meeting Rock knew that he was very open and accepting – a conversation with Rock quickly revealed his thoughtfulness and sincere interest in the people and world around him.

His family will receive friends on Thursday, September 8, 2022 from 2-4 PM and 6-8 PM at Nicholson & Carmon Funeral Home, 443 East St. N. (Rt. 159), Suffield. Family and friends may gather at 9:00 AM at Nicholson & Carmon Funeral Home followed by 10:00 am funeral services at St. Luke’s Greek Orthodox Church, 400 Prospect St., East Longmeadow, MA. Burial will be in St. Joseph Cemetery, Suffield. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to: Native American Rights Fund (NARF), (303) 447-8760, 1506 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80302. To leave on-line condolences please visit www.carmonfuneralhome.com.

Great Race Car For Sale – 1972 Mercedes-Benz 350SLC

1972 Mercedes-Benz 350SLC – Euro Coupe – 3.5L V-8 for sale. Custom built to participate in navigational T(ime) S(peed) D(istance) road rally events. The car was prepared with the help of an ex-mechanic of the original East African Safari Rally. Subsequently, the car successfully in numerous navigational road rallies. It participated twice in the Great Race https://www.greatrace.com/ a highly competitive navigational road rally for vintage cars. Not a test of top speed event, it rather tests a driver/navigator’s ability to follow precise course instructions and the teams ability to endure a grueling one week, 3000mls cross-country jaunt. The car successfully finished the Great Race in 2017 (placed 37/120) and 2018 (placed 33/125), scoring numerous Aces (perfect time). Professionally built and maintained. Comfortable rally seats, belts, rollbar. Fast, safe, and comfortable incl. AC. Everything you need to compete, incl. Great Race specific Sawtooth analog clock, Timewise calibrated speedometer, and many spare parts. The car never had any mechanical failures. Unfortunately, after a short illness, the navigator passed away in 2019 and the driver/owner decided to retire the car. An entry deposit exists for the 2023 Great Race. A complete set of photos and videos can be found here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1u8YS7RSFaxh5f8H7. Asking price USD $29,000. Contact Harald von Langsdorff at [email protected].

Josh Hull and Trevor Stahl WIN the 2022 Great Race!

The Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty Drivers Club is a grueling marathon for the drivers, navigators and of course, the cars. That’s why we came up with the motto “To Finish Is To Win”. Just crossing the finish line after nine days and 2,300 miles is quite a journey, but doing so with such great precision is a whole new level of satisfaction. We’ve developed a purse structure that keeps the competition fierce, with more than $150,000 up for grabs, among the five Great Race divisions. $50,000 of that purse goes to the overall winners, which we call the Grand Champions. Not only does that victory give them $50,000, it also bumps those contestants into the Grand Championship division. This year, the team of Josh Hull and Trevor Stahl stayed in the lead for the majority of the event. As part of the Stahls team, this car and this team has been improving year over year and have finally reached the pinnacle of Great Race competition. The 1932 Ford speedster wears our nation’s colors and it held together very well, despite the demanding conditions of quick stops, hard acceleration and challenging maneuvers. They won with a score of 46.98 seconds, finishing ahead of previous Grand Champions Howard and Doug Sharp, with Jody Knowles and Beth Gentry (also previous Grand Champions) rounding out the Top 3.

There are MANY other awards up for grabs in the Great Race–some are competition related and others are more for fun. Let’s take a look at all of the winners of the divisions, as well as some of the specialty awards.
X-Cup Division Champions: Central Connecticut State University 1961 Dodge Lancer

Rookie Division: Len Treeter and Christof Ley 1960 Chevrolet Impala

Sportsman Division: Christian Lauber and Brandon Gregg 1968 Ford Mustang

Expert Division (and Overall Winners): Josh Hull and Trevor Stahl 1932 Ford

Grand Championship Division: Howard and Doug Sharp 1916 Hudson

X-Cup Scholarship Winners:

Best Dressed: Christopher Tann and Gabrielle Col

Never Say Die Award: Bruno Hecker and Silvia Beese

Best Classic Car: James Boren and Dave Behrens 1931 Packard Phaeton

Best Race Car: Don Racine and Jamie Stiehr 1964 Morris Mini Cooper S

Tag and Marybeth Lewis Best in Show: Forrest Aylor and George Aylor 1955 Buick Roadmaster

Doc Fuson Trucking Award: Jeff and Kylie Hermanson 1939 Ford Pickup

Stage 9 Winners: Jody Knowles and Beth Gentry

Our Best Friend Award: Auburn, Indiana X-Cup

Best Lunch City: Medina, Ohio

Best Overnight City: Warwick, Rhode Island

Richard Fredette Perseverance Award: Team WTF

Tom McRae Spirit of the Event Award: Rachel Simon

X-Cup:

Rookie:

Sportsman:

Expert:

Ace Award: Brad and Erin Kaplan

Grand Championship:

Great Race 2022 – Day 9 – The Finish in Fargo

Here it is, the final day of the 2022 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty Drivers Club! We were thrilled to make our way into Fargo, North Dakota for the final day of rallying and Director of Competition John Classen set up a challenging route for the final stretch. A combination of long runs holding speed (in the strong wind), as well as a tough series of short instructions through neighborhoods made for a tricky day, even for the experienced crowd. Ultimately, when the racers came off the clock, they grabbed lunch at the Fargo Air Museum and then made their way into downtown Fargo for a spectacular finish! After all the cars came through, the top contestants circled back around for the winner’s ceremony. Finally, we gathered the whole group at the host hotel for the awards banquet. It was a long day of activities and we’re just thrilled to have completed another Great Race event. Take a look at some of our Stage 9 highlights and photos from the finish. Congrats to Josh Hull and Trevor Stahl for their first ever Great Race Grand Championship! We’ll follow up with an additional article with all of the winners.

Great Race 2022 – Day 8 – Duluth to Detroit Lakes, MN

The last two days of the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty Drivers Club are always challenging, as no legs can be thrown out from the daily scores. Every move you make matters, and we’re always blown away by the intensity and the focus required to nail all of the legs on any given day. But during the last two days, Director of Competition, John Classen always looks for ways to challenge the teams. Tricky course instructions, like a loop that intersects rally traffic can really mix up the field. Today, we saw rainy weather early in the day, but later saw beautiful blue skies, unbelievable clouds and cool temperatures. The wind really picked up, which presents a challenge when it comes to holding speed for long stretches. We stopped for lunch at Brainerd International Raceway, a famous drag strip that hosts NHRA professional drag race events. We didn’t get to see any drag racing, but they did have a drifting exhibition going on, and we were glad to take a break from the action for a few minutes. Then, it was back on the course for a busy afternoon. Our evening stop was held in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, where a great turnout of people came to welcome the Great Racers to town. After the scores were tabulated, it was Howard and Doug Sharp at the top of the list with a 4.62 second score. The three-time winners of the Great Race had not yet won a daily trophy, and today’s performance actually put them at the top of the overall leaderboard by only 3 hundredths of a second! They barely snuck past the team of Josh Hull and Trevor Stahl, who have been at the top of the board for days. It’s going to come right down to the wire on tomorrow’s Championship Run!

Great Race 2022 – Day 7 – Wisconsin Dells, WI to Duluth, MN

The Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty Drivers Club is a time, speed, endurance rally. Today, we learned about endurance, as the racers tackled some of the toughest roads in Wisconsin. Early in the morning route, we saw a long stretch of secluded road, which was marked as “Rustic”. It had sections of gravel, and the road conditions made it difficult to hold speed and perform the necessary speed changes. Finally, we got back to civilization, and rallied through some beautiful countryside. Then, we saw another stretch of gravel, this time a little too intense to be included in the timed portion of the day, so it was scratched from the timed course, but racers still had to make their way through it to reach the lunch stop in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Racers were greeted by a huge turnout in Chippewa Falls, and grabbed a quick lunch before hitting the road again. We had a lot of ground to cover, and made our way north to Duluth, Minnesota by way of Highway 53 and a selection of secondary roads. Once we got close to Duluth, we could see Lake Superior in the distance, and as we got closer to downtown Duluth, we noticed the temperatures drop sharply from the 80’s to 60 degrees. We had a great turnout of folks at the Bayfront Festival Park and we celebrated with an awesome selection of ribs at Lake Superior Ribfest. We were able to try all different types of ribs, as well as delicious sides and hot fried donuts for dessert. Stage 7 winners are Jeff and Kylie Hermanson, with an outstanding score of 2.54 seconds! Onto Day 8, let’s go!

Great Race 2022 – Day 6 – Plainfield, IL to Wisconsin Dells, WI

As the race wears on, we made our way into Wisconsin, after a tough battle with rush hour traffic near Chicago. Once we got off the Interstate, things got better, as today’s route sent us on a beautiful tour of Wisconsin farm land. The rolling hills and scenic views were great, and the course was challenging with more turns than the past few days combined. Some turns were taken at speed, and some were at intersections, so it made for a mixture of tasks for the drivers and navigators to manage throughout the day. For lunch, we stopped at historic Angell Park Speedway, located in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. This track is known for midget racing and still has Sunday night racing programs. The crowd was great, and so was the food, which included some locally-made ice cream. From there, we had another challenging route during an abbreviated afternoon portion. The Great Race staff arranged an early arrival into Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin to take advantage of the amenities of the Chula Vista Resort. Even with the shortened day, the competition was still intense and for the sixth consecutive day, we have a new daily winner. Jeff and Eric Fredette took the daily win with a score of 5.71 seconds and didn’t get a single Eckler’s Ace in the process. An interesting side note is that the Wagner team in the 1947 Chevrolet scored three Eckler’s Aces, and got a better raw score. Unfortunately, they had a five-second penalty due to an extra passenger, so their final score did not win the day. But they have some major bragging rights and certainly had a smile on their face this afternoon.

Great Race 2022 – Day 5 – Perrysburg, OH to Plainfield, IL

As we make it past the half way point of this year’s Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty Drivers Club, we cross two more states off the to-do list. We started our day in Ohio, and the teams had another tough day that included more tough intersections and stop and go instructions. This allowed us to cover a lot of ground on small roads, eventually making our way to South Bend, Indiana for the lunch stop at the Studebaker National Museum. Inside, we had a delicious meal and a little extra time to check out the multi-level museum. With a combination of a tough transit into the Chicago area, as well as changing over to the Central Time zone, we had a rather short afternoon route. The afternoon course saw more farm land, and plenty of challenges, including a giant implement that took up a large portion of the road. After the racers came off the clock, it was a rough ride on the interstate to make our way to the dinner stop. Rush hour traffic, big trucks and construction made it a tough haul, but it was worth it, because the stop in Plainfield, Illinois was absolutely stunning. Thousands of people came out and packed the streets to welcome these cars into town. And when it was time for everyone to start rolling out of town, it seemed that no one wanted to leave. It was a great setting, an excellent meal and tons of great people. At the end of the day, it was another different Daily Winner, the fifth different winner in five days of competition. This time it was Jeff and Kylie Hermanson, with a score of 5.07 seconds. Josh Hull and Trevor Stahl are in the lead heading into Stage 6, but the field is tightening up FAST.