Many thanks to Factory Five for inviting me to join them for the “triple play” option … FFR Open House, followed by the Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour and finishing with the London Cobra Show and Mid Ohio track days.
This is long overdue, but this retirement business is keeping me very busy! I know, it’s a tough life. I recently completed the Hot Rod Power Tour with Factory Five. My very good friend, John Tongish, foolishly accepted my invitation to be copilot/navigator/relief driver. John and I met up in Baton Rouge and joined the Factory Five group on day one of the Tour, which was a huge car show in Gonzales, LA. What normally happens in the afternoon in southern Louisiana? Thunderstorms, of course, and lots of rain. We put car covers on the cars to keep them dry, removed the covers after the storm passed, then put them on again when the next wave of showers passed through. At one point, there were several inches of standing water in the show area. Beautiful cars everywhere in the show area … hot rods, rat rods, muscle cars, unique cars of all brands, new and old. Great fun hanging out with John, Tony, Fred, Erik, Ron, David, Scott and Bill & his son, on the Power Tour.
Day two of the Tour was the first driving day and started off cruising on the Interstate Highways. As soon as the route left the freeway, we drove into a massive traffic jam. John and I took the first opportunity to get back on the freeway. We dodged most of the rain but did hit a steady light rain the last 20 minutes of the drive. I found several areas that need to be sealed up better to keep the cockpit dry. We arrived at the Royal Purple Raceway, near Houston, TX, early afternoon and helped “Honey Badger” with the steady flow of folks that had questions about the Factory Five products. The rest of the FFR gang arrived a little later. The heat and humidity combined to deliver afternoon thunderstorms again, raining for several hours. John and I elected to wait out the rain while the rest of the FFR group headed out for the 45 minute drive in light rain to the hotel. When the rain finally quit about 7:30, John and I found a nearby hotel and spent the night there.
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