Saturday, May 18
Detroit, MI to Norwalk, CT

“The Last Lap”

5:00 AM, Mt. Clemens, MI. — Driver’s meeting at 6:30 AM before we head for the end of the line. Now I know how a condemned man feels on his last day. It has been a great ride, but I can see the end of the road ahead.

Wash Way Cool Mothers®; Vortech Mustang for the last time. Even though it is still foggy, my compulsiveness drives me to have the cleanest, shiniest car here. Even Boyd Coddington must be jealous. Shower and check out. Fog has wetted car again. Continual drying off until the Tour leaves, I guess.

6:30 — over four hundred drivers assembled for the trip to Norwalk. All but about fifty are short termers. Us long haul guys (and gals) know who we are. Callaway Corvette and I decide we do not want to be involved in heavy fog through Detroit rush hour with these car crazed lunatics. We elect to leave now and take a route which does not consist of forty miles of interstate with only one lane open. Silly Tourers.

Blast off. I-94. I-75. Soon in Ohio. Fog gone. Find State Road 20 for trip into Norwalk. Is two lane highway though countryside. Callaway and I are both in our element. Best drive we have had this trip.

Arrive Norwalk. Get serious run-around on where to park. Callaway finally ends up in BFG display. I am entrant into “I went all the way” parking lot. Way Cool. Find water outlet. Guess what I am going to do?

Car clean. Official looking person with radio says Tour is two hours out. How can that be — is only a two hour drive. Guess their route was not as much fun as ours. Big time bored. Where is bikini contest practice when you need it? Give away product, brochures and T-shirts.

Tour now three minutes out. Others start pulling in the long haul parking lot. Police, officials and tow trucks arrive. This will be interesting. Tour starts pulling in. They go down drag strip to sounds of fireworks exploding. I get soft drink and watch from cleanest car in Power Festival. Upon arrival Power Tour is officially over and Power Festival now exists.

SLEPE 63 was put together nicer than Chevrolet’s ’55. Too bad SLEPE 63 wasn’t here to rub it in.

Plug changing contest. Burnout contest. Bikini contest. Big Wheel Tricycle contest for kiddies. Many contests. Some crazy DJ from Manhattan Beach spinning tunes and hawking his wares. After 2,300+ miles is a real bore.

Gets hot. Gets sunny. Real hot. Real sunny. All product now gone. All T-shirts gone. Most of one page catalogs now gone. My skin now gone. What little left is very red. I am burnt out, physically and mentally.

Decide to blow this joint. Tomorrow is finals of burnout contest and street shoot-out. I can live without this.

Say my good-byes to long haulers. Neat people.

Find highway. Set cruise three MPH over speed limit. After 2,300 miles a ticket sounds pretty dumb. Set cruise thirteen over limit. More comfortable. I guess I am dumb. Get passed by Corvette. See dark shape on side of road. It is Ohio trooper with laser unit. Corvette on side of road. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Find Indiana, leave Indiana. Find Illinois. Back on familiar ground. Gas stops are short. Night is long. Leave Illinois and drive over bridge into St. Louis. Miss my exit as I day-dream (or is it night-dream?) about trip. Blast through downtown city streets and around stadium to get back on the right highway. Police probably wondering what that red low flying missile is doing.

Get off highway and work my way home. Clock says 1:20 AM. Way Cool Mothers® Vortech Mustang burbles her last as I back in garage crooked. Who cares. Shut her down. Pops and settling of metal cooling remind me of SLEPE 63 as we left L.A. last week. Has been one hell of a ride. Lots of fun. One small disappointment as SLEPE 63 was left in Kansas. Met many great people. Saw many great sights. Shot many great slides.

All in all it was a great ride.

Story and photos by,

Forrest Tosie
Mothers® Polishes•Waxes•Cleaners