So, here we are, up bright and early for the driver’s meeting in Indianapolis. As we walk across the lot, I hear, “Where’s SLEPE?” Seems as though lots of folks remember the ’63 Nova SS convertible, including the Ohio owners of a 1956 Buick Special,

whose portholes can best be described as the size of sewer lids.

Almost to Top Hat John and his morning joke, I stumbled across this trick ’32 rod with matching trailer.

What’s really amazing is how the driver’s meetings have grown as we’ve traveled east — even though lots of long haulers don’t show up, they’re more than compensated for by the new arrivals.

Seems as though we missed a new temperature record in Indy yesterday by only 1°. With our luck, we’ll probably set a new one today. During Top Hat’s morning dissertation, he brought up Richard Small of Flowmaster, so the Tourers could again thank them for sponsoring the Marshall Tucker Band last night at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

Our favorite Petersen person, Catherine Girard-Cobb and Petersen’s Singing Tom, the direction giver, had plenty to do, what with our entrance ramp to the Interstate marked with a big “Closed” sign. Fortunately, the signs lied.

With the Indy 500 this weekend, we noticed how the road crews were modifying all the interstates to resemble turn 2 at Indy.

I hope the locals have more success with the turn than some of the IRL drivers do.

With the tremendous heat we were suffering through, some creative souls thought to register a new vehicle for the remaining Tour.

Unfortunately, the driver’s supervisor found out about it, and he was forced to drop out after several exits. He never even made it to a stop, where we’re confident it would have been the most popular vehicle in the Tour.

One of the down sides to having a really hot car is the restraint problem. When you possess lots o’ pow’r, it’s all too easy to let it get away from you. Here, a friendly Indiana trooper helps this AMX owner prepare for faster ETs by reducing weight. I’ll bet his wallet is LOTS lighter.

Indiana seems to be “The Construction State.” Forget all that Hoosier stuff.

Hey, we’re in luck! Before you can say, “Even more construction,”

we’re back in Illinois, headed north for Chicago. At least, I thought we were.

Maybe we went TOO far west, and now we’re in Utah?

Humm, better check the ol’ Rand-McNally. Nah, this is really Illinois, and here’s the gas stop in Urbana.

It’s really a shame there’s only a couple of pumps, and no restrooms. I’ll bet most Tourers have really strong kidneys by now. We were fortunate to see some really nice local cars, too. Unfortunately, this isn’t one of them.

I’ve also been able to, thanks to lots of passenger seat time, figure out how to make a state: Take one piece of flat land, add some corn, and voila, Illinois!

Corn as far as the eye can see (well, at least it will be when it grows).

Through careful analysis we have determined Indiana does not have an exclusive on construction.

We’re so fortunate not to see a sign which says, “Construction Zone, No Passing Next 842 Miles.” Seems as though we’re always behind a truck, too. Don’t these guys have jobs? Do they just spend their days driving their trucks around? Come on, get with it! We’ve got a Power Tour to go on!

When I grow up, I’ve decided I want to follow in the steps of Betsy Ross, and be a flagger (which, I assure you, is nothing like being a Flugger, them of Flowmaster fame).

Our bud Todd in the MSD Typhoon was always around, too, looking for folks with ignition problems to help.

Todd really wanted it to rain, so he could show everyone how the Typhoon’s all wheel drive, turbocharged, intercooled, V-6 could dust us all off. Fortunately, Mother Nature was on our side.

Another of last year’s friends was Trace Bahr, driving the RRRUSH Z28 out of Madison, Wisconsin.

Trace swears he only wears his cheesehead during football season, and promises next year to bring enough brats and charcoal to cook for the entire Tour. I personally plan on holding him to that promise. I think everyone else should, too.

A real scientific experiment we performed was the comparison of tans on window arm versus interior arm.

I’m relatively certain that after a couple more days, the window arm will be well done. If only Gary would let me drive, all for the sake of an even tan. . . 

Since we were driving past Jack and Troy Trepanier’s shop again, we decided to stop in and see what fun new creations were lying around.

Unfortunately, lots of other folks had the same idea. Even Posie stopped by in his trick Ford wagon.

Sneaking through the place, we found lots of momentos, like this banner from last year’s Tour.

Troy was kind enough to park Sniper next to an original ’54 Plymouth Savoy, so we could see the heritage of the award winning custom.

We even managed to catch Edelbrock’s Jim Lohsee deep in animated conversation with Hot Rod Publisher Jim Savas.

Evidently they were trying to agree on the orangeness of the Camaro behind them. Either that, or who was going to get the first ride on the Harley under construction.

One of the really neat things about the Tour is how Tourers look out for each other. The young woman driving this clean ’65 Falcon Futura convertible didn’t pack too carefully,

so several considerate Tour dudes offered to help her “reinstall” the offending item. At last word, she had declined all offers. Inquiring minds want to know (or at least watch).

Bypassing the Route 66 drag strip (due to our trip to Trepanier’s shop), we arrived at the Tinley Park/Chicago, Illinois stop. I finally realized where I had seen this garish Corvette.

True Value sponsored the cruise night, including a local band for our listening enjoyment.

When you drive long distances, accidents happen.

There are simple repairs that can assist with the situation until you get back to your favorite bodyshop. This flamed ’56 Ford pick up used the most elegant.

When I grow up, my goal is to have a REALLY FAST rod — something along the order of Frank Currie’s Boss Ford powered red rocket.

This fenderless roadster ran 205.68 miles per hour at Bonneville, and undoubtedly will go faster now that it’s been helped with some Mothers® SHOWTIME® Instant Detailer.

You know how folks always claim to have an unusual car? Well, this 1968 Z28 is the only convertible ever made.

Seems as though Pete Estes, Chevrolet General Manager, wanted one. Not content to go to the local dealer and order one, he just had it built.

Wonder if that’d work for us common folk?

With only 1 day’s drive left, some Tour long haulers took advantage of the cruise night to finish up last minute repairs.

I was going to suggest they drive something with a blue oval on it, but common sense got the better part of me. It was, in retrospect, a wise decision.

If you want your children to grow up to be racers, you need to start them early, as this family did.

What’s next, I wonder, a slammed Big Wheel?

The GM Motor Medics haven’t been too busy this year, so folks stopped by with every little ailment they could think of:

“No, I’m sorry, it doesn’t sound like a stuck lifter in your camcorder.”

After hot rodded wagons and slammed Big Wheels, the well dressed five year old graduates to a slick Camaro convertible, as demonstrated here by Jacki Flugger of Flowmaster fame (and just ask her who owns Flowmaster. She really is a mommy’s girl!).