With many years of cross country hot rod journeys under his belt, Schaub is supremely confident he can go the distance. "I'm doing this because people said it couldn't be done and I've always wanted to find a cool way to help some kids in need," he said. "It's going to be hard. It will be the ultimate reliability run to test the mettle of me and my machine. When I get road weary, I will turn my thoughts to the kids. I'm hopeful that will give me the added boost to pull it off."
Sponsors will also have an opportunity to get involved. Schaub's black `32 Ford roadster, built in South San Francisco by the Roy Brizio Street Rods shop, will be wrapped in a vinyl cover by Yak Graphics from San Jose to carry sponsor logos and signage. Schaub made it clear that he's paying for the gas, food and lodging out of pocket. All private donations he receives will go directly to Ronald McDonald House at Stanford.
His plan is to launch from Needles, California and head southeast. Once he gets to the Deep South to the Florida panhandle, he'll drive up along the eastern seaboard, going through New England at night before heading back west picking off the Northern states along the Canadian border one by one. His biggest day will see him pick off 12 states in one day's drive time. As he approaches the eastern edge of Washington state, he'll head north through British Columbia before hitting his final destination and 49th state with a stop in Southeast Alaska.
Schaub will keep a time stamped receipt for gasoline and other items in each state he visits. He will use a GPS satellite device known as "SPOT" which will allow Internet users to track his progress in real time on Google Maps through his website. An official send off party/press conference honoring Schaub's pending feat will be held Friday, August 21st at the Goodguys 22nd West Coast Nationals hot rod show, held at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds. To donate funds, see the route map, or to ask Dave a question or simply send him well wishes, visit www.49in9.com
Road Tour '09
Onward to SyracuseWhen the folks at the Jones Group-Merrill Lynch in Youngstown, Ohio heard that the AMSOIL/STREET RODDER Road Tour was coming to their town on the way to the Syracuse Nationals they knew that they wanted to be involved. To say the least, The Jones Group boys are not your everyday stock brokers. Kurt Allen, Sid Jones, and Jim Rice enjoy high performance cars and motorcycles and appreciate craftsmanship in any type of vehicle. 25 years ago Kurt spent a few seasons in Florida driving around a 1952 Chevy. His father and grandfather both had a love of cars, and Kurt's Dad will be joining the Tour in his freshly-finished 1954 Chevy pickup. Sid's tastes lean toward the engineering of the early military vehicles and he is intrigued by the workmanship in today's street rods. Jim is the Harley guy of the group and spends his summer days up on two wheels. These fellows are investment advisers during the day but their passion is all internal combustion.
The Jones Group Tour begins Sunday evening July 12th at Woody's Hot Rodz in Bright, Indiana near Cincinnati, Ohio. The Woody's crew built this year's '52 Chevy hardtop and will be anxious to see how the Bow Tie build is holding up. Sunday night's headquarters is the Argosy Hotel and Casino. On Monday morning the Tour visits SoffSeal, the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio and then Brookville Roadsters for the evening in Brookville, Ohio. Tuesday's lunch stop will be at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. There will be an afternoon visit in New Springfield, Ohio at Don Synder Jr's amazing collection of over 80 muscle cars, street rods and high-performance vehicles, including the very first and last Ford Thunderbolt factory funny cars of the '60s. Tuesday wraps up with a big party hosted by The Jones Group at the Quaker Steak and Lube in Austintown, Ohio and everyone in the area is invited.