Dynamat Road Tour - The 2010 Amsoil/Street Rodder

Larry Olson and his wife, Carol, invited us to visit them and their fantastic car collection in Brandon, SD, just east of Sioux Falls. Upon arrival we were treated to a wonderful barbecue dinner complete with dessert. We were then able to get a good look at Carol and Larry's extensive car collection.

Just around the corner from Larry Olsen's toy box is the Bowman's Real Hot Rods shop. Kevin Bowman and his talented crew are responsible for many of Larry's rides.

Any trip across South Dakota is just not complete without at least a brief stop at the Corn Palace in Mitchell. Just as the name implies this building has the entire outside surface covered with real corn. Inside visitors learn the story of corn and the important part that it played in the history of the region.

Thursday morning we visited Dakota Digital in Sioux Falls, SD. We have used Dakota Digital gauges and products in our Road Tour vehicles. The 2011 '55 Chevy Road Tour sedan will be equipped with the new Dakota Digital VHX gauges.

After our Thursday evening stop in Pierre, SD we headed to the Black Hills. While it was Bike Week in Sturgis, our destination for lunch was Larry Ruth's Hot Rods in Spearfish, SD. We were greeted by Larry, his wife, Gail, and the crew. After some great sandwiches we got a look at their state-of-the-art shop and Larry and the crew did some maintenance on a few of our vehicles.

The Road Tourians and the bikers who were in town for Bike Week all enjoyed the many sights in the Black Hills area. Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial were both destinations for the Road Tour participants on Friday.

After seven days on the road we were finally greeted by this sign just east of Wendover, NV. As we arrived at the Salt Flats on Sunday morning, tech inspection was already in progress and runs down the salt had already begun.

Feature Editor Tim Bernsau snapped this picture as we crossed the wide open spaces of Wyoming on our way to Utah. Tim had a fun week on the Dynamat Tour behind the wheel of the '09 Road Tour '52 Chevy.

This was the scene at the famous "end of the asphalt" section of pavement before you actually roll onto the salt. Speed Week at Bonneville has become an item on every rodder's bucket list over the past few years. While the lines are usually long the SCTA folks keep everything running very smoothly.

There was activity everywhere as we arrived at the starting area. Racers were in line to make their passes down the course and everyone, including those of us who have been there before, was caught up in the excitement.

It is almost like you have arrived on another planet when you are on the salt.

These enterprising fellows were set up at the exit to the course and earned some gas money by hosing down vehicles on the way out. As most veterans know, it is almost impossible to get all the salt off. A good rainstorm on my long drive back to Ohio did help to clean things up a bit.