Wednesday morning dawned with much better weather although the memories of the previous day's trip down the coastline were still very fresh in our memories. Everyone had managed to get dried out and there was quite a bit of money spent at the dryers in the hotel but we made it. The skies were a little overcast but the weather report called for clearing during the day. That sounded just fine to all of us.

After our Monday morning driver's meeting it was a short drive to Steve's Auto Restoration in Portland, Oregon. Owner Steve Frisbie and staff were waiting with coffee and donuts when we arrived. Steve's Auto Restoration has been known for their high quality craftsmanship for many years. Their projects have won many awards and their field of expertise ranges from high end concourse work to more recently their 1934 Ford roadster and coupe reproduction steel bodies. It was interesting to see such a wide range of projects under way. The metal work that is done at Steve's is of incredible high quality. We were also given a demonstration of the work that can be done on the huge two headed vintage power hammer. These tools are very rare and finding craftsman who can put them to good use is even rarer. Steve's is lucky enough to have both.

The NHRA Wally Parks Museum is known for its incredible collection of hot rod artifacts that tell the story of the history of our hobby. A visit to the facility on the grounds of the Fairplex in Pomona gives visitors a look at hot rodding's roots and the men and women that pioneered what has become a passion for so many of us. On display in the museum are vehicles and memorabilia that show what things were like in the early days when hot rodding was in its infancy and the sport of drag racing was born. The NHRA Wally Parks Museum is more than just a shrine to our past. Each year the museum organizes two events that showcase the cars and the activities that helped shape the hobby. In June at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky and in October at Fomoso Raceway near Bakersfield, the Hot Rod Reunion events feature vintage drag racing and attracted race cars and hot rods from those early years.

With visions of riding Bob Panella's train still dancing in our heads, we had our daily driver's meeting at 8AM on Wednesday. It was a one-hour drive to Leonard Lopez's new Dominator Street Rod facilities in Tracy, California. Leonard and the crew at Dominator had built the 2007 Road Tour McMullen's Coupe and it was great to see all of our friends at Dominator. As usual they have plenty of projects in the works and they are all first- class builds. It was informative to have Leonard spend the time to fill us in on all the details of the vehicles that are in progress at the Dominator shop.

The Classic Automobilia Road Tour ended on Sunday September 20 at the Northeast Nationals in Burlington, Vermont. While it was the end of one Tour it was actually the beginning of my cross country journey to begin the Sherm's Custom Plating Tour which was scheduled to start five days later in Escondido California 3,000 miles from where I stood in Vermont. Over the past fourteen years and 325,000 miles I have made the crossing many times but it had been a few years since I had needed to put together three or four 800 mile days in a row. I knew the AMSOIL/Street Rodder Road Tour Chevy was up to the challenge and I felt that I still had a few long distance runs left in me so with that in mind I set my sights on the left coast and rolled out of the fairgrounds on Sunday at 3:00PM.

After our fun evening at O'Brien Truckers in Charlton, Mass we were up and rolling as Thursday was the day we arrive in Burlington. Our first stop in the morning was at Intercity Lines terminal in Brookfield, Mass. Intercity Lines is the official auto transport company of the AMSOIL/Street Rodder Road Tour. Folks on the east coast have expressed an interest in participating in our west coast Tour and vice-versa for our west coast Road Tourians. Intercity provides a way to safely and conveniently get your vehicle across long distances worry free. At Intercity we were greeted by President Dave Wilson and the Intercity staff. While enjoying coffee and donuts we were given a demonstration the care and preparation that goes into securing of a vehicle for its trip on an Intercity carriers. Their services make it possible for more folks to enjoy Road Tours across the country.

The Tuesday morning driver's meeting was exciting as we were joined by five very official and very serious Secret Service agents at the hotel where the Road Tourians were staying. They were the advance team for President Obama's visit to the local General Motors plant that afternoon. They seemed to notice our cars but definitely not a lot of chit-chat from them.

The NSRA Nationals North in Kalamazoo, Michigan proved to be the perfect kickoff to the AMSOIL/Street Rodder. The September weather was great with clear blue skies and temperatures in the high 70's each day. The fairground was covered with participants and spectators each of the three days of the event.

After our Thursday morning driver's meeting it was time to get to Wendover and the Bonneville Salt Flats. It is just a two hour drive from Salt Lake City and everyone was very excited. Interstate 80 is a long straight road between Salt Lake City and Wendover. There are salt flats along almost the entire route. About 3 miles east of Wendover the signs for the Bonneville Speedway start to appear. After exiting the freeway it is about 3 miles to what is know as "the end of the asphalt". There is a sign that tells the history of the course. Here is where the salt begins for the spectators.

At the driver's meeting the morning after our visit to The Smith Collection of American Speed Museum, we all decided that we wanted to be adopted by Joyce and Bill Smith. Everyone was still talking about the incredible collection that we had the privilege of visiting the night before.

Recently one of our sister publications, Hot Rod Magazine, published what they felt were 100 things that a car guy should do before he goes to the big race in the sky. The list included attending the NSRA Street Rod Nationals, going to Bonneville for Speed Week and visiting the Smith Collection of American Speed at Speedway Motors. This week, on the Willy's Garage Road Tour we are doing all three of these over a seven day period. Starting with the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, stopping for a visit with Joyce and Bill Smith to see the incredible Smith Collection of American Speed on the Speedway Motors grounds, and ending up in Wendover, Nevada for the final days of Bonneville Speed Week. Along the way we are making stops at Pete and Jakes, spending an evening in Cheyenne, Wyoming and visiting the headquarters of our Tour Sponsor Willy's Garage in the Salt Lake City area. Willy's Garage has recently introduced a complete line of car care products. Owner Bill Williams and the Willy's Garage crew have a great evening planned complete with a visit by master painter Charley Hutton. It is going to be a wild week on the Willy's Garage AMSOIL Road Tour.

Tuesday afternoon and evening on the Merrill Lynch Jones Group Road Tour there was a huge gathering at the Quaker Steak and Lube restaurant in Austintown, Ohio near Youngstown. Kurt Allen, Sid Jones and the Jones Group team had invited many of their clients to The Lube for the evening to see the Road Tour cars and meet the Road Tourians. Many of the local rodders also brought their vehicles out and everyone in attendance enjoyed the cars and the beautiful weather. The Quaker Steak and Lube in Austintown is right off of Interstate 80 and every Sunday evening during the summer has over 500 cars at their weekly cruise. It was another fun evening with cars and car folks on the Jones Group Tour.

The Merrill Lynch Jones Group Tour continued on Tuesday morning with a visit to the Mid-Ohio Race Course in Lexington, Ohio north of Columbus. The drive across the rural areas of Ohio's farm country was beautiful with corn as high as an elephant's eye. It is beautiful time of year in the Buckeye State. We arrived at Mid-Ohio about 10:30 as planned and were greeted by Kendall Reed from the public relations department at the track. She gave us a brief tour of the facilities and we then enjoyed a box lunch under sunny skies as a high performance driving school was being conducted on the track.

This year's 1952 Chevy two-door began its Road Tour life at Woody's Hot Rodz in Bright, Indiana. When we decided to attend the huge Syracuse Nationals in New York on the Merrill Lynch Jones Group Tour, Woodys was the perfect place to begin the week long journey across Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.

The Wednesday morning drive on the AMSOIL Road Tour took us along Route 2 in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It was a beautiful morning as we traveled along the coast line of Lake Michigan, taking advantage of the many photo opportunities. We reached the Mackinaw Bridge in St. Ignace just after noon. The lake was fairly foggy and the huge bridge loomed in the distance as we took photos at the north end before we crossed over on our way to Charlevoix, Michigan.

The NHRA Hot Rod Reunion was the final destination for the Vintage Air Tour but also the starting point for the AMSOIL Road Tour to the famous St Ignace Car Show in St Ignace, Michigan. After our Sunday morning drivers meeting the AMSOIL Tour participants headed north on I-65 and made our first stop about 90 miles up the interstate at Jason Grimes shop known simply as "The Garage".

It was rise and shine Wednesday morning in Tupelo, Mississippi. Rick Love went over the scheduled activities at the regular morning driver's meeting. On tap for the day was a short drive to Elvis Presley's birthplace and museum then back on the Natchez Trace for the trip to Franklin, Tennessee for the evening.

After our evening in Lake Charles Monday morning was the beginning of Day 2 of the Vintage Air Road Tour. Trail boss, Vintage Air's Rick Love conducted the driver's meeting in the hotel parking lot at 7:30 as planned. There were now almost 40 vehicles traveling with us. Monday's route would get us off the interstate and take us through the rural areas of southern Louisiana. Our destination for the morning was Avery Island, the home of world famous Tabasco hot sauce and their family of products.

The second leg of the 2009 AMSOIL/Street Rodder Road Tour series is a cruise from the Vintage Air Headquarters in San Antonio, Texas to the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion at Beach Bend Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky. I left my home in Youngstown, Ohio on Wednesday morning with plans for a few stops along the way to San Antonio. It is a 1500 mile drive from Northeastern Ohio to Vintage Air and the Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour was scheduled to be in Dayton Ohio on Wednesday afternoon as they traveled from Racine, Wisconsin to Bristol, Tennessee. I had been invited to stop by in Dayton and say hi to the crowd.

When 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. Twenty -five 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 Pick-up. 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.

On Wednesday morning it was rise and shine in Greensboro, North Carolina. Our destination for lunch was the garage and museum of Cecil Profitt. The trip to Cecil's in Windsor, Virginia would take about four hours and it was a beautiful North Carolina morning. About one hour into the trip we were met along the highway by some members of the Timeless Cruizers club from Efland, North Carolina. They had called the day before and asked about what time we would be on the road. It was nice to see the welcome committee near the North Carolina, Virginia border complete with the club banner. In about two more hours we were greeted by almost twenty street rods and customs which lead us to Cecil's Garage and Museum. Even more folks were waiting when we arrived. It was nice to see almost fifty vehicles turn out on a Wednesday afternoon.

After the car show and charity auction at Coker Tire on Saturday and the beautiful drive through the Smoky Mountains on Sunday, the Tour continued on Monday morning with a visit to Lokar Performance Products in Knoxville. The folks at Lokar have been major supporters of the Road Tour program since the first Tour way back in 1996. Lokar is the only company whose products have been used on every Road Tour car for the last 14 years. Just like their ads say, Lokar means quality and there shifter cables, brackets and aluminum products are second to none.

It is that time again already and the first leg of the 2009 edition of the AMSOIL / Street Rodder Road Tour is off to a great start. The Coker Tour started Saturday May 9 with a car show and charity auction at the Chattanooga , Tennessee headquarters of Coker Tire. It was a great day and almost $2000 was raised for the Victory Junction Gang Camp. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me back up a few weeks and fill in some details about this year's 1952 Chevy 2 door hardtop.

June is always a busy month for street rodders across the United States. Great weather is finally upon us and it is time to hit the highway. For folks on the east coast the fun starts at the huge NSRA East Coast Nationals in York, Pennsylvania. Midwest rodders can join the Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour for a week as it makes its way from Madison, Wisconsin to Bristol, Tennessee early in the month. On Father's Day weekend the west coast folks usually attend the LA Roadsters Show and up in Minnesota over 10,000 rods and customs fill up the Minnesota State Fairgrounds for the Back to the 50's Weekend. Toward the end of the month folks in Colorado attend the NSRA Rocky Mountain Nationals in Pueblo.