Friday, June 5 was a gorgeous day in central Indiana, so I de-moth-balled the 1964 Daytona Convertible so lovingly cared for by Central Virginia folks until Leonard Shepherd thankfully turned loose of it in October 2007. (Thanks again, Leonard!) The evening's occasion was the Fourth Annual Jeramey Schmitt Memorial Drag Race and Car Show at Indianapolis Raceway Park, Jeramey being the nephew of friend Chris Schmitt. Chris owns the transmission shop in Avon IN where I park my "for sale" merchandise to be sold, helping Chris by sharing the cost of his Used Car Dealer Plate and Insurance to sell cars on the property.
The memorial event is called "Moonlight Madness." It raises money for a scholarship fund established in Jeramey's name after he passed away suddenly during football practice his senior year in high school. (I'd have to recheck the spelling of Jeramey; it's an "untypical" spelling.)
'Twas a sweet evening [8D] in that the Daytona convertible was well received. As I went to leave, two fellows in their 50s, I would imagine, were looking it over as I approached and were most respectful of Studebakers in general. One of them thanked me for bringing "a real classic" to the show. (I suppose The Classic Car Club of America will have to relinquish their claim to the term Classic sooner or later; after all, not all "Kleenex" is manufactured by Kimberly-Clark!)
'Twas a sour (sad) evening [V], too, in that this was the first time I'd been to any drag strip since Ted Harbit's terrible accident May 9th. As I sat in the Indianapolis Raceway Park bleachers watching the evening's drag racing, I couldn't help but remember watching The Chicken Hawk, beige at the time, blast down that very quarter-mile strip for the first time a full 47 years ago and many times since...and then realizing I'll never see it make another pass down the quarter-mile.[V]
'Great evening for a convertible ride, though, and the back roads home (it's only about five miles) were just right for quiet reflection in what has to be the tightest Studebaker convertible I've ever driven. 'Glad The Old Dominion Boys didn't run it too hard while it was on its 44-year journey away from home [Indiana]
. Thanks, guys. 
BPEdited for spelling.
We've got to quit saying, 
Comment