Something a little different from me

So, those that know me personally know I sold my car haulers about 10 years ago and have been consulting and working with a dealer as their Transportation and Compliance Manager, doing new tow trucks and Cottrell units.

Well, one of my consulting clients is the Auto Club Enterprises special events and motorsports team. I typically audit their trucks, records and facilities and do some driver training, but on occasion they are short a CDL driver and I get to dust off the boots.

This was a short and sweet one, two cars in the trailer with one stop in Springfield, MO for a Route 66 100 year anniversary event. Only unloaded the 1929 Dodge today, the funny car stayed inside the trailer.

Flew into St Louis yesterday, picked up the trailer today, did the event and ran it down to their Texas office for the next event. Typically their Texas driver would have done this, he is the one that brought the truck and cars up to MO for a few other events but he is Reserve and this was his weekend to serve, so I get to play!

Earlier this year I did an event with them in Costa Mesa, CA and got to drive a sweet 1956 Oldsmobile Starfire across LA. Some days it's not even like working

 

I have done a few antiques for them and it is always a good time. They have a very extensive collection, not to.mention the motorsports stuff we get to play with on occasion.

I have to find the picture but I hauled John Force's Monza funny car named Brute Force. Really enjoyed that as I'm a fan or both him and the Chevy Monza.

I missed out on an opportunity to do a round trip from a race shop in Mooresville, NC to Los Angeles and back this year. I just couldn't fit it into my schedule. It was a brand new Indy car and the trip would have been in a one car enclosed carrier built on a Freightliner M2 chassis. Nice truck to drive.

 

I don't recall either, but imagine the balls it took to drive these things back then. Open transmission into the driver cage, no protection from an exploding clutch and almost non-existent fire protection.

These are from an event I did with Auto Club in Coppell, TX Oct. 2022. Did the setup, display then hauled them back to their warehouse and shop in Tustin, CA.

 

A few more vehicles from the same event in Oct. 2022. The modern funny car, also from John Force's team, still runs and drives. They have several bodies for it that hang in racks and get swapped depending on the theme of the event it is being displayed at. It is currently done in a Route 66 theme and was the other car in my trailer yesterday.

I do a lot of things like this but most clients won't let me post images. I have Truck Captain or vehicle load-in duties at 6 trade showd each year as part of my semi-retirement job with both the dealership and the magazine that I write for. Keeps life interesting.

Unfortunately, mostly I haul the little blue Smurfette mobile around these days, although I get to play with some cool tow trucks and car haulers.

 

Nobody in Louisville. Closest to that area I had a client was Jeffersonville, IN. Refer carrier doing mostly Swift Packing. They were into race horses and Corvettes, but not building race cars.