Made ‘em All
O n page 66 of this issue we kick-off our expanded 29 Below coverage with Alex Kline from Plainwell, Michigan, and his ’37 Ford for good reason. Alex drove the ’37 to all nine NSRA events and entered the 29 Below gathering at each event in 2025. But there’s much more to the story, starting with Alex “aging out” of 29 Below in 2025, so he set his goals high to include his dad, Bill Kline, and his ’31 Ford extended-cab pickup. Bill owns Lightning Recovery & Towing in Plainwell, but managed to find the time to join his son on the epic journey. Even Bill’s ’31 holds a twist to this story in that it’s actually a ’31 Model A coupe body cut off behind the rear quarter windows and fit with a hand-formed rear panel. An ’88 Vette IRS and TCI IFS combined with an LT1 and 4L65e are mounted to a lengthened frame to fit the stock-length bed. Tulip
wood highlights, heat and cool seats, and an eight- speaker sound system had Bill cruisin’ in style. Bill’s wife Susan joined father and son for half their nine- event journey. Dedication can be measured by action and our last twist in this story is that both Alex and Bill are NSRA Safety Team members and in addi- tion to all the miles traveled, they helped perform Safety Inspections at each event as well.
100th Anniversary of the Mother Road
T he Hemmings “Great Race” presented by Coker Tire is a nine-day classic car rally that spans more than 2,300 miles and features 120 of the world’s finest antique automobiles. The event uses a new route each year and features 17 hosted city stops along the way. For 2026, the Great Race is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Mother Road with a Route 66-themed event that starts in Springfield, Illinois, on Saturday, June 20, and ends in Pasadena, California, on Sunday, June 28, 2026. The Great Race was started in 1983 by Tom McRae and it’s now the world’s premier old car rally. This traveling time/speed/distance rally isn’t just a casual back road cruise, as it has a strict set of rules to keep competition tight. The vehicles, each with a driver and navigator, are given precise instructions each day that detail every move down to the second. They are scored at secret check- points along the route and are penalized for arriving at the check- points early or late. As in golf, the
lier are eligible to compete, and the scoring system features an age factor to keep the earlier cars competitive. In the 2025 Great Race, a ‘33 Ford pickup won the event. A 1913 Chevrolet, a 1916 Hudson and a 1918 American LaFrance are the oldest cars scheduled to be in the 2026 Great Race that will begin in front of the old state capitol in Springfield and nine days later the race will finish at City Hall in downtown Pasadena. In between the start and finish cities are approximately 2,300 miles of competition and 17 hosted city stops in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California, with many iconic Route 66 sights along the way. The event’s main sponsors are Hemmings, Coker Tire, McCollister’s Auto Transport, Stahls and Samuel Smith Old Brewery. For more infor- mation, go to www.greatrace.com, or visit the Great Race Facebook Page. You can also e-mail commu- nications@greatrace.com or call Jeff directly at 423-648-8542.
lowest score wins. There is a purse of $160,000 split among five classes, with the overall winner taking home $50,000. Teams and cars from Japan, England, Australia, Canada, and every corner of the United States participate in the annual event, which is often considered a “bucket list” item for car enthusi- asts, especially in 2026 with the Route 66 theme. Cars, trucks and motorcycles built in 1974 and ear-
14 FEBRUARY 2026
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