Hi guys and girls, here's my recap on the big show. It was well worth the long drive.

I left Thursday afternoon and made it to near Knoxville - Super 8 motel @ $45 in Dandridge TN. Only issue driving at night was the headlights blinking a few times. The weather was clear but too chilly to drive 70mph with the top down.

Got up Friday and drove the rest of the way - the 72 sprint convertible did great. I pulled in line at the track and was registered in a few minutes and was directed towards the overflow parking near the vendors. Everone who pre-registered got a box just like the 40th filled with a nice plaque, 2010 diecast Mustang and catalogs and track information. The parking area was on grass which was fine as it was dry. I spent the afternoon checking out the many vendors. The Ford displays were cool and just about every Mustang vendor you could think of was there. The time went by quickly and headed out to check into the Hotel which was only about a mile from the track. Some people showed up there that morning and they still had a few rooms. At only $75 a night, I think this place fell under the radar but folks from the UK and Australia found it and it was - just no restaurants nearby. I drove to Rusty's b-bbq a few miles down the road - very very good. I drove back and asked the hotel clerk if there were any Karaoke bars in town and she told me there were a few bars in Leeds. I drove the 3 or so miles to town and found the bar I sang four songs. The locals were nice and I did not get thrown out so it was a good night.

I got up pretty early Saturday and headed to the track. Since I pre-registered by mail only a month ago I was directed back to the grass parking lot but I got a space pretty close to the road. I headed up to the four tier parking area that had the show and race cars. It took a few hours to cover the area and take as many photos as my 1G card would hold. I watched the FR500 Mustangs race and the drift cars smoke the tires around the course. After scoping out the displays I headed over the special parking area where the Saleens, Shelby, Roush, Bullitt, SSP and the French club in their 2010 rentals were parked. I hopped off the tram just as the SSP Mustangs were coming in with the lights flashing and sirens on. It was quite a sight and there must have been about two dozen of them. After a nice lunch in that display area I headed back to the sprint. I sat with the car a little while, chatted with folks from TMI, Carlisle, and Legendary Fords magazine, and then I drove over to the paved show field lot on the other side of the track. I was lucky enough to get a spot next to the other 72 sprint convertible that was there owned by DL & Louise Waters from Georgia.

They really enjoy their sprint and I got to chat with them for a few hours. After they left I wandered around some to see if I missed anything and headed out about 5pm. Earlier that day I also check out the original owner 64.5 Mustangs and peeked inside the museum (lots of motorcycles) but I did not take the tour. I headed back to hotel and chatted with some folks in the parking lot for a while after I drove to Sonic for dinner. Since it was long and tiring day I called it a night and based on the weather reports I figured Sunday would be a bust.




I woke up Sunday am, got some tea and mini honey buns, chatted with some other guests and decided to make the trek back to Vienna in one day. The trip was uneventful except for having to stuff socks above the sun visors as the top was leaking between the windshield frame and top. It rained about 2/3 of the way but after about 11 hours of road time I pulled into home at about 8:30pm. The speedometer cable started to chatter on the trip and the needle was bouncing so I guess after 108,000 miles it's time for a new one.

I went through about a quart of oil and about 70 gallons of gas on the 1,400 mile round trip. The show was very well organized and the MCA staff/volunteers did an excellent job. The track was very spread out but given the number of cars and spectators there I had no complaints. The tram service was slow at times but other than that there plenty of restrooms, food vendors and things to do and see. I took about 500 digital pictures. I did not attend any of the evening events so I cannot speak about those. Since MCA had a show at Barber Motorsports Park before they probably had a lessons learned session and put those ideas into making this event one to remember. I'm already looking forward to the fiftieth and my daughter will be of driving age by then so perhaps I can bring all three cars to that show wherever it is. I just hope it's not too far of a drive.

Author: Rex Turner/1972 Sprint Registry