Both my navigator Brett and I know the coupe is just about to crest the hill, and this is likely the last chance for us and the 1917 Peerless to close the distance between us and the expert driver and navigator in the Ford.
Regardless of how beautiful this cadre of cars is at the starting line of the Great Race, each vehicle will have a little more wear on it by the time it hits the finish line in Greenville, South Carolina, after nine days of road rallying.
Navigators are not given the day’s directions until 30 minutes before their cars are due to leave, and those pages of turn-by-turn instructions can be best described as cryptic.
It’s run every Great Race since 1997 and only three drivers have taken the wheel for this event in all those 24 years.
The Green Dragon has consistently proved itself a competitive car, and it’s even placed in the top 10.
While many OEM speedometers vary by 1 to 2 percent at most speeds, the Timewise is accurate to a fraction of a percent and is user-adjustable for factors like elevation or tire pressure and wear.
The ability to consistently slow the car—to decelerate at the same rate each time you put your foot on the brake pedal—is absolutely key.
Brett and I struggle to settle into a groove after a year off, thanks to the cancelation of the 2020 event due to the pandemic.
Braking from any speed on a wet road is a careful affair with 33×5-inch tires, and that is assuming you have perfect visibility—which we don’t.
Or stay up a little later than we should sharing a cold beverage with fellow competitors repairing their cars in the hotel parking lot.
It’s easy to get obsess over time tables and acceleration charts and forget that we are here to enjoy an epic road trip with 108 cars full of new and old friends.