#GilmoreGreatRace: Stage Six, A Gilmore Homecoming and onto Ypsilanti
Tonight, Team #GilmoreGreatRace would like to thank you, thank you, thank you for such a wonderful homecoming this afternoon. We were all so humbled by your support, your warm welcome, and for sharing our passion in the heritage of the automobile. We are proud to be representatives of the Gilmore Car Museum and we could not have been more proud to welcome the competitors of the 2017 Great Race to our home.
The mid-day ceremonies kicked off with announcers Great Race Mike Goodman and Corkie Coker getting everyone fired up for the racers. Barb Follis sung a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem, our very own Delton-Kellogg Marching Band entertained the crowd, our Museum Chairman, Bill Parfet, welcomed everyone to North America's Largest Auto Museum, and Mrs. Dinger, the donor of the 1935 Packard that carried the team home, visited with the team and local news crews.
The Great Race cars started arriving shortly after 12:30pm and among the first to arrive was Team #GilmoreGreatRace with Delton native Gavin O'Dell navigating and Brad Wire of Shelbyville driving. What an amazing experience to see the car enter the campus to the cheers of the crowd! It was a very emotional moment for the entire team.
It was so wonderful to see family, friends, and even meet new friends that are supporting our team and following our journey from Jacksonville to Traverse City. We can not even begin to express how thankful we are for such a wonderful afternoon! And we are so thankful to the hundreds that have supported us along the way - all the Museum Staff, Larry and Earlene Baum, the Kalamazoo Antique Auto Restorers Club, Discover Kalamazoo, and WoodTV 8.
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Click to play from WoodTV8![/caption]
Unfortunately, our visit ended all too quick and we had to get back on the road to keep time and make our afternoon check points on the way to the Stage Six finish line in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Shortly after 6pm, Gavin and Brad crossed the finish line, both very hot and very tired.
And the car was hot and tired too --- teammates immediately identified a leak and a puddle forming under the car and when we were able to catch up with Gavin and Brad we learned that they had traveled much of the final leg of today's race along the shoulder of the road due to overheating.
After a quick peek under the hood and below the car, the team determined that it was just the over heating that caused the leak at it was nothing to be concerned about - whew! But, we will be removing the sides from the hood of the car for the remainder of the race to allow for better ventilation and air flow and hopefully less over heating issues.
Tomorrow (6/30) we will be continuing through Michigan, from Ann Arbor to Chesterfield - home of the magnificent Stahl Automotive Foundation - to Frankenmuth, MI with Madison Gremore navigating and Mike Onderlinde behind the wheel.
But for tonight, thank you again for such a wonderful day at home, we all could not be more grateful for your support.
All our best, #GilmoreGreatRace
For nightly results from the 2017 Great Race, visit http://www.greatrace.com/results.