Racing into the Past

The anticipation has been building inside and outside of Ford Motor Company's racing activity since February. Cars from all over have been restored, polished, primped and buffed. Others have been pulled out of quiet, musty museums for the occasion. Still others came from active race shops north and south. Since wintertime we have known that Ford would be celebrating its 100th year in racing with a gigantic party in mid-October at Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, the complex that lies right next to the Dearborn test track in the heart of the Ford campus.

The sad fact is that cold, rainy weather arrived at the same time as nearly 200 vintage race cars arrived in Dearborn, but the enthusiasm of the racers, fans, company officials and celebrities in attendance was undiminished. This was a great celebration, wet or dry, and everyone who was there, including your humble scribe, had a really good time.

We're not going to belabor the celebration with a pile of verbiage about this or that aspect. Instead, we'll just pull back on the words and let the pictures of these wonderful race cars, these wonderful Ford racers and historic figures do the talking for us. If you were there, you had a great time; if you weren't, you missed the single most important celebration that Ford has had since its 90th anniversary in 1993. Next up will be the official centennial celebration, not that far off, on June 16, 2003.

Thanks to all the racers, collectors, restorers and museums that made this great event possible, and thanks to Steve Hamp and the staff of HFM&GV for making the very best of a bad weather situation.