We got our instructions Monday morning at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, the host hotel. Today we plan to rally well doggone it! We have been rallying well, we just have missed a turn a day.

Last nite Andrew sheared a piece of diamond plate aluminum and bent it so we can have the instructions up in front of Theresa so I can see them too. She wears a belt around her thighs AND the clip board to hold the whole contraption in place.

The “speed run” is where we check our speedo with the rallymaster’s computer. It was cold and foggy so we ran slow, slow, slow. We figured that we should adjust our speedo to speed the car up some and maybe back it off as the roads got warmer. Tires change diameters which impacts the speed reading.

I always feel better once we are on the clock. I hate the feeling of anticipation. I ain’t a very patient man.

We criss crossed across Watts Bar Lake and transited right thru the center of Dayton, Tennessee. Dayton was the center of attention during the Scopes Monkey Trial. Evolution versus Creation.

Lunch was hosted by the fine folks in Sparta, Tennessee. It felt like Sunday afternoon! Fried chicken, green beans…um. Good eatin.

Honest Mike had a clutch problem with Double Exposure on Day 2 so he fixed the car in Chattanooga and caught up in Sparta. Dolus and he are learning this rally thing very fast. They’re doing well!

The good thing about the afternoon was that Theresa and Corky Coker stayed on course! The most important thing they teach you in rally school is stay on course. We fixed it…at least for today! We stayed on course all dang day!

There was a one long one lane bridge on the course today. When we zipped up on it, there was a truck about 25 percent of the way across. I just bulled my way ( cause we were on the clock!) and the kind gentleman stopped and backed off the bridge before I got to him. It was exciting.

We had a long 18:36 stretch at 15 mph. You know how hard that is to do in a Shafer 8? Hard. And long!

We had a wonderful pit stop in Pikeville in the morning and McMinnville in the afternoon. Great folks.. Of course they’re Tennesseans!

The Overnight stop was at Jeff and Susan Lane’s Lane Motor Museum in Nashville. Casey surprised us and was there to greet us. The museum is awesome with lots of interesting cars you have never seen before. Our friends Mike and Carol Long from Franklin were there volunteering. Mike is one of my Firestone buddies who just retired.

We had great food and music by Great Racer Johnny Williamson.

From the road,

Corky