Power Tour 2009: Day Five, Dayton

By Ryan Brutt

HemiPwr70

The past few days, I normally get up a little later then everyone else. Today though I was getting up early so I could meet the MoPower Tour for breakfast and then head out with them.

Everything was going to plan, I was out the door and driving at 8:30 am. The meeting was set for 9:00 am, so I assumed that I could get there in plenty of time, sit down and wait for the group, that was the plan.

I get to where the restaurant was suppose to be, and there was nothing there. Just an empty lot. I thought maybe I had gone to the wrong address, nope it was correct. It was the damnedest thing.

There was a Krispy Kreme donut place across the street, going over there, I talk to the people who work there, and they had never heard of the place. I decided to just skip the meeting, grab some dough nuts and head out. Ironically there was a 88 Caprice Classic Brougham LS in the parking lot, so I snapped a picture of the two.

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Time was on my side for once, because as I get onto the highway, the lead MoPower Tour vehicle pulls in front of me! So I just fall behind the custom newer Charger Daytona and keep pace.

Making our way our of town, we had one stop to make, and that was at some local collectors shop. Sadly the directions given to us were not as good as we were hoping, so we were on the side of the road waiting for better directions. This time gave two guys in a yellow Superbird the ability to catch up to us though.

I shared my Krispy Kremes with the crew, and we got the new directions and headed out. It was nearby, so it was not too bad. Getting over there we were greeted by a 2008 Challenger SRT-8 in Hemi Orange, and an 1970 Challenger R/T SE with 440 in Hemi Orange. Just like the pair I saw last week.

The gentleman showed us the collection of Challenger literature and Thunderbird collection. It was quite immense, and he said only part of it was at the location we were at. I know I didn’t doubt him. We made our rounds through the collection, he was a very nice guy, even gave us some calenders that have Challenger pictures in them. But time was getting later and we needed to get going. So we said our goodbyes and headed out.

Our group of Mopars and one Chevy made our way along I-75. On our way, we ran across a Semi trailer loaded with new 2010 Mustangs, and at least half of them were Shelby’s. Very sharp cars, one was even in grabber blue.

Entering Toledo I got a text about ten minutes to late that the highway was heavily congested. This didn’t help me out anymore, but it was nice that they tried to warn people. So I settled into the pack of traffic, I go to turn my vents on, to get some air moving in the car, and it wasn’t working. Now I’m worried, because I can’t go the next few days through who knows what without at least a defroster. I couldn’t worry about it then though, I was stuck in traffic.

Traffic lasted almost an hour, but once we got going, our group flew. We were above the posted speed limit, and I was impressed that the Superbird kept up with us. Not that it couldn’t go that fast, but the fact that the guys were taking her that fast.

Unfortunately the traffic and our little jaunt had used up a lot of gas, so we all pulled into a Speedway off the highway to refuel the cars and to stretch out a bit. We were only at most 50 miles from Warren, so I knew this was going to be a long day.

Getting back on the highway, there was still traffic, and the Superbird was not going as fast as the rest of the group, so between me trying to stay with the Bird and the rest of the group, we all got split up. We did eventually get back together, but it was right before our exit, and I noticed that the Challenger and Charger Daytona were going straight, while the directions told us to get off the main highway.

Following the directions I got off the highway and the Superbird did as well. That is the last I saw of the rest of the group. I heard they arrived in Dayton fine though.

The Superbird and I kept together for a little while, we were with a large group of other Power Tour participants, and we eventually got separated. There wasn’t far to go through. The route we were on took us a majority of the leg for today.

Going from town to town, there wasn’t really anything else to see. Just cornfields broken up by the little towns. I would admire the architecture and local life. It was fun to drive through, being the center of attention with all these cool cars.

Being that I had only survived the day so far on Krispy Kreme dough nuts, I desired something more. Coming over a bridge there was a new Waffle House. Since I had never been to one, or one that I can remember I stopped there for lunch. There were people sitting at the windows just watching the cars roll by.

It was a good lunch, it was a small lunch though, I didn’t feel like anything to heavy. There was about another two hours ahead of me. Packing up, I jumped back on the route and headed to Dayton.

While passing through these little towns, I kept seeing signs for Drive-Thru’s. I would look and not see them. I finally saw another sign and pulled over. Apparently in Ohio they have these places where you actually drive through the building, they give you your beer or such and you drive out the other side. I had never seen anything like it. I called my friend in Chicago and told him, he couldn’t believe it either. Very interesting place.

Driving through the middle of old school Americana, we passed by real drive In’s, drive in movie theaters, Dairy Queens, Kings, Dream, and anything else you could think of. I wish they had more stuff like this in the Chicago land, it would make things much more interesting!

After running over a ladder in the middle of the highway (couldn’t avoid it, thankfully no damage) and hitting up a few more larger highways, my group finally made it into Dayton, Ohio.

Getting into the show, I parked and started playing with the blower motor, and got it working. Must have been a loose wire.

It had gotten hot and humid out, but was overcast and fairly nice. Just a few hours before I was told it was pouring out. Thankfully the weather stayed nice and actually cooled off near the end of the show.

Walking the show, I did my usual routine. I walked through once to find the new cars at the show, shoot anything I thought was interesting, then double back and chat with my friends.
It was perfect, I got there when everything was in full swing. I got my time card stamped, moved my Caprice over by my friends from the Gearheads and was just chilling out and chatting with them. Ironically my friends from Wicked Rides parked the Nun-Runner, 70 Hemi Challenger Convertible (for sale) and Savoy Wagon right next to the Gearheads. It was the best of both worlds.

The next few hours flew by going between the two groups. The talking and laughing didn’t end. We were there until just a few stragglers were left. The sponsors were gone, even the Hot Rod RV was about to leave. While the day started out slow, the end was great.

Tomorrow is going to be a little shorter then today, but not by much. So a long day of driving, but this stop is suppose to be huge. So lets see what comes.

I just hope Somerset, Kentucky is ready for us.