October 2 To the Finish Line! The "green flag" waved us off from the starting line in Cedar Rapids at 9 a.m. Numerous people braved the cold to see us off. As always, kids loved getting a chance to sit in the Belle. One young man, six-year-old Noah, after riding in the car and being given a Zen Commanders baseball cap, shouted, "this is just like my birthday!" At the Cordova Drag Strip, the crowd enjoyed the never-before-seen spectacle of a drag race between a Lamborghini (with Valentino Balboni, test driver extraordinaire, behind the wheel) versus a 1909 Model T. Never say die! Alas, he managed to beat us - 13 seconds to our time of 37. Then to the staging area at Eagle Ridge resort south of Galena. There, the cars lined up and traveled as a police-escorted motorcade into Galena, thronged with Octoberfest tourists. Thousands cheered as we passed; handshakes all around. We made it! Hard to believe it's over. Awards Dinner: To our surprise, we were awarded not one, but two trophies: First Place in the Vintage Class - plus a NEW category created just for the Belle ... the Never Again Award, given to the vehicle that no one would be crazy enough to drive again in this rally! Afterward, we drove 10 miles back to the resort. A cold, clear, starry night. We were freezing despite leather jackets, goggles and gloves, driving 40 mph in 40-degree temperature. It's exhilariting to drive this car with the top down, feeling as though we could reach up and touch the stars. A great end to an incredible adventure! Thanks again to Gilmore Bank for your sponsorship and support of the KlaasKids Foundation through this rally ... and to everyone who followed our blog! It's deeply appreciated. See you on the road next year!

October 1 Cedar Rapids, IA Our goal at this point is to have just one day with no mechanical or health issues. Today was not the day. Fortunately, the mechanical issue was minor. Another tire blew out on the trailer, but fortunately we were right by an exit where there was a tire shop. So, back on the road after only a few minutes. Rob's cough is resolving, mine is worsening. Oh well ... all part of the adventure. Reached Cedar Rapids late afternoon. An enthusiastic crowd was there to greet us; as always, the Southern Belle draws a lot of attention. She's running fine and ready for tomorrow's drag strip challenge, where we hope to go head-to-head with the Lamborghini!

September 30 Chesterfield, MO Started the day in Topeka. Green flag at 9 a.m. & it's north towards Chesterfield. On the road - the car is running fine. Rob & I still a bit under the weather. Minor concern from a new noise when the engine was running at high speed. Finally figured out it was just the base of our "1907 GPS" (nautical compass attached to the dashboard) vibrating. Whew! Arrived Chesterfield (where Rob lived many years ago) late afternoon. Finish line and evening reception were at the local Lamborghini/Ferrari/Bentley dealership. Since they were not giving away Murcielagos as door prizes, I guess we'll keep driving the Model T! Now it's morning of October 1. Eating a light breakfast in the hotel lobby - hoping to be back in health for the finish line tomorrow afternoon. Listening to the competitors around me discussing their strategy for the day. Smiles galore! I'm continuously impressed by the postive attitude of everyone on this rally. This is a great bunch of people. See you in Cedar Rapids!

September 29 Lubbock to Dodge City Today we achieved a "first" - no mechanical difficulties! Lunch at Palo Duro Canyon, which is huge - second only to the Grand Canyon! Quite unexpected after hundreds of miles of flat terrain. Reached Dodge City late afternoon. Crowds gathered to watch the cars cross the finish line. One youngster climbed aboard and crossed the finish line with us. He was thrilled, waving at the crowd as we drove in. Passed out our team cards & Zen Commander baseball caps. The Southern Belle is one of the most photogenic cars in this rally, so she always draws a crowd. She's also the only car children are allowed to climb in to. We let them sit up front, put on a pair of driving goggles & take the wheel while their parents take photos. They love to honk the old-style horn as well. Great dinner at the Boot Hill Museum. Sadly, Scott developed fever & stomach cramps. Rob suffered an infected insect bite on his leg. But a good night's sleep put things right & we both awoke feeling better. At 9:15, our 7-year old Dodge City fan & his parents were there to see us off to Topeka and another full day on the road.

September 27 Enjoyed rally festivities in Gallup, NM featuring a traditional Hopi dance performed by the mayor's children. Up at 5 a.m. to resolve the last of the Belle's electrical issues: new spark plug wire connections, replacing those damaged in Friday's meltdown. She's running perfectly now. On the road to Lubbock, the rally route went thru Albuquerque. Since the President was visiting, traffic was blocked during the morning, so the rally had a police-escort. Since the Belle can't keep up at highway speeds, we had to use our trailer and detour south of Albuquerque, thru gorgeous scenery along deserted country roads. NOT the ideal place to have a trailer tire blow out, which is what happened! On top of that, our rental trailer had no spare and no jack. Finally someone stopped and we located a tire in a town 20 miles away. Then it was back on the road to Lubbock, arriving after sunset. Looking forward to a day without mishap! At any rate, we'll keep on trucking

September 26 Williams, AZ. Started the morning with the Southern Belle crossing the starting line under her own power & running fine! The mayor of Williams fired his six-gun to start today's stage - the Belle given the honor of being among the first 5 cars in line, testament to her perseverance & the enthusiasm felt by rallyists to see her still in the pack. No time to stop at Meteor Crater, but we all were "standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona." A brief visit to Petrefied Forest National Park, and then on to Gallup. Today's time window for crossing the finish line was between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. We were right on time - arriving in Gallup at 5:10 p.m. Thinking we had plenty of time to clean up a bit before crossing the designated finish line ... imagine our surprise when we realized we didn't set our watches ahead an hour when we crossed into Mountain Time!

September 25 To bed at 4 a.m.; up at 6 a.m. Loaded gear into the Uhaul & with help from other racers, pushed the Belle onto her trailer. We pulled our Uhaul to the very end of the starting lineup. While waiting for the green flag, we called Larry Blair to see if he could overnight the part to Williams, AZ. MIRACLE! He calls back in 20 mins. with the name & number of a man in Henderson who has the part we need! I call Steve Collette. Get this: the Model T club is having breakfast less than 10 minutes from the rally’s starting line! He ran by his workshop and brought us the part. We aren't out of the race! Could we rebuild this engine? Will worry about that later. First things first - start this rally. Rob climbs into the Belle, while I drove the Uhaul. As the rest of the teams zoomed away, we inched across the starting line – the green flag waved us through & the Southern Belle is officially in the race. We trailered the Belle to Williams, AZ, the next stop on the rally. Got there at 4:15 p.m. & began work on the engine. As night fell, we finished the reassembly. Would it work? We reconnected the battery, pressed the starter button & the engine roared to life. We stood there savoring the moment. Thanks to the Model T club, Larry Blair, Steve Collette & each of our rally colleagues.

September 24 Off to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for sign-in & a day of track driving. Showing us how it’s done was legendary Lamborghini test driver Valentino Balboni. The Belle, somehow, was NOT in last place at day’s end. Driving back, the Belle seemed sluggish & twice burned out an electrical wire. Easily replaced; then, driving home she lost power & smoke began pouring out from under the hood. Underestimating the effects the heat and the dry climate, we had not topped off the radiator. The engine overheated, melting spark plug wires. Easily replaced – but when I added water to the radiator, it poured out the exhaust. Was it a blown head gasket or blown cylinder head? 10 p.m. Rob and I began disassembly; Mark Klaas went to buy spark plug wires for us. The task took longer than expected; but knowing that we had to be at the starting line at 8:15 a.m., it was do or die. 2:15 a.m. Disaster: a blown cylinder head. Spent the next 2 hours online, assembling a list of antique car parts sources in Nevada, and nearby auto machine shops that might be open on Saturdays.

September 22 Packing the car and loading it onto the trailer for transport to Henderson, Nevada. Electrical gremlins raise their heads: the car won’t start. So we stop at Larry Blair’s TinShed in Santa Fe Springs where the problem is diagnosed & fixed. Now it's on to Nevada!

September 20 The Belle is ready to roll, decked out in all her finery. New paint. Polished brass. Zen Commander and sponsor logos. (Thanks again, Gilmore Bank!) Our toolbox is packed ... spare parts stowed under rear seat ... fireproof racing suits and helmets ready for track events ... Zen Commander baseball caps packed for fans and to sell as fundraiser for KlaasKids! Also packed ... our secret weapon to guarantee our victory! Just 72 hours and we'll be in Nevada; 5 days from now, the race is on!

September 16 One week til departure! The Southern Belle paid a visit to Larry Blair's "Tin Shed" yesterday for final checkover. A few tweaks to ignition and radiator, and she's ready to roll. So, with our 1909 version of GPS - a brass nautical compass mounted on the dash, and a sextant for backup - we are confident of victory.

September 2 21 days and counting! Last Friday, we picked up the Southern Belle from her home of the last several months: the Tin Shed antique auto restoration and repair shop in Santa Fe Springs, where model T guru, Larry Blair, has finished rally prep, repairs, tuneup and repainting. Sporting a new paint job and freshly polished brasswork, the Belle was the talk of the town in Pacific Palisades as we motored around during the weekend. Over the course of 3 days, we logged about 100 miles of driving, and everything is working fine. Now all we need to do is organize the toolbox and stock the minibar ...

September 1 Time is fast approaching! Rob and I are psyched about hitting the road again on behalf of Klaas Kids. And how great is it to have Gilmore Bank supporting us and promoting the 2010 Fireball Run on their website! Please keep coming back as we keep you up-to-date on The Southern Belle ... all the way up to and during the Adventurally, starting in just a few weeks. Thanks for your interest. We'll be talking to you again soon!

the legacy

The A.F. Gilmore Company is certainly no stranger to auto racing. So when Gilmore Bank was given the opportunity to sponsor clients Scott Anderson, Rob Fisher and The Southern Belle, Scott's 1909 southern widetrack Model T in the 2010 Fireball Run, it was a no-brainer. Keep reading to learn more about Gilmore's unique racing history. And to learn more about Gilmore Bank's sponsorship of Drs. Scott and Rob the Fireball Run ... click on the tabs above to read about the drivers...
the cause... and the course. Racing … it’s in our blood!

BONNEVILLE SPEED RECORD

Earl Bell Gilmore, whose family had owned the land surrounding the corner of Third and Fairfax in Los Angeles since 1880, founded Gilmore Bank. He was a legendary entrepreneur with a fascination for speed. E.B. sponsored John Cobb in the Gilmore Oil-fueled Railton Red Lion, a sleek silver spaceship on wheels, that set a seven-year land speed record of 369.7 MPH at Utah’s Bonneville Flats.

SHAW GILMORE SPECIAL

He also sponsored racers at Indianapolis, including famed driver Wilbur Shaw (left). Shaw, E.B. (center) and the Shaw Gilmore Special won at Indy in 1937.

GILMORE SPEEDWAY RACER

Gilmore sponsored dozens of record-setting efforts, including Kelly Petillo’s victory at the 1935 Indy 500, driving the Gilmore Speedway Racer, and clocking impressive speeds for the time of 106.25 MPH.

GILMORE STADIUM

With his father, Arthur Fremont Gilmore, E.B. built Gilmore Stadium, where midget cars raced. A photo of one such car in flames made its way around the world. Car buffs were so intrigued by the image of a car flying around the track in flames that they adopted the look and began customizing their own vehicles with flames painted on their fenders.

I want to...

the legacy