The AACA is devoted to stock production automobiles, in either original or restored-to-original condition -- no street rods or customs. But there is a class for vintage race cars, again in either original or restored-to-original condition. TQs, midgets, sprints, Indy cars, road racing machines, dragsters, land-speed cars, they are all represented.
One of the other requirements is that all cars must be driven onto the show field under their own power. This is problematic for a push-started car such as this TQ, so to accommodate the race cars the organization stages an event known as the "Race Car Condition Run" on the day before the show. Here every car is started and driven around the old track in the Hershey stadium to demonstrate its operability.
For old racing fans it is both wonderful and sad to see. Wonderful, of course, to see and hear these great racing machines. Sad, however, to see the remnants of the Hershey track, now reduced to two straightaways with a walkway at one end and an awkward loop behind a large stage at the other. Still, the stadium itself is in fine condition, and on a beautiful warm autumn day as we had this year it was a great place to spend a day.
Here also is the old Pine Brook poster that the car's current owner, Jim Hempfill, displays along with the car.
