Power Tour

Today was the last day of the 2018 Power Tour and we celebrated the occasion by modifying the Callaway AeroWagen. Since it is the ultimate wagen, I proposed a nude airbrushed mural of Beverly D'Angelo sprayed across its flanks (tastefully done, mind you), but my creative solution was promptly rejected (philistines, all of them). Jim had another idea in mind... by adding some very special hardware. Our Day 6 started like any other day with a mandatory 0700 meeting time that was all but ignored by just about everyone. While he waits, here's Shane reviewing his step count from the previous day. Look at how proud our little guy is. Yes, Shane, we see it. You did great. Now, can you be good little helper and get me a breakfast sandwich. And since it looks like we're not going anywhere anytime soon, let's make it a double. Meanwhile, Charley is fantasizing about breaking free from our wolf pack and going solo. Today, we were joined by a very special guest. Our own Jonathan Stone took a turn behind the wheel of the AeroWagen. It was a refreshing change for him, as he's usually leading our Big Rig crew at each stop (read: doing actual work while we trundle along the route each day). It's a good thing Jonathan took the Corvette, because he needed every last cubic inch of added cargo volume to hold his collection of road atlases and maps. Lead the way, Jonathan! Or not. This is Jonathan reacting to Shane telling him to lead the way. I think his exact words were, "I'd rather eat one of your bark bars, then take the lead." While Steen says, "I don't care who leads, as long as I don't have to follow Brian." I've often wondered how well our microfiber towels would be able to wipe down the top on Big Al's Chevelle. I asked Forrest what he could make out of this, to which he replied, "I can make a hat, or a broach, or a Pterodactyl!" Since this was Jonathan's first time driving the route with us, you'll have to forgive him for not knowing our SOP, which is standard operating procedure for you FNGs, and that's an acronym that I'm not comfortable sharing here. Anywho, Jonathan wanted to submit an actual receipt for his expenses. I told him this picture will suffice, since we have a whole thing going on with Amy from Accounting. Amy, this fill up cost $3,562.57, and yes, gas really is that expensive in Raleigh. On another note, Amy, how badly are you going to miss us when you leave? Charley was a bit perturbed because I posted a picture of him having a natural break yesterday (sorry, Charley and I'm only sharing it again so everyone will understand the reference). Judging by the smile on his face, he may or may not be doing the same thing in this pic. Today we made a stop at a king's castle, better known as Petty's Garage. We were treated to a very special private tour, that included dad jokes from our own Shane Christman. Honestly Shane, this is no place for this sort of humor. Why, here of all places, must you act so Petty? Our guide even stayed true to the Petty brand by leaving his sunglasses on inside. Inside the museum was an impressive collection of motorsports memorabilia from across the years. Forrest says this '62 Pontiac Grand Prix features a very rare eight lug bolt pattern. Good eye, ya Big Lug! Steen says, "you gotta let her drink, before you can let her eat." I'm not exactly sure what that means, but all this talk of eating is making me hungry for another breakfast sandwich. We made it to Charlotte's zMAX Dragway relatively unscathed (unless you count the little kink in my neck from an overly ambitious napping position). It always feels good to wash off the miles at the end of Power Tour leg. This year Hot Rod hosted a "Sponsor Shootout" on Tour, where the sponsors (obvi) could enter their cars in a series of competitions. We entered our Callaway AeroWagen Corvette and Shelby Terlingua Mustang. The challenges were everything from autocrosses to good old fashioned drag racing. Not only did our own Jim Holloway take the overall title with the AeroWagen... he also took second place in the Terlingua! I would say this was a complete and total domination by Team Mothers, and I will also do my best to resist the urge to say that Jim spent the entire Tour beating himself. Best Plan B ever. Use it to tow your Plan A. Maybe it's because I'm so special, but I loved this short bus. The "Straight Jacket Express" is a Stewart Safety Master Wagon sitting on 1951 Ford F2 chassis and front clip. It's powered by a flathead V8 and a three-speed trans and was originally used by the New Mexico State Asylum for patient transport. Call me crazy, but that's cool. Our buddy, Jason Flamer was breaking fools off in his Mothers-polished SRT8. How quick was he? How about an 11.17 blast. To properly close out this year's Tour, we'll leave it all on the track. And by all, I mean all of the tread on the Terlingua's tires. Like all of it. Thanks for following along on yet another awesome Tour. Tomorrow, I’ll put a pretty little bow on our 2018 Power Tour coverage with my epilogue post (which is a fancy way to say recap). In the meantime, feel free to enjoy our gallery of pics from Day 06 here. John Naderi for Mothers® Polishes•Waxes•Cleaners facebook.com/mothersusa