WOW, what a great car show. I don't think the term "Car Show" does justice to this event. Perhaps I am a little more taken than others because this was my first Concours d'Elegance. Even with the rain I had a great time. I guess it goes without saying that The Greenbrier is a fabulous place and a great place to have a Concours.
The weekend started with a beautiful, top down, drive down Midland Trail to Lewisburg. We've driven this route before but it is a beautiful drive and the mountains just add to the fun. We had a leisurely drive and didn't push the cars much. I was in the lead followed by Mark and Connie Mason in their MGB, behind them were Charlie and Cindra Justice in their TR4 and behind them was Barry McCoy and his grandson Drew in Barry's great looking Corvette. The drive was what we always want; uneventful.
Our next activity was dinner at Food & Friends in Lewisburg. This is a very popular place and the British V8 guys enjoyed it when they were here a couple of summers ago. We enjoyed it as well. We had lots of good food and conversation. I heard Charlie say "This is the best Ribeye I've ever had". We had a surprise visit from Jim Shuman. We didn't even know he was going to be there but he showed up from time to time throughout the weekend.
Next up was the Club Day car show. This was held on the golf course. What a beautiful way to show off the cars and there were some beautiful cars. Everything from our British cars to Vipers, Ferraris, Porsches, Muscle Cars, Corvettes, Etc. Check out the pictures to see all that were there. There was a fair amount of rain and we had to wipe the cars down multiple times but there were periods of sunshine too.
It wasn't just car owners on the golf course. There were quite a few spectators walking around looking at the cars. That's my favorite part of a car show. I get to meet some very nice people and hear their stories and maybe tell a story or two of my own. One of the celebrities we saw was Andy Reid. He's a journalist for Sportscars.com. It should be interesting to read what he has to say about the weekend. He did mention that he goes to a lot of these events but this is the only one his wife wanted to go to with him and the reason was that it was being held at The Greenbrier. I also saw one of the hosts of "What's My Car Worth", Keith Martin. He's the one that values the cars.
Bill Hall checked in with us while we were at the show to let us know that the cookout at his friend's place in Roncevert was on rain or shine. He came to our hotel and we followed him to the camp. I'm not sure we should refer to it as a camp because it is a very nice house and right across the street is the Greenbrier river. When we arrived we were welcomed by Bill's friend Doug Myers, Roger Sizemore and George White. Doug is the owner of the camp and The Pita Pit in Huntington. If you find yourself at the Pita Pit be sure and say hi to Doug.
Sunday was the Concours d'Elegance. Larry Stonestreet, Richard Stephenson and I were there. The others opted to head back to Charleston. I had never been to a Concours d'Elegance so I think I was a little star struck. The cars and level of preparation could not have been better. There were 3 brass era cars, one of which was a Stanley Steamer. There were pre war cars, post war cars, sports cars, muscle cars, classic cars and more.
Larry's TR4 was very well prepared and looked great. I count it as a great accomplishment for our club to have one of our member cars in this competition. However, my new friends Alan and Robin Anspaugh won first in class with their Triumph Itallia 2000 GT. They are members of the Delaware Valley Triumphs, LTD. (www.dvtr.org).
My favorite car of the entire show was the red boat tailed Auburn. He finished second in his class to the Minerva. I had never heard of or seen a Minerva. Those are just two examples of the cars that were presented.
The cars were originally scheduled to be displayed on the golf course just as the club day cars were the day before. However due to the rain the golf course was too wet and the cars were moved to the circle in front of the main entrance to the Greenbrier. I agree with Richard that that decision probably saved the show. I have subsequently spoken with Wayne Long and The Greenbrier has agreed to have future shows in the circle in front of the main entrance. Previously they were reluctant to do this because of the length of time the main entrance would have to be restricted.
There were a couple of rain showers but not too bad and the sunshine in between really showed off the cars. There were lots of spectators and everyone seemed to be having a great time in spite of the rain. Some of the spectators were club members Bill and Sheri Pepper and Jim Shuman and his son.
Here are some of the cars:
The Minerva
The Auburn
The Sports Cars
The Brass Era Cars
Austin-Healey 100
The Beauty of the Greenbrier
The Spectators
Bill & Sheri Pepper
Bill Michael
Larry Stonestreet & Richard Stephenson
This Concours is destined to be one of the best in the nation. In just a few short years it will rival Amelia Island, Boca Raton and other prestigious Concours'.
To quote Vince Lombardi; "Perfection is impossible, if however we pursue perfection we will surely catch excellence". This show was EXCELLENT!
Here are the photos that Richard Stephenson took.