Nobody fully anticipated what the morning would look like.
Cars started arriving early, and despite the printed signs on every approach road, the directions to the track created a problem that nobody had fully planned for. The phones didn’t stop ringing. Confused drivers stacked up on the approach roads, and by the time the committee realized what was happening, there was a two-mile traffic jam backed up toward town. The local police showed up. They were aware of the event and supportive of it, but the message was clear: sort this out, and sort it out fast.
They did. The cars moved. The gates opened. And the day began.
October 11, 2014
There was something in the air that morning that nobody had quite expected. An anticipation. An electricity. As the drivers’ meeting got underway, something shifted in the paddock – grown adults, enthusiasts who had driven their cars to shows and on Sunday runs for years, suddenly felt like something different entirely. Racing drivers. Not because this was a race – it never was, and was never classified as one – but because for one day, on a real circuit, with flags and briefings and rules and corner workers, they were being treated like it. Stacey Harris, Bo’s wife and CB’s daughter-in-law, stepped forward and sang the national anthem. That voice, in that setting, stopped everyone in their tracks. The camaraderie in that moment was unlike anything most of them had experienced at a car event. Cars wore numbers. Drivers wore helmets. People dressed the part. And when the white flag dropped and the first group rolled out onto the circuit, every single person there was transported somewhere else entirely. It was, in a word, awesome.
One hundred and sixty-nine cars registered. More than 750 people came through the gates. Dozens of unregistered visitors came by just to see what was happening. The car show drew an extraordinary variety of machines. The City of Garnett provided an ambulance and a tow truck. Two EMTs were on site. The Jaguar Club sanctioned the autocross. The KU Jayhawk Formula SAE car set an all-time autocross course record. A Cobra driver misjudged Flat Iron Corner, spun, and impaled his radiator on a corner station flag – the corner worker was unhurt. The mayor of Garnett attended and was thrilled.
The event collected $9,064. The Facebook page exceeded 150 likes in the days after the event and the website climbed to over 325,000 hits. The wrap-up document written afterward opened simply: “To say anything less than the inaugural Lake Garnett Grand Prix Revival was a complete success would be an understatement.”
Feedback from participants ranged from “the best day of my life” to “it was a great event, and nothing less.” The atmosphere on the day was palpable and infectious.
