An Update From Clyde Morter

Thank you to my very good friend Clyde Morter for the additional information of the 54 Vette. I am excited to follow this car this year.




Dear Gary,

Thanks for all the moment-to-moment reporting you do on the Carrera.You have the best reporters on the ground, and with your editorial contribution, your blog is the most informative, accurate, and entertaining. Keep up the great work.

Attached are some more photos of the Bill Peter & John Schantz 1954 Corvette which they restored, and entered in this 60th anniversary year of the Carrera. I've watched Bill and John tirelessly work towards this moment, in the hope they will accomplish what Bill Esser was not able to in 1950.....that is finish the race and hopefully win their class in a 1954 Corvette.

They have a large following in the Elkhart Lake/Milwaukee WI area. Bill has vintage raced for +25 years (a Griffith ? & an original Ford GT40), and also raced in SCCA classes. John rules his class on Lake Sinissippi in a Camero in January - March. Watch John on the sideways stuff..in ice racing the car rarely goes straight.

Bill, John and Tom Hollfelder were co-drivers with me in "The Lucky Taco" in my 1st Carrera in 2007, the year we met. We place 4th in class in 07 having missed one entire day of racing for lack of oil pressure. We were ecstatic we finished the race and placed as well as we did.

John was also a co-driver of the " Not So Lucky Taco" in 2008 along with Tim McQuiston and Carl Jensen. John Schantz is an Engineer and was for the first 2 years the main wrench head on 54 Olds. Carl qualified the Taco in Tuxtla Gutierrez at a record pace, then John drove to a 1st place finish in class at the end of the 1st day. We led every speed stage until the engine quit late morning of the 2nd day. That was the end for the "Not so Lucky Taco" in 2008. I finished the race as the navigator for Polo Escamilla's 1950 Olds.

After my wreck of the "Not so Lucky Taco" in qualifying in 2009, it was John Schantz who with a moments notice Friday night, went to my brother Guy's garage to obtain the necessary parts, then drove to Chicago O'Hare airport to catch a Saturday 6AM direct flight to Mexico City. The parts were 'carry on' so as to eliminate any possibility of loss. John arrived in Mexico City, and our hotel before Guy & I did. With the needed repair parts and the car at the same place all we needed was a torch to bend/straighten some critical suspension and steering components. With no luck finding one we left Mexico City with the race Sunday morning, and John flew back to Chicago. We never found access to a torch until Monday morning. Guy and Tony Bogovitch did the repair work along with two husky Mexican guys who arrived at the hotel with the torch and a pickup full of bars & pipes to straighten metal. Within 2.5 hours we were ready to race, but we never caught up with the race that day. Tony then did a great job of driving the Taco the last 3 days of the race, getting us on the podium with two 3rds and one 1st. I was sick as sick can be, not able to talk much less drive. Tony did all the driving and most of the navigating, with me sleeping most of the time.

We all wish Bill and John good luck and Godspeed in their great adventure of 2010.

I know we can count on you to bring accurate and timely news of that adventure to all of us so far away. Keep up the great work.

The Lucky Taco Might Just Get Lucky In Mexico City

I just now got off the phone at 6:20PM with Clyde Morter piloto of the #421 Lucky Taco. Clyde was telling me they were doing everything in their power to straighten control arms and so on but just didn't have the needed equipment to do so. Clyde was very excited when I explained to him that Jose Solana who works for Ferrari and Maserati had offered his shop in Mexico City to get whatever he needed done. I suggested Clyde hang up and get on the phone as soon as possible with Jose. I hope they will get something going between them as they are both in deed fine gentleman.

I am still amazed that someone like Jose Solana would offer his entire shop and resources to someone he doesn't even know. This is what being a fine gentleman racer is all about but more importantly it's what being part of La Carrera Panamericana is all about.

CLICK HERE FOR FERRARI OF MEXICO CITY to see who is willing to help repair The Lucky Taco

EDIT: I just got a call from Clyde and he was excited as he told me Jose had called him at the hotel and was on his way to bring the team and The Lucky Taco back to the Ferrari dealership!!!

If you don't think this has been tough on team Lucky Taco then think again. Clyde feels bad that he was driving when the car rolled during qualifying and it's only natural for him to feel like he has let his team down. I told him if they were true gentleman racers they wouldn't give the matter a second thought because that's just racin. What you don't know is that when the car was put on a trailer to haul to the next city, the trailer came unfastened from the truck and damaged the trailer too. What's that old saying about when it rains it pours?

The Red Mist

It's a common scenario and unfortunately La Carrera Panamericana teams are just as susceptible to it as any other. It's still early in qualifying but thus far my good friend Clyde Morter, rolled The Lucky Taco #421 Oldsmobile off the road and into the jungle while only 6.3 kms into their run. I am waiting for a phone call to find out how Clyde and his navigator are and if the car is repairable.



Not everyone had run yet when I received the phone call but besides Clyde a Porsche and one of the Jags had suffered some damage as well. As soon as I receive more information I will post it.

EDIT: The Historic B class #319 E-Type Jag driven by Mike Harris supposedly crashed into this pole prior to qualifying when a crew member didn't get it shut down in time after a throttle stuck. If a little pole like that did all that damage just think what a donkey would do.

Photo Courtesy Apple Farmer Racing

Coincidence??? The last time Coop took a photo of this Jag was while having lunch in San Miguel de Allende. I hope this car isnt out to lunch allready.

















Photo (And lunch) Courtesy Of Coop


The #329 Porsche driven by Jorge Carlos Bernal Soriano also in Historic B class found itself on top of a curb and headed onto a flatbed tow truck all prior to qualifying. Something tells me this is going to be a long week.

Photo Courtesy Apple Farmer Racing




I sure would like to hear Clyde gets his car back in the race. He's an awesome gentleman racer.

Teams live an entire year trying each night to get to sleep as they can't seem to get the upcoming race out of their mind. They keep telling themselves they can go faster than they did last year. Having watched countless hours of video from prior runs and those of others they keep convincing themselves "Dammit... I could have stayed on the gas a little longer. DON'T DO THAT THIS YEAR!" The adrenaline rush that drivers get while waiting for the green flag on qualifying day is like no other. They have waited a whole year and some longer for this moment. They have driven countless thousands of miles. Unfortunately many times they have been sitting around talking with others and getting all pumped up and when they finally mash down on the throttle The red Mist takes over.

It;s sometimes hard to remember, but you don't win a race or get any advantage or points for qualifying and you sure as heck don't get any points for crashing. Just start off easy and let things build and find ones rhythm. You've got 7 days to find it.

Like I said earlier, there were still lots of cars left yet to qualify but on a high note it appeared the #290 Volvo of Team Apple Farmer was kicking some butt and taking notes. They had even passed one of the cars from a much faster class. They could be a force to be reckoned with this year in the Historic A Plus class and if having a good attitude has anything to do with it their off to one hell of a start.

Well at least there aren't any Mustangs with problems yet. (I didn't really say that did I?"

THE LUCKY TACO

As long as we just happen to be speaking of tacos.......... When we raced in the 2007 La Carrera Panamericana one of the cars that stands out in my memory banks was the #421 1954 Oldsmobile R88 piloted by Clyde Morter and co-piloted by William "Bill" Peter which ran in the Original Pan Am class. Like other cars that raced that year there are many reasons why his car holds so many memories for me all which are good ones. One reason is simply because Clyde's car was one of the very first ones we saw at the hotel in Laredo Texas the night before we crossed the border into Mexico. That afternoon and evening held so may memories.



It was the hotel where many of us met for the first time and little did we know how many friendships would be born there Clyde and William being two of them. Not only did I get my first look at "THE LUCKY TACO" (nickname for Clyde's car) but later that evening I got my first hand full of some "fortune tacos". That's right, fortune tacos. Instead of fortune cookies these were little tacos with little fortunes inside. Without a doubt this had to be the most cleaver theme for sponsorship of any car in La Carrera Panamericana. luckytaco.com



The Lucky Taco did very well all considered and with the help of his teammates Tom Hollfelder, Bill Peter and John Schantz they finished 4th in their class in spite of having missed one entire day of racing for lack of oil pressure. Not only did they podium three times but in fact they got first place in Zacatacas! John Schantz also recently took the "Lucky Taco" to the Chihuahua Express.

One of my son's favorite La Carrera stories is regarding Clyde's car. Clyde's car was definitely one of the favorite crowd pleasers while on display in San Miguel de Alende where fans would pick up hand fulls of fortune tacos that were scattered on the hood. After a couple awesome days there we got back on the road again with the Coyote Convoy on the very long drive to Oaxaca. For the most part everyone stays in a convoy but because teams would stop to gas up at various Pemex stations along the way every ones position in the convoy would change. The truth is trying to figure out who was in front or behind of you was half the fun that made the long trip seem to pass more quickly and was also a good thing in case anyone had any need for assistance. Finally as we were making good time as we traveled through the steep Sierra Madre mountains we came upon a long line of stopped traffic due to some road construction. Whenever we came upon these sorts of traffic stops they would allow traffic to move in one direction while the other direction was halted sometimes for as long as 30 minutes. As we sat there waiting our turn to go we couldn't help but wonder who was in front or behind. Then here came some young Mexican children with a cardboard sign selling something as they stopped at each car in the line. Will, my son, rolled down his window as they approached us and as he made a feeble attempt to read their Spanish sign and talk to them he began cracking up. Since I couldn't see what they were selling and didn't know what was being said I asked Will what was so funny. Will said, "Dad, look what their selling." as he held up a hand full of lucky fortune tacos. Riding with us was a couple the gals from Sweden and they began to laugh as well when one of them said, "Well, at least now we know The Lucky Taco car is in front of us." We all laughed for miles as we realized how much the children of Mexico had the same amount of entrepreneurship as those back in the U.S. selling lemonade. I remember saying, "I bet Clyde and those guys are saying, "Those kids will probably cherish those for many years to come." not realizing they were being sold as souvenirs just minutes behind them.

I have known of Clyde Morter and some of his writing for some time and well as his heavy involvment with vintage racing and him volunteering his time for many years. The funny thing is I was so damn busy with all else that was going on I never put two and two together until recently! I woiuld love to take part in some of his races in the future. One such orginization Clyde is very envolved with is the ELKHART LAKE HISTORIC RACE CIRCUITS not to mention his envolvment in THE GREAT RACE.

A long time ago I opened a Chinese fortune cookie and it said, "Help, I am a prisoner in a Chinese fortune cookie factory." I had to laugh and wonder if any of Clydes said, "Help, I'm a prisoner in the #421 1954 Oldsmobile."