HOT ROD Power Tour 2008 - Day 7 Coverage
On day 7 of the 2008 HOT ROD Power Tour sponsored by GM Performance Division and Flowmaster we were shown that its not just the cars that make Power Tour great. Its the people and the relationships created that make Power Tour great. What started out as a week long trip with former HOT ROD editor Drew Hardin and some friends has grown into one of the largest week long gathering of cars and their owners in America.
We all love the cars and the towns we visit along the way. What we sometimes don't see is that its the friendships we create that make Power Tour great. Earlier in the week we told you about Paul Jordan's adventure with his recently purchased 1960 Corvette. Paul told us several times during the week that meeting up with his friends Gary and Kenny Killeen are the reason he returns every year.
We've got a few more stories like that from this year.
As we pulled into the Alliant Energy Center in Madison on Friday, we saw Steve Kilian and his sons waiting with a banner that read "Welcome home mom and Emily!" The family owns a 1970 454ci Corvette. Since it only holds two at a time, Steve took his eldest son on the Power Tour last year. So, this year Jayne and daughter Emily went to Little Rock and join the rest of the long haulers. Welcome home ladies!
Col. John Grey retired from the Air Force in 2003. He came on Power Tour for the first time that year and has been back every year since. Col. John is known for selling the Long Hauler Gang stickers. All the proceeds from those sales are donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The Colonel told us that every year the money raised has doubled. That wasn't enough for several of the vendors and sponsors of Power Tour this year. They donated gift certificates, tool boxes, products, and even the shirt off their back to an auction to raise money. The Colonel leaves Madison with at least five times the amount he raised last year! Congrats to you Col. John and we know your late wife would be proud of you!
Finally what may be the most incredible story you will ever hear from Power Tour. In 2006 John Glorioso drove his Dodge A van to his first Power Tour. To drive his van he had to velcro his hands to the steering wheel because ALS had begun to take. ALS had forced John to a wheel chair by the time we got to Little Rock on Friday last year. John came up from Shreveport to be at Power Tour and met with his friends John Clark and Bruce Miller and several other friends he had first met just a year before in 2006.
Just before coming to Little Rock this year, John Clark went to Shreveport to see his friend. John Glorioso is now confined to a ventilator twenty-four hours a day. Even though John could not make Power Tour he wanted to talk with so many of his Power Tour friends.
So, John wrote a letter. But it wasn't with a pen or a keyboard. No, John has a camera mounted above his head pointed towards his eyes. The movement of John's pupils is now his only means of communication. He typed out a letter to his "Power Tour family." Below is the text of that letter as he wrote it.
"HOT ROD POWER TOUR 2008
To my HOT ROD POWER TOUR family; from your brother in spirit, John.
You are all in my daily thoughts as make your way across America. I can no longer travel for such a long way, for ALS has taken that pleasure away from me. I am still hanging on to this precious and fragile life. My ALS has advanced and now requires me to be on a ventilator 24 hours a day. I am still full of life and fond memories of the power tours and many travels I've been blessed to make over the years on many of my Harley's, classic musclecars, and sports cars. I felt compelled to address all of you, brothers and sisters, that so love these events. They are not really about the ride you have poured your heart, soul, and money into, but the countless memories and friends, like you, that are made along the way. Those friends and memories are what get me through many days as I lay now paralyzed in my bed. I am asking that you always cherish every moment, even when the motor blows or you just run out of gas, the memory will be a treasured thought someday. My motto is "Live to Ride, for only the Strong Survive, Ride for Glory". Life is short. Live it like there is no tomorrow. NEVER put off your dreams.
You're in my thoughts and prayers.
John Glorioso
PS. Please continue to donate to the ALS Association, as you have done for me in the past."
To raise money for ALS in his friend's honor, HOT ROD Publisher Bruce Miller had Dave Ross of GM recreate one of the concept designs for the E85 Roadster GM brought on tour this year. Dave took some time on Friday to recreate that drawing to be auctioned off for ALS.

Photo Gallery: HOT ROD Power Tour 2008 - Day 7 Coverage



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