The Race of Gentle(men)?

The 2014 Race of Gentlemen. Photo by Kurt Ernst.

As the annual event approaches its fourth year on the sand of Wildwood, New Jersey, The Race of Gentleman has enjoyed an increasing number of spectators and driver entries with each passing year. But, the event may have outgrown the name this year with several female entrants joining the list of beach race cars and tank-shift motorcycles. Here are just a few who have thrown their leather helmet into the ring:

Erin Crocker Evernham of NASCAR Busch series, Truck Series and ARCA racing fame (and wife of Ray Evernham) will be racing her husband’s 1923 Ford T Roadster on the sand. Ray has forsaken the original four-banger for a flathead V-8 between the frame rails.

TV personality from “All Girls Garage,” metal fabricator and “Fastest Woman on Four-Wheels” Jessi Combs will be piloting Craftsman Tools and Oilers CC-built Twin T racer, inspired by a 1913 Model T with twin four-cylinder engines. Going 300 mph might be a little easier to handle than driving a bare-bones, twin-engine beach racer.

Lisa English is also driving down from New Hampshire with her 1929 Ford Roadster V-8 to beat some of the boys.

And let us not leave out the motorcycle riders, Vicki Scheller will racing on her 1942 Harley WL flathead and Brittney Olsen is coming all the way from South Dakota to challenge the fellas on her 1928 Harley.

The Miss-Fires all-girl motorcycle riding club will also be there, and we’ve hear that Motorcycle Film Festival organizer Corinna Mantlo is preparing a bike for the sand.

We have also been following Matt Walksler from Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, North Carolina as he restores his 1916 Harley-Davidson Model J cutdown. Matt is also planning to race the recently completed J on the sand.

Hemmings Motor News will be there in force again this year, with our vintage 1934 Ford 1-1/2-ton tow truck as well as our 1936 Chevrolet sedan delivery.

If you wanted to race in 2015, too late. The entry list was filled early in September, but it is almost as good a time to show up and watch the other racers.

The event kicks off on Friday, October 2, with registration and race cars on display downtown. Beach racing takes place on Saturday and Sunday, October 3-4. A pre-1952 custom car show, “Customs by the Sea,” will again be back this year thanks to Kustomrama, and the cars will be displayed on the beach this year instead of in downtown Wildwood. Registration and rules for the car show are available at CustomsByTheSea.com. There will be several bands performing throughout the weekend and food and beverage vendors will be out on the sand for spectators as well.

Further information is available on The Race of Gentlemen’s Facebook page.

 

 

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