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The 1999 Press On Regardless (POR) Rally, aside from celebrating its 50th anniversary, was expected to be a somewhat kinder, and gentler, edition of the legendary endurance rally. After many years in the capable hands of Gene Henderson, the POR has evolved, from the premier performance (read Pro) rally in North America, to the special TSD rally it is today.
First run in 1949, the Detroit Region’s POR has gone through many phases. During one period, the POR was an FIA listed rally. Teams from not only the U.S. and Canada, but also from Europe, would come to fight it out in the backwoods of Michigan. It was late in this era, 1973, that my father wrote an article about the POR. That article would make it to press in the February 1974 issue of Sports Car. Since that time the POR has changed; from the top Pro Rally on the circuit, to in recent years, a brisk, tough TSD (time, speed, distance) road rally. This, latter, style of rally more closely resembled those from the 50s and 60s.
With Gene Henderson stepping down as POR “Top Gun”, Jim Mickle has taken on the monumental task of organizing the oldest, continuously run, motorsport event on the continent (perhaps even the world - if you believe some claims). Jim promised to bring the rally back to a more “civilized” state (my word, not his). Some of the recent year’s PORs have definitely lived up to the name. Brisk speeds, rough roads and long hours. Cars were breaking, things were conspiring against teams to finish with good scores. Complaints were heard from competitors and, unfortunately, some in the local populous. What was the name of this rally, again? Oh, right.
Thus it was with some trepidation that the rally faithful should gather in Boyne City, Michigan (home of sponsor Mac Sam Specialties, and Brad Schade). Nine previous, overall, winners were in the field. These would include, from the PRO Rally days, Gene Henderson, R. Dale Kraushaar and Harry Ward; and from the TSD years; Mike Friedman, Marc Goldfarb, Dan Coughnour, Jim Fekete, Jim Shaffer and Greg Lester. These previous winners would be given priority in seed one, regardless of class or partner. From there the seeded draw was for the E class, followed by L and Vintage, then for Stock and then Novice.
The Vintage class is in many regards a fledgling rally class in this country. It is left entirely to the discretion of the organizer whether to recognize older cars, and navigational equipment, in a separate class. Historic and vintage rallies are very big in Europe; but have yet to catch on here, within SCCA. For the purposes of POR, Vintage class is defined as first: competing in a vehicle which was manufactured prior to 1980. (Other variations on this may include 25+ years old, no turbo engines and no 4 wheel drive). Then, the real trick is the navigational equipment. Again, the POR rules stipulate only mechanical mileage measuring devices (e.g. Halda) and only mechanical calculating devices (e.g. Curta). The Halda and the Curta (along with Heuer watches) were essential equipment 25 - 35 years ago, if you wanted to win a road rally. Today, they will only help take a class win. Computers help win (overall) these days.
Along with the former winners, there were a lot of top rallyists entered. Joe Andreini was navigating, in car one, with Gene Henderson. John Smiskol was driving, with Harry Ward, in an L class Nissan. (Two vintage competitors who really belonged in a vintage car. A 240Z perhaps). Ron Johnstonbaugh, fresh off his win at the Finger Lakes 1000, was teamed with Ken Swarm, in L. From the East (NH and NY) came Fred Mapplebeck and Hugo Brunert (also in L).
In Stock, the hard luck (at POR, anyway) team of Fred Cochran and Steve Novatne (NJ and PA) made the pilgrimage once again. Richard Worden and Richard Robinette, Detroit Region “locals”, would be a strong team in S. Vintage saw most of the familiar crews from recent PORs. Eric Jones and Bill Potvin would return with their ageless MGB. Phil and Dallas Smith would return with a different MGB - one that the, husband and wife, team have been using in Pro Rally this year. Your humble reporter would be there again with, navvy of choice, Bryan Murphy and the old Colt - a 1975 Dodge Colt which was prepared for PRO (what it was called in those days) Rally, from day one. Gary Kowalski teamed up with, brother, Patrick in a 1970 AMC Hornet. This car had also seen stage time in an earlier era; driven then, by Tom Samida. Bruce Fisher and Tom Bell were in a vintage car, a 1972 Datsun 510 wagon, yet had to compete in L due to their, modern, electronic odometer.
The Equipped class was heavily populated, and guaranteed strong competition. Aside from those already listed; E contained teams of: Al Tolle and Jeff Boris, Dick Foster and Bill Secrest, Dave and Daniel Harkcom (the younger, just 14 years old), Randy Wittine and Les Talcott (in the ever popular “Police Caprice”). Dave Parps and Rob Moran, Mark Henderson and Donna Rinkel, David Miller and David Bruce and, finally, a pair of PRO Rally competitors; Don Jankowski and Pete Gladysz. Had there been an award for the most distance traveled, to get to the rally – it would have gone to Kraushaar and Richardson, who came from Oregon and California, respectively.
Other stories could be told of the ones who had planned to compete; but could not. World renowned, International Motorsport Journalist, Satch Carlson, had been boasting that he would return to Michigan (from Anchorage, Alaska) to whip my behind, in the Vintage class. His plans were to bring something he calls the “Hawg of Steel” - some silly Saab, of some sort, so it seems. Apparently the Frankfurt Auto Show did not consult the U.S. rally schedule before placing their little gig in conflict with POR. And of course, our favorite IMJ did not plan his vacation properly. Include also the possibility that, my father, Scott Harvey (Sr.) would be returning with Ralph Beckman. Initial plans were to have this old time pairing compete in a 1967 Barracuda (built to resemble their winning car from the 1968 Shell 4000 - Trans-Canada Rally). This was later updated to the likelihood of running in E, in an Eagle Talon (the same car and crew that won POR in 1995). Ultimately, preparation of a Porsche 356, for La Carrera Pan America, got in the way; so POR was out for this year.
Back to what did happen. Pre-rally distractions included the car used to win the first POR, in 1949 - a very interesting, customized, two-seater, Studebaker. At parc exposé, on Friday morning, the teams gathered for the ceremonial flagging-off. The main street of the business district had been closed to traffic and the rally took over for a couple of hours. At precisely 9:01 AM (EDT) the first car, a Subaru, left the start in search of Michigan’s finest dirt roads.
The weather was clear and cool as the teams headed north and east out of Boyne City. It didn’t take long to realize this really was POR. The third, or fourth, rally road we were instructed to take was just barely one lane wide and very sandy. It was hilly and twisty; with enough trees lining it to make it interesting. The majority of the roads were nice, unpaved, forest roads. Speeds were brisk enough to keep from getting bored, but not so as to alarm the few locals encountered. On this first day, we came across dozens of wild turkeys that seemed to enjoy congregating on many of the roads we were using. Later in the weekend, it was noted that the turkeys were no longer being sighted. It was suggested that they must be union turkeys and had weekends off.
Unknown at the time would be the first casualty of the rally. The Kowalski Hornet had snapped an axle and was out. Two other teams had less serious trouble mid-way through day one. At a particularly challenging downhill “S” section of road, the infamous “magnetic pine” took its toll. First would be the Harckom/Harckom Audi; followed a few minutes later by the Smith/Smith MGB. Both cars would have an altercation with the same tree stump on the inside of a turn. Both times the stump won. The cars were dented and creased; but were able to continue. After more than nine hours and 265 miles of rallying the teams made their way to the Wolverine Dilworth for dinner and story swapping. Rain fell heavily for a couple of hours during the night and it was anticipated that this would help keep the dust down, on the roads for Saturday. Dust had not been a big problem on Friday, but a little more moisture would be welcome.
Day two was nearly a repeat of day one. The weather was cool and clear. The roads, expected to be damp from the rain, were in fact dry and dusty. Dust was not a major problem, but it was evident in the air on some roads. The rally route for Saturday would take the teams further south and toward the west.
Two teams turned up in different cars on this second day. Johnstonbaugh and Swarm were in a rental (Mystique) as there was concern that a wheel bearing was about to fail in their Mazda. They still had to drive home to Ohio after the rally, too. At the first break on day two, the Kowalskis joined the rally in their rental car (an Escort).
At the lunch break, in Cadillac, I discovered a puddle under our little Colt. It was determined that it was coming from the transmission. Luckily we had a two-hour break. We needed nearly all of it; to drain the transmission, apply a patch of JB Weld to the transmission housing, seal the pan and refill. We stocked up on trans lube and headed out to the woods for the remainder of the day.
The leak was not fixed; as it continued to drip - only now from two places! The original hole and the re-sealed pan were both weeping. At our last break, I removed the floor mat and the shifter and dumped in two more quarts of lube. It was hoped this would get us to the end of the day. Much to my amazement, when we did arrive at the finish, of day two, I drained about 4 quarts of lube from the transmission. Normal capacity is 2.5 quarts! It would seem it dripped only when we sat still. Nonetheless, I had the time now, to apply a more permanent fix to the pinhole in the housing. Proper cleaning of the area, some JB Qwik Weld and time; put us right. The same could not be said for the Smith’s MG. They had been fighting a war against low oil pressure in their engine. Not willing to risk ruining the engine, the team decided Saturday would be their last day of the three-day rally.
Up front things were shaping up. Friedman and Goldfarb had run incredibly clean and had a total of 27 points after two days. Knight and Lester were second with 35. Third overall (and in E) would be Coughnour/Marcus with 42 points. L was looking good for Shaffer/Fekete (77); but, Smiskol/Ward (103) were slowly making their way back after a 22 point score on the first leg of the rally. Vintage was also between two teams. We (Harvey/Murphy) were holding a very precarious lead over Jones/Potvin (142 to 150). The Stock class was well in hand for Worden and Robinette with 347 points, versus 896 for Cochran and Novatne. There were two brave novice teams entered too. John Twichel and Kevin Bulow had 1402 points and Ed Argalas with Karen Abbott had accumulated 2217 points.
The third, and final day, of POR was the shortest - only 130 miles in length and just over 6 hours in time. It was during this final day that the two, remaining, vintage crews tried to give the rally away to the other team. We took a wrong turn and tried to make up lost time; but got caught 30 late at the next control. We thought that was the end for us. At the morning break we talked to Jones and Potvin about our blunder. It turned out they were getting lots of wheel slip, in the deep sand, and consequently had high mileage readings. They estimated about 25 points in penalty because of it. We, fortunately, take our readings off a non-driven wheel and did not experience this much error. Little mistakes continued to plague us the rest of the day. It would come down to which team would make the fewest.
About mid-way though the day it rained. It rained hard. The roads started to get real sloppy and soupy. These slimy conditions started to effect the odometer factors for some and contributed to higher scores. Just as quickly as the rains came, they were gone. This did knock the dust down, but the roads absorbed the water quickly. About this time Eric Jones was seen under the hood of his MG at every out marker. The water pump was leaking and he was filling the radiator at every opportunity.
The last few miles were turned under as we headed to the finish. A mile out of Boyne City we saw “Friedfarb” going the other way. They must have turned in their score card and started the long trip home to New Hampshire. They must surely have known they had the rally won; and really didn’t need to see the scores.
They were right. After 680 miles of some good rally roads, and 64 scored controls, their total score was 41 points. The other positions did not change much on the final day. Those with leads, even after day one, held on to them. The awards banquet included the recognition of these competitors for their accomplishments. More importantly, it recognized the workers involved in the production of such an event. Many people worked behind the scenes to make it happen. Bob Martin did the scores in record time. Tom and Greg Woodside, Mary and Jerry Schiloff, Marianne Mickle, Pete Padden, Jim Walker, Barb Steencken, Ed and Mike Macklenburg, Oran Sands, “Skip” Kleckner, the Beauvais, the Essenburgs, Mike Bodnar and a dozen others, gave up their time to make POR ‘99 a success.
A couple of legs were thrown, due to clerical mistakes, but everything else seemed to go flawlessly. Any concern that this particular running of the famous rally would not live-up to its tradition were quickly squashed when we hit that first forestry road; that made me remove the sunglasses, and turn on the lights. It would seem the POR is still going strong after 50 years. Not the car breaking endurance event, nor the Pro Rally, it was, the Press On Regardless Rally is still here. Jim Mickle did a great job of bringing back a more “civilized” version of POR. My only suggestions would be to allow some utilization of those big rally lights, throw in a few of those rough roads, and bump the CASTs up a notch. (But then, I always did like the rough stuff).
Written by Scott Harvey, Jr. Photos by author, unless otherwise noted.
| Results of: POR 1999 | Start and Finish Boyne City, MI |
| September 10-12 | 64 controls scored, 680 miles |
| 1/1E | Mike Friedman/Marc Goldfarb – NH/NH | 41 | ’90 Eagle Talon | #2 |
| 2/2E | Ken Knight/ Greg Lester – MI/OH | 51 | ’91 Mitsubishi Galant | #6 |
| 3/3E | Dan Coughnour/ Ildiko Marcus – OH/OH | 60 | ’96 Jeep Cherokee | #3 |
| 4/4E | Dave Parps/ Rob Moran – WI/MI | 82 | ’91 Mitsubishi Galant | #13 |
| 5/5E | Gene Henderson/ Joe Andreini – MI/MI | 87 | ’98 Subaru SUS | #1 |
| 6/1L | Jim Shaffer/ Jim Fekete – MI/MI | 97 | ’99 Jeep Grand Cherokee | #5 |
| 7/6E | Al Tolle/ Jeff Boris – MI/MI | 103 | ’99 Subaru 2.5 RS | #8 |
| 8/7E | R Dale Kraushaar/ Larry Richardson – OR/CA | 115 | ’95 Subaru Impreza | #4 |
| 9/2L | John Smiskol/ Harry Ward – IL/OH | 120 | ’92 Nissan Stanza | #7 |
| 10/8E | David Miller/ David Bruce – KY/OH | 126 | ’99 Honda CRV | #15 |
| 11/9E | David Harkcom/ Daniel Harkcom – MI/MI | 189 | ’90 Audi Coupe | #10 |
| 12/1V | Scott Harvey, Jr/ Bryan Murphy - MI/MI | 201 | ’75 Dodge Colt GT | #18 |
| 13/2V | Eric Jones/ Bill Potvin – OH/OH | 222 | ’64 MBG | #17 |
| 14/3L | Fred Mapplebeck/ Hugo Brunert – NH/NY | 226 | ’90 Audi Quattro | #25 |
| 15/4L | Bruce Fisher/ Tom Bell – MI/MI | 279 | ’72 Datsun 510 wagon | #19 |
| 16/10E | Randy Wittine/ Les Talcott – MI/MI | 292 | ’91 Chevrolet (Police) Caprice | #11 |
| 17/5L | Ron Johnstonbaugh/ Ken Swarm – OH/OH | 298 | ’88 Mazda 323 GTX/ rental | #24 |
| 18/11E | Mark Henderson/ Donna Rinkel – MI/OH | 322 | ’91 Subaru Legacy | #14 |
| 19/12E | Don Jankowski/ Pete Gladysz – MI/MI | 373 | ’00 Dodge Neon | #16 |
| 20/1S | Richard Worden/ Richard Robinette – MI/MI | 439 | ’96 Saab 900 SE | #27 |
| 21/13E | Richard Foster/ William Secrest – OH/KY | 518 | ’94 GMC Sonoma | #9 |
| 22/2S | Fred Cochran/ Steve Novatne - NJ/PA | 1056 | ’90 Eagle Talon | #26 |
| 23/14E | Bill Braund/ Tim Steiner – MI/MI | 1145 | ’89 Ford Escort | #28 |
| 24/6L | Steve Phillips/ Paul Gilbert – IN/IN | 1285 | ’89 Saab 900 | #22 |
| 25/7L | James White/ Jerry White – MI/IL | 1635 | ’90 Subaru Legacy | #23 |
| 26/1N | John Twichel/ Kevin Bulow – MI/MI | 1673 | ’99 Chevy S-10 | #29 |
| 27/2N | Edward Argalas/ Karen Abbott – MI/MI | 2414 | ’99 Plymouth Neon | #30 |
| 28/3S | Matthew Bos/ Phillip Boer – MI/MI | 2862 | ’99 Ford Rental | #31 |
| 29/3V | Phil Smith/ Dallas Smith – OH/OH | 5085 | ’68 MGB GT | #21 |
| 30/4S | Gary Kowalski/ Patrick Kowalski – IN/IN | 8358 | ’70 AMC Hornet/rental | #20 |
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