Speedfest at the Classic Motorsports Mitty '09: Classic Motorsports Magazine

Speedfest at the Classic Motorsports Mitty ‘09

April 30-May 3 – Road Atlanta – Braselton, GA

Gray skies couldn’t keep the classics from shining at the 2009 Classic Motorsports Mitty. If they weren’t thundering through the famed Road Atlanta course, they were in the infield exerting a magnetic pull on hundreds of classic car fans.

In fact, the 2009 Mitty was the biggest, best Mitty yet. Much of the credit goes to the Group 44 Inc. reunion, which included both team members and the actual Group 44 Inc. cars that dominated club racing for decades. Team boss Bob Tullius was the Grand Marshal at The Mitty. A special Mitty VIP dinner April 30 helped raise several thousand dollars for Tullius’s favorite charity: the Humane Society of Highlands County.

There was more to The Mitty than just watching cars, as the weekend was also brimming with hands-on activities. The DIYAutotune crew demonstrated how to convert a car to MegaSquirt, the do-it-yourself fuel injection system, while tech clinics were held by Bill Cardell and Keith Tanner of Flyin’ Miata.

In fact, there was so much happening that we posted live updates, photos and videos from the event throughout the weekend.

But don’t take our word for it:

If you weren’t there, you really missed an amazing weekend. Original Group 44 Inc. members and cars descended on Road Atlanta from all across North America! Team members from as early as the mid-1960s rubbed shoulders with the team’s IMSA GTP drivers like Chip Robinson. Tony Adamowicz drove for the Group in the mid-1960s and again at Le Mans in an XJR-5. Seeing the 1975 Championship-winning BP XKE-V12 lapping R/A one more time with my dad at the wheel and my seven-year-old along for the ride was not just magic to me, but to many, many others who later shared their emotions with me as well.
—Russel Tullius
Group 44 Inc. team member

We want you to know how thankful we are for all your efforts—and everyone from Classic Motorsports—in putting together this reunion. We wouldn’t have missed it for the world, Tim. We were delighted to see the GT-6 in all its glory and [hear] that very unique sound from its engine. To see all these Group 44 cars together, running and on the track, was something all of us will treasure for the rest of our lives.
—Paul Brand
Group 44 Inc. team member, 1980 SCCA national champion

Thanks for the opportunity to participate. My son and I enjoyed the hell out of ourselves. Taking a couple of laps around the track has also revived his racing enthusiasm—I’ll be hearing from my daughter-in-law about that!
—Mike Cook
Longtime Jaguar PR manager

Great show over the weekend. The Group 44 feature was nicely done and, as you noted, Bob Tullius seemed to get a kick out of the weekend’s proceedings. As for The Mitty in general, I agree that everything seems to be jelling nicely. The program was also a nice, slick piece.
—Howard Turner
HSR president

Tim Suddard of Classic Motorsports publication and his entire crew did a fantastic job presenting the Group 44 dinner evening and the weekend events.
—Tony Adamowicz
Group 44 Inc. driver

Before I saw him I could hear the downshift as the car came through the left-right chicane and then the thunderous roar as the small block V8 launched the Mustang over the top of the hill. The shriek of an engine near redline echoes through the hills surrounding Road Atlanta as the scent of high-octane race fuel hangs in the damp spring air. This is what the 2009 Classic Motorsports Walter Mitty Challenge is all about.
—Auto Trader Classics

Elsewhere:

We’d like to thank Mazda, Kumho Tires, Moss Motors, The Tire Rack, G-Force, XKs Unlimited, Lotus and Traqmate for helping to make the 2009 Mitty such a success.

The 2010 Mitty—showcasing BRE and Lotus—is already taking shape. We’ll be adding details regularly, so stay tuned!