From Dan Courtney comes this first in-depth eye-witness report:

We got the final adjustments made to The Winged Warrior and took it around the block, then loaded up and departed around 10 PM for a 500 mile maiden voyage to catch the Nevada Open Road Race Challenge / SS.

I knew this would be about a 7 hour drive and that the road gets closed at 5:00 AM, so it was going to be tight. Not to mention this was the first time off the block in 1 1/2 years, with a new motor and allot of other new parts.

The Winged Warrior ran great, until we got to Ash Springs, close to the finish line, then started running like crap.

We got to the 316 just as they were putting up the Road Closed signs (had to swerve around one sawhorse) and looked for the spot on the course where The Beast ended it's run at last September's Silver State Challenge, around mile 85. The plan was to bring water, beer and snacks for the gate workers who sheltered me after The Beast blew up.

This is a great site, atop a hill at the end of a five mile straight heading into the final turn in the middle of a silent desert with no human for miles and miles.

We arrived around 5:15 AM and no gate workers, so we were alone. I checked the engine and found the problem immediately, it had lost the donut gasket from the header collector and had a 1/2" gap. Despite having no sleep I thought it was best to stay on it and do the repair before the sun (and heat) came up. Luckily, I had brought one spare donut.

After the fix we set up on the hill and I proceeded to pass out on a bolder.

I was in a deep dream when I heard music, a cross between symphony and AC/DC. I thought maybe this was a car? I jumped up just in time to see one purple Pantera flying down the straight at about 180 MPH. It was Mad Dog! They let him run first start again.

I scrambled up, displaying my "bed" (DeTomaso fender cover with logo) and snapped off my first photo.  About 10 seconds later came Steve Waldman in his red Viper. The race was on!

We saw another 100 or so cars come flying by during the course of the next several scorching hours (100 degrees or so).  The fastest was a NASCAR type Monte Carlo accompanied by a plane. Seems like he was doing about 220 MPH. After the turn we noticed a plume of smoke and found out later that he went off road and crashed 4 miles from the finish due to debris on the road. I'll send photos later.  I hear he was OK, thankfully.  We noticed the Camero before him (doing about 195) was trailing a rear valance, possibly this came off.

It was a long, hot day, but allot of fun.  Unfortunately I passed out at a hotel in Vegas and missed the awards banquet, and was unable to personally rag on the Dawg. Really, I had nothing negative to say, his car was the best sounding machine I heard all day and he was really flying, plus he must have finished. I didn't even have to use my fire extinguisher this time.

I was disappointed to see not one other Pantera all day, something needs to be done about that.

The Winged Warrior is still running like crap, so I'm going to see if I fouled the plugs. Hopefully I didn't warp any brand new valves.
Your Team Pantera stealth reporter / supporter in the bush, DanTomaso


Dan F. Courtney

You're sitting quietly at the head of the Board Room table.  At the other end is a whiny executive giving the latest income figures, profit and loss and general financial condition of the company.  Chrysler's gone bankrupt, your bank wants the mortgage paid and here you sit worrying about your company.

Oh the heck with it..... You open your cell phone, dial your mechanic and utter one simple word...

GUMBALL

It may not be -exactly- how the movie started, and it may not exactly be like the race in the movie, but Bob and Justin Levitt are taking part in the 2009 Gumball 3000.  This is a road rally between Los Angeles California and Miami Florida.  Along the way are overnights in several cities, parties, activities and the like.  The event is being attended by many celebrities and other characters of note.  How Bob managed to get in on this action, and with a Pantera no less, we don't really know.  What we do know is he's a good old fashioned pitchman from New York; I suppose that helps.

Many folks who frequent the deTomaso email forum will know of Bob's adventure already.  It started with a posting asking for help with carburetor trouble.  Through a series of emails and some local help, Bob managed to get the car sorted out enough to satisfy sponsors and get the Pantera shipped to California.  There it received a good once-over from Pantera International, getting anything taken care of that might later prove to be a problem.  All along the way Bob continued to ask for advice from the Pantera crowd.  He became very impressed with the camaraderie found among owners and wants to make them proud by running and completing this Gumball 3000 rally.

Even though it's not a speed event, Team Pantera Racing is proud to see the deTomaso Pantera well represented in this rally which pays homage to the old movie and spirit of competition.  You can catch up on the goings-on with the Gumball 3000 at http://www.gumball3000.com/

We'll be posting more photos in the Gallery as they become available.

 Supporting and Encouraging Legal Racing of Your De Tomaso Pantera in
Sanctioned Open Road Racing (ORR) and Track Events.

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