Halcyon days. Glory days. Pleasant reminders of fond memories from my early twenties at regional and national SCCA races as a spectator and later a corner marshal. Like old photographs come to life. That’s the experience at the Historic Races at Barber Motorsports Park. Representing the BMC of Montgomery on Saturday, were: Don Drasheff, 
Carl & Kathy, Blitz & Amanda, David, Alex, Tom, & Russell. Tom in his TR6, was the sole representative with a genuine old school British car from the Montgomery delegation. Several others who had planned to drive their rolling museum pieces suffered from a series of older car maladies including electrical problems, hydraulic problems, and an in progress interior upgrade.
When we arrived, the sprinkles that we passed through on the way up were replaced by blue skies with white clouds to keep us shaded. We picked a spot in the Fan Zone at the edge of the trees to set up our chairs, where the shade, a gentle breeze, and one of the last cool days of the season combine to enhance the experience. Early in the day, we heard the low rumble of four big radial engines. Tom confirmed that it was, in fact the only 
surviving B-29 Superfortress, “Fifi” [More links HERE & HERE] (Better Call Saul” fans will remember Fifi from a Season 2 episode.) We spent the morning pooling our collective knowledge to name the wonderful old cars qualifying for the afternoon races. One of these was a Datsun 280Z, driven my Houghton Smith of Montgomery, who was racing his 1275 Midget and Datsun 510 here back in the mid-late sixties.
During the lunch break, we checked out the cars in the Car Show, a vendors’ row, and the competitors in the “Barber-Q Cook-off”. These are some serious pit masters. Top prize was $10,000.00! The BBQ was for the judges, but some samples were available. Other than that, the food vendors were mainly “Steak & Shake” and a gyro vendor. 
Later I took the tram over to the paddock to take pictures (below) of the race cars. Mechanics were busy making their last-minute adjustments on the cars while the drivers were keeping cool before donning their driver’s suits again.
With all the races over, we put Tom through his official BMC “Initiation” with a ride on AL 25 over the twin ridges of Oak Mountain followed by a stop at “Tin Top BBQ”, just south of Calera on US 31. The BBQ was as good as I remembered. Just before arriving back home a huge full-moon rose above the horizon. A perfect ending to a perfect day.
Russell