And that in itself wouldn’t have been a big deal, except that Cecil had to retrieve both the wheel and the axle about a half-mile away!

Here’s what happened. Without warning, the bearing started clunking. We stopped, checked it, and since it was raining (go figure!), decided to drive to somewhere dry for further inspection.

About a mile away, as we traveled south, the wheel and axle passed me going about 60 MPH!
Even though I’ve got recent experience with losing a wheel, it was still a major challenge getting the Cougar stopped!

A friend we met on Route 66 stopped, and since we knew we would never be able to make it to the Speedway, arranged for him to sign us in, and pick up our magnets.

One of the guys that stopped to check on us (Cletus Green) knew the area, and knew there was a hot rod mechanic working at the local Chevrolet dealership. It was towed there.

After Cecil chased all over the metro area for parts, and without going into great detail, I was back on the road about four hours later. You can be sure the mechanic was working by the hour!

We made a quick lunch stop at KFC, and headed for the hotel, with Cecil in the lead…BIG mistake! Twenty miles into the trip, we made a wrong turn! After backtracking almost ten miles, we were on our way again. This time Cecil got banished to the rear, and we relied on all our GPS’s!

It was close to 5:30 when we finally arrived at the hotel. We’re gonna have dinner, and that’s about it for tonight. Tomorrow morning is the Long Hauler awards, and with any luck, we’ll make it to the Speedway without further incident.

You’ve gotta see the pics in the photo album