SOMERSET, KY, Thursday, June 11 -- This was a long stretch of road through some rural areas. But the tour met up at the Center for Rural Development in Somerset, Kentucky. One Long Hauler that goes by the handle of trekie83 has a great assemblage of photos on Flickr. Click here to see his photo stream of the 2009 Hot Rod Power Tour. We also found a nice bunch of photos on the Air Ride Technologies website. They interview several Long Haulers about their cars. Be sure to watch the videos.
      
     -- Monday - Going to South Bend, IN. On some of the blogs, participants were ruminating about whether to take the ferry ride across Lake Michigan from Milwaukee or to follow the tour through Chicago. The Chicago route won out for most tour participants because the cost of two people and 1 car on the ferry was $282, according to one blogger. That made for a congested morning going through Chicago. But what a sight for Chicagoans to see!
    Evidently, according to the blog by the crew from Mothers car waxes (one of the prominent vendors), part of the tour stopped at the shop of world reknown custom car designer Troy Trepanier in Manteno, Illinois. Click here for a link to the Mothers report on the Rad Rides by Troy visit.
     Hot Rod Magazine announced a change in the itinerary for Tuesday, June 9, 2009. The Power Tour was scheduled to stop at the General Motors Warren Technical Center, but GM has decided not to host the Tuesday event. Evidently the Power Tour would be considered a distraction during General Motors' restructuring efforts. GM Performance continues to sponsor the Hot Rod Power Tour for 2009, however. 
      The new location for Tuesday in the Detroit area will be Metro Beach Metropark, a 770-acre park on Lake St. Clair located east of Mt. Clemens in Macomb County. The City of Warren has planned a downtown cruise for that evening.
      Car enthusiasts who complete the entire 1,900-mile trip are officially entered into the "Long Haul Gang" roster. Many of those gathering in Madison on Saturday are veteran Long Haulers. 

DAYTON, OH, WEDNESDAY, June 10, -- Here is a video from the Dayton newspaper taken at the Dayton University arena in Dayton, Ohio where the 2009 Hot Rod Power Tour spent the day on Wednesday. One of the better blogs with current updates on the Power Tour is the one from Car Domain.com. Click here for their update on day five in Dayton. Forrest Tosie of Mothers car waxes has been keeping a real good daily update. Click here for the 2009 Power Tour in Dayton from Mothers perspective.

A 1968 Camaro RS with a big block hood, LS engine and a 6-speed and 4.11 gears has been on the trip from Madison through Detroit. It was built by owners Jim and Kim Stehlin of Batavia, Illinois.


A beautifully done 1966 Chevelle hot rod was sitting in front of the Photoline booth. It will be driven by owner Bernie Kolb from Belle, Missouri.

This Long Hauler is M.C. Humphreys 1957 Oldsmobile from Lapeer, Michigan. It is equipped with this Chrysler 392 Hemi.

 

Here is the itinerary for this year's tour:

Mike Pair, a shop teacher from Chicago, Illinois, will be driving his hot rod 1927 Graham Brothers truck with a '53 Dodge Red Ram engine. He and his grandson are in it for the Long Haul.

This is a 2007 Ariel Atom driven by Lane Stroik of Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It has a GM Ecotek 2.0 Liter engine that is supercharged. Notice the Formula 1 style suspension. Click here for a great video that Hot Rod Magazine did on this 2007 Ariel Atom.