Thousands visit Dayton Concours d’Elegance

Wheels of the Week

by Skip Peterson

Thousands of classic car and motorcycle fans filled Carillon Historical Park to see the entries for the sixth Dayton Concours d’Elegance at Carillon Park on Sept. 16.

“We were so pleased to host the sixth Dayton Concours d’Elegance at Carillon Park this September as we celebrated Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg automobiles,” said Brady Kress, president and CEO of Dayton History. “The weather was ideal, automobiles and motorcycles were some of the best ever, we had over 4,800 guests visit the park, a record number.”

The Concours, presented by AAA Miami Valley, had special classes for British automobiles, Microcars, Race Cars of the Miami Valley and also displayed antique pedal cars and hand-built model cars. At noon, the Wright ‘B” Flyer replica flew over the grounds of the Park.

Cliff Alexander of Piqua captured the  R. H. Grant Best of Show Award for his stunning 1929 Duesenberg Model J LaGrande. The Judge’s Choice was awarded to Peter Boyle of Oil City, Pa., for his 1938 Steyr, one of only three built. The People’s Choice, (voted on by the spectators) went to Robert Werner’s bright red and stainless-steel 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, and the Best of Show Motorcycle was awarded to Scott McKenzie’s 1955 BMW R50.

The Taj Ma Garaj Award was presented to Douglas Noel, for a meticulously restored 1976 AMC Pacer X, and the Hagerty Kids Judging Award was presented to Chic and Arlene Kleptz and their 1926 Marmon.

There was a homecoming of sorts in the Race Cars of the Miami Valley class. Rick and Jacques Dresang of Milwaukee have just finished the restoration of the 1981 Eagle Cosworth Indianapolis racecar that was driven by Daytonian Chip Mead in 1981 and ’82. Mead, who later died in a plane crash, was the owner and driver of the car, and the restoration has returned it to the livery of 1981, complete with sponsorship by White Castle and WING radio.

“We had a wonderful time this weekend reuniting the number 49 Eagle with the city of Dayton, as well as friends, family and fans of Chip,” Jacques Dresang said. “It was really a great experience and I heard a lot of stories this weekend about Chip. It seems he was quite the driven, no limits individual. Dayton is truly in a class by themselves when it comes to planning, organizing and delivering a top-notch Concours d’Elegance event.”

“Once again, the Concours weekend got a Saturday kick-off with the 50-mile Classic Road Tour for Concours participants,” explained Concours Director Mike Edgerton. “After the drive they visited an area collector’s working garage for a tour and late lunch. Saturday evening was the Preview Party at Carillon Park.

“Mark your calendar as the Concours executive committee has already started planning for the 2013 Dayton Concours d’Elegance on Sept. 15,” Edgerton said. “Anyone interested in volunteering to help or nominating a vehicle for the show is encouraged to visit the website at www.daytonconcours.com.”
(From Dayton Daily News, 9/28/12)

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