October 21st was a perfect day for a gimmick rally, but Triumphs Around the Chesapeake went a bit further. They mixed a gimmick rally and a poker run into one great event for everyone — the Fall Foliage Poker Run. All of nature was on display with the fall colors of red, yellow, orange, and gold on full display during this 67-mile, 4-card stop run through Baltimore County. This year, the card stops included Bull House Winery, Big Truck Farm Brewery, Dixons Antiques, and Prigel Family Creamery. There was something for everyone along the way. Even though the event is sponsored by a vintage car club all year, make and model vehicles are welcomed.
With the great weather and colorful show being put on by the fall colors, an all-time high of 38 teams registered to compete with 30 starting that morning. The word is getting out about this rally as teams were not just from Maryland. Teams traveled from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and even South Carolina to be part of the fun. Not one team had to call the Rallymaster for off-course adventures. Entry vehicles were an even mix of vintage Triumphs, MGs, and Minis with modern everyday drivers.
This event is part two of the Lord Baltimore Cup Challenge or LBC Challenge. Scores from both clubs’ entries at the May Get the Dust-Off Rally and the Fall Foliage Poker Run are averaged and the winning club is awarded the LBC for that year. This year, the MGs of Baltimore started the day with a 4.5-point lead over the Triumphs Around the Chesapeake club, trying to win a three-peat. Points (10 total) are awarded for each correct answer, with multi-word answers splitting the total points. TRAC brought their A-game this year as they closed that gap and took the trophy by 10 points. Remember, the 10 points are just one correct answer, and the 4.5 points were just one word of a multi-word answer. This has always been a close battle between the two groups.
Final results were as follows: Rally score winners and scores were -10 (one incorrect) team Kohls/Pateriya driving an Impreza, team Zingone/Kraus driving an Accord, and Williams/Horant driving a vintage Mini. With a -20 team, Wiozesko/Wiozesko rounded out the rally winners’ group in a Sonata. The poker hand winners and hand were 4 Jacks by team Pharr driving a Spitfire ($100), three aces by team Abbott/Lutz driving a Suburban ($50), three queens by team Williams/Horant driving a Mini ($30), and worst hand 28 points by team McCarron/Higgins in a V8 MGB. Worst hand is determined by the sum of cards in the hand.
With the low gimmick rally scores, the Rallymaster must step up his game for next year, as teams are much better every year.
