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Pinkham Notch, NH - The Mt. Washington Auto Road announced today that Currier Family Dealerships of Gorham, NH would be the Presenting Sponsor of the 2004 Climb to the Clouds Centennial Celebration scheduled over four days, July 9-12, 2004. Currier will play a prominent role in the activities that will mark one of the oldest motor sports events in America. The first "Climb to the Clouds" auto race was run July 11-12 in 1904 and pre-dates the Indianapolis 500, first held in 1911 and the inaugural Pikes Peak Hillclimb of 1916. Opened in 1861, the Auto Road is America's oldest manmade attraction and leads to the summit of 6,288 foot Mt. Washington, the highest peak in the Northeast.
The 2004 Climb to the Clouds Centennial Celebration will celebrate the history of the Mt. Washington Auto Road, automotive history, and the 100-year span of the Climb to the Clouds auto race. The celebration will include a vintage car time trial up the Auto Road to Halfway, a vintage car show, a visit from up to 80 Stanley Steamers, driving tours, fireworks, historic memorabilia displays, an Auto Road Alumni reunion and much more. The Centennial will also provide an opportunity to assist in fundraising for the Jen’s Friend’s Cancer Foundation. Founded in 1998, Jen’s Friend’s is a not-for-profit organization that provides supplemental financial assistance and resources to uninsured and underinsured cancer patients in the Mt. Washington Valley region.
Currier was established over 50 years ago as a trucking company. In 1985 Currier opened its dealership in Gorham and features Pontiac, GMC and Nissan vehicles. In 1989, Currier RV Center, also in Gorham, was established to provide sales and service of RV’s, ATV’s, and snowmobiles. Currier RV offers a variety of manufacturers including, Cougar, Montana, Polaris, Honda, and Yamaha. In 1993 Currier’s Lancaster, NH dealership opened offering Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile and Cadillac. Currier employs over 200 people in the region and is extremely supportive of the local community. “We are very pleased to be involved with the Auto Road on this event,” said Currier General Manager Jeff Scarinza. “It fits into our goals of helping bring business into the area and supporting important charitable organizations like Jen’s Friend’s.”
The race was originally created by early auto manufacturers to showcase their new inventions. The steep and narrow Mt. Washington Carriage Road (now the Mt. Washington Auto Road) was considered to be the ultimate site to prove the abilities of these now historic vehicles. Placing first in the first Climb to the Clouds, Harry Harkness drove an $18,000 60 HP Mercedes up the 7.4-mile course in 24 minutes, 37 seconds. Remarkably, F.E. Stanley, driving a 6-HP $670 Stanley Runabout, placed second with a time of 28 minutes 19-2/5 seconds.
Over the years, this event grew to include a very broad range of vehicles and drivers from all over the world. Frank Sprongl’s course record of 6 minutes 41.99 seconds set in 1998 and Jerry Driscoll’s incredible top speed of 113 mph in 1999 stand as two of the more memorable milestones on the Auto Road.
The vintage car time trial to Halfway up the Mt. Washington Auto Road is one of the highly anticipated events of the celebration. Practice runs will be held Friday, July 9 with the official competition on Saturday, July 10. The Hillclimb is being held in conjunction with the Vintage Sports Car Club of America (VSCCA). It is the oldest automotive preservation club in America. The club offers a complete race program in addition to rally and other automotive conservation events. The VSCCA emphasizes rare and unusual sports & racing cars including pre-war and certain post war cars.
"The Climb to the Clouds, Through the Years" historic display, sponsored by Heritage NH, of Glen, NH will be open
on Friday, July 9. It will be Held in the Auto Road’s red barn that was once the home of the many horses that pulled the wagons (and our guests) to the summit of Mt. Washington. The display will feature memorabilia, pictures, and vehicles from the history of the Auto Road and Climb to the Clouds.
During the day on Saturday, a vintage car show will be held at the base of the Auto Road featuring vehicles from 1961 and earlier. The car show is being organized with the assistance of the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA), Granite Region. The AACA, founded in 1935, is the world's largest automotive historical society with over 60,000 members and 400 regional clubs worldwide. The club is dedicated to perpetuating the memories of early automobiles by encouraging their history, collection, and use.
On Saturday night, the Auto Road will host dinner and dancing under the event tent followed by fireworks in “the Glen”. An Auto Road Alumni reunion is also planned for the evening.
On Sunday, July 11, the focus is on driving for pleasure with special driving tours for vintage cars. Beginning at the Mt. Washington Auto Road, the tours will wind their way through the White Mountains providing a driving experience that will include the views, vistas, and towns of Northern New Hampshire and Maine. A commemorative picnic basket will be presented to those participating the tours.
As part of the celebration, on Sunday, July 11 only, the Mt. Washington Auto Road will be offering a special $5 a carload admission instead of the regular prices of $18 for car and driver, $7 each additional adult and $4 for children 5-12. Normal Auto Road vehicle and weight restrictions will be in effect, so don’t plan on loading up your RV with the neighbors! Hot air balloon rides, wagon rides and a BBQ at the base of Mt. Washington will round out the activities for Sunday.
On Monday, July 12, the final day of the celebration, up to 80 Stanley Steamers are expected at the Auto Road. Stanley has an important place in Auto Road and automotive history. In 1899, F.O. and Flora Stanley made the first automobile ascent up the Carriage Road in a Stanley-designed Locomobile steam car, reducing the time from six hours in a horse-drawn stage to 2 hours in an automobile. Stanley’s dominated hill climbing and straight-ahead racing in the pioneer days of the automobile. The Stanley was rarely defeated in hill climbs and then only by such powerful cars as Harkness’s Mercedes. On the flat in 1906, the Stanley set a land speed record at Ormond Beach, Florida, of 127.659 mph that held for four years, broken only by four mph by Barney Oldfield in yet another Mercedes, the famous Blitzen Benz. These are only two of the reasons the Stanley was considered the fastest car and greatest hill climber in the world for the first decade of the 20th century.
Media sponsors for the Climb to the Clouds Centennial Celebration are RSN TV 16 of North Conway, New Hampshire and 94.9 WHOM - FM of Portland, Maine. WHOM transmits from the summit of Mt. Washington and can be heard in five states.
Another sponsor, Settlers Green OVP, home of over 50 factory outlet stores located in North Conway, New Hampshire will be the site of a pre-event display where some of the historic race cars from the Climb to the Clouds past will be available for public viewing.
Registration for the car show, driving tours, Saturday night dinner, and other events will be open in the near future. For more information call 603-466-3988 or visit www.ClimbtotheClouds.com. The Mt. Washington Auto Road is located on Rt. 16 in Pinkham Notch, 25 miles north of North Conway, New Hampshire and 8 miles south of Gorham, New Hampshire.
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Press Release
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