Interview by Jonathan Kersting
What happens when vintage race cars, Pittsburgh streets and one of the region’s most beloved summer traditions all converge at full throttle?
Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix Executive Director Dan DelBianco joins Mike Broeker of Bedford Management Partners to preview another action-packed year of racing, car shows and automotive camaraderie. They detail the return of the full Schenley Park course, Jaguar’s starring role as Marque of the Year, a new Enthusiast Grid for tuner and import fans, drift-car rides and a packed calendar of events leading into race weekend.
Dan also explains how the Grand Prix keeps shifting gears after more than four decades, including plans to replace the racing lost with the closure of Pittsburgh International Race Complex. Along the way, the conversation cruises through priceless race cars, dedicated volunteers, unforgettable Grand Prix memories and the more than $7 million the event has raised for local autism and intellectual and developmental disability charities.
Buckle up. This episode proves the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix is much more than a car show. It is a community-powered celebration that keeps Pittsburgh’s summer running on premium.
The Pittsburgh Technology Council produces TechVibe to explore Pittsburgh's technology and innovation ecosystem.
Transcript:
TechVibe PVGP
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[00:00:00] It's Jonathan Kersting here with Tech Vibe. This is my favorite time of the year. I say it every year, 'cause when it's summer in Pittsburgh, to me, it means one thing. It means the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, which for Tech Vibe means we're gonna nerd out about what I think is the coolest event in Pittsburgh.
No strangers hanging out with us today. Dan DelBianco from the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. He's the man behind the madness. And one Mike Broeker, who every year says, "Jonathan, are we doing the Tech Vibe show?" I'm like- Yes, we are ... "Yes, Mike, we are." Excellent. I think this is now... I think we started this in 2018.
Some- it's been a while. It's been a while. Yeah. We're running up on our 10-year anniversary. We'll have to- And it's the- Yeah ... 44- We'll have to check that out ... year anniversary according to my super cool tie. That's right. How about that? Thank you, Dan- Yeah. Thank you, Dan ... for these. For the nice accoutrement.
I should have brought my own. I know. I was gonna say, rumor has it you have access to it. And we get so excited. I have a box of them in my trunk there. Ex- I think you have a rule you gotta hand out two or three before any place you go, just to make sure you spread the word- Absolutely ... of the Grand Prix.
Yeah. But we're I'm so excited to have both [00:01:00] you guys here, because I think this is a tremendous event, I would say for the entire region. 'Cause this is something that attracts people who from everywhere to come see something that you just can't see any place else, which is the Vintage Grand Prix.
This year, we actually have a tech angle to this. Not a good one, though. Okay. Because a data center has bought Pitt Race. It's- And we're gonna need to talk with Dan about that. That's okay. And- there's some plans in the works.
We were... Dan and I were talking about this earlier before you came on, Mike. Good. Yes. Excellent. But it's all a good thing. And I want to for the record say- Yes ... Bedford Management Partners, we design and build on-site power generation for data centers. There you go. We have nothing to do with Pitt Race.
Okay. I could look Dan in the eye- ... here today if we would. Oh, my goodness. No, I love that. I love... First off, Dan, always great to have you here. You always bring me something kinda cool, and you gave me a sticker for my car, so now I'm gonna have three on the old Clubman, which I'm very excited about. So how long have you been with the Grand Prix for now?
24 years. Oh, my goodness. Yeah. That's 44 years. That is some yeoman's work. I... Mike, you've seen this guy. People [00:02:00] are calling him. They're asking crazy questions. Every year, something diabolical happens. Bridges go out. Yeah ... hillsides collapse. Race tracks- COVID happens. Like- race tracks gets old.
Yeah. And so it's a real tribute to the organization and to the volunteers and even to the city to keep this thing going. Exactly. The hoops we had to jump through last year to - recircuit the track, so we did a hill climb- Yeah ... and did another track up over the oval. I loved that hill climb.
Yeah. That was fun. And so the city changed that, and we got it done, and now the bridge is gonna be open, so we return to what we've done. The old school track, yes. And in fact, we're returning more to even what we started in 1983. The start-finish line is going back- Is it? ... to the Schenley Park Visitor Center by Phipps.
Oh, interesting. Yeah. Very cool. That's where it was- That's where it was back in the day ... in the first four or five years- Okay ... it was there, and the paddock was in front of Phipps. But we've got too many cars and too many car haulers to, to fit all our racers. To fit in there. Yeah, no, that makes total sense.
So- It is true. Yes. So is the [00:03:00] paddock still up where- It is ... it has been? Yeah. And by the way unfortunately, the voice of the paddock, Sam LaManna, could not be here today. I know. We miss him again, but we'll love to hear his voice at the paddock. He's a- he's always there. He's one of those people that represents the true community that comes together to make this happen.
Like I said, the city comes through to make sure you can- It does ... close the roads and do stuff. Volunteers from everywhere come in to make sure that it runs super smoothly. That's why I just, I love this and it's of course all things cars. Yeah. And you don't have to be a huge fan of cars to get enjoyment out of it, 'cause when you
You can just appreciate fine art and enjoy it. I'm just saying there's no reason why someone shouldn't go down there on a beautiful summer day and just watch the action, eat some food, and just be- Yeah ... part of it, and make your donation to get in, 'cause this all goes for a great cause. Your cause.
Is autism. Is autism, yes. Yeah. Exactly, which is fantastic. People need to know that you raise money for a cause from this thing. Yeah, we've raised over $7 million since 1983- That's incredible ... for autism and IDD charities right here. Okay. And so I didn't wanna forget, you talked about the car shows.
Sure. We've got a new car show happening this year. [00:04:00] Okay. Yeah. And so- There's kind of an enthusiast crowd out there. Yeah. Some people call it the tuner crowd- Yeah ... and the right-hand drive, and there's all these different subculture clubs out there. And we don't have room to put all the clubs in, so we've created what we're calling the Enthusiast Grid.
I love it. So it's a car show for all of those. So- Very cool ... it's not, you know- Yeah ... you can have an American car, an Asian, a German car, whatever it is. Yeah. It's for the, I'll say the younger crowd, but- There you go ... the enthusiast crowd. And we're pretty excited about it. I love that. Even the old timers at the Grand Prix I thought maybe I'd get a little pushback.
They said, this is the market. This is where we need to go to grow." I love hearing that. Yeah. That makes me excited. Now, is this going to be, oh, on the weekend at Schenley? It is. Or is it somewhere? Okay. It's so they get their own show area on the golf course. On the golf course. Yeah. Oh, I love that.
I know. That's so cool that you're keeping up with the times. 'Cause you think about how everything has just changed dramatically over 44 years, tastes and different marks and all that kind of stuff. So now you're making sure you accommodate [00:05:00] everybody. Yeah. And we're always trying to preach the message that it is a car show for everybody.
We're sponsoring the Allegheny County Car Cruises this year. So Sunday was the Father's Day Cruise at Hartwood Acres, five, 600 cars. And so I got a chance to talk to a lot of people, and they were surprised when I said, there's a space for every car that's here." There's, the, we have an American car show.
We've got the Asian car show. We do have all the clubs, so the Porsche Club has a show- ... the BMW Club. So that tends to be more of those club members. Sure. But you don't have to be in that show. Exactly. They just, they wanna hang out together and have lunch and do whatever. Ex- it's a reason to go, yeah.
But there's a spot for every car out there. I love it. It- And it's the best way to see the event because you drive onto the golf course and park it. You're not parking in the streets and finding your way in. That's how I do it every year. Yeah. When I go, I bring one of my cars, and I put it out there, and then my car is parked with all my compadres.
Exactly. And then I'm rolling out, and I hang out with folks like [00:06:00] Mike and everything else, and I see what's going on, and it just makes for a great day. But it's more than just a day. There's a whole series of events that leads up to this. Could we go through the calendar as to- ... how this all starts?
'Cause it's right around the corner. This all starts. So first event used to be Pit Race. Yes. So now it's the Black Tie Gala. It's at the Cayman Science Center. Excellent. And they'll be opening the Science of Speed, if you're familiar- Yes ... with that exhibit. Oh, perfect. So it won't be fully open when we're there, but it's it opens in a couple of weeks.
Perfect. And so it's a sneak preview. So that's our first event, Saturday the 11th. The kickoff rally is Sunday the 12th. So the kickoff rally used to be a whole week before our 10 days. Exactly. Now it's within those 10 days. Gotcha. At Dual Devils Garage down in Houston, PA. Been there. I've been there.
Yeah. Very cool place. And then we move into the traditional car shows during the week. Monday is always Walnut Street. Yeah, exactly right. Tuesday is the car cruise at the waterfront, but also the Stampede in Sewickley. This will be the fourth year. Oh, the [00:07:00] Stampede in Sewickley. Yeah, it's Stampede and Roundup.
A couple of dozen cars drive through the streets of Sewickley and then park in front of Rosa's Cantina and Hotel. Very cool. And it's a fundraiser as well. Yes. So actually two events on Tuesday. On Tuesdays. Wednesday has two events, the Downtown Car Show at PPG Place. And then the, the- I always love that event because it's, in the morning sometimes I've been lucky to see some of the cars that are driving in for the day and you're like- yeah
what's that E-Type Jag doing in town? Oh, he's going to the place. So much fun. So you mentioned the Jag. The Jaguar is the mark of the year. It's our featured- It is. Yes, it is ... featured car. And the best part of that is the International Jaguar Festival is joining us. Excellent. Will there be a special crack team of mechanics on hand to help our friends- Be nice
with the Jaguars? I couldn't resist. Probably. I think anyone that works on them will be there. Exactly. But there's, they're gonna have their own concour on Saturday, and there's- Awesome ... a car show for them, and then we've got a couple of fabulous Jaguars [00:08:00] racing with us, and including- Very cool ... the E-Type that's on the race, the poster this year.
Ah, there is nothing cooler than an E-Type. They're classic. And so we've got people coming from all over the country for that festival, and there's a dinner on Friday. There's actually slalom and other events leading up to it, so it's a four or five-day event. And to cap it off, Ian Callum, the ex-Jaguar designer, is flying a- across the pond- No way ... to join us. Wow. That's, Mike. That's cool. He's classing it up- Yeah ... over here. My goodness, jeez. Yeah. How did you get Ian? The Jaguar Club ma- made the contact- ... and we reached out. Passionate people with the right contacts.
Oh, yes. Obviously they're like, "I might know a chap." Yeah. "That, that might like to come over." That's why this event is so cool, because you're bringing someone like that to Pittsburgh. For Pittsburgh folks that are all about their Jags and play Ohio and other places, they drive them all in, and Pittsburgh's the focal point of that.
It's it's gonna be- So cool. I've always wanted to ask you, in terms of you've got all of these events now, and of course the weekend, which is huge. Do you typically get the same people [00:09:00] showing up at the different events? At Sewickley you've got your Rolodex of the cars you're gonna call, and we know they're showing up there.
Or, it's a logistic nightmare to begin with. We, yeah. And then you've got all of these cars. We try to keep it fresh with some different cars, but, we also have some folks that support all of the events. Yeah. But yeah even Walnut Street Car Show, the idea is you don't get an invite every year.
We try to roll it over and have some variety. Oh, that's invite only? Walnut and Stampede are invite only- ... because it's a limited field. Got it. Just like the Terminal down at the Strip District last week. Because it's 32 cars, and if you open up registration, it'll be filled in a day and it's not gonna be a good cross-section And I love the idea of curating it as well too.
Yeah. Because you know the folks that are out there have certain types of vehicles, and there's some people in Pittsburgh that have some pretty special cars. And knowing who that is and bringing the right combination of cars in, I think just makes for a very cool experience as well too, that's right, and so the per- each person running those events, I love the word curated. Yeah. It really does work. So [00:10:00] I've got a couple of Jags, but I need some American iron, but I've gotta have some British sports cars- Yeah, of course ... and mix it up, some new exotics. And then we're always trying to bring race cars into the events as well.
That's always fun when you can do that. I remember the one year when you brought, I think it was Indy cars in. Vintage Indy, yes. Yes. I'm so- I had never seen one up close before. And actually it was funny Mike and I actually saw, al Unser. Al Unser- Yeah ... who was smoking a cigarette- Smoking a cigarette
On the track while standing next to his car. Yeah. I was like, "Oh, he's tough." But this is, it was really neat to see those cars up close.
Absolutely. And hear them. It was just like something else. Yeah. And then you had the, I don't know if it was that year or after that, but the old racers that needed two people to- The ragtime racers. Yeah, the ragtime- Yes ... racers. That was awesome. Boy those guys work to ride those, to drive those cars.
They really do. Oh, yes. And it's, yeah, it's tougher. Two, two people to get them around the track. So we alternate back and forth with all of them, so one of those groups will be in with us next year. Very cool. And that's why I say, you always keep it fresh, you always [00:11:00] keep it turning around. But this year to me is really exciting 'cause you got the full course back again, which is really cool.
Even having the full serpentine back, which is nice. For a while, like something- the wall r- was falling down the hillside, so there was, it was barricaded so it made it really tight. Yeah, and when there were jersey barriers- ... or so it was a no passing yellow flag area. 'Cause some of the best action was passing in the serpentines back in the day.
It really is. And it's just like- so we're back to that. No more caution flags. Exactly. Down through the serpentine. Excellent. It's gonna be exciting. It's gonna be very exciting. And the bridge is open, so you're back to where you were, which I think is really cool. I am gonna miss the hill climb, but rumor has it might come back in the future, yeah, we're, what we're planning on starting next year is having a three-day race. Very cool. So Friday would be a hill climb and a test and tune for the vintage racers. Wonderful. And then for the weekend it just gets to the vintage races. There's not enough time to fit- More than the six race groups that we have Oh, it's so much to go on.
Yeah. Exactly. You cram a lot into a little bit of time. Yeah, we, and- those race groups, each go [00:12:00] out twice a day, and so there's a lot of changeover a lot of scheduling to be done. Yeah, but in that hill climb last year I remember that GT40- Yes ... going up that hill climb, and just a sight to behold.
Just to see a GT40 was, like, pretty amazing. And then see it in action. Much kinda hearing it really open itself up around some corners, it's pretty cool. And so that Corvette was drifting through the course last year. Yeah, who was dri- who was drifting that thing? Dirk, Dirk Stratton.
So- That's the name of a guy that drifts a car, I think. Isn't it
perfect? Exactly. I'm sorry, like if- It's a Hollywood name ... I'm gonna change my name to Dirk when I'm gonna do cool things in my car. Just call me Dirk. So he's coming back, and we're gonna have maybe another seven or eight drifters with him. Okay. So we'll do that at lunchtime. Oh, cool. We'll have the BMW ring taxi- Yeah
that should always makes its runs. I've seen. We'll have the drift cars go up, and then we're having- ... those collegiate SAE teams. We've got four teams- Oh ... coming in to do that as well. So we're taking that lunch hour and making it kinda 90 minutes long for, to fit all of those entertaining things in.
Great. And so [00:13:00] those three groups will all be paddocked in front of Phipps. And so the crowd can see all of that and interact as they do the rides Now, is that Saturday or Sunday? It'll be both days- Both Saturday and Sunday ... at lunchtime. Okay. And the plan is to also, for a donation, to get a ride as a passenger in the, one of the drift cars.
Oh, my. That would be fun. So you could drive with Dirk shotgun. That's right. Have your face pushed against the glass- Yeah. ... the entire time. How much fun is that? My goodness. After 44 years of this, you're keeping it fresh there, Dan. I love that. You try. Yeah. No it's doing a lot, and like I said, this is something I think it really just centers the city in some way.
But it is important to keep the events where they are. Yes. We had to move one event one time- Yeah ... and it, it- Oh, yeah ... really caused some issues Yeah. I believe it. Absolutely. Well- and we've got Pit Race now. It's- Let's talk about Pit Race a little bit. Yeah. It's fun. Yeah, because that was something- We have to
that always... Yeah, just f- for a quick second. Okay. Just because people have always knew that it's kinda started the race off, but of course- Yeah ... the land was sold, which happens and it's fine, so the race track's no longer. But I think the idea is, I think, I bet you in a [00:14:00] few years we're gonna see some sort of a really cool replacement- Yeah
that will take its place at some point. Yeah, there are rumors of, There's conjecture on that ... folks- ... building tracks here. Or we could go to a, an airport- Yeah ... and do the race there. There's also some local tracks we could go to as well. Yeah. So that's something that we will have ready for 2027- That's cool
to have an alternative- Yeah ... to, to what we've done. But I really miss Pit Race now as we're getting close to the event. That was always such a big part of what we did. Exactly. And to think that it's not there is- It's just a change of pace now. It's just different. Yeah. It is. But I'm gonna go back and say to me, the heart of it has always been going to Schenley Park.
I like the Schenley Park side of things, so I'm not feeling any loss there, Mike.
But I- it's all right, man. It's a different class of car, too- Exactly ... out there. Totally. Yeah. And then it's, racing enthusiasts- Yes ... as opposed to this is more of a concourse feel. You've got the wonderful car show- Yeah ... as part of it, and and seeing these cars on city streets that, are 50, 60, 70 [00:15:00] years old, and these guys that these aren't cheap cars and these guys are just putting the pedal to the metal and making it happen, and it's just a really fun experience- It's impressive
to be up and, up close and personal with that. Yeah. So the one event that I didn't cover as I was moving through- Okay. Yeah ... the week is Thur- Keep going, yes ... Thursday is the garden party. The garden party? July 16th. I've never heard of this one. So we- Okay, yeah. So this will be the third year. We do it at Phipps, so it's the Thursday before race weekend.
So we fill the front lawn with tents and special cars, and you can go into Phipps. And so it's track side. Now the whole focus is what happens on Schenley. We're there Thursday, Friday- Yeah ... Saturday, and Sunday. Very cool. Ah, I love it. So what happens the day after? Do you, how long of a vacation do you go on?
One of the hardest days is certainly Friday set up day. Yeah. But Monday, tearing things down. Tearing things down. There's only a small handful of us that have the energy left to go there and, and- ... and do the cleanup on it, and then there's still the rest of that week of making thing, sure [00:16:00] things get returned.
Exactly. They pick up the signs and the, and the- ... porta Johns and the cranes. The Jersey barriers. Everything. And all of that, the bales of hay. The tail things. Yeah. Yeah, it's, yeah, exactly. So it's usually not till a full week after. Then you take your vacation. Then I take my vacation.
Okay, good, 'cause I, you work so hard throughout the year to make this happen, and, and- And our volunteers too. Yes, of course. A lot of them take the whole week off as a vacation. Do they really? Yeah. That's that's their way of really getting into it and- That's why it's important to keep the rhythm of those shows at the same.
Exactly. Yeah. Keeping them together. Absolutely. And these volunteers are so dedicated. They're incredible. Sam has been doing what he's doing for over 20 years. Yeah. And Steve Strobing before him was in the 30s. Really? Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. We still have 25 volunteers that were here in 1983- That's amazing
that are still volunteering. See. Yeah. That is, that's saying something right there. It's amazing. But goes to show you, man, people are pretty cool. They like to show up and do stuff, and the Grand Prix is like the reason that- and that's what's so unique is that the volunteers to pull it off and the city to allow us- to continue to- Yeah ... to hold this event is terrific. And that's- [00:17:00] Potholes are okay this year? Yeah, the roads in maybe, the whole course now is maybe in better shape than any of the 20 years I've been here. Good. They have just repaved the big sections of, 'cause I ride my bike back there all the time.
Yeah. And I'm always like, "Oh, this is gonna be good." Huge chunks have been repaved. And the whole serpentine's all nice and repaved now. That's all new. We've made some changes race-wise now.
The over two liter group- ... which is always our fastest group, we've extended that up to 3.3 liters. Okay. Which brings in a new group of cars, and eligibility up to 1987- Really? ... for certain models. Oh, cool. And so you'd have to go to the website to dive into all of it, 'cause there's some- Oh, interesting
continuation, et cetera. So more cars there, but the other interesting thing is the group that's growing now is what we call our preservation and pre-war. And so it's a group that is not all out wheel-to-wheel. There are just certain areas where they could pass. Oh, yeah. But we've got folks racing Morgans in there.
Okay. A couple of pre-war cars. There's [00:18:00] like some Auburns and things like that- Yeah ... going through. We've got a, we've got a Cobra. Nice. An original Cobra that's been found. Oh my goodness. I can't imagine having a million dollar plus car and be like, "I'm gonna race it." And so that's where it's all about the driver.
And so this is- I would wrap it in Nerf. This is someone that's been racing with us for 20 years, and so they understand it's more about a show- A show ... than a preservation class. Than a real competition. Yeah. Just go out there and- you're wheel-to-wheel- Yeah ... and there's passing in certain areas, but it is n- it is not of the level where we expect anybody to make contact.
To make... Exactly. Yeah. Oh my goodness. And I've seen cars make contact in the past, and it's like- Yeah, absolutely ... oh my God. Yeah. I've seen some really nice cars get- It's heart- it's heartbreaking. I know. I think many years ago I believe it was a 356 flip over on its roof. Ooh, one side. Yeah. And they had...
Yeah. And they had mentioned that the guy had just finished the restoration on it. Bill Schwartz. Yeah. That was maybe a $60,000 car. Now it's like a $300,000 car. 'Cause it was 70 years before the Porsche market went nuts.
But it was just like, "Oh my goodness," like I can't imagine. But you could say, "Hey, I race. That's, I," and- [00:19:00] It's heartbreaking. Yeah. It really is. Those stone walls are not forgiving. No, they're not. And so I'd be really curious to see where this pre-war and preservation group goes- It's gonna be fun to watch.
Yeah ... to continue to grow, as we've got racers in the other groups who have been racing for quite a while. Okay. "You know what? I think I'm just gonna-" They're gonna go up to that wheel. "... relax just a little bit." Relax a little bit. Yeah. Just a little bit. I don't wanna say too much. I'll catch flack from too many of the guys.
I I once said that it was gentleman racing, and I had a racer get very upset with me. Yeah. He's "No, we're out for blood, man." "Like I got something to prove." But the other thing that you brought up over the years is how this is very unique in the country. Not too many, if any, other Grand Prix in North America that are on public streets- Yeah, there aren't any-
like this ... vintage races on public streets. Yeah, vintage Grand Prix. Yeah. And you've got a couple around the world, but that's one of the reasons why the last two years we made the finalist list for the International Historic Motoring Awards. And so we were a finalist in '24 and in '25.
Nice. And there's only five finalists. Excellent. And it's from the [00:20:00] world. Not just North America Not just, yeah So there's a lot of events like ours over in Europe that we're competing- Oh, yeah. And once again, so I see that. I see the folks that are seeing those lists who are around the world, and they're like, "Pittsburgh?"
And it's "Yeah, Pittsburgh, man." July. We know how to throw a Grand Prix. We know how to throw a Grand Prix. And that's, doing it as many years as we have now since 1983, it's really a special event for the city, and that's why we like to just advertise and tell the world, whatever, portion of the world listens to us in the tech world, this is cool, and we should be out there.
And honestly, one of the things, one of the other groups that And I said this in 2019. Okay. That I would have loved to have seen a showcase of one of the autonomous vehicles. Yes. Even that. And we still haven't had that, right? That's the- We're still waiting for that. I'd love to have them do that.
They could come out before the event, l- have the car figure out the track and let it do laps on its own at lunchtime. That's a connection to [00:21:00] CMU that, that we, that, that could be, I think, somewhat easily made. But it's also interesting when you look at the newest technology when you showcase it.
I ... A few years ago we were having a discussion on the main stage around EVs. I was leading a discussion. I bet that's right, yeah. And we got heckled. Did you really? Heckled. And it was like, okay, I get your point. But people like their EVs, i'm not there myself yet, but I'm all about anything with wheels.
And if you- that's right ... if you enjoy it and have fun with it, then by all means. But there is like ... So I think people may be a little like with the new technology. But that was how long ago? It's- That was, like, two years ago. Just two. Oh, I was about to say 10. Yeah. Yeah, I know. But it's just, to me, I just
First off, it goes to show you just how passionate people are- Yeah ... about their cars and stuff. We can get into all kinds of fights if we want to. Yeah. They are passionate. Our passions run deep for some of that stuff, which is why it's great. That's why I always enjoy going out there and just seeing how people are really into the type of car that they're into.
I [00:22:00] love going through the car show park, 'cause people are just obsessed. And I'm obsessed in my own way and, a- I just, I love- In several ways, yeah. And at the end of the day, we all find out that we're all just in love with something that, is this mechanical thing that- That's it
Makes us happy. And you ask certain people about their car and they'll tell you everything. Everything, yeah. It's thank you. One of the hardest parts of being a Volkswagen Beetle owner is, and I used to like this and I, I still love it, but there are times when it's like everyone has to tell you how rusty the floors were in their VW.
And how they would see the road underneath their feet. I'm like, "Yes, I know." It's not just VWs. E- exactly. But it's just so funny. Everyone's got a, everyone's got a good VW story. And I will also say I would get more comments and positive vibes from people with my VWs than my Porsches or anything else.
'Cause there's a thing where people, they just see VWs and they're just very- Oh, it's a club ... like friendly with you, we had our kickoff rally down in, in Lawrenceville quite a while ago. And in the middle of it- Just a [00:23:00] monsoon rolled through And somebody was parked out front in an old MG convertible Oh, boy.
Oh, boy Top doesn't even go on yeah, exactly. And it rained so hard that once it started, he didn't even go out. So when it finally finished, he went out and he opened up the door- ... and some water poured over the side. Oh, my goodness. And instead of getting upset, he goes, "I'm surprised it holds water."
Water, yeah. See, that's so awesome. Oh, my goodness. That's crazy. I'm surprised, too. Yeah. Yeah, right? Yeah. It just rains. So favorite memories of the Grand Prix, Dan, with 24 years, anything in particular that really stands out as something really cool? I've always loved to go up in the paddock on Friday night- Okay
Saturday night- Yeah ... after the races- ... with all the drivers and their crew and fans come up. There, there's a real camaraderie there that is really unmatched to- Definitely ... to feel the spirit- ... of just vintage racing in general. Totally. And [00:24:00] is that- Yeah ... that group of people are they, do they know each other?
Do they look forward to this event every year? They do. We are self-sanctioned, but we, most of our racers come from the Vintage Racers Group, VRG. Okay. So they know each other 'cause they, we have the same race groups that they do. So they race against each other in six to eight events- every year. Ah. And and it's grouped together, so you might have a lot of MGs in this group- ... or BMWs in another. So they help each other. Yeah. They help work on a car. "Hey, I need a water pump." "I've got one." That's cool. "I've got this part." Then they get, and then they get out on the course, and they're competitive, but they're, they're not gonna run somebody into a wall.
Oh, exactly. But yeah. Exactly. But they know each other, and they wanna know each other, and I know you, and what are we gonna do when we both go in here at a corner seven if you're ahead of me? Yeah. I'm gonna let you go. I've gotta- Or, yeah. Exactly. And so there's a lot of that trust that happens.
That's what it's all about. Yeah. It makes it so much more fun. Yeah. What's your favorite memory? You know what? That GT40 last year- [00:25:00] Yeah ... was a special car. We got to, as the driver was coming up, almost hit me, as a matter of fact, in the paddock area. Nice. Sam said, "Mike, move." Mike, move. Yeah. You almost got tagged by a GT40.
Which wouldn't have been bad. Yeah. I would've probably just fallen on the hood. But anyway that, that was really special. The Ragtime Racers, I love those from years ago. The Indy cars are another one. Over the years there's always something special from each year, and I love that part of it.
Yeah. That GT40 is owned by our chairman, Jim Dolan, and would race it out at Pitt Race. And so the other part that's really special is to see a car like that is priceless- Literally priceless ... that they would bring it here- Yeah ... and race it on the streets. And even up into the paddock, you may not have things as special and as well-known as a GT40, but you still have some rare open-wheel Lotus cars- Oh, yeah.
... And other things that you're like, "You're gonna race this- Exactly. ... out here and- Exactly ... share this with us?" is in- incredible. And so- We ask for a $20 donation for the weekend [00:26:00] to come into our event, and it's become a big fundraiser- Money well spent ... for what we do. 100%, man. And it's ... Yeah, absolutely.
100%. What a fun conversation. I'm just so excited. Dan, tip my hat to you because, you do a lot of work around this, your team, the volunteers, everybody, to make this happen. You make it look easy. And it's one of these things that makes Pittsburgh proud, man, because this is seriously good stuff, and you keep me entertained and out of trouble in the summertime.
It helps to have a l- As well as Mike over there too. To have a love for the event and for the sport too. Yeah. Yeah. It's good stuff. And Mike and I are gonna be out there. We always bring- Absolutely ... some of our friends and try to get people there. I'm trying to decide, do I bring the Mini or do I bring the VW?
I think you ought to buy a Jaguar. Ah. For a week. Fun story.
My mom, God rest her soul, she had an '89 Jaguar Vanden Plas. Ooh. Micah red. One of- Very nice ... only two made that color, and that- Yeah ... that car was gorgeous, man, like- How did it run? It was in the shop a lot. A lot. It went through a lot of electrics. It went through- Yeah ... quite a few alternators, if I remember correctly.
Oh. But you know what? It didn't matter 'cause it was a beautiful car. It is a beautiful [00:27:00] car. Yeah. Simple as that. I'm really glad to see Jag as the mark. Jag makes some really cool stuff. It does. And they are very iconic, without a doubt. So good stuff, guys. You are the best. Thanks for hanging out with me tonight on Tire Biscuits.
Thanks for having us. Absolutely. Yeah. So much fun having these conversations. Absolutely love it. It's been Jonathan Kirschning. I cannot wait to see you on the next one,