By Ed Higginbotham
Ford was this year's featured marque, and fans of the blue oval were not disappointed.
The fan walks at the Mitty gave spectators an up-close and personal experience of machines that many people dream of posing for a picture with.
Car corrals were packed on Saturday.
The Mitty's historical gems aren't only found in the paddock. Many were sprinkled about the infield, open for the public to enjoy.
There are extremely few places you can enjoy on-track competition between cars like this.
One of the best things about the Mitty is the access to the paddock. Spectators can look on as team members tinker on legendary pieces of equipment.
Many of the Classic Motorsports project cars were on display as well. Thank you to Reliable Carriers for helping make that possible.
The Grassroots Motorsports Skidpad Challenge gave everyone an opportunity to experience the handling limits of their own cars in a safe environment.
Spectators also had a chance to pilot their own cars around historic Road Atlanta during parade and touring laps.
There were so many cool cars parked around the track this weekend that never made it into the car corrals... Five Porsche 356's were parked at the camp site behind us. Nearby was a couple with a 550 Spyder. Toby Bean had his vintage Ferrari Mondial Spyder at his tent. The guys camped next to us had a concours worthy Shelby 350GT and Camaro SS. In the paddock were pair of late model Ferrari Italias, a McLaren 570S and a Ford GT. My father and I talked for a while with a one-off Citroen 2CV wagon.
The Coker Tire Tour show was nice, but what's GRM & HSR's appetite to host a larger car show at the Mitty? Many spectators are bringing cool cars anyway, why not designate a spot for everyone to show them off? Given the big turnouts at local events like Caffeine & Octane and Caffeine & Exotics, I think we could even boost Mitty attendance by extending an invite to local show-n-shine groups and asking them to spread the word.
