Washington man wins Montana 500 Model T race

Mike Stormo of Davenport, Wash., was ecstatic as the engine of his 1927 Deluxe Model T Roadster was given the thumbs up by inspectors at Timberline Auto Center on Wednesday afternoon, following his preliminary win at the 54th annual Montana 500.

Stormo, like his fellow 19 competitors, braved poor weather conditions for much of the 500-mile endurance run that covered 200 miles the first day of the race, another 200 miles the second day, and the last 100 miles the third day.

Though Stormo triumphed on Monday and Tuesday, Stormo said it was a push to stay in front on Wednesday, with heavy competition from second place-winner Jillian Robison, of Valleyford, Wash.

“I’m surprised,” Stormo said about his win. “I thought after Monday I’d be in the top four (at the end of the race) but there wasn’t any certainty.”

Six years ago, Stormo placed first with the same Model T, but it failed the engine inspection, a revelation he described as heart-wrenching.

“I just went for a long drive afterwards,” Stormo recalled. “There was nothing to do but get back in the car and drive. I can laugh about it now, but I sure wasn’t laughing about it then.”

Montana Model T Cross Country Touring Association President Mike Cuffe said the parameters around the engine inspection were tight, “and there were no gifts.”

The inspection is done peer-review-style by the second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-place teams in the Montana 500, and there was always quite a bit of tension when the engine was being examined, Cuffe said.

“We’re all good friends here, but you wouldn’t always know it,” Cuffe said, but added, quoting driver Dennis Powers who stood beside him, “the run was more fun than anybody could have.”

While the rugged weather was challenging – including snow on the roads as the teams travelled back from Kalispell on Tuesday – drivers drove to the conditions and were respectful of each other, Cuffe said.

Second place-winner Jillian Robison, who was eight months pregnant when she competed last year, said her daughter, Brooke, now 10 months, seemed to enjoy the atmosphere of the endurance run as she watched her mom compete from the sidelines.

Robison said she got involved with Model T driving through her husband and his family, and she eventually decided to get her own Model T for competitions.

“Initially, we joked about painting it pink, but then I just went ahead and did it,” she said about her 1924 Model T Roadster that a friend had in a garage.

“It was just a twisted up piece of metal,” Robison recalled.

After her 11th run in the Model T, Robison said the thrill hadn’t worn off.

“It’s just fun to take a 90-year-old piece of machinery and see what it can do,” Robison said.

Cuffe said there was only one break-down this year, and that rain and snow had, in some ways, made the 2014 Montana 500 more memorable.

“It’s one we’ll be talking about for a long time,” Cuffe said.