Car Culture: Auto Racing and Museums

Not long ago, my husband took my father to a car race, and that seemingly innocent event awoke the 16-year-old car lover in Dad. That's how my dad and I wound up on an unconventional, but enjoyable, father-daughter auto trip that took us from the southern tip of St. Petersburg to the northern docks of Tarpon Springs.

Legal Street Racing
Dad decided he wanted to experience an Indy Car race, and fortunately St. Petersburg hosts the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg each spring. To start our daytrip, we drove to downtown St. Pete to map out the race so Dad could pick out the best spot to watch the event. (It was now obvious as we walked the course three months before race day that I inherited my planning skills from Dad.)

This annual event features Indy cars racing through the city's downtown streets. The Honda Grand Prix is one of the most grueling IRL races, with 14 turns over a 1.8-mile track that winds past baseball's domed Tropicana Field and along the blue waters of Tampa Bay. Dad thought about bringing his sailboat to the marina that overlooks turn 10 (tickets are available for the yacht basin and an RV campground), but decided he would rather be on land to explore downtown during breaks between qualifying rounds and watch the air stunt shows.

We completed the reconnaissance mission checking out the dining possibilities at the Pier, a shopping and dining center within walking distance of the race. The five-story Pier has stores, sit-down restaurants, a food court area and an aquarium. Also nearby is Beach Drive, which lines the waterfront and is home to museums, shops and restaurants. It's the place to see and be seen.

Just a stone's throw away is the Dali Museum, with hundreds of paintings by the famous surrealist housed in a brand new architecturally striking building. Visitors to the museum are greeted by a rain-filled Rolls-Royce parked in the museum shop.

Gallery of Early Cars
With race week itinerary set, Dad and I drove to Pinellas Park and the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum to see the vehicles that paved the way for race cars.

The museum, which opened March 2005, is the private collection of Alain Cerf, whose fascination with vehicle engineering during the first half of the 20th century has escalated into a passion. At the museum entrance is the vehicle that started it all for Cerf, a Peugeot Darl'mat from France. The baby blue, two-passenger car is only one of 103 built between 1937 and 1939.

A mind-blowing highlight of the 12,000-square foot space is the world's only replica of the 1770 Fardier de Cugnot, the first self-propelled vehicle. The original has been on display in Paris since 1801 at Le Conservatoire de Arts et Metiers. This replica comes to the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum on loan from the Deutsche Ban Museum in Nuremberg, Germany.

We glided through the gallery between the glimmering bodies of cars I'd never heard of: Czechoslovakian Tatra limos that chauffeured communist dignitaries and the French-made Citroen 7CV, which looks like a prequel to the punch buggy. All of the cars are lovingly and meticulously restored to their original beauty. They're all registered and are driven regularly by Cerf through the streets of St. Petersburg and Clearwater.

Classic Corvettes and More
In the Greek community of Tarpon Springs, we strolled along the famous Sponge Docks, a village with more than 100 shops and restaurants, before venturing into Classic Corvettes & Collectables. Owned by Al Wiseman, who is featured in car magazines with other collectors like Jay Leno, the 150-plus-car showroom is more than a dealership. The staff will sell a floor model or hunt down a specific model for their customers.

All of the cars for sale are pristine muscle and classic cars; not a single one has four doors. My dad eyes lit up when he found a light blue '67 Dodge Coronet. It was the first car he owned and the one he was driving when he and my mom started dating in the early '70s. He also came across a '68 Oldsmobile 442 that was in much better shape than the one he won in a poker game at 15. ("It was four deuces against a full house," he said with a dreamy smile.)

To my father's dismay, we left in the same car we arrived in.