DAWN PATROL

Monterey Car Week can be overwhelming for a huge variety of reasons. Many first timers are simply blown over by the sheer volume of unbelievable cars on view. Some try and simply do everything which is almost impossible; they bounce from the Quail to the Motorsports Reunion to Pebble Beach to Jet Center to dinners and parties and they just wear themselves out. Car week veterans know that the best way to see all of the best cars is to wake up before the sun and stake out locations and let Car Week come to them. For those exhibiting at Pebble Beach, the day starts almost before the previous night ends. They wake up to the cool breeze coming off the bay with its briny smell and they carefully pilot carriers and cars through the fog and haze.

Eventually the cars find their various positions on the lawn and the mist begins to burn off as the sun comes out. Owners and caretakers are all performing their final checks and wipe downs, doing everything they can to take home one of the incredibly coveted trophies that prove, once and for all and to anyone who would care to look, that their car is among the very finest in the world. Being a part of the so-called dawn patrol at Pebble Beach requires a certain brand of fanaticism, but the payoff is an ethereal, other-worldly look at some of mankind’s most beautiful creations.

Video Courtesy of Coker Tire