Scoop: America's Next Top Model T

Celebrate the A-Y-P centennial by welcoming the winner of a reenactment of the 1909 coast-to-coast car race 

A hundred years ago, long before traffic and global warming and gas crises made headlines, a car was a passport to see the world. This cutting-edge technology was celebrated at Seattle’s 1909 world’s fair—the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (A-Y-P)—with a cross-country auto race. As part of the citywide A-Y-P centennial celebration (ayp100.org), 54 drivers in Model T Fords have taken to the roads to reenact the original race. The drivers—one from each state (Washington’s rep is Gary Ebbert from Port Orchard, in a 1915 touring Model T), plus a few tagalongs—left New York on June 14, avoiding highways and navigating the exact same route used in 1909. Some 4,100 miles later, on July 12, they’ll cross the finish line at Drumheller Fountain on the University of Washington campus, where the A-Y-P was staged. You can watch the cars as they arrive on campus, but you’ll get the best view during the parade of Model T’s, which will travel south on Fifth Avenue through downtown Seattle (July 12, start time dependent on car arrivals). Strap on your driving goggles and cap, and don’t miss the chance to see this historic event.