The second day of Rocky Mountain Race Week 2021 has exactly zero dragstrip time. Unlike other cross-country race events, like Hot Rod Magazine's Drag Week, Rocky Mountain Race Week allows for a day to just drive and enjoy the sights and sounds of the expansiveness of the middle of the United States. After departing Great Bend, Kansas, the rolling circus heads west towards Pueblo Motorsports Park in Colorado. If that sounds like an easy task, it isn't. First and foremost, there was quite a bit of carnage that occurred at Great Bend, and the road was no more forgiving. Mollie Lusk's gorgeous Mach 1 Mustang had the passenger-side front wheel exit stage right while out on the road at full speed. The front wheel was located after it ran out of steam in a field and the damage was kept to the rotor and front fender. Michael Austin's fourth-gen Firebird had a front tire pop bad enough to shatter the front fender. Eric Englert's LS-swapped Mitsubishi 3000GT nuked the head gaskets on low boost, sending one solid flame out of the bullhorn, eliminating the Mitsubishi from competition (even though his son will finish the Road Week drive in the car). But don't think that the news is all bad. Where else will you find racing fans so dedicated that they will fly their airplanes out just to see the traveling band of speed demons drive by?

Such is the life during the week of Race Week. Race cars driving about a thousand miles cross-country in summertime heat is not an easy task, even if racing was never part of the program. Which is why Road Week is such a savior...if you break and you can fix the car, but miss the deadline for the next racing event, you can still continue on with RMRW all the way to the end and see the sights. While many will be dismissive of the land between Great Bend and Pueblo as "flyover country", we beg to differ. There are some hidden gems in the Plains like small towns with killer restaurants, art shops, handcrafted jewelry stores and whatever else captures your interest. Or you might just enjoy eating up the miles while you watch summer storms float by over expansive fields that make you feel like a speck in an open world. It's a feeling that is increasingly rare and is one that you should treat yourself to at least once.

Day three is a race-day at Pueblo, then day four brings what is arguably one of the best drives in the lower 48 states as the drivers head north. Keep watching for more coverage!