After running the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb one hundred times in the 106-year history of the event, you would think that there would be a bit of predictability to the ultra-prominent massif that shadows Manitou Springs, Colorado. The route is the same winding path up to the summit. The race starts just past the Crystal Reservoir Visitors Center and ends at the crest to the summit. The goal is to beat the clock...no competitors, just yourself, your car, and the clock. And ever since the road to the summit was fully paved several years ago, the variable that comes with racing on dirt is gone. That should make the event pretty predictable, right?

Right?

If there is one thing that is consistent about Pikes Peak, it is that the mountain will always have the final say as to who is in charge. In practice, the weather was gorgeous, bordering on perfect. But on race day, the conditions had gone straight downhill and against everything that racers and race organizers wanted. Where do you want to start with the 100th running of Pikes Peak? There were many standout runs for all of the more interesting reasons. Levi Shirley's run up the course in his Ultra 4 buggy was one of the more interesting jaunts up the mountain. A couple of minutes into his timed run Shirley's rig understeered off a corner and rolled down a small hill into the trees. When it landed wheels-down, he drove it back to the road surface and continued his lap.

Rod Millen, a legendary name in Pikes Peak (he's the fastest driver on the full-dirt course before it was paved in 2011) brought out the 1998 Toyota Tacoma that he used to set blistering times for a trip up the mountain in the Exhibition class. Like everyone else, the fogged-in course kept his times slower than they should have been but there was plenty of excitement at seeing the historic truck back on the track with Millen behind the wheel. Other notable drivers in attendance included Randy Pobst in a Tesla Model S Plaid, Dai Yoshihara in a Tesla Model 3, and Rhys Millen in a Porsche GT3R.