Hugh Ruthven runs a shop called The Finish Line near Chicago (345 East Russell Street, Barrington, Illinois, 60010; 847.382.3020). He sells all manner of things interesting to car enthusiasts, including gorgeous car models and the whole Chapal line of retro race gear. My favorite driving shoes are by Chapal by way of The Finish Line. I ordered the official Automobile Magazine jackets from Hugh all those years ago, and I also ordered the maroon varsity jackets for our little Fangio Chevy racing team from his emporium.

I have a model of a C-Type Jaguar in my office—almost identical to the C-Type I drove in the 1998 Mille Miglia with Mike Dale. It was a Christmas gift from my wife, purchased from Hugh Ruthven. He also sold me a pair of wooden car models—an MG K3 and a cycle-fendered Ferrari 166—which are parked on a countertop at my other office in northern Michigan.

Hugh Ruthven is also the impresario of the Kickapoo Joy Ride, an autumn tour of Wisconsin’s back roads, which he’s been running for sixteen years. The Kickapoo is not some 300-car extravaganza. It is an almost intimate affair in which fifteen or sixteen cars spend three beautiful days among the picturesque lakes and farms of the “Eat Cheese or Die” state. The number of entrants is limited by the number of restaurant seats and hotel beds available along the rural route chosen each year.

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Magazine Issue: Winding Road Issue 28