Fort Benton hosts Montana 500, featuring classic Ford Model T cars

Seventeen Ford Model T cars flooded the streets of Fort Benton from June 18 to June 21 for the 63rd Annual Montana 500. 

Started in 1961, the Montana 500 was created to give Model T owners a chance to gather, share their interest in Model Ts, and test their cars’ endurance.

The cars are original Ford Model Ts from the early 20th century, some more than 100 years old. The only allowable mechanical alterations include adding aluminum pistons, reground cams, and the heads and blocks may be milled. 

“Most of the racers are 1925 to 1927 – those are the best years for race cars,” said Brandon Langel, vice president of the Montana Cross Country T Association. 

Some of the cars are painted brightly, while others sport classic black paint jobs. The drivers’ names and locations are posted on the sides. 

Janet Cervoski from Helena drives a bright purple Model T with electric orange wheel spokes. 

Conrad Wendland from Rudyard drives a topless white Model T with a red interior and matching red wheels. 

Eddie Wright from Colby, Kansas drives a bright yellow Model T pickup with original wooden wheel spokes; Sonny Bishop from Kansas City, Kansas also has wooden spokes on his Model T. 

The “home base” for the Montana 500 hops from one side of the state to the other each year; Glendive held the run last year.

The Montana 500 was last held in Fort Benton in 2013, returning to the river town a decade later for this year’s race.

“It’s great to be back and actually able to tour the town and check things out,” said Rick Bonebright from Florence, president of the Montana Cross Country T Association. 

This is Bonebright’s fourth run, driving an evergreen-colored 1927 Model T with light red wheel spokes. 

Drivers from Montana, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, New Mexico, Washington, and Illinois arrived in Fort Benton over Father’s Day weekend, where Ray Erbe, a former Fort Benton High School shop teacher, checked and inspected the cars.

Some of the drivers were joined by their families to celebrate Father’s Day weekend, participate in the run, and help with car maintenance. 

Conrad Wendland raced against his father, Mike Wendland, who drove an evergreen Model T. Both are from Rudyard. 

Father and son duo Dan and Sean Lukowski from Kansas drove together in their topless Model T, affectionately named “Rattle Can.” Sean has accompanied his father in the Montana 500 for almost eight years.

The Montana 500 is open to two classes of vehicles: endurance runners and tour cars. 

The tour cars may follow the route, but are not timed and can explore the countryside on their own. 

“The race is a great way to explore new parts of Montana,” Langel said. “I love coming back here and driving around the plains again.” 

Langel hails from Rudyard and drives his late father’s Model T, which won the 500 in 2003. Douglas Langel’s name is still painted on the car in memory of him. 

Many of the vehicles have previous drivers’ names painted on their sides as memorials. 

The run is three days long, with the first and second days traveling roughly 200 miles and the last 100 miles on the final day completing 500 miles. The caravan stopped every 70 to 80 miles for bathroom breaks and fuel, and to check on their cars. 

“The endurance run is not a race, not like Nascar where they drop the flags and we all go, but we do keep track of our times,” Bonebright said.

Each car is flagged out at one-minute intervals, then they jockey for their positions on the road.

The time stops when the drivers arrive at their designated pit stops, then continues when the cars are flagged out again. 

“It’s kind of fun, really. The slower cars are doing the best they can, but you can pass them and it annoys the heck out of everyone when they get passed,” Bonebright laughed.  

The three winning cars will be torn down at Jim Taylor Motors Wednesday around noon to examine the interior of the motor for modifications or alterations that might go against the rulebook. 

Monday was the first day of the race with the cars lined up along Highway 223 to travel to Chester, then Havre, and back to Fort Benton. The group left at 9 a.m., stopped for lunch in Havre, and returned to Fort Benton around 4 p.m.

“People congregated in parking lots. It’s fun and nice to see that people appreciate things like this,” Bonebright said. “Although they should have told us how much smiling and waving we have to do.”

Bob Corner, the only Illinois driver, fell out of the race when he slammed on his brakes to avoid a civilian car that pulled out in front of him, causing his car’s rear end to lock up.

Tuesday was the second day and the longest stretch of the run. 

The group left Fort Benton at 8 a.m. to travel to Great Falls, then Conrad, then Sunburst, over to Chester, and back to Fort Benton. They stopped for lunch in Conrad and returned at 7:30 p.m.

“People always get worried seeing us drive these old cars, but we drive them like we stole them!” Bonebright joked. 

Some of the Model T cars reach up to 70 mph. However, it’s vital for the drivers to obey all traffic laws. 

“They hid speed radars along the route and even in town. If anyone breaks the speed limit, there’s a five-minute penalty added to your time and that’s crucial in a race like this,” said Larry Azevedo from Corrales, New Mexico. 

On the second day, cars were timed out in the reverse order of the first day's finish. The slowest car left first and the fastest car left last. This gave the faster car the handicap of having to pass the slower cars.

Another driver was knocked out of the race when his car flipped north of Great Falls. Dave Ferro from Albuquerque, New Mexico was able to stand at the scene but was taken to the hospital for monitoring. 

Wednesday was the final stretch of the run with the cars traveling to Stanford and back through Geraldine, with the cars timed out by their order of finish on the previous two days, with the fastest cars first and the slowest cars last.

Afterward, the three top finishers headed to Jim Taylor Motors, where the dealership lent garage space for the Montana Cross Country T Association to tear apart the engines to determine if any modifications or alterations were made to the winning Model Ts.

MCCTA Member Tony Cerovski led the teardown process with the official Teardown Manual to guide the procedure.

Last year the teardown process for the three top cars took eight hours. If any of the top three are found with tampered or inauthentic Ford Model T pieces, they would be disqualified and the teardown process would continue to the runner-up. 

If the engine does not have the “Ford” or “Made in the USA” brands, the drivers could also risk disqualification. That was the case for winner Larry Azevedo from Corrales, New Mexico, but the MCCTA directors in attendance voted for him to remain eligible. 

President Rick Bonebright and driver Jerome Pester handled the tedious task of measuring the volumes in the head engine. 

After further examination of the crankshaft, connecting rods, and a final inspection of the transmission, Azevedo and his 1925 Model T were declared the winners of the 2023 Montana 500. 

In second place was Dan Brown from Ogden, Iowa in his 1925 Model T. Eddie Wright from Colby, Kansas took third in his bright yellow 1926 Model T pickup. 

For more information about the Montana 500, visit Montana500.com or the Montana 500 official Facebook page.