An Afternoon Wasted in Tribute to Tom Lehrer

Sunday, Nov. 23

A St. Louis Region SCCA Gimmick (GTA) Road Rally

Description: An Afternoon Wasted in Tribute to Tom Lehrer is a simple course-following sign hunt inspired by the works of legendary satirical singer/songwriter Tom Lehrer, who passed away in July. Join us and enjoy a Sunday afternoon tour of Jefferson County's rural roads while seeking to answer questions along the route based on the signs you see.

Start: Mastodon State Historic Site, 1050 Charles J Becker Dr, Imperial, MO 63052.

Size of the field: We are limiting the field to 20 teams. While each team must include a driver and navigator, your team is welcome to include as many participants as can safely be carried in the car (which is determined by the number of seatbelts).

Registration: Pre-event registration available here at MotorsportReg.com. Entries are on a first-come basis. Online registration closes Friday, Nov. 21 at 11:59 p.m.

Nov. 23 check-in: 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. at Mastadon State Historic Site

Safety meeting: 1:15 p.m.

First car departs the start: 1:31

Competitors have three hours to complete the course and turn in their answer sheets.

What you need: a car, a driver and navigator, a clipboard, pencils and paper.

Entry fee: $20.00 per team for SCCA teams, $35.00 per team for non-member teams. An SCCA team is defined as a team in which at least one participant is an SCCA member. The $35.00 entry fee for a nonmember team includes an SCCA Weekend Membership for the team’s “primary entrant,” i.e., the member who will pay the entry fee. The other member(s) of a non-SCCA team will receive a free SCCA Trial Membership, as will non-member participant(s) of an SCCA team.

Information: Rose vonHatten, rallymaster, 314-477-6432, rose.vonh@gmail.com.

About the St. Louis Region, SCCA: The SCCA’s St. Louis Region, with some 600 members, offers RoadRally, Road Racing, Performance Driving Experience (PDE), RallyCross, Solo (autocross), and Street Survival School programs to educate and provide safe environments for individuals to enjoy their street-legal (daily driver) cars and purpose-built race cars. The region is home to more than 80 national champions and has been recognized three times by the Sports Car Club of America as the Region of the Year in its member category. To learn more about the St. Louis Region, visit www.stlscca.org.

About Mastodon State Historic Site: Mastodon State Historic Site is the location of the Kimmswick Bone Bed, where scientists discovered the first solid evidence of the coexistence of humans and the American mastodon in eastern North America. Visitors can enjoy learning about the discovery and prehistoric Missouri at the museum, which features an interpretive video, ancient artifacts and fossils, and a mastodon skeleton replica. The museum is open noon to 4 p.m. on November 23; entry is free for visitors 12 and under, and $4/person for ages 13 and up. You can learn more at: https://mostateparks.com/historic-site/mastodon-state-historic-site

About Tom Lehrer: Tom Lehrer (1928-2025) was an American singer/songwriter, satirist, and professor of mathematics and musical theatre. His work as a musician was primarily in the 1950s and 60s, commonly featuring dark, political or otherwise unexpected comedic lyrics set to a catchy tune. Lehrer's most commonly known song is perhaps 1959's "The Elements," which features all 102 then-known periodic elements set to the tune of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Major-General's Song" from The Pirates of Penzance. Lehrer released all his works into the public domain in 2022 - you can explore his full body of work, including lyrics and recordings available for free download, at https://tomlehrersongs.com/.