Ford world record attempt set for Saturday's Somernites

Aug. 26—Motorists: Pay special attention to the rules for this weekend's Somernites Cruise. There's a world record at stake.

Somernites will be doing its best to earn a place in the Guinness World Book of Records for having the largest number of Ford vehicles in one place.

To earn the official seal of approval, organizers are going to need help from both the Ford drivers who want to participate and from the rest of the community.

Specifically, organizers need the public to be aware that the westbound lanes of the Cumberland Parkway — from the on ramp in Science Hill all the way to the interchange in Nancy — will be closed for a few hours Saturday night.

The Cumberland Parkway between Science Hill and the Ky. 914 ramp will be the staging area for Ford vehicles. Starting at 5 p.m. Saturday, law enforcement will close off the westbound lanes between those two areas.

At 6 p.m., those westbound lanes will be closed all the way to Nancy, and motorists trying to go west will need to detour by the West Ky. 80 route.

Overflow for the staging area will be at the Don Franklin Kia dealership parking lot.

According to Somernites Executive Director Keith Floyd, the eastbound lanes of the parkway will remain open — but driver's won't be allowed to park on the shoulder to gaze at the multi-Ford spectacle.

Rather, spectators will need to go to areas such as the crossover bridge on Clifty Road or the one on Ringgold Road to see the lineup.

Floyd said there might be limited parking near Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, but the church is also having its own event that night, so car enthusiasts won't be able to park in the church's main parking lot. They will need to stay in the field close to the church.

Spectators may be able to set up at the Nancy interchange as well to watch the Fords as they turn around to go back towards Somerset.

"We are telling people to please be respectful of private property and not park on people's property," Floyd said.

Participants to the world record attempt don't need to be in classic cars, Floyd said. While a classic or modded car is still required to earn a parking spot within Somernites Cruise itself, the parade will accept any Ford make or model, young or old.

The only requirement is that the car be registered ahead of time — and that's where Floyd and the rest of the Somernites team need world record participants to pay attention to their set of rules.

Somernites is already taking pre-registration. Those who want to sign up ahead of time can visit the Somernites website, https://www.somernitescruise.com/, or go to the car show's Facebook page to find the links to register.

As of Thursday, 460 Ford owners have already signed up, Floyd said.

"And we've raised an excess of $2,600 already for flood relief in eastern Kentucky," he added. "We're asking all our world record participants to donate at least $5 to that."

Drivers who have already signed up are going to be coming from 16 states, some as far away as New Hampshire and Michigan.

But, Floyd said, they are expecting even more states to be represented by the time it's over with.

"We've received emails that people are coming from Seattle, Wash., Dallas, Texas, and Iowa."

On Saturday, there will be several tents set up at the Judicial Center Plaza, some for those who have pre-registered and some for those who want to sign up on the day.

"Those are being manned by the Chamber of Commerce ambassadors. We appreciate them for that," Floyd said.

Even those who have pre-registered need to check in at those tents, because they will be given their registration packets with instructions, a map of the staging area, decals and a counting chip that must be affixed to the vehicles. All requirements must be met before the vehicle will be allowed in the staging area.

Floyd stressed that it's important for all drivers to follow all the rules.

"All participants, please — please — read the guidelines and official rules and adhere to those to the letter. Follow the directions of the Somernites Cruise team members. Failure to do so could cause us to not break the record. We'd hate to know that due to someone not paying attention, we don't break the record and disappoint all the people who have worked so hard to make it happen," he said.

The main attraction for Saturday's Cruise — and one of the reasons August was chosen as the month to attempt this achievement — is Mustang Alley, which will be the showcase.

In fact, the gate at the South Main entrance to the show will open earlier than usual — probably around 11 a.m. — to alleviate the traffic backup expected for the show.

Somernites will also host the Ford Maverick and Mercury Comet national meets this month, with those vehicles to be stationed on the north side of the Fountain Square.

"We will have a special display of retired Kentucky State Police Mustangs that will make for a nice display," Floyd added. "The Mustang Owners Museum from Charolette is supposed to be here, along with Ford Performance, so we're excited to have them."

To accommodate the potentially large crowd, Somerset's streets will be blocked off beginning at 8 a.m. "We're asking that anybody who has a vehicle parked inside our show area to please have it removed by 8 a.m. We will not have time to search for car owners like we have in the past. If they're in a place where we have to be, we'll have to have them removed," Floyd said.

The West Mount Vernon gate will be pushed up to Church Street as well.

"We're expecting the largest crowd probably in our 22-year history. Even bigger than our August 2019 show, which was our largest show at 2,022 cars," Floyd said.

At 5 p.m. the Cruise will hold a drawing for its Ultimate Door Prize, a 2006 Mustang sponsored by J.R. Jackson Auto Sales.

Every show car that comes through the gates gets a free ticket for the drawing, and more tickets can be earned for every $5 spent at the official merchandise trailer.

Immediately after the 5 p.m. drawing, team members will begin the staging for the world record attempt.

Drivers can keep up with their instructions and receive last-minute adjustments by listening to Somerset 106.1 FM which will be broadcasting live. The broadcast will be simulcast on WTLO 1480 AM, for those cars that don't have FM radios, Floyd said.

"If we are successful, we will make a live announcement on 106.1 FM and 1480 AM, so they can stay tuned to that," Floyd said.

The current record is held by Bulgaria, which gathered together 1,527 Fords in 2016.

"If by some chance we do not have enough registrations or we're not close to the world record, we will make the announcement that there's no need to attempt it," Floyd said.

While he added that they don't anticipate that it will be cancelled, should it be the announcement will be made on 106.1 FM and 1480 AM ahead of the staging time.

One last piece of business: Floyd encouraged everyone involved with the world record attempt to do their business, so to speak, before driving to the staging area. While there will be a limited number of portajohns along the Parkway, Floyd warned that it might be a mile walk to get to one.

The world record attempt is sponsored by Holley Performance, Horse Soldier Bourbon, the City of Somerset Tourism and SPEDA. Floyd added a special thank you for City of Somerset Tourism Director Leslie Ikerd for helping with the logistics of the event.

Also helping Saturday will be the Kentucky Highway Department, the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office, Kentucky State Police, Somerset Police Department, Somerset Fire Department, Somerset Street Department, Somerset Sanitation Department, the Somernites Cruise Team Members and many others.

Carla Slavey can be reached at cslavey@somerset-kentucky.com