14 classic cars DRIVE TOWARD A CURE ON ROUTE 66, driving 2,400 miles to support people living with Parkinson’s disease!
Beginning September 28, a group of friends and classic-car enthusiasts will set out from Kingman, AZ, traveling historic Route 66 eastward to Chicago, IL. They will be taking the Mother Road back toward its beginnings as the legendary highway celebrates its 100th anniversary. The 10-day journey concludes October 7 in Chicago, where Route 66 originally began its westward trek across America.
What began as a bucket-list dream for organizers Brian Macy and Monty Belsham has become something far more meaningful. Belsham had imagined driving Route 66 for more than two decades. When he acquired a vintage ’53 Hudson Hornet, the dream finally had its wheels. Brian Macy talked to Belsham about a Route 66 trip he wanted to do and how he had begun gathering friends and their cars for the adventure — ultimately creating a caravan of 14 classics to DRIVE TOWARD A CURE ON ROUTE 66, traveling through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois before reaching Chicago.
Along the way, the group will raise awareness and funds for national Parkinson’s nonprofit Drive Toward a Cure®, with all proceeds benefiting the organization’s ‘Special Assistance’ Grant Fund, providing direct support to individuals living with Parkinson’s disease.
For Belsham, the mission is especially personal. His 80-year-old father lives with Parkinson’s and will be following the journey from his home in Penticton, British Columbia.
“I’ve wanted to drive Route 66 for more than 20 years, and I always imagined it would be about the cars, the road and the people you meet along the way,” said Monty Belsham. “But having my dad living with Parkinson’s changes what those miles mean. Now we have the opportunity to do something we love while bringing attention to something that affects our family — and so many others. Dad may be watching from British Columbia, but he’ll be riding with me every mile.”
Belsham is hardly alone. Several participants have direct connections to Parkinson’s through family members, friends, and communities they have watched face the disease.
Joie and Andrea Catucci of Lake Havasu City, AZ, will make the journey in their ‘55 Chevrolet 3100. What started as a playful agreement — Joie could buy the truck if they took it on a Route 66 road trip — grew into a shared adventure with friends. But joining the Parkinson’s caravan added a deeper purpose: Andrea lost her brother-in-law to Parkinson’s two years ago.
Dodie Carcel and Rudy Reyes of Pasadena, CA, traveling in their ‘17 GMC Sierra 1500, have spent 13 years as members of the Pasadena Elks Lodge and have seen Parkinson’s affect fellow lodge members, families, and friends. For them, the trip combines a bucket-list journey with an opportunity to help others while they are healthy and able to make the drive.
For Brian and Heather Macy, the DRIVE TOWARD A CURE ON ROUTE 66 will be traveled in a particularly meaningful vehicle: a ‘40 Ford Sedan Delivery once owned by Brian’s grandfather. Macy, founder of Horsepower Connection and The EFI Store, has built much of his life around horsepower, racing, and engine technology. He has also faced his own serious health challenge after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 — the same cancer that took his grandfather.
The Ford eventually found its way back to Macy and has since been rebuilt for the road. He and Heather have also lost family friends to Parkinson’s, making its longest journey yet one with added significance.
“Cars have always had a way of bringing people together, and that’s really what this trip has become,” said Brian Macy. “We started with the idea of taking these cars on one of America’s great roads. But once you hear how many people within our own group have been touched by Parkinson’s, the trip takes on a different meaning. If the cars get people to stop, ask questions, and learn why we’re doing this, then every single mile we drive can accomplish something.”
Rather than following the traditional Chicago-to-West-Coast direction, the caravan will head east – with Belsham and Macy starting in Santa Monica, CA, two days prior — the full group will begin together in Kingman and work its way back toward Route 66’s Chicago origins.
The route will take the group through some of the Mother Road’s most recognizable landmarks and communities, including Seligman, Williams and the Petrified Forest in Arizona; Albuquerque and Tucumcari, New Mexico; the Route 66 midpoint and Cadillac Ranch in Texas; Oklahoma City and Tulsa; the short Kansas stretch of Route 66; Springfield, Missouri — the “Birthplace of Route 66”—and finally through Illinois to Chicago. The final day, October 7, takes the caravan from Ottawa into Chicago and the Route 66 start point before concluding in Oak Brook.
For Drive Toward a Cure founder Deb Pollack, the caravan represents exactly what inspired the nonprofit’s creation a decade ago: using a shared passion for automobiles to build community and turn personal connections into meaningful support.
“The beauty of this journey is that Parkinson’s wasn’t what originally brought this group together —the cars and friendships did,” said Deb Pollack, founder of Drive Toward a Cure. “But as they began sharing their stories, they discovered just how many lives within their own circle had been touched by the disease. That’s what ‘Cars and Camaraderie®’ has always meant to us: bringing people together around something they love and giving that connection a much greater purpose. These 2,400 caravan miles can now help someone living with Parkinson’s when they need it most.”
Drive Toward a Cure’s ‘Special Assistance’ Grant Fund provides direct assistance to individuals and families facing challenges associated with Parkinson’s, including unexpected circumstances where immediate help can make a meaningful difference.
Founded in 2016, Drive Toward a Cure has raised more than $1.5 million to support Parkinson’s research, patient care and outreach nationwide. The organization administers both its ‘Access to Care’ and Special Assistance’ grant programs.
The DRIVE TOWARD A CURE ON ROUTE 66 caravan runs September 28 through October 7, 2026. Supporters can follow the Hudson and the caravan’s journey, learn more about its participants, and contribute directly to the Special Assistance Grant Fund through Drive Toward a Cure. Follow the Hudson on 66 and support the journey: https://www.drivetowardacure.org/drive/hudson/
For photos of all 14 cars, click: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipO8eqxDE55edtsoeHjpcHuBf6pyaDVLMsjTmJ91RYDzMaXoa7SqpDPM2x0Ezjdnlg?key=SXUxX3hjSGE1TmxiekcxSS1vc0RTb2RMOUtRYlFn
For more information about the national 501(c)(3) nonprofit Drive Toward a Cure®, Please visit https://www.drivetowardacure.org/