CarShowSafari.com Returns to the Bridgehampton Road Rally

With the return of the Bridgehampton Road Rally and Tour d’Hamptons on Saturday, October 7, this year will also once again welcome esteemed racing announcer, journalist and Master of Ceremonies Robert Marlow and CarShowSafari.com founder Tomm Scalera.

Along with a 20-year friendship and excellent working relationship, Marlow and Scalera share decades of experience and knowledge about cars, racing and the history of both. The duo, along with Scalera’s daughter and colleague Ruby, are thrilled to head back to Bridgehampton this weekend for a day of beautiful vintage cars and activities celebrating more than 100 years of motorsports on the East End.

“We’re all really excited for Bridgehampton,” Scalera said. “It was just so great last year—it was so fun.” This year, CarShowSafari.com team is looking forward to seeing more amazing cars and trying some new things, he continued, adding, “The Bridgehampton Rally represents the spirit of motoring.”

As Road Rally and Tour d’Hamptons emcee, Marlow will be on hand to announce each automobile as it sets off on its scenic Hamptons drive. He will also announce the coveted awards and take part in various talks and events throughout the day.

Marlow—who Scalera says has an “encyclopedic knowledge” of racing—announced his first auto races at Long Island’s Freeport Municipal Stadium before it closed in 1983. But the 65-year-old New Jersey native has loved cars since childhood. His father built Pine Brook Stadium racetrack in 1962, and Marlow moved up the ranks there, from newspaper vendor, to scorekeeper, to announcer, before eventually becoming a writer in 1973.

For nearly 40 years, Marlow enjoyed his dream job writing for National Speed Sport News, covering everything from regional short track racing to Formula 1 and the Indy 500. He’s also served as a speedway public address announcer at more than 60 tracks since 1974, and emceed countless automobile and racing events.

Now Marlow dedicates much of his time to writing for Scalera’s CarShowSafari.com, which lists and reports on auto events all over the country. His original articles, along with stories by fellow contributors, can be found in the site’s Safari News section.

Scalera created CarShowSafari.com after he drove his 1962 Thunderbird convertible to an out-of-state car show, only to find it was canceled. With perfect weather, he and a number of other bewildered car enthusiasts had no way of knowing why the show didn’t happen. Scalera checked his smartphone to find news of the cancelation, or at least another show in their vicinity, but he found nothing. Later, he was annoyed to discover there had indeed been a different car show nearby.

With this irritating experience fresh in his mind, Scalera decided he would create a website that lists every car event in the country and include real-time updates to help people make informed choices so they could avoid future disappointments like he just experienced.

Today, CarShowSafari.com does all that and more. It’s a community, resource and place to find interesting original content—and the word is out. Since last year’s Bridgehampton Road Rally, Scalera says he’s attended more events, garnered attention from influencers, including interviews on the Cars Yeah podcast, and added sponsors—such as the Automobile Driving Museum in Escondido, California, where visitors can actually drive the cars on display.

Scalera and Marlow will show off their website and its growth, along with a few surprises, at the 2017 Bridgehampton Road Rally and Tour d’Hamptons at the Bridgehampton Museum (2368 Montauk Highway, corner of Corwith Avenue) this Saturday, October 7 at 10 a.m.

Visit BridgehamptonRally.com for details about the Bridgehampton Road Rally and Tour d’Hamptons, including car registration.