Traditions: Dawn Patrol
June 23, 2021
From the Don Patrol to the Dawn Patrol presented by Hagerty
The Race to Be First in Line
It all began with the race to be the first in line — the first entrant to be greeted by the Concours Chairman and the first to pull onto the competition field of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. For years, beginning in the early 1970s, that entrant was Don Williams, the concours’ most prolific entrant. But before the decade was out, Don had a challenger.
“I prided myself on being the first one on the lawn on Sunday morning,” said Williams. “Then I heard Bob Atwell was known for being the first, so my goal was to beat him. But it’s no fun to challenge someone unless you tell that person you’re doing it. So I did that — and Bob drove by my room at 3:30 in the morning and raced his engine just to let me know he was out there and I would never beat him. That is what Pebble is about — that type of camaraderie.”
The Don Patrol
At a certain point in the early 1980s, Don gave up the fight to be first. He still wanted his cars to lead the pack onto the competition field, but he opted to have friends and family line up with them while he slept in a bit.
He didn’t sleep too late; he still made his way to the entry point before the first car pulled onto the Lodge lawn — and he stayed there until every last car had pulled past him.
Concours Co-Chairman Lorin Tryon was the person then standing at the entry point to greet each entrant, and Don was there in part to support him; the two men were longtime friends as well as colleagues, and eventually, in the 1990s, they would formalize their partnership in the Blackhawk Automotive Museum and the Blackhawk Collection.
“For years I followed him at the hip as the cars pulled in,” said Williams. “Lorin wanted to greet people, and at times I would try to say ‘hi’ before he got to them, but he would say ‘Stay behind me. Stay behind me.’
“I had no real reason to be there,” said Williams. “But I was driven by my curiosity and my desire to see every car, and that was the most wonderful spot to do that — to see the cars and to hear them.
“I started telling my friends about it, and soon I was serving coffee to 50 or 100 of them. We would bring the coffee from my room, and as soon as one pot was filled and ready to go, we would start another one. Then my friends told their friends, and the number really got up there. It grew to 200, then 300, then . . .”
“The Don Patrol” was becoming an event within the event that was the Pebble Beach Concours.
Dave Holls was a regular then too — and Dave and Don often sat and assessed the merits of each car as it drove past them, debating which might garner the Best of Show trophy later in the day.
Dawn Patrol presented by Hagerty
It was Hagerty’s sponsorship of Dawn Patrol beginning in 2004 that really elevated this early morning ritual to its current level of popularity. In addition to offering coffee, Hagerty gave out doughnuts. He also distributed a limited number of hats to the first spectators on site, and those hats are now among the most coveted items of Concours memorabilia.
“We were looking for a way to partner with the Pebble Beach Concours, and when we saw how many people rose before dawn to see these great cars drive onto the show field, we knew we had to find a way to support and celebrate them,” said Hagerty CEO McKeel Hagerty. “It’s been a tradition ever since, and we couldn’t be more proud to do it.”
In recent years Dawn Patrol presented by Hagerty was been drawing thousands of spectators several hours before the first glimmer of daylight. “I don’t think we’re at Dawn Patrol, I think we’re at a Night Owl Watch,” one group of attendees was heard to joke.
To add a bit of sanity to the gathering, Concours officials recently set a more formal starting time for Dawn Patrol: the field now opens to spectators at 5:30 am.
In honor of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and to keep the Dawn Patrol tradition alive this year, Hagerty is hosting “Drive at Dawn,” which encourages people to take a drive between 6 and 10 a.m. on Sunday, August 16, snap a photo of their car before or after the drive, then upload it to the new Hagerty Community pages at this link — all in the spirit of sharing car love. Those who do will receive a limited edition 2020 Hagerty Dawn Patrol hat!
