Gabe Augustine lives in Traverse City, Michigan, where he works as a graphic designer and illustrator for Hagerty. Gabe’s dad – a shade tree mechanic who bought and sold many hundreds of cars – instilled in him a love for Austin-Healeys. Having just sold his ’65 Mustang fastback, Gabe’s currently between classics. Alas, he spends his days drooling over and drawing pictures of the myriad gorgeous cars that cross his path at Hagerty, lying in wait for that perfect alignment of a well-priced classic and a mad-cash infused pocketbook.
Jerry Burton is the consummate Boomer enthusiast, growing up on a steady diet of road racing and route 66. His car enthusiasm first bloomed around 1963, when the Corvette Sting Ray, Buick Riviera and Studebaker Avanti all debuted. He writes about that trio for us in “Class of ’63.” The former editor of Corvette Quarterly is also the author of three books, including Zora Arkus-Duntov, The Legend Behind Corvette and 100 Years of Chevrolet.
Jeff Peek joined Hagerty in 2008 after a 25-year career as a sports writer. He was bitten by the classic car bug almost immediately, purchasing a 1967 Triumph Spitfire Mk III just two months after coming aboard – a decision he regrets every time the car requires repair, which is often. In addition to spending time with his family, Jeff enjoys baseball, movies and travel. He recently added lawn mower racing to the list, and tells us all about it in this issue.
John L. Russell is a life-long photographer, having first picked up a camera at the age of five. In 2004, he retired from an award-winning career as a newspaper photographer to devote more time to his editorial photography company and image library, Great Lakes Images. Russell is a family man, avid fly fisherman, ice boater and classic car aficionado; he has enjoyed his nearly all-original 1953 MG TD for more than 44 years. In this issue, he captures the fun and camaraderie of lawn mower racing.