Update to Ron Pratte post, the Darryl Gwynn Foundation

As has become a common and admirable occurance at Barrett Jackson auctions, Darryl Gwynn auctions off a remakable historic racecar, Ron buys it, offers it at auction again, it was bought by another collector who matched Ron's generosity, and was bought by a third collector who says it'll be for auction again soon.

Why the buy and sell, and the Gwynn connection? All of the money for the sale of Gwynn's vehicles go directly to the Foundation, with no auction fees, and everyone realizes that this astonishing generosity is to be applauded and continued by some who can afford it. Financially it may be a tax thing, but when over a half a million goes to a kids charity, I dare anyone to pick a bone with it. Respect, applaud, repeat.

For the full story and details: http://automotive.speedtv.com/article/autos-gwynn-dragster-scores-triple-header/

For the post about the collector and philanthopist Ron Pratte: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/01/ron-pratte-car-collection.html

new comment on the Ron Pratt collection.. thanks to Annonymous, it's appreciated. Can you tell us if the collection will ever be public?

The collection is all together now in a magnificen... The collection is all together now in a magnificent museum with a 50 car mezzanine over looking the main floor. 66,000 tiled sq ft in all. Ron hung all of the hundreds of vintage signs, clocks and pictures himself. Great guy. Not a lot of words but a lot of action. He took care of my dad during his cancer treatments for 5 years.

Ron Pratte car collection

Tere posted a whole gallery of photos of Ron's collection: http://justacarguyswife.blogspot.com/2011/01/ron-prattes-prized-collection.html

for the Jan 2010 update: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/01/update-to-ron-pratte-post-darryl-gwynn.html

Ron Pratte of Chandler, Arizona, multi-millionaire who sold Pratte Development, one of the nation’s largest wood framing and concrete foundation companies to Pulte Homes at the peak of the Arizona housing boom and cashed out just in time to avoid the slump. Known in the car world for the $5 million winning bid for Carroll Shelby’s 1966 Super Snake AC Cobra 800hp 427 dual quad, dual supercharged. http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2007/01/carroll-shelbys-personal-cobra-sells.html

Ron is the brains behinds the Pratte Development Company, Inc., which builds one of the nations largest wood framing and concrete foundation companies. To top it off, he has his business located in one of the fastest growing areas of the country.

Most of the other car aficionados know Ron Pratte from his last years purchase of Futurliner bus (he brought it for over 4 million dollars), and he bought the first Shelby GT500 last year for nearly $650,000.
http://www.techbanyan.com/3221/ron-pratte-car-collection/
http://theronprattecarcollection.blogspot.com/

When Pulte Homes Inc. last month announced it has entered a 50/50 joint venture with its largest trade contractor in Arizona and Nevada, eyebrows went up across the American housing industry. A high percentage of them belonged to GIANT production builders who compete head to head with the Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based colossus.

Pulte and Phoenix-based carpentry trades mogul Ron Pratte are equal partners in the new company, Pratte Building Systems, formed to replace Pratte Development Co., one of the nation's largest wood framing and concrete foundation companies. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
http://www.housingzone.com/topics/giants/giants/pbg04ba003.asp

Philanthropic: Ron Pratt appears to have spent nearly as much on charity as on cars. In a single auction on the Tony Stewart race car, Ron Pratt increased his own bid to $300K, inspired others to throw in additional funding of $80K, had previously donated $100K independent of the BJ auction and helped to achieve another $20K from an auction for a couple of $20 posters.
And then? Donated the car back to the Gwynn Foundation that sold it to raise money a second time by selling it again at Barrett Jackson auction Jan 18th 2009. And it sold for 165 thousand to go directly to buy electric wheelchairs for kids.

Do the math. That’s $500K, yes 1/2 million, raised for the foundation that supports those afflicted for Muscular Dystrophy.
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2007/01/22/who-is-ron-pratte/
Buying the 2006 Jeff Gordon Monte Carlo for $500,000. The proceeds go to the National Marrow Donor Program.

In February 2009, the Arizona Classisc Thunderbird Club may be touring the collection..... So look to their website after that to see if any of their members post photos or talk about the collection: http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/actc/events.html

http://ratevin.com/story.php?title=Ron_Pratte_Car_Collection

The Futurliner bus from Barrett Jackson http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2006/10/vintage-modern-concept-buses.html
Carroll's personal 427 AC Cobra dual supercharged, 800hp
1954 Pontiac Bonneville Special Motorama concept car.
Oldsmobile F-88 show car
the One-Millionth Thunderbird
1924 Ford 4-AT-E Airplane, that was shot in Pearl Harbor's attack in 1941
1945 P-51 Mustang "Ped Dog"
The Cosmonaut retrieval boat
Tony Stewart’s 2007 Home Depot Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Jeff Gordon's 2006 No. 24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The Beverly Hillbillies Woody
the first 2008 Shelby GT500 KR Glass Roof
Carroll’s personal 1969 GT500 convertible
The last Sting Ray
The first T-bird off the assembly line
he started his private car collection at B-J 2003 by buying 52 cars (http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/184760/page/0/fpart/3/vc/1 )
http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/nevt/PrattGallery.html
http://www.mustangsmustangs.com/p-51/survivors/pages/44-74469.shtml