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As the month of June approached, flyers abounded that The Great Race was entering into nearby Mooresville, NC for a stop. The town of Mooresville was planning a car show downtown and the “race cars” were scheduled to arrive around 5:00 pm, and it was a chance to see what kinds of machinery was involved this year. There are many vintage pre-1930 cars that are known to compete but the cars of local flavor join in the fun.
The Great Race cars began entering Main St. under the inflatable archway that was set up, with announcers introducing the drivers and teams to the crowd, which grew stronger as the day went on.
“The 2021 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty Drivers Club is in the books!" stated Great Race officials. "We saw record crowds at our hosted city stops, we saw a rookie team take the top daily score, and today, Sunday, June 27th HISTORY was made!”
Great events don’t happen by accident and they certainly don’t happen in the blink of an eye. It takes a lot of work to develop, organize and run an intricate event such as The Great Race, and it took a lot of work behind the scenes to get it off the ground, when Tom McRae and Norman Miller did just that in 1983. The two individuals were partners in the deal, and bought out an ailing race promoter who planned to race pre-World War II automobiles across the United States for a massive purse. There were plenty of folks who doubted the feasibility of an event of this magnitude, but with help from a crew of like-minded car nuts, McRae and Miller made it work. From the inaugural event in ’83, there have been lots of memorable moments.
As with any race, there are a variety of classes and special awards ceremonies, so if you’ve never looked into it, here’s a quick rundown of what it’s all about:
This division of the Great Race features only competitors who have won the event in previous years. If any member of the team has won the Great Race, then that team will be entered into the Grand Champion class. It is the top of the food chain, in terms of the big names in rallying. Generally, most Grand Champions have been a part of the Great Race family since the early days, so these are truly the veterans of the event.
There’s no question that the Expert division is also packed with Great Race veterans who have proven their skills time and again. Racers designated to run in the Expert class have to comply with a set of rules that are based on the finishes of previous years. Essentially, racers who generally finish well, but have never been Grand Champions are placed in the Expert rank. This is one of the most competitive classes in the Great Race.
The Sportsman division is a class set up for the folks who love to support the Great Race and have a great time doing it. This class is filled with diehard Great Racers, young and old, and it's designed for a wide range of participants. Sportsman is usually one of the larger classes in the field of competitors and has a lot of interesting cars, so it's usually a fan favorite!
The Rookie class is for all the first-time Great Racers. Each year we have a large number of Rookie teams…. These competitors will learn a lot during the Great Race and most of them will come back to compete in more Great Race events! The Rookie class will undoubtedly be an interesting class with a variety of cool vehicles.
One of the most interesting classes in the Great Race lineup is the X-Cup division. It consists of young people, generally in some sort of group or shop class, who build a car specifically for the event. The rules state that the driver must be 21 years of age or older, and the navigator must be 21 years of age or younger. The X-Cup class competes for bragging rights and it is a great way to encourage young people to be involved in the old car hobby!
This year’s Great Race started in San Antonio, Texas and went to the following locations: Granbury, Texas; Sepulpa, Oklahoma; Rollia, Missouri; Paducah, Kentucky; Elizabethtown, Kentucky; Huntington, West Virginia; Mooresville, North Carolina and finally ending at Greenville, South Carolina. The event sponsors include Hemmings, Hagerty, Coker Tire, Reliable Carriers Inc., Stahls, Eckler’s, Timewise, and Quick Everett’s Garage (Chattanooga, Tennessee). The next time it comes around your town, go check it out—there’s something for every car guy and girl out there!
For the first time ever, an all-female team won the Great Race! Olivia Gentry and her sister Genna put together an incredible nine-day effort to take home the victory and $50,000! Olivia drove her heart out, while Genna managed the calculations to keep them on target. This exceptional teamwork was executed behind the wheel of a 1932 Ford five-window coupe, which utilizes a 21-stud Flathead V8, three-speed manual transmission and, of course, whitewall tires from event sponsor Coker Tire. Emotions were at an all-time high during the finish line presentation, and the crowd erupted when the Gentry girls were announced as the Grand Champions on the final day in Greenville SC.! Their score of 41.31 seconds is astonishing, and the young women took the victory by nearly nine seconds over their mother, Beth Gentry, who placed second with her nephew Jody Knowles.
Many of the racers had dedicated fans that greeted them on the backside of the inflatable awning.
This 409-powered Impala was one of the "later-model" cars on the Great Race.
Event organizer/promoter Wade Kawaski greeted racers as they went through the inflatable archway, carrying on a conversation with the team and announcing them to the crowd.
This is a model A with a ’32 grille shell, carrying the patriotic American colors, a few days before the 4th of July holiday. It got a ton of applause.
In every town that the Great Race visited, the crowds that came out to see the cars was huge.
Ultimately, the Great Race is all about hitting the road and seeing the country!
