Coker Tire: Great Race Vintage Car Rally Returns

On the Road Again

The 2021 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty Driver’s Club and sponsored by Coker Tire has announced the route for its 37th annual time/speed/distance vintage car endurance rally. Unique vintage automobiles from 1974 and older face challenging routes and scenic stops through some of the oldest driving roads in the United States, beginning in San Antonio, Texas an ending in Greensville, S.C.

The 2021 Great Race route covers 2,300 miles through Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The race begins at the historic Alamo, marking the first time in 19 years the event has been held in San Antonio. Finishing in Greensville, South Carolina, the race brings teams from Japan, England, Australia, Canada and every corner of the United States to compete for the more than $150,000 in prize money awarded to the top finishers in each class.

Each stop on the Great Race is free to the public and spectators will be able to visit with the participants and look at the cars up close for several hours. Evening city stops along the 2021 route are scheduled to include Temple, Texas; Nocona, Texas.; Joplin, Mo.; Cape Girardeau, Mo.; Owensboro, Ky.; Lexington, Ky.; Beckley, W.Va.; and Mooresville, N.C. Lunch cities are scheduled to include San Marcos, Texas; Granbury, Texas; Sapulpa, Okla.; Rolla, Mo.; Paducah, Ky.; Elizabethtown, Ky.; Huntington, W.Va.; and Galax, Va.

The Great Race, which began 38 years ago, is not a speed race, but a time/speed/distance rally. The vehicles, each with a driver and navigator, are given precise instructions each day that detail every move down to the second. They are scored at secret check points along the way and are penalized one second for each second they are either early or late. Speed changes, challenging roads and the feat of keeping a vintage car running over nine days and thousands of miles makes for the ultimate test for these diehard car enthusiasts.

The event, which was first organized by Tom McRae in 1983, drew its name from the 1965 movie “The Great Race,” which starred Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Natalie Wood and Peter Falk. The movie was a comedy based on the real life 1908 automobile race from New York to Paris. In 2004, Tony Curtis was a guest of the Great Race and rode in his car from the movie, the Leslie Special. The event’s main sponsors are Hemmings Motor News, Hagerty Driver’s Club, Coker Tire and Reliable Carriers. Corky Coker, the founder and former CEO of Coker Tire, assumed leadership of the event in 2011.

For more information about The Great Race, please visit https://www.greatrace.com. For more information about Coker Tire, please visit http://www.cokertire.com.