The Great Race national event, presented by Hemmings Motor News and Coker Tire, is an automotive competition based on precision driving and navigational skills in classic, antique and vintage automobiles. The competition is in seven timed, controlled-speed, endurance rally stages - not top-speed races. Each vehicle must follow a prescribed common route while attempting to maintain assigned average speeds. Vehicle entries must have been manufactured in 1969 or earlier with a competition crew of two persons (generally a driver and a navigator) required in each competing vehicle.
The inaugural event in 1983 was promoted by Tom McRae and Norman Miller in a race from Los Angeles to Indianapolis. Under the current leadership of Corky Coker, the new and improved Great Race is ready to start a new chapter with the 2011 event, which travels from Coker Tire Company’s headquarters in Chattanooga, Tenn., to the Hemmings Motor News headquarters in Bennington, Vt.
The course avoids timed segments on interstate highways, opting instead for scenic county, state and U.S. highways through some of the prettiest country in the United States. Over 1,000 miles of driving will take participants of The Great Race through the Appalachian Mountains and into the beautiful Green Mountain National Forest of Vermont.
“DuPont is proud to support The Great Race, which combines the precision and skill of rally driving with an appreciation of vintage vehicles,” said Harry Christman, brand manager for DuPont Custom Finishes. “Serving as the official finish is a perfect fit with the DuPont Custom Finishes offering of OEM and custom color paint products. After all, DuPont likely made the original paint on many of these classic automobiles.”
