The Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Coker Tire is a nine-day classic car rally that spans more than 2,300 miles and features 120 of the world’s finest antique automobiles. The event features 17 city stops, including a hosted dinner stop in Frankfort, Kentucky on Wednesday, June 25. The annual event features a different route each year, offering a rare opportunity for residents and surrounding communities to see the spectacular cars and meet the drivers from all over the world.
Each stop on the Great Race is free to the public and spectators will be able to visit with the participants and to look at the cars for several hours. “When the Great Race pulls into a city it becomes an instant festival,” says Jeff Stumb, Great Race Director.
Teams and cars from Japan, England, Australia, Canada, and every corner of the United States participate in the annual event, which is often considered a “bucket list” item for car enthusiasts. Cars, trucks and motorcycles built in 1974 and earlier are eligible to compete, and the scoring system features an age factor to keep the earlier cars competitive. In the 2024 Great Race, a 1916 Hudson Hillclimber won the event from Owensboro, Kentucky to Gardiner, Maine. A 1912 Haynes, a 1913 Chevrolet, a 1916 Hudson and a 1918 American LaFrance are the oldest cars scheduled to be in the 2025 Great Race.
The Great Race was started in 1983 by Tom McRae and it’s now the world’s premier old car rally. This traveling time/speed/distance rally isn’t just a casual back road cruise, as it has a strict set of rules to keep competition tight. 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 checkpoints along the route and are penalized for arriving at the checkpoints early or late. As in golf, the lowest score wins. There is a total purse of $160,000 split among five classes, with the overall winner taking home $50,000.
The 2025 Great Race will begin on Saturday, June 21 in St. Paul, Minnesota, surrounded by a crowd of thousands at the MSRA Back to the 50’s Weekend car show at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Nine days later, on Sunday, June 29, the race will finish in Irmo, South Carolina, near Lake Murray. In between the start and finish cities are approximately 2,300 miles of competition and 17 hosted city stops in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.