The National Guard Great Race
A Backgrounder

It’s not just an old car race:

The National Guard Great Race is the ultimate adventure of time and endurance with a $100,000 cash prize going to the winner. With a total cash purse of $270,000, the 24th annual Great Race is the world’s richest and longest-running road rally for classic automobiles.
 

The 2006 Great Race:

The Great Race will start on June 24, 2006, on Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and finish 14 driving days later in San Rafael, California, on July 8. One hundred teams of drivers and navigators will drive their favorite old cars more than 4,100 miles, stopping each night in York and Washington, Pennsylvania; Dublin, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; St. Louis and Springfield, Missouri; Wichita, Kansas; Pueblo and Durango, Colorado; Page, Arizona; Tonopah, Nevada; Placerville and Vallejo, California; before finishing in San Rafael.
 

The Entrants:

Great Race participants come from all over the socio-economic spectrum. From a plumber to NASCAR team owner Jack Roush, from an elementary school student to a Corporate Executive, the Race offers the teams of drivers and navigators the chance to discover America–and the American people–from a unique perspective, behind the wheel of their favorite classic car. When the Great Race rolls into town, Great Racers bask in celebrity welcomes. Each day, crowds line up eager to assist in repairing the historic cars and energize the competitors, with spare parts and hospitality, crankshafts and cookies, helping them to achieve the dream–to finish.
 

The Rules:

It’s the ultimate adventure in motor sports. The competition echoes the times/speed/endurance events made popular in the 1930s and 40s. Driving in cars that are at least 45 years old, each driver/navigator team attempts to follow hundreds of specific driving instructions each day. There are checkpoints secretly located along the race route where the cars are timed. As in golf, low score wins. With scores that can be separated by a hundredth of a second, the Great Race requires unparalleled precision driving skills. The rally-race is held on the back roads of America each summer and is a coast-to-coast event.
 

By the Numbers:

It’s the best buy in motor sports. The Great Race can cost less than $10,000 for each driver/navigator team and a two-person support crew, not including the entry fee. Entry fees start at $5,000 for a private team, up to $10,000 for corporate participation. Compared to the millions of dollars necessary to race in NASCAR, CART or Formula One racing, the Great Race is a bargain.
 

A Brief History:

For 23 years the Great Race has been the center of free family celebrations in more than 800 cities in North America. Great Racers have logged nearly 7,000,000 vehicle miles, making stops at some of the continent’s best-known venues including the U.S. Capitol building and the Ellipse at the White House in Washington, D.C., the Statue of Liberty Centennial Celebration, the Plaza de la Reforma in Mexico City, the Grand Canyon, Indianapolis and Daytona Motor Speedways, and a Parade down Broadway in New York City.

The Owners:

For more than 23 years the Great Race has delivered family entertainment and community events in more than 900 cities in North America. Rally Partners, Inc., the event organizers, brings experiential automotive events to the public both nationally and internationally through Great Race events.