Great draw for Great Race in Cape Girardeau

A '65 Corvette Stingray rolled down Broadway, turning right onto Main Street at 5 p.m. It was the first of nearly 90 cars in the antique and vintage car rally.

The Great Race stopped in Cape on Tuesday evening for an overnight pit stop downtown along Main Street. The 99 cars left St. Paul, Minn., on June 22 for a nine-day race and will wind their way down the Mississippi, crossing the river 16 times before arriving in Mobile, Ala. Cars made before 1969 were eligible, with many predating World War II.

Crowds swarmed the sidewalks and streets in 90-degree weather, weaving between antique automobiles and making way for each new car as it cruised down Main. Many sat in lawn chairs along the roadside and talked shop about old cars. Children sat in the cars, marveling at the strange controls. Hoods were popped and engines were examined.

James Lanigan, 74, of Jackson and his son, Brad, have attended car shows for years. They stood behind the large, blow-up finish line that stretched above Main Street and watched each car pass.

"I don't have any old cars, but I have cars that are now old cars," Lanigan joked.

Why old cars?

"They have character," he said.

The announcer, Brian Goudge, has been with the Great Race since 1995. Of the 99 cars that started, 11 have withdrawn because of breakdowns and other problems. Of the entrants, 68 have been in the race before and 31 are rookies.

The Great Race, held since 1983, is a timed endurance road rally. Winners receive $50,000 of a $150,000 purse.

Driver Brad Epple and his navigator, John Goode, call their team the Muleskinners. They were the first car to turn onto Main Street in Cape Girardeau. They won the rookie award the previous night. Originally from Jefferson City, Mo., Epple said it was on his bucket list to join this race.

People raise the American flag over Broadway at the intersection of Lorimer Street before the Great Race arrived Tuesday. PAUL WALKER ~ pwalker@semissourian.com

He said this year's Great Race course was the closest as it was going to get, so he went for it. He called Goode, who gladly jumped aboard.

Driving an old car to the finish line every day is a challenge in itself. Goode said the previous night they were up until 3 a.m. performing repairs. Because of rain, water collected in the gas tank. But he said he'd do the race again in a heartbeat.

Cooper Hermann is 8, and he loves going to car shows -- this one in particular because his cousin is one of the navigators in the race. Cooper was given a free hat, he checked out old vehicles and sports cars, and visited Andrew Neisen, his older cousin.

Neisen is a junior at Ponca City High School in Oklahoma. He and two other students took turns navigating a bright orange 1930 Model A Ford pickup sponsored by a retired teacher, J.D. Hanks, who owns an antique restoration shop.

The students worked on the car after school and on Saturdays. The previous night, the team dealt with an antifreeze leak. The pickup lost all its coolant and had to be fixed in the morning.

Candy Prater of Jackson snaps a picture of Jarrett Baker, Kenzie Farrell and Courtney Baker sitting in the Leslie Special — the original car used in the 1965 movie “The Great Race” starring Tony Curtis — at the finish line. (Fred Lynch)

Navigating and driving can be difficult. Teams are given turn-by-turn directions but aren't allowed digital devices. They constantly calculate their time. They are penalized for how far off they finish from the expected arrival time. Each car departs each day about a minute apart, and is supposed to arrive about a minute apart. Cars are expected to drive at or below speed limits.

Neisen said navigating is fun but it gets hot, stressful and tiring. Cooper, sitting in the passenger's seat of the pickup, told Neisen he just needs to drink coffee.

A cruise-in was held the parking lot off Main Street where residents displayed 150 classic cars. Orville Thoma and his wife Gwen, of Jackson, came with their red '69 Stingray. It's their second classic car, and they may buy another.

Thoma's first tour with the Air Force took place during the end of 1966 and most of 1967. He ordered a red 1968 Corvette Stingray. But when he went for a second tour, Thoma sent it back because he didn't think he'd survive the war a second time. He didn't want his parents to have to finish paying it off. Ever since, Thoma wanted another one of those cars. He bought his first classic car -- a '68 red Corvette Stingray -- for about $25,000 about six years ago in Bay St. Louis, Miss. The car's restoration is supposed to be done by December.

"Once you have one and drive one, you get picky, you know what I'm saying?" he said.

Several downtown businesses welcomed the drivers and teams with parties and pit stops. The Cape Girardeau Visitors Bureau said there were five pit stops and 17 welcome parties.

Kyleigh Baliva is the manager of Pastimes and is on the Old Town Cape Committee. Pastimes hosted a welcome party for the race, complete with karaoke and lemonade. She played '50s music, hoping to entice people to join the fun. She said they always want people to come downtown, and this welcome would help that.

Emily Hoehne and her mother, Jill, co-own Stash, a fashion store downtown, and they also hosted a welcome party.

"Even if we don't get a lot of business, we can still create this welcome atmosphere," Heohne said. "It's about the experience for people and to promote the downtown area."

botto@semissourian.com

Main Street, Cape Girardeau