NewsMay 10, 2013
Thousands expected in Cape for Great Race
More than 100 vintage cars participating in a precision driving contest from St. Paul, Minn., to Mobile, Ala., will stop in Cape Girardeau June 25. Local businesses along the route will host events for rally drivers and spectators, which are expected to number in the thousands...
More than 100 vintage cars participating in a precision driving contest from St. Paul, Minn., to Mobile, Ala., will stop in Cape Girardeau June 25. Local businesses along the route will host events for rally drivers and spectators, which are expected to number in the thousands.
It is the first time in its 30-year history the Hemmings Motor News Great Race, presented by Hagerty, has visited Cape Girardeau. Originally spanning the country from coast to coast, the event began organizing themed races a few years ago, said director Jeff Stumb. This year's race will wind along the Mississippi River, crossing it a dozen times.
How it works
The Great Race's winner is not the driver who covers the route in the shortest amount of time. The victor will have performed the best at navigating the nation's byways according to time specifications. The course purposefully includes slow maneuvers and secondary roads and drivers are clocked at secret checkpoints every day and given a point if they cross a checkpoint marker too slowly -- or too quickly.
"You want to stay on time, all the time," Stumb said. "The goal is to get zeros on all the legs."
A good day's score is just six or seven seconds off the target time, he said.
Danny Essner of the River City Rodders is part of the committee that helped attract the event. He said each car's driver and navigator don't know the location of the route before the race starts. They spend each day with one eye on the map and one eye on the speedometer.
"The event is billed as the premier vintage car road rally in the world," Essner said. "It's a really big deal."
People who participate in the race are "just regular folks" Stumb said. The vehicles they drive cannot have been built more recently than 1969. Entries year range from a "1913 Premier to a 1969 Camaro," he said. About 40 percent of the entries were built before World War II. Stumb said there will be vehicles participating that "you won't even see in museums."
The race caught the attention of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, which approached the River City Rodders and the Capaha Antique Car Club to see if there was interest in trying to have it stop in the city, said Stacy Dohogne Lane, director of public relations for the CVB.
Representatives from the River City Rodders, the Capaha Antique Car Club, the CVB, Old Town Cape, Capaha Bank and Midamerica Hotels Corp. formed a committee to get Cape Girardeau on the route, she said.
Businesses along the raceway, from the intersection of Kingshighway and Lexington Avenue, along Kingshighway to Broadway and then along Broadway to Main Street, will host "pit-stop parties."
Vendors in downtown Cape Girardeau will host "welcoming parties." Best efforts will be given a spirit award by the CVB to display. Cape Girardeau is also competing against other stops for the best host city.
"Our hope is that the downtown merchants will be able to take advantage of the throngs of people, including restaurants and shops. We're hosting a cruise-in for regional and local vintage cars, so hundreds of vintage cars will be parked along Main from Broadway all the way down to William," Dohogne Lane said.
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The cars will run on a schedule that is one minute apart, and will begin arriving around 5 p.m. on June 25, the fourth day of the nine-day race. People can sit along the route to see the cars come by and drivers and navigators will be parked along Main Street until 8:30 p.m. to visit with spectators.
Wednesday morning, the cars will depart and continue the race with a lunch stop at Paragould, Ark.
Sponsors
Sponsors for the race, which include Capaha Antique Car Club, EVTV Motor Verks, television station KFVS, Midamerica Hotels Corp., NAPA Auto Tire and Parts, Rhodes 101 Convenience Stores, Capaha Bank, Charter Communications, Crimson Creative, Dream Big, Ford Groves, Green Sky Cleaning Supply, Hotshots Sports Bar and Grill, Hutson's Fine Furniture, McAlister's Deli, Red Letter Communications Inc., River City Rodders and Roth Restaurant Supply, will be hosting exhibits and events downtown.
"It's just going to be a day the folks in Cape Girardeau will remember for a long, long time," Stumb said.
Businesses interested in hosting either a pit stop or welcome party must register by June 17.
The first 100 cars that register for the cruise-in will get a T-shirt, and Cape Girardeau Mayor Harry Rediger will give a trophy to the best local car.
To register to host an event or to join the cruise-in, visit the CVB at 400 Broadway or online at VisitCape.com/GreatRace.
For more information, visit greatrace.com.
salderman@semissourian.com
388-3646
Pertinent address:
400 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO
Main Street, Cape Girardeau, MO
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