Great Race

June 25 will be an unusually festive Tuesday in Cape Girardeau when more than 100 vintage cars will roll through the city, a stop along the "Great Race" route, which spans from St. Paul, Minn., to Mobile, Ala.

Thousands are expected to be in town for the race that day.

It's the first time the race has passed through Cape Girardeau in the event's 30-year history. Originally the race spanned from east coast to west.

The event is officially called the Hemmings Motor News Great Race, presented by Hagerty.

The race isn't to find out who can make the trip in the shortest amount of time. Rather it's a time precision exercise to see who can manage the route's stops, hills and curves to hit the targeted time along each leg of the race. A good day's score is just six or seven seconds off the target time.

Bringing the race and corresponding events to Cape Girardeau was a joint effort by the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau, the River City Rodders and the Capaha Antique Car Club.

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 also is competing against other stops for the best host city. There also will be a cruise-in for regional and local vintage cars, meaning hundreds of vintage cars will be parked along Main from Broadway to William.

As Danny Essner of River City Rodders said, this event is a big deal. It could be one of the bigger events downtown Cape Girardeau has seen in several years. Mark your calendars and plan on attending. It's going to be a lot of fun.