The 2006 National Guard Great Race celebrates the ultimate automotive adventure with a 4,100-mile race of time and endurance from Philadelphia to San Rafael.
Photo courtesy of Rally Partners, Inc
Published: July, 2006
The 2006 National Guard Great Race celebrates the ultimate automotive adventure with a 4,100-mile race of time and endurance from Philadelphia to San Rafael. The race covers 14 states in 14 days, stopping in 46 cities before finishing in San Rafael on July 8.
Laying out the course takes a year of planning and preparation. Prior to the start, the Director of Competition drives over twenty-thousand miles creating the race route. Along the way, exact times are allotted for every maneuver including speed-changes, stops, starts and turns. Computer calculations then determine the optimum driving-times for each leg, which are given to the racers in the form of precise driving instructions.
Great Racers are ordinary people, from a rocket scientist, to a hairdresser, to a NASCAR team owner to a junior high school student, doing something extraordinary — racing classic cars across America.
Driver and navigator teams must work together to match the computer’s predetermined perfect times. Timing checkpoints, secretly located along the course, check each team’s accuracy as they race by.
The race makes an overnight stop in Vallejo on Friday, July 7. Spectators will be treated to a sight unlike any in motor sports, as more than 100 automobiles from all eras roar into town. The racecars represent some of the finest examples of automotive design and engineering created from 1911 to 1961 like a 1922 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, a 1954 Corvette, and a very rare 1952 Lazzarino. The racers begin to roll into downtown Vallejo at 5PM, and the racecars will be on display to the public until 8PM.
The race concludes on Saturday in downtown San Rafael. The first cars will arrive at 2PM with the winner crossing the finish line at 3PM. Racecars will remain on display to the public until 5:30PM.
For 23 years, the Great Race has delivered family entertainment and community events in more than 900 cities. Rally Partners, Inc., the event organizers, have posted a total cash purse of $270,000, with $100,000 going to the Grand Champions. For more information visit www.greatrace.com.
Gas Up Smart
Cars and racing is cool but the price of gasoline isn’t. So, unless you’ve bought an electric car, a decent hybrid, or ride a scooter or a bicycle, you are paying a high-price to fill up your tank.
At least you can find the lease expensive (and most expensive) gas stations in your area by entering your zip code on the Web site below.
http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx
