By Steve Whipple.
Ten states in nine days. That’s an ambitious schedule for a vacationing family in a modern SUV. But it’s borderline crazy for the 100 drivers, navigators and vintage vehicles that will be zigzagging down the East Coast’s back roads in the 2014 Great Race.
A one-in-a-hundred shot at the $50,000 grand prize (there is $150,000 in total prize money) will do that to thrill-seeking motorists. The annual event, which begins in Ogunquit, Maine, on June 21 and finishes at The Villages, Fla., on June 29, will screech to its first official overnight pit stop in Lowell at the end of day one.
Great Race director Jeff Stumb explains how Lowell was selected as one of only two New England stops along the 2,100-mile route. “We put feelers out to Andover, Haverhill, Manchester and Concord, N.H. Almost immediately, Deb Belanger [executive director of the Greater Merrimack Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau in Lowell] called back and said, ‘This looks awesome!’ When we hear back that fast … we know that [city] will be a great stop,” Stumb says.
Stumb visited Lowell and was immediately smitten with the vibe of its historic downtown and cobblestone streets. The only other New England stop is Bennington, Vt., the home of Hemmings Motor News, a major sponsor of the race. “We are excited to host a family-friendly event that will showcase vintage cars from the early 1900s onward,” Belanger says.
On June 21 participants will leave Ogunquit one minute apart on the first segment of the 9-day race. Drivers and their navigators receive directions and their recommended speed just 30 minutes before they launch. Checkpoints are set up along the course. An intricate scoring system is used that deducts points for each second a racer’s time differs from the perfect time that has been established by race officials for that leg of the race. Race rules provided to the teams detail a number of other things that may result in a deduction of points. The order of finish for each leg, and ultimately the entire race, is based upon who finishes with the fewest points (meaning the fewest deductions from the perfect time). Cellphones, a GPS system or maps in the cockpit are prohibited.
Speed takes a backseat to consistency and teams potentially can finish second or third at each stage of the rally and still wind up with the fewest points at the end of the race. Model A Fords, a “General Lee” Dodge Charger, and dozens of other vintage cars will participate. The newest of the cars is a 1972 Corvette.
The Great Race — named after a 1965 film of the same name that stars Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Natalie Wood — debuted in 1983. In the movie, set in the early 1900s, cars race across three continents. What makes the modern day rolling adventure so special?
A racer himself for a decade before stepping up to director, Stumb has theories. “It’s taking these old cars out of garages and museums and getting them on the road,” he says. “This is not a hands-off event; it’s very touchy-feely. We even pick up little kids and put them in the [parked] cars.”
Mike Robinson, who has organized weekly and annual car shows in Lowell for the past 20 years, thinks the event is “fantastic.” “I’m looking forward to seeing different cars that we’ve never seen before,” he says. Visitors of all ages are encouraged to chat with the racers and check out their rides. “If it stops, you can touch them,” Stumb says. “If you ask the owner, you can get in them.”
Among this year’s competitors are:
• a 1917 Peerless “Green Dragon” that has been in a dozen Great Races, owned by Hagerty Insurance, another Great Race sponsor
• a 1951 Hudson Hornet
• a 1936 Ford Fordor police car
• a 1932 Ford roadster driven by Curtis Graf of Irving, Texas, who has competed in every Great Race
• a 1954 Bentley R Type
A Nashua Native Hits the Road
The slogan for The Great Race, “Ride, Repair, Repeat,” might inspire a casual adventurer to seek a different hobby. The race isn’t for everyone, but it’s definitely for Nashua native Mark Piekarski.
The 60-year-old part-time businessman and full-time motor head is jumping into his first Great Race with both feet, joined by his navigator and fiancee, Lennell Stroud. After having spent the winter in Hilton Head, S.C., the couple is back in New Hampshire for the Merrimack Valley’s friendlier months. On June 21, Piekarski and his future bride will climb into his beige 1931 Model A Ford and chug out of Ogunquit at their designated time. A few hours and a few checkpoints later they will roll into Lowell.
Piekarski knows a thing or two about cars. Since 1998, he has been a co-owner of Lovering Volvo of Nashua, where he was the city’s fire commissioner for 16 years. He also owns Gate City Collision Centers in Nashua, Merrimack and Hooksett, N.H. Since the age of 26, he has bought and sold a dozen or so antique fire trucks. More recently he owned a 2004 Mustang Cobra. “I was tired of it. My fiancee has an interest in antiques, so I decided to look for an antique car,” Piekarski says.
A friend located a solid prospect last summer in Moultonborough, N.H. According to Piekarski, the all-original 1931 Model A Ford was owned by a family on Long Island who shipped the automobile to Martha’s Vineyard for summer vacation use only — thus, the mere 7,000 miles on the odometer. The car and the Great Race idea crossed the line at the same moment. “If we get the Model A, we can enter the Great Race,” Piekarski recalls saying.
To make the car more roadworthy, he switched the generator to an alternator and installed an 8-inch by 10-inch overdrive unit between the fore and aft driveshaft sections. With its 201 cubic inch, 4-cylinder engine and 3-speed manual transmission, the stock Model A could handle speeds of 45 mph, but drivers can expect stretches where 55 mph is ideal for the rally’s schedule. The overdrive unit will provide that ability. “I’m bringing spare lights, gaskets, a water pump and distributor … all the mechanical parts, because you just never know,” Piekarski says.
Teams have three options should their car break down. They can make the repairs themselves, wait for the official “sweep” vehicle to offer assistance after all the racers have passed, or contact their support vehicle at the end of that day’s stage. Piekarski’s support team — a Ford F-350 pickup towing a trailer filled with parts and tools — is required to travel to the day’s destination via a different route and to remain there until Piekarski and Stroud arrive. At the end of the day, the team is permitted to work on the Model A should it become hobbled along the course. No contact is allowed between the racers and their support team during rally hours. A furtive phone call or peek at a map will get you disqualified for the day.
“It’s a little bit of a witch hunt, a mystery ride,” says Piekarski, who plunked down a $5,000 registration fee. A link on the Great Race website provides 31 pages of rules. Piekarski has two in mind before he even fires up his engine. “Have to finish. Enjoy yourself. You have to do these two things,” he says.
If You Go
Spectators can line Middle Street in Lowell to greet the racers as they arrive between 4:45 and 6:30 p.m. on June 21. The cars will approach from the Lowell Connector to Dutton Street, then to Market Street, Central Street and Middle Street, where they will be announced and parked for viewing from 5 to 8 p.m.
A car show featuring hundreds of local classics will be held in parking lots adjoining the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Youngsters can touch antique fire trucks and enjoy face painting and other activities. Vintage-themed vendors will be in Lucy Larcom Park.
The Great Race / June 21 – 29, 2014 / GreatRace.com or merrimackvalley.org
To read the article on Merrimack Valley Magazine please visit https://www.mvmag.net/index.php/2014/04/25/great-race-2014/
