Great Race Lunch at "Wheels" a success! 

Maggie Valley, NC,  July 1, 2007 -- What a day at Wheels Through Time!  On July 1, the 25th Anniversary Great American Race rolled into Maggie Valley for what would be a quick stop for lunch at the Wheels Through Time Museum. 

The Great American Race, also known by many as the “World’s Richest Old Car Race”, began June 30 in Concord, NC and traveled to Spartanburg, SC for Stage 1 of its 14-day journey across the United States.  After their overnight stop in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, racers would make way to Chattanooga, TN stopping at “Wheels” for a midday break and bite to eat.

The first car in, the stage 1 winning 1910 Seldon, rolled into Wheels Through Time right on schedule, greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of eager race-watchers gathered from all over the country.  The Currie Racing Seldon Raceabout finished first in stage one with a time of 0:03 sec, just one second ahead of both a 1392 Ford HiBoy captained by Harper/Blair and the Maher/Secrest ’35 Ford Phaeton.

Next in was Corkey Coker’s 1937 Buick Shafer-8 Indy-car, a particular highlight of the race.  The Coker Tire owner and founder arrived just seconds after the Currie Racing Seldon, and drew enormous applause by the eager crowd.  The classics continued to roll in for an hour and a half, each team being met by “oohs and aah’s” from the anxious crowd.  

Over 1500 Great Race fans came Sunday in support of the two-week, cross-country rally race.  “The opportunity to host a world-class event like The Great American Race is an honor.  We’ve been preparing for weeks and to have such a great turnout is fantastic,” said Wheels Through Time curator, Dale Walksler. “Fans were setting up their posts as early as 8:00a.m., even though the racers weren’t scheduled to begin arriving until 11:00.”

Arriving sporadically in groups of three and four, racers had just over one hour to eat lunch, take a quick peak inside the museum, and get back on the road for the second leg of the day.  “For those who don’t know much about the race, this is no easy picnic,” said one tired racer in the middle of his lunch.  “Covering 300 or 400 miles in a day in one of these old cars is a maximum effort for drivers and navigators.”  

The world famous race for old cars is much different than your normal race.  A time-distance rally crossing over 3,000 miles, The Great Race scores entrants based on “a perfect time”.  After the course is set, the race begins, with up to 5 hidden checkpoints on each stage of the race.  Over the 14-day event, racers compete to be “right on time”…not a second early or a second late.  After two-weeks of racing, scores are tabulated, with the lowest taking home the $100,000 Grand Prize.

As quick as they arrived, the racers darted off on leg 2 of the race’s second day.  Leaving about a minute at a time, the racers headed for Chattanooga, TN, their next overnight stop.  One of the longer routes of the event, Day 2 covered over 310 miles, in a twisting course through the Great Smokey Mountains in to eastern Tennessee.  

Upon the races arrival to Chattanooga, another historic Great Race moment was made, as Rich McKone and Jack Christensen tallied one of the best times in Great Race history.  The team covered the 310-mile route with a 0.01 score, a nearly perfect time.  Finishing 5th the on day one, the Mckone/Christensen operated Aston Martin DB6 would prove each stage can be any racer’s day.  

For scores, racer information and other news on the Great American Race, log onto the Official Great Race Website www.greatrace.com.