23 June 2023
EMPORIA (KSNT) – Emporia will be just one stop on a race across the country.
Later this month, Emporia will host a lunch stop on the 2023 Hemmings Motor News Great Race. The race brings 120 of the world’s finest automobiles from town to town, according to a press release.
Teams and cars come from all over America, as well as Japan, England, Australia, Germany and Canada, to compete in the Great Race. Teams will spend nine days traveling 2,300 miles to 19 cities in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and ending in Colorado. Organizers say whenever the cars pull into town, it becomes a party.
“When the Great Race pulls into a city it becomes an instant festival,” Great Race Director Jeff Stumb said. “Last year, we had several overnight stops with more than 10,000 spectators on our way to having 250,000 people see the Great Race during the event.”
The Great Race isn’t a speed race, but instead focuses on time, speed and distance. According to the press release, vehicles are equipped with a driver and a navigator. They are given instructions each day that tell them every move to make, down to the second. They are scored at secret check points across the route and are penalized for arriving early or late. The team with the lowest time wins.
The race has strict rules on what cars qualify for the race. To be eligible, your car must have been built in 1974 or earlier.
Teams will start the race in St. Augustine, Fla. on June 24 and will finish in Colorado Springs, Colo. on July 2. The cars are scheduled to make a pit stop in Emporia at the Lyon County Fairgrounds, starting at 1 p.m. Thursday June 29.