The lunch stop for the 2020 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty Drivers Club, which was scheduled to be held at the Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum on Monday, August 24, 2020, in Sapulpa has been rescheduled for Monday, June 21, 2021, due to concerns over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, race organizers announced today.
“We are so disappointed in the year-long postponement of the race, but we totally understand the need,” said museum executive director Lina Holmes. “We’ve been working hard to prepare for the event, but are also happy we will be included in the 2021 race.”
The Great Race had already been moved earlier this year from its usual late June dates to late August to try to get the event in this summer, but the recent surge in the number of virus cases in states like Texas made it impossible to guarantee it going forward safely.
“The safety of Great Racers, their support crews and our staff is our top priority, and we believe that postponing the event is the responsible decision with the conditions and restrictions we are facing,” race director Jeff Stumb said.
The annual event, which features cars as old as 1909 in a time-speed-distance rally across the country, will still start in San Antonio, Texas, and end in Greenville, S.C. The dates for the 2021 race will be June 19-27, and the start will still be in front of the Alamo.
The 9-day, 2,300-mile adventure will bring 120 of the world’s finest antique automobiles to 19 cities in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. More than $150,000 will be awarded to top finishers in multiple divisions.
Overnight cities along the 2021 route are scheduled to include Temple, Texas; Ardmore, Okla.; Joplin, Mo.; Cape Girardeau, Mo.; Owensboro, Ky.; Lexington, Ky.; Beckley, W.Va.; and Mooresville, N.C. Lunch cities are scheduled to include San Marcos, Texas; Granbury, Texas; Sapulpa, Okla.; Rolla, Mo.; Paducah, Ky.; Elizabethtown, Ky.; Huntington, W.Va.; and Galax, Va.
For more information on the entire race, go to www.greatrace.com or contact Jeff Stumb at jeff@greatrace.com or by calling him at 423-648-8542.
