The Hemmings Great Race presented by Coker Tire is a nine-day classic car rally that spans more than 2,300 miles and features 140 of the world’s finest antique automobiles. The event uses a new route each year and features 17 hosted city stops along the way. For 2026, the Great Race is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Mother Road with a Route 66 themed event that starts in Springfield, Illinois on Saturday, June 20 and ends in Pasadena, California on Sunday, June 28 with many historic towns and attractions along the way. This includes a hosted lunch stop at the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma on Tuesday, June 23rd at 11:15am.
Each stop on the Great Race is free to the public and spectators can visit with the participants and look at the cars for several hours. It is common for racers to allow kids to climb in the cars for a first-hand look. “When the Great Race pulls into a city it becomes an instant festival,” says Brad Phillips Great Race Director. He continued, “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. There are more than 500 people just in our entourage.”
The Great Race was started in 1983 by Tom McRae and it’s now the world’s premier old car rally. This traveling time/speed/distance rally isn’t just a casual back road cruise, as it has a strict set of rules to keep competition tight. The vehicles, each with a driver and navigator, are given precise instructions each day that detail every move down to the second. They are scored at secret checkpoints along the route and are penalized for arriving at the checkpoints early or late. As in golf, the lowest score wins. There is a purse of $160,000 split among five classes, with the overall winner taking home $50,000.
Teams and cars from Japan, England, Australia, Canada, and every corner of the United States participate in the annual event, which is often considered a “bucket list” item for car enthusiasts, especially in 2026 with the Route 66 theme. Cars, trucks and motorcycles built in 1974 and earlier are eligible to compete, and the scoring system features an age factor to keep the earlier cars competitive. In the 2025 Great Race, a 1933 Ford pickup truck won the event. A 1913 Chevrolet, a 1916 Hudson and a 1918 American LaFrance are the oldest cars scheduled to be in the 2026 Great Race.
The 2026 Great Race will begin on Saturday, June 20 in Springfield, Illinois, home of President Abraham Lincoln. In fact, the event will start in front of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln first rose to fame. Nine days later, on Sunday, June 28, the race will finish at City Hall in downtown Pasadena, California. In between the start and finish cities are approximately 2,300 miles of competition and 17 hosted city stops in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California, with many iconic Route 66 sights along the way.
The event’s main sponsors are Hemmings, Coker Tire, McCollister’s Auto Transport, Stahls, Petersen Automotive Museum, Knipex, Samuel Smith Old Brewery and American Muscle Car Museum.
For more information, go to www.greatrace.com, or visit the Great Race Facebook Page. You can also email brad.phillips@greatrace.com.