Archive for Sunday, July 4, 2004

Archive for Sunday, July 4, 2004

Great Race ends in a tie; older car takes the win

July 4, 2004

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The Great Race ended Saturday in Monterey, Calif and first place went to the 1916 Hudson, one of the oldest cars in the race.

G.R. Pike, owner and driver, and Bobby Hadskey, navigator, had to work for their win. The pair replaced the clutch, the rear end-twice, and a speedometer during the two-week rally race. The two placed second in four previous Great Race competitions.

"It was an emotional time," Hadskey said. "We've been so close so many times the pressure was intense. When we came in the gate I had no idea what we had done so we were surprised."

Pike and Hadskey actually tied with Dale and Susan McClenaghan, a husband and wife team in a 1939 Roush Racing Ford Deluxe, but because of the cars' age difference, the older car took the prize.

Each day during the race, teams received detailed instructions on the day's course including every stop, turn and speed change to achieve the "perfect" time. Drivers were forbidden from taking any electronic devices including calculators and cell phones. Their odometers were also removed or sealed to increase the challenge. For each second a driver's time varied from the perfect time, another point was added to the final score. The object was to end the race with the least number of points.

Both top two teams had a final score of 1 minute, 54 second total error over 4,200 miles.

Participants voted on their favorite stops for the Great American City designation. Truckee, Calif. won the award for the best overnight stop and $10,000 for the local library. Pocahontas, Ark. won the best lunch stop and $5,000 for the local library and best pit stop went to Alexander City, Ala., with $2,500 for the library there.

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