I love my job. The other day, we had a group from a magazine company here at Coker Tire and Great Race world headquarters to do a story on the history of tires from 1910 through today. And for the article, they wanted a car to represent each decade, and we provided one for eight of the 10 decades. Our good friend Jeff Lane of the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville provided the other two cars. Since starting work here almost a year ago, I have not had much time to drive any old cars. And I will not be competing in the Great Race any longer since I am the director of the event, so when the magazine folks said they needed someone to drive some old cars I quickly volunteered. One minute I was driving a 1914 Mitchell touring car – a huge brass era car that any collector would be proud to have in their collection. The next minute I was driving a Jaguar E-Type. Both are amazing cars. Later today I will head out to Rogers, Ark., to compete in the All-Stars For Autism rally with my wife in a borrowed 1957 Porsche replica. It will…

Is the Great Race on your bucket list but you don’t have an old car to participate in, well how about this 1916 Buick Speedster that Great Race veteran Bryan Dickson has for sale. And it’s a steal at only $15,000. We are not talking about your basic Model A here. Through the years the age limit on the Great Race has been raised to where you can compete in a vehicle today as new as 1969. But to get that age factor that helps with winning the event, many folks have gone back to the pre-1920s automobiles. Just in the race this year we have a 1907 Renault, a 1914 Model T, three 1916 Hudsons, a 1916 Packard, a 1917 Peerless and a 1917 Hudson. And last year’s event was won by a 1911 Velie. Here’s some information on the vehicle: – Engine: inline OHV six cylinder, 224 cu in, 45 BHP – Speedster body on 115 in wheelbase – Three speed transmission (no over-drive), shaft drive – Rear only brakes – Electrical is 6v+12v (Two 6v batteries are wired in series and parallel so the 6v stuff can run and the 12v stuff can run too) – Both…

From Great Race Director, Jeff Stumb “I had a good meeting with the folks at Canada Border Services Agency and wanted to pass along what I have learned. Getting across the border is going to be very simple for all of our contestants as long as they have their passports and their vehicle registration with them. I am going to provide one week in advance to the Superintendent of CBSA a list of all cars and participants. They estimate that it will take less than one minute per car to get across between 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 24. We have allotted more than a half hour for each car to be safe. The CBSA has asked that each car have an itinerary of your travel in Canada, which we provide you for the entire 9-day race. The border agents will probably only ask for passports, but they can ask for vehicle registration if they feel like it. The itinerary would only be asked for in an extreme case. We are going to demand that no support vehicles cross the border until all race cars have had time to go through since the Sault Ste. Marie crossing…

Anyone that has ever participated in even one Great Race knows the legend of Curtis Graf. I call Curtis my friend, but I don’t think there has ever been a person he has met that didn’t consider him their friend as well; Curtis is just that kind of guy that loves everyone and everyone loves him. Curtis is the only person to have competed in every Great Race since the first event in 1983, including winning the famous Ottawa to Mexico City race in 1995. I can’t imagine the tens of thousands of miles he has logged participating in the Great Race, most in his trusty 1916 Packard Twin Six roadster. Curtis told me once that his Packard was a 100-point car that won several national awards before he started racing it. “Now look at it,” he said. I think it still looks fantastic and is an icon of the event. Curtis was getting ready for another Great Race with navigator Ty Holmquist, but took some time this winter to take his grandson skiing. But word has come from Curtis’ wife Faye that he has broken his ankle while skiing and has had to have some major surgery. Faye says…

Clayton, N.Y., has been added as a pit stop on this year’s Great Race, with festivities planned for 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 27, at the Antique Boat Museum on beautiful Lake Ontario. It will be the only pit stop on the 2012 event, but it will be a scenic one. The stop was recently added through the hard work of Clayton native Don Lingenfelter and the folks at the Antique Boat Museum. After leaving Kingston, Ontario, Great Racers will begin their afternoon competition, but it will end before reaching the U.S. border at the Thousand Islands Bridge. Ample time has been allotted for contestants to go through customs and make the day’s finish line in Watertown, N.Y. But not knowing exactly how much time it will take each car to make its way through customs, we needed a spot to gather all of the cars on the U.S. side of the border to make a timely and orderly entrance into Watertown. That’s where Clayton and the Antique Boat Museum came in. Like the pit stops from days gone by on the Great Race, each car has been given 20 minutes to stop, use the restroom, get a drink and…