The Great Race is pleased to announce that Best Home Furnishings will be the sponsor of this years Ace Award, and the team with the most Aces will receive a $1,000 check while another team will win a recliner donated by Best.
Known in Great Race circles for years as Best Chairs, Best Home Furnishings is family owned and operated, and their facilities cover more than 1 million square feet in five locations with more than 1,000 employees. It is one of the largest furniture manufacturers in the world.
Owner Clem Lang has been a long time participant in the Great Race with trusty navigator Bruce Sickbert. And for many years, Best would field two teams and they always raced Hudson products, including Clems trademark 1920 Essex roadster. Stuart Curtis and Baldie Weyer, along with many other Best employees, have rallied in past years.
In 2012, Best Home Furnishings will be celebrating its 50th anniversary during the same week as the Great Race, which will prevent them from participating in person with their cars.
We would love to have Clem, Bruce, Stuart and Baldie on the Great Race with us this year, director Jeff Stumb said. But since they cant be with us, the next best thing is to have them as one of our major sponsors. And I cant think of a better thing for them to sponsor than the Ace Award. Those guys won a great number of Aces through the years.
An Ace is awarded during the Great Race every time a team gets a perfect score on a leg during the event. There are usually four to seven legs in each day. Everyone who gets an Ace is given stickers for their car and the team with the most Aces at the end of the event will win a $1,000 check. In addition, every team that gets an Ace will have their name placed in a box, and at the banquet a name will be drawn from the box and the winner will get a Best Home Furnishings recliner shipped to their home.
Obviously, the more Aces you have means the more chances you have to win, but someone with only one Ace will still have a chance to win the recliner, Stumb said.
It has been great to work with Stuart and his team at Best, Stumb said. The last time I saw Stuart was a couple of years ago on the Hemmings Challenge in Rogers, Ark., when he and Baldie edged me and my wife Karen out for the championship, he said. We sure hope the Best guys have a wonderful 50th anniversary celebrating and will be back competing in the Great Race in 2013.
