Great Race 2012 is a Wrap!

July 2, 2012

As we wind down from our enormous awards banquet and dinner at The Henry Ford Museum, we reflect on the past 9 days, and the incredible journey we have completed. We started in Traverse City, Michigan on June 23rd, and now we are in Dearborn, Michigan after 2,300 miles of intense rallying around the Great Lakes. We made stops in Canada, as well as New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan, and we have finally reached the end of our trip! But before all that we still had a great route for the final day of competition, which involved a great deal of scenic farmland before blasting into Ypsilanti, Michigan for lunch. While there, we visited the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum, which is actually the last remaining Hudson dealership in the country.

Great Race 2012

Great Race 2012

The Museum had all sorts of cool stuff in there, including a whole room full of Kaisers on one side of the building and a whole room full of Hudsons on the other side. We grabbed a bite to eat while we stopped in the historic downtown area, but just like all of our other stops, we were back on the road to find our next destination. For the final run to the finish, racers made their way into the magnificent Henry Ford compound, where we’d hold the Grand Finish ceremonies, as well as a parade through Greenfield Village, and an awards ceremony and farewell dinner later on!

Great Race 2012

Great Race 2012

Great Race 2012

With all of the excitement brewing, Corky and MotorMouth brought in all the cars, and the crowd roared with excitement when Barry and Irene Jason were announced as the Grand Champions of this year’s Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty! This husband and wife rallying duo are laser focused when it comes to being on time, and proved that they were spot on all week long. The Jason’s won Best Home Furnishing Ace Awards almost every day of competition and stayed consistent to bring home the BIRD and a check for $25,000 plus money for winning daily stages, and Ace awards. Without a doubt, the Jason’s are taking home a lot of good stuff!

Great Race 2012

Great Race 2012

Ypsilanti was a great stop!

Great Race 2012

Other class winners include Jody Knowles and Beth Gentry in the Expert class….Brian Blood and Stephen Keller in Sportsman…..Bryan and Ian Deering in Rookie…Chad Nelson and Brandon Schindler in X-Cup! We’ll make a separate post in the coming days about all of the awards given at the banquet, and we’ll also have an announcement about next year’s Great Race….stay tuned!!!

Great Race 2012

Great Race 2012

Great Race 2012

Great Race 2012

Great Race 2012

Great Race 2012

5 comments about “Great Race 2012 is a Wrap!”

  • Congratulations to all the Great finishers! Sure saw a lot of familiar names and faces. Made me long to be with you.

    Ralph Ricks; John Foley (RIP)
    1915 Model T #77; 1998, ’99, 2000

  • We had a blast, can’t believe it is over. Thanks so much to everyone involved in putting on this Great Event, don’t know how you do it, but just know that it is appreciated. Looking forward to the next one. Cheers

  • My wife Jackie and I would like to congratulate and thank the participants,volunteers and all those associated with the 2012 Great Race for bringing your event to Ypsilanti/Depot Town. We are especially pleased that Jack Miller and the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum were involved in your 2012 event.

    Jack is a very close friend, and there is absolutely no doubt he is one of the most knowledgable automotive historians in this country. We also know that Jack was filled with great pride and honor to have the 2012 Great Race come to Ypsilanti and to his museum. Cars are Jack’s life. He was extremely proud to host the last leg in Depot Town, before everyone headed for the finale of the 2012 Great Race at Henry Ford Musuem.

    God bless all of you for bringing such a fabulous event to Depot Town. For most peope present in Depot Town on July 1, this was most likely a once in a lifetime experience – thank you!!!

    Best wishes for an equally successful 2013 event.

    Regards,
    Art & Jackie Boucher

  • We followed the race web site every evening looking for updates on how our friend Tevie Smith was doing in his 1947 Town & Country. It was nice to see the occasional photo of our friend and it looks like a marvellous event. Seems like everyone had a great time, spectators & participants alike!

    Sincerely
    Bonnie Game
    President Canadian Route 66 Association

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