2026 Hemmings Great Race presented by Coker Tire - Day 2

It's time to roll into Stage 2 of the 2026 Hemmings Great Race presented by Coker Tire! We had an amazing time in Collinsville, Illinois, but in normal Great Race fashion, the competitors rolled out bright and early to start the day's route. We hit the interstate to go through St. Louis, Missouri and get a little further out of town before we took to the back roads. Most of our day was spent on Route 66, going through towns and seeing some great sights along the way. The town of Cuba, Missouri went ALL OUT to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Route 66, and we loved all of the classic roadside attractions like the Wagon Wheel Motel, World's Largest Rocking Chair and more!

We experienced some heavy rain as we approached the lunch stop in Waynesville, Missouri, but by the time we rolled into town, things were starting to dry up. After a quick lunch, we hopped back on the road for more cool Route 66 action. The twisting two-lane road had plenty of ups and downs, and challenging speed changes for the competitors. One section of the Mother Road that is particularly interesting is a section in Spencer, Missouri, where a historic gas station resides. In front of the station is small stretch of the original concrete that was poured 100 years ago.

Ultimately, we landed in Joplin, Missouri for the evening stop. We've had multiple stops in Joplin (2021 and 2023 most recently) and it's ALWAYS well attended. Our stop was on Main Street, which is also Route 66 and it was packed with people. As the scores were tallied, it was Beth Gentry and Jody Knowles taking home the Stage 2 victory with a score of 4.86 seconds.