Great Race 2018 Day 5 — Turn & Burn

June 27, 2018

Great Race 2018
Day 5 marks the half-way point of the Great Race, and we had one tough day of rallying in store. First and foremost, a record number of scoring checkpoints were in place, a total of 12 all together. Usually, a day of rallying has an average of 6 scoring checkpoints, giving racers 6 chances at either getting it right, or missing the mark. When you add more checkpoints to the mix, it makes for a high scoring day, because even a 1 second score on each leg results in a 12 second day. In case you haven’t been paying attention, that’s more than two times the average score of the daily winners so far this year. So, 12 checkpoints was the first big obstacle. The second obstacle was rough roads, construction and other distractions from the day’s course. This resulted in an increased number of time delay requests.

As for the “turn & burn” portion of the day, the racers had a tricky section in the morning route, which put them on the same road three times in a matter of about 20 minutes. Two of the three passes down the road required an “at speed” turn, which is always entertaining for the photographer. We snagged hundreds of photos of drivers pushing their cars to the limit, while the navigators called the shots and held on for dear life. Jeff and Eric Fredette get the unofficial award for most dramatic turn, with the Georgia Northwest Technical College X-Cup team coming in a close second with their Hemi-powered Desoto. By the time the racers made it out of the maze, it was time to head toward Owl’s Head, Maine for lunch.

The Owl’s Head Transportation Museum opened its doors and welcomed our entourage to the beautiful property. We had a few minutes to check out the museum, which features classic cars, motorcycles, airplanes and more. It was awesome to see those vintage airplanes flying around during our lunch break. One notable detail is that Owl’s Head Transportation Museum has an entry in the Great Race this year, a 1935 Ford Phaeton. After the lunch stop, we got back on the road and retraced our steps from the morning route. The afternoon route led us to our evening stop in downtown Bangor, Maine. A great crowd of spectators came out to welcome the racers to town and check out all the cool creations.

Adding to the story line of this race, the two cars involved (red/white Buick station wagon and 1964-1/2 Mustang convertible) in the accident yesterday were back on course. Both cars were repaired, and made it safely on today’s route. Also back in action is Dave Haverty, who became ill and was hospitalized at the end of Day 1. The level of commitment is outstanding. Speaking of commitment, it was Jody Knowles and Beth Gentry who tamed the tricky course, scoring 11.34 seconds on a 12 checkpoint day. You don’t have to be a math expert to see that they were on point all day long, earning multiple “Eckler’s Aces” (aka perfect score) along the way, averaging less than 1 second per leg, which is astounding. Take a look at our “turn & burn” gallery and hang on tight!



Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018
Great Race 2018

8 comments about “Great Race 2018 Day 5 — Turn & Burn”

  • Outstanding. The organizers have done a super job again. I love every detail of the Great Race and look forward to seeing it every year.

  • It was a surprise and fun to watch all the cars go by our farm yesterday morning. May the best team win!

  • We are enjoying watching all these great cars roll by our house in Old Town, Maine. Anyone with an open top is getting very wet today! Good luck to all the teams.

  • We really enjoyed the event did not get to see all the cars because we had to leave at 6:30pm. Very impressive all the sponsor support and general
    Enjoyment for all spectators.
    Good luck to all the entrants, drive safely!

  • Superb photo’s today! So thankful to be able to see that big ole’ Buick wagon and that gorgeous Mustang still running and their occupants alive and well! Well played you guys!

  • We hope hat the rallymaster took the racers through the famous corner in North Newport, Maine: Cows–t corner. No more cows there, so the barnyard “perfume” is gone. All that remains is the sign.

  • I so enjoyed seeing the cars go by in Palermo on their way to Bangor. Sat on my ATV and got photos of a number of cars. How I wish my Dad could have been here! Thank all of you for such a treat!

  • Lovely to see these beautiful cars parked at Alderney Landing, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. As a visitor, my husband and I don’t get the opportunity to see these vintage cars often….would love to see them come to BERMUDA!!

Leave a Reply to Deborah Scates Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• The Latest Stories •

• Thanks to all our Sponsors •

Menu