Great Race 2022 - Day 8 - Duluth to Detroit Lakes, MN

Jun 25

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The last two days of the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty Drivers Club are always challenging, as no legs can be thrown out from the daily scores. Every move you make matters, and we're always blown away by the intensity and the focus required to nail all of the legs on any given day. But during the last two days, Director of Competition, John Classen always looks for ways to challenge the teams. Tricky course instructions, like a loop that intersects rally traffic can really mix up the field. Today, we saw rainy weather early in the day, but later saw beautiful blue skies, unbelievable clouds and cool temperatures. The wind really picked up, which presents a challenge when it comes to holding speed for long stretches. We stopped for lunch at Brainerd International Raceway, a famous drag strip that hosts NHRA professional drag race events. We didn't get to see any drag racing, but they did have a drifting exhibition going on, and we were glad to take a break from the action for a few minutes. Then, it was back on the course for a busy afternoon. Our evening stop was held in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, where a great turnout of people came to welcome the Great Racers to town. After the scores were tabulated, it was Howard and Doug Sharp at the top of the list with a 4.62 second score. The three-time winners of the Great Race had not yet won a daily trophy, and today's performance actually put them at the top of the overall leaderboard by only 3 hundredths of a second! They barely snuck past the team of Josh Hull and Trevor Stahl, who have been at the top of the board for days. It's going to come right down to the wire on tomorrow's Championship Run!