Great Race 2023 - Day 7 - Wichita, KS to Garden City, KS

Jun 30

Written By

Corn, cows and dirt...yep, we're in Kansas! We spent Stage 7 of the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Coker Tire traveling from Wichita to Garden City, Kansas. Our morning started with a few quick turns, which led to a loop that sent racers around and back onto the same road they were on a few minutes prior. Corn fields were plentiful during the morning route, and once we got out of the loop, it was a long run into Great Bend, Kansas for lunch. Our stop was at the Brit-Spaugh Zoo, and we had an awesome turnout of local folks on hand. We had burgers and hot dogs, and a quick pass through the zoo before getting back on the road. The afternoon route had very few instructions, as it was a long, straight run on Highway 156. This stretch of highway went through several small towns, but the one that stands out to us is Burdett, Kansas, a town of only around 200 people. The race passed by the 156 Stop-N-Go convenience store, which had a great crowd of folks cheering on the racers. They even had free ice cream from 2-4pm to celebrate...it was a bright spot in our long afternoon route. Finally, we made our way into Garden City, Kansas for the evening stop. The town REALLY got behind the Great Race stop, with painted signs on the store windows, special posters and one of the best turnouts we've seen. Thousands of folks crowded Main Street as the Great Racers cooled down after a long day. As things started to calm down, the wind picked up and the racers rolled out to the hotels. Scoring is tightening up and today it was our seventh different winner in seven days. Howard and Doug Sharp took top honors today with an outstanding score of 2.64 seconds. Tomorrow we cross into Colorado!