Participant FAQ

The Great Race is a competitive, controlled-speed endurance road rally for antique, vintage, and collector vehicles. It is not a speed race.

Driver and navigator teams follow detailed course instructions and try to maintain assigned average speeds as accurately as possible. Hidden checkpoints measure whether teams arrive early or late.

Navigation, timing, teamwork, vehicle preparation, and endurance matter much more than outright speed.

Learn more on What Is the Great Race?

No. Many Great Race participants begin with little or no rally experience. First-time teams compete in the Rookie Division when they meet the applicable eligibility requirements.

You do not have to know every detail before deciding to join. Our Tutorials can give you a feel for rallying, and the Spring Rally is a chance to try it in an event setting.

The Great Race is designed to be challenging, but you do not need to arrive as an experienced rally team.

Competitors spend long days in vintage vehicles while navigating, maintaining assigned speeds, managing the car, and traveling from city to city. Successful teams build their skills through preparation, practice, communication, and experience.

Your first goal does not have to be winning. For many Rookie teams, simply learning the event, finishing each day, and completing the Great Race is a major accomplishment.

Start with Why Join the Great Race? for a feel for the experience. Think about the time commitment and costs, who will navigate with you, and whether your vehicle is ready for the endurance of the event.

Explore Competition Divisions and How Scoring Works if you want to understand the competition. When you are ready to take the next step, visit the Wait List or contact our team.

The main Great Race is intended for antique, vintage, and collector vehicles. Eligible vehicles are generally from model year 1974 or earlier.

Exact eligibility, permitted modifications, and technical requirements are governed by the current Event Regulations.

If you are wondering whether a specific vehicle or modification qualifies, use the Event Regulations rather than relying on this FAQ.

No. Cars in a wide range of conditions take part in the Great Race. An older restoration, worn paint, or a few body imperfections should not keep you from exploring the event.

The biggest concern is whether your car can handle the endurance of the race. Focus on mechanical dependability and preparing it for long days on the road.

If you are unsure about your car's condition, feel free to email us a recent photo so we can discuss it with you. All vehicles must still meet the applicable Event Regulations and technical inspection requirements.

Modifications do not automatically disqualify your vehicle. Depending on the changes, they may affect its scoring year and age factor, and some require approval.

Review the Rules & Regulations and describe your modifications when contacting the Great Race team so we can help you understand how they apply to your car.

If your car breaks down, a sweep truck will come through and pick you up. Once you are back at the hotel for the night, you are welcome to work on repairs.

Mechanical dependability is an important part of preparing for the endurance of the event. Visit Preparing Your Car for an overview.

Choose a vehicle that balances age, reliability, comfort, and consistent speed feedback.

Older vehicles may receive a greater age-factor adjustment, but mechanical dependability matters. Your team will spend long days in the car and cover substantial mileage over the course of the event.

A car you know well and trust is often a better first Great Race choice than a more competitive vehicle that is uncomfortable or mechanically unproven.

Great Race uses several competition divisions based primarily on competitor experience and eligibility.

Teams new to the Great Race will generally begin in the Rookie Division when they meet the applicable Rookie requirements.

Visit Competition Divisions for an overview. Exact eligibility is controlled by the Event Regulations .

The field includes vehicles from many eras. Great Race has historically included vehicles dating back to the early 1900s as well as cars from later decades.

The field changes every year. Visit Participants & Cars to see current teams and vehicles when the roster is available.

Our Tutorials introduce rally timing and navigation. You can also explore How Scoring Works and Course Instructions to get a feel for what the driver and navigator do each day.

You can start with an overview now and work through the detailed preparation guides once you have signed up.

The Spring Rally is a separate Great Race rally event held before the main Great Race.

It gives competitors—especially Rookies—an opportunity to practice timing, navigation, driver-navigator communication, and vehicle preparation in a Great Race-style environment.

If you are a first-time competitor and are able to attend, it is one of the most useful preparation opportunities available.

Visit Spring Rally for current information.

The navigator reads and interprets the course instructions, tracks timing and speed changes, communicates upcoming instructions, and works closely with the driver throughout the competition.

Great Race is very much a two-person competition. Clear communication and a strong driver-navigator rhythm are important.

Yes. Driver and navigator can switch positions during the event, subject to the current Event Regulations.

If you are asking about substitutions, additional crew members, or other specific competition-crew rules, visit Event Regulations .

A support crew can be very helpful. Think about the level of support that makes sense for your vehicle and travel plans.

Support personnel can help with tools and repairs, luggage, and travel logistics between stops. They travel separately from the competing vehicle.

Our Support Crew Guide explains what that role involves and can help your family or friends decide how they would like to take part.

Yes. Many teams bring family members, friends, and support personnel along for the Great Race experience.

People traveling with the team and participating in Great Race-provided meals should be registered appropriately as support crew.

Family and friends who only want to meet you at public stops can use the Spectator Guide to plan where to watch.

The entry fee covers participation in the rally and competition, along with scheduled Great Race activities, selected meals, awards, the competition prize purse, and the extensive logistics required to operate the event.

Exact inclusions may change from year to year, so prospective entrants should review the current registration materials before entering.

Teams should budget for hotel rooms, fuel, vehicle preparation and repairs, transportation to and from the event, personal meals and snacks, and support-crew expenses.

The amount varies significantly depending on the vehicle, number of support people, distance traveled to the event, and how your team chooses to travel.

Great Race establishes hotel arrangements for the event so participants can stay near the nightly host locations and travel with the group.

Participants are responsible for the cost of their hotel rooms. Specific hotel booking information is provided to registered participants through Great Race's participant resources.

A Business/Corporate Entry may include approved business identification or sponsorship signage on the participating vehicle, subject to the current Event Regulations.

A Private Entry does not include the same commercial advertising rights.

Because advertising requirements and entry categories can change, review the Event Regulations before entering into a sponsorship arrangement.

Potentially. The important distinction is whether the business expects commercial signage, advertising, or recognition in return.

If advertising or business identification is involved, your entry may need to be treated as a Business/Corporate Entry.

Review the Event Regulations before finalizing any sponsorship arrangement.

No. A business supporting an individual team is different from an official Great Race Event Sponsor.

Event Sponsors support the event itself and may receive broader visibility across Great Race programs, signage, digital media, official vehicles, participant materials, and other assets depending on the sponsorship agreement.

If registration has filled, visit the Great Race Wait List page for current information.