Although our day started in Troy, New York, we quickly crossed into Vermont aka the “Green Mountain State” and we spent all day rallying in the beautiful countryside. After seeing today’s scenery, we must say that it’s quite obvious where Vermont got its nickname. Surrounded by green pastures, we made our way through the hills, valleys and farmland of rural Vermont. This led us to our lunch stop in Bennington, which is home of Hemmings Motor News. Not only is Hemmings Motor News “the Bible of the old car hobby”, they are also the title sponsor of the Great Race, so we love to visit the Hemmings crew every chance we get. An excellent turnout of spectators welcomed the racers to the Hemmings facility, which is complete with a full service gas station and gift shop, and offices and a shop out back.

After we grabbed lunch and got back on the road, the racers had a challenging course ahead of them. The first leg was a long stretch of highway, with multiple speed changes and the challenge of local drivers sharing the highway. Then, we made our way back to the small roads, retracing some of our steps from the morning route. Finally, it was time to blaze a trail to the dinner stop, which was held at the Church Street Marketplace in downtown Burlington, Vermont. This pedestrian area was packed with people, and we filled it to capacity with Great Race cars and trucks. It was an epic evening stop, with tons of choices for local food so instead of a hosted dinner, we allowed the racers to have an “on your own” night. The tough day of rallying culminated as the final scores were tallied. It was Louise and Jim Feeney, driving their 1936 Ford Police Car winning the day with a score of 8.30 seconds, barely edging out John and Scott Hudson who had an 8.50 second score.