After seven days of rallying, the competition always intensifies on Championship Days. The final two days of competition are always challenging and our Director of Competition John Classen gave the teams a true workout today. The morning route was a scenic ride through the mountains in Virginia. Speed changes and terrain changes were plentiful on the first legs of the rally. We rolled into Galax, Virginia for lunch, and were welcomed by a nice crowd of locals. They cheered the loudest for the hometown team, Tom Littrell and his purple Ford Model A speedster that competes in the X-Cup division. Just south of Galax, we hopped onto the Blue Ridge Parkway for part of the afternoon rally, then the racers took part in one of the most intricate mazes in Great Race history. The series of turns sent racers into multiple loops all afternoon long. It was challenging for both driver and navigator, but it was certainly fun to watch the cars maneuvering in every which way. As the course concluded, we had a relatively short transit into Mooresville, North Carolina, also known as Race City USA. Home to many NASCAR teams, racing parts manufacturers and custom shops, Mooresville is packed full of very talented car enthusiasts. Our stop downtown was one of the most well attended stops we’ve ever seen–shoulder to shoulder for blocks! We loved the venue, and the food was great too…but now it’s time to rest up and get ready for the final day of competition and the big finish in Greenville, South Carolina!
Stage 8 Winners: Jeff and Kylie Hermanson
We enjoyed watching you racers come by our farm yesterday in UnionGrove , NC. I didn’t know what was going on at first. I called my dad and said you better get out on the front porch to see the old cars…he is 86 years old . He said he was in the bathroom…I said get it done and go outside. He and my mother enjoyed watching all the different type cars and pickups come rolling by. Thank y’all for a fun afternoon watching. I even got text from a neighbor saying “ have you seen all the cars” I told him I too was watching. At a church picnic last night we were talking about it and there I heard about your race…God Speed Today …have fun and hard racing.
A big thank you to all the lawn chair spectators! Aside from being a great morale boost it reassures the racers that they are still on course. 👍
Here’s a BIG SHOUT OUT to ALL the GreatRace organization team.
Wade, Jeff, John Cassen and the en route control teams, scoring crew and co, Blog writers and editors. Program and merchandise sellers and many others
Photographers standing in the sun rain whatever or wherever, getting amazing shots of the cars. No doubt working long hours to be out on the road long before the cars….. and sorting and posting the pictures, probably late into the night…
Hundreds of volunteers that travel with the rally and many helpful locals.
Lunch stop and overnight hotel venue people all along the route..
Thank you for all your efforts, and for putting the blog and photos up so we can enjoy and travel with you all from home.
BEST EVER efforts
THANK YOU
(we hope to be there next year)
What a great afternoon/early evening for the residents and spectators in Mooresville, NC to view the Great Race 2021 make it’s stop in Mooresville. It was a sight to see, as the cars came into Downtown Mooresville one by one. The various makes and models caught the eyes of young and old spectators. I speak on behalf of the Town of Mooresville, I believe all enjoyed this wonderful evening of viewing the cars and speaking with the teams.
We hope you consider us again in the future. Special thanks to all who work behind the scenes to make this happen!
Best of luck to all the teams and safe travels for all today!!
Heading from our hometown of Mooresville to my son’s baseball tournament in the Lake Wylie SC area. We past by several of the race cars on the interstate. What an interesting site to see! I checked out your website and learned you were I. Mooresville yesterday. Sorry we missed seeing you all there! Safe travels as you make your way home!
That was a lot of fun! I managed to get a good view of the last stretch of 115 around the corner from the finish and took some decent pictures of many of the racers. Album can be viewed here if interested:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/31442643@N05/615K7c
I was at Beckley Friday evening. Had a great time. I told people, I live about an hour drive South of Beckley, on WV State Rt 20, between Pipestem and Athens. I just wanted to find out what Rts the Rally would take in heading South to Moorsville. Found out, the teams don’t know until 30 min prior to departure. I was hopeing so much they would drive by my house, but see that they headed East into Virginia, then South. What routes did they acctually take. Just was wandering? Thanks much.