Today’s action on the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty can be summed up with one word–HOT. It started out hot and it ended even hotter. The day’s route started on a 100-mile stretch of Route 66, which led us to Kingman, Arizona. Within the Route 66 run, there were a few turns and tricky mazes, but it was mostly made up of a consistent 50 mile per hour run, which is tougher than you might think. Adding to the difficulty, the temperatures reached three-digit territory before lunch, and by the time we rolled into Kingman, Arizona for our lunch break, it was 105 degrees.


From there, we went into the Hualapai Mountains for a challenging climb and descent on a steep grade. Emergency instructions were necessary because of road construction toward the top of the mountain. Once we got back on the clock, it was a long afternoon route, as we climbed an absolutely stunning mountain, making it up to Sitgreaves Pass. The breath-taking views got better and better as we climbed, and then reached an all time high as we made our way down the other side. At the bottom of the mountain was the town of Oatman, Arizona, a very cool old town that makes you think of the old Western days. All of the old buildings were intact, and functional, and donkeys roamed the streets as we took a short break to check out the town. It was an awesome treat, even though the temperatures were approximately 110 degrees during our visit. A long drive through the desert took us back to modern civilization, as we entered our evening stop venue in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The temperature in Lake Havasu was a toasty 115 degrees, but a bunch of folks came out to see the Great Race. The super challenging route and equally challenging weather conditions caused some ripples in the day 7 scores, so check out the Cumulative Standings to see where your favorite driver is positioned. Tomorrow and Sunday are the Championship days, which means that no legs can be thrown out, so it’s about to get serious! Check out our favorite photos from the day!