Jeff Stumb grew up in Birmingham, AL, and was into old cars before he had his driver’s license in the mid-70s. Of course, old cars then were used up ’69 Camaros and ’55 Chevys, two of Stumb’s first cars. He has had over 50 since then, including an even dozen currently which range from a 1916 Hudson to a 1973 Chevelle SS.

After graduating for Auburn University and taking his first job in the newspaper business, Stumb saw the Great Race for the first time in 1987 in Orlando, Fla. In 1994, he participated for the first time as a driver and turned in the lowest daily score of the race that year at 4 seconds. As his family grew (he and his wife Karen have five children) and the cars in his modest collection got older, the one thing that seemed to remain constant was his annual participation in the Great Race. He competed through the years with friends, his father and his wife.

In 2011, after leaving the newspaper business after almost 25 years, Stumb became the Director of the Great Race. In the five years since, the event has grown to unprecedented heights, from a record number rookies to the overall number of teams. His favorite parts of the job are the people, the cars and places he gets to visit.

Jim Menneto has been President and Publisher of Hemmings Motor News since May of 2002 when parent company American City Business Journals purchased it.

Jim has been with American City for over 30 years starting as the Advertising Director at the Capital District Review in Albany, New York where he was promoted to Publisher within 3 months. He then went on to become Publisher of the Boston Business Journal a post he held for 13 years.

Jim also was a Dale Carnegie Sales Course Instructor for many years and served with the USMC in Viet Nam as a Corpsman (medic).
As a life- long car enthusiast and Instrument rated pilot Hemmings allows me to have a career immersed in what I love to do.

Douglas Sharp, 36, is one of the youngest Great Race veterans. Doug has been on the Great Race since 1991, only missing one race for his high school graduation. His career started at the age of 11, as he traveled with his mother and 2 sisters as support crew for his Dad, Howard, and the navigator. Doug took the navigator’s seat in 1998, at the age of 18, forming the father-son team of Howard and Douglas Sharp. He has been navigating with his Dad since then, winning the Great Race two times, first in a 1911 Velie and then in a 1916 Hudson. Doug says the hardest part about navigating is keeping track of time while dealing with typical traffic patterns. When Doug is not Great Racing, he enjoys mowing his lawn, snow plowing and spending time with his family. He resides with his wife, Dana, and two daughters, Abigail and June. His “real life” job is as a manager at the family owned bicycle store in Fairport, New York, the village that he also calls home.

Buddy Green was born with a birth certificate that reads Detroit, Michigan. He grew up and went to school in the Detroit metro area in the late ‘60s, ‘70s and early ‘80s. To car people that would explains a lot about what has always been his burning passion. Heavy metal Detroit Muscle is his first and almost only choice for the collection. He enjoys a successful relationship with Michelle Clark, who is also an enthusiast and collector car owner. She humorously calls the shop where they store their cars “Money Pit Garage.” Hopefully she’s just joking.
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Cars have been a main interest most of my life, starting with short track asphalt racing at an early age. I always shared these endeavors with an older brother, and after racing it was on to other car-related activities.

When I retired from the Kentucky State Police in 2006, my wife and I discovered this sport of rallying. Our first event was the initial Coker Tire Challenge, held in 2006, followed by the 15-day 2007 Great Race. We were hooked and have missed very few rallies since then, traveling to every corner of our country.