Through our adventures on the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty, we learn a lot about geography and this year’s route has given us all sorts of terrains along the way. Today was yet another example of varying terrain in the most dramatic fashion. We started our day in Rapid City, South Dakota and headed East toward Badlands National Park. The racers peeled off the interstate and went into the town of Wall Drug, a tourist town full of cool stuff. We didn’t get to spend much time there, as the racers went on the clock pretty early (as soon as they crossed into the park). The park is huge and the hilly landscape gave the racers a challenging course, and it gave us LOTS of great photo opportunities!

After we left the Badlands, we continued our Eastward trek toward our lunch stop in Chamberlain, South Dakota. But first, we stopped in Murdo, South Dakota at the Pioneer Auto Show, an incredible car museum that spans 40 buildings with tons of cool displays! We didn’t get to spend a lot of time at the museum, as the clock was ticking for a quick transit time. We rolled into Chamberlain for an awesome lunch stop. The town was full of Great Race banners, posters and even a super cool vinyl graphic on the main drag through town! We were blown away with the hospitality, and the turnout was great, considering the hot temperatures. From there, we made a lengthy drive through scenic farm land to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for a HUGE evening stop! Thousands of people came out to Phillips Avenue to greet the racers as they rolled into town and we enjoyed a fried chicken dinner. The Great Race stopped in Sioux Falls 20 years ago, so it was awesome to be back and have such a great celebration of finishing Day 7! The team that was celebrating the most was Louise and Jim Feeney, who backed up yesterday’s stellar performance with another astounding day of precision rallying. They are the first time to earn multiple daily winner awards. Check out today’s highlights, and let’s get geared up for tomorrow’s action, as the Championship Run begins!