For more than 30 years, the Great Race has been traveling the best back roads of America in cars built before 1972. While the Great Race is geared toward competition, with $150,000 up for grabs, the event organizers decided to offer a more laid back option for car enthusiasts who wanted more of a tour and less of a race. The result is the Hemmings Motor News Great American Tour presented by Hagerty, an epic journey on historic Route 66 to see all the sights of The Mother Road.
The Great American Tour is a guided tour on the most historic and recognizable highway in AmericaRoute 66. The event will visit several states, from Missouri to California, ending at the Santa Monica Pier with an audience of thousands. Its the road trip of a lifetime for car enthusiasts!
The event is open to all vehicles built in 1979 or earlier, and it will feature 2,400 miles of some of the best scenery the United States has to offer. Old gas stations, Cadillac Ranch, the Petrified Forest, the Grand Canyon and many more attractions can be seen on the Great American Tour. It will be led by a Route 66 historian, who will offer lots of great insight on all the popular attractions on this historic highway.
The Great American Tour will be run simultaneously with the Great Race, but the tour will not interfere with the intense competition of the race. Participants of the Great American Tour will be included in the finish line ceremonies most nights, as the Great Race makes it way from town to town. The 10-day guided tour ends at the Santa Monica Pier, where the winner of the Great Race will be crowned.
While the Great Race has cash prizes for the winners, the Great American Tour is just for the fun of seeing Route 66 from behind the wheel of a collector vehicle. The entry fee for the Great American Tour is $4,500that counts for two people, and includes all meals, attractions and hotel accommodations. Additional charges will be applied for each additional passenger or hotel room. You dont have to deal with booking rooms, finding good food or figuring out which attractions are the bestthe Great American Tour handles it for you!
Each overnight city stop on the Great Race and Great American Tour is free to the public and spectators will be able to visit with the participants and to look at the cars.
To find out more about the Hemmings Motor News Great American Tour presented by Hagerty, visit www.greatamericantour.org, or you can email [email protected] or call 1-800-952-5070.
We already have 15 cars signed up for this tour! If you are interested, please call or email right away.
I won a ’61 GMC 1000 and would love to join the group.
Thanks,
Matt Fitzgerald
Correction…I OWN a ’61 GMC 1000 and would love to join the group.
Thanks,
Matt Fitzgerald
Matt: Email [email protected] or call 800-952-5070 and we will get you everything you need to join.
this is a fantastic idea! If you’ve always wanted to run the great race, but were overwhelmed at the prospect of it, this is a great option. I wish I was going.
The “Great American Tour” sounds like a neat deal, especially because I live within a mile or two of the course here in Albuquerque. Are imported cars OK? I have a very nice 1979 Porsche Targa 911SC. Can’t join up from the beginning due to other committments in the early days of the event, but would love to tag along, even if only for a few days. More info please. Thanx.
Interested in information on this great trio. Please send info. Thank yiu
I do not own a vintage car, but want to drive “old Route 66”. Does the Tour offer a map and suggests stopping places for folks that would like to go it on their own? Or, is there another organized “Tour” for those of us without a vintage vehicle?
The Tour as-is sounds awesome – only wish I had the car to make it happen! Thanks in advance,
Lynn E.
Participated in the 2014 Great Race as a support team. It was a fantastic experience and hope to do it again next year. Interested in doing the tour in our 66 Mustang. This would be our second trip on Route 66 with this car having done it in 1968. Please send info and application paperwork.
Thank you and have a great day
Bob & Jacque
Sent in my deposit on 3/2. How many cars is the tour being limited to? Looking forward to driving the tour in my 76 Avanti.
Interested in information on this exciting trip. I have a ’57 Cadillac Eldorado that needs airing out.
I’m in—Just wondering if we are going to have a Great American Tour facebook page so we can get to know eachother before June.
You have our deposit. My wife Maria and I are looking forward to the trip! As Sue asked, are you going to set up a FB page?
What are the Years, Makes and Models of the cars enrolled?
Do they owners enjoy adult beverages? How much should I pack? Do you have extra space in the trailer for “provisions”?
Is there any opening for the tour we would like to partipate .we would take 1963 Avanti studabaker thanks
Can someone answer the question about setting up a facebook page
what towns you going thru in mo.
In Albuquerque, when the race leaves the Unser Museum, which Route 66 will it be following….Central Ave then paralleling I 40? or south from downtown Abq to Los Lunas and then out NM 6 to Laguna and beyond.
Facebook Page, Kathryn https://www.facebook.com/greatracerally