Great Race recap, day 1: Returning champs score perfect day

Driver Taylor Merrill and navigator James Van Schoor in their 1929 Ford Model A departing for Friday afternoon’s Hagerty Trophy Run. Photos by the author.

On Friday, June 20, a stout field of 93 elected to hone their skills one last time by competing in the Hagerty Trophy Run; an afternoon time/distance rally that has become the traditional preliminary event leading into the annual Great Race. When teams checked back in and scores were tallied, team Jedzie Boat – a 1929 Ford Model A Special Coupe driven by Bryan Deering, accompanied by navigator Ian Deering – took home the overall win with a time of 3.95 seconds off perfect. The duo, racing in the Sportsman division, bested the Expert division teams, including Gary and Jean Ann Martin and their 1938 Ford Coupe, who finished second overall with a time of 5.04 seconds off perfect.

Other division winners were Vernon and Greg Cunningham (Grand Champion; third overall at 6.48 seconds off perfect in their 1932 Ford Pickup); Scott Henderson and his daughter Mallory (X-Cup; 36th overall at 36.86 seconds off perfect in their 1965 Ford Mustang convertible); and Craig Rubright and Garrett Jenkins (Rookie; 45th overall at 54.18 seconds off perfect in their 1937 Ford Tudor Sedan). Team Hemmings came in 16th overall and fourth in the Sportsman class with a time of 14.58 seconds off perfect.

2012 and 2013 Great Race champion Irene and Barry Jason and their 1966 Ford Mustang. Photo by Matt Litwin.

There was great anticipation as a total of 104 teams assembled at the picturesque beach in Ogunquit, Maine, Saturday morning for the start of the 2014 Great Race. Blessed with sunny skies, drivers, navigators and support crews mingled with the several hundred spectators who descended upon the festivities in time for the 10 AM start. By 12:24 in the afternoon, the first cars were rolling into Rochester, New Hampshire, for the lunch stop before wrapping up the first day of competition in Lowell, Massachusetts; however nobody could have predicted the first results of this year’s 2,300-mile race.

First car to start was defending 2012 and 2013 Great Race champions Irene and Barry Jason, and they were the first to arriving at the finish; an expected result based on how the Great Race functions. What was not expected was their score for the day. For the first time in Great Race history, a team completed the day with a 100 percent time of 0.00 seconds – an incredible feat considering teams traversed 140 miles of pavement just during the morning session.

For full results from this year’s event, visit GreatRace.com.