Great Race to make Whitesboro pit stop

On Friday, July 6, eighty cars will pull into Whitesboro and stop at Trollinger Park. The cars will begin arriving at 3:45 p.m. and the last car will leave at 5:45p.m. They are participants in the Great Race.

The Race is a 4,000-mile cross-country competition of time that tests the endurance of classic cars. This year is the 25th anniversary of the Great Race, which was originally, known as the “Interstate Batteries Great American Race” at its creation in 1983. It was renamed “The Interstate Batteries Great North American Race” when Ottawa, Canada and Mexico City were included in the route in 1995. Then in 1996, “American” was removed when it was discovered that Daytona 500 officials used the trademarked name.

In its history, the Race has stopped at more than 1,000 places in 44 states and 606 cities. Participants have visited 36 state capitals and crossed the country 24 times. Race drivers have driven over 9.6 million miles and the race has awarded $6,000,000 in prize money over the history of the race, according to Great Race press releases.

“When Norm Miller of Interstate Batteries and Tom McRae founded the race 25 years ago, I’m sure they couldn’t have imagined the race lasting this long. As we begin our next 25 years with many new and exciting endeavors, we felt in important to honor the race’s history by celebrating the spirit of adventure founded in 1983,” said Bill Ewing, CEO for Rally Partners, Inc., on the Great Race website (www.greatrace.com). Rally Partners, Inc. is the organizer for the Great Race.

However, the Race’s history goes back farther than 25 years. The Great Race commemorates the 1908 race in which six automotive teams from four counties set out to prove the reliability of automotive technology. The Perking to Paris race that occurred in 1907 inspired the “Greatest Auto Race” of 1908. The 1908 teams traveled from New York City to Paris.

Le Matin, a Swiss newspaper, and The New York Times organized the race. Both organizers wanted to design the toughest race they could. Many people at the time said that it was impossible, especially when automotive technology was still in its infancy.

On February 12, 1908, six of the most advanced automobiles of the time lined up in Time Square, New York City. The teams represented France, Germany, Italy and the United States. The 17 men were anxious to prove themselves and their machines. There were three different teams from France and one each from Germany, Italy and the United States.

As teams left New York, they entered a snowstorm. The weather was so severe that some of the teams were forced to drive on railroad tracks. Only four teams made it across the continent to San Francisco with the American team first.

The next leg of the race was a ship ride to Anchorage, Alaska where competitors were to drive across the Bering Straight, but deep snow in Alaska caused race officials to re-route the U.S. team to Seattle and then to Japan.

The race was very popular. Drivers found spectators all along the route cheering them on. The race was even as popular as the 1908 Olympic games, according the Great Race website.

After three continents, 22,000 miles and six months, the U.S., German and Italian teams finished the race in Paris, proving that even early automotive technology could withstand rigorous travel around the world.

The U.S. team was named winner even though it was the second car to arrive in Paris, thanks to a 15-day advantage for attempting to follow the original Alaska route and the German’s 15-day penalty for shipping their car by railcar.

Great Race officials will recreate the original 1908 race next year in honor of the 100th anniversary. The 100th anniversary Race will begin on May 30, 2008 in New York City and is scheduled to finish on August 2 at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The New York to Paris race participants will travel 21,931 miles, which includes 9,700 miles flying from North American to Asia. The rest of the race will be by car.

The 2008 race will be divided into three stages: North American, Asia and Europe. The race will bring participants through cities, which include Moscow; Beijing; Ottawa, Canada and New York City.