Great Race adds Marietta to 2024 event: Annual event will make a stop in the river city
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The City of Marietta is preparing for June 23 and the arrival of the Great Race, the first time the famous automobile race will come to town.
"We've been trying to get to Marietta for years," said Jeff Stumb, director of the Great Race.
A test of precision driving, the Great Race will start June 22 in Owensboro, Ky. About 130 automobiles and other vehicles will arrive for an overnight stay in Marietta around 4 p.m. Sunday, June 23.
Marietta is one of 17 cities on the course map from Owensboro to Gardiner, Maine.
The Great Race avoids larger cities where it may have to compete with other events, Stumb said. In cities like Marietta, festivities surrounding the Great Race will be the largest event for the day, perhaps for the entire year, he said.
"We don't want to go to Indianapolis, Columbus, Cleveland or Pittsburgh," Stumb said.
Besides being a beautiful town, encouraging the Great Race to add Marietta to its itinerary, there is a Great Race team from the city, he said.
Dave Archer, board chairman of the Pioneer Group; his racing partner Wally Kandel and Dean Booth, all of Marietta, participated in past races. With David Haas, president of Morrison Inc., they were instrumental in bringing the national event to Marietta.
Among the vehicles in the race will be a 1912 Haynes, called America's First Car, that was made in Kokomo, Ind.; 1930 flathead Fords and cars from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, Stumb said. Two motorcycles are in the race, too, he said.
The Great Race is based on the precision of the drivers and navigators rather than speed. Teams receive points for accuracy of time and speed on a predetermined course in the competition that includes $150,000 in cash prizes.
Teams will begin arriving around 4 p.m. in Marietta where Front Street will be closed and the cars will be on display until around 7:30 p.m., Jill Witucky, a member of the Marietta Great Race Committee, said. Everything is free, including a Motorsports Show on Putnam, Second and Greene streets, she said.Events will be held regardless of the weather.
The Motorsports Show will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., said Witucky, Archer's daughter. Putnam Street will be closed from Second to Greene streets, where about a thousand vehicles from all aspects of motorsports will be on display on the streets and in parking lots, she said.
No admission will be charged, but there is a $10 fee for the show participants, Witucky said. Gates open at 8 a.m. and will include Model A and T Fords, vintage race cars, sports cars, hot rods, motorcycles, antique boats, Jeeps, antique engines, trucks, tractors, midgets and antique hearses, among others.
The Marietta Noon Lions Club has merged its annual Father's Day Car Show into the Motorsports Show. Stores, restaurants and food vendors will be open on Sunday.More than 35 businesses and individuals have sponsored events, so all activities are free. A free shuttle will be available from the Washington County Fairgrounds, where parking will be free, to the event.
Other activities include the Kids Zone sponsored by Memorial Health System starting at noon on the lawn of the Armory.
Racers on June 23 will leave Indiana and head to Lancaster, Ohio, for lunch, then leave Lancaster for the ride to Marietta, their route known only by a few so drivers will not practice before the race, Witucky said.
Teams will cross the Putnam Bridge, where American flags will be posted, and turn onto Front Street where the finish line will be by the Armory.
Teams will spend the night in Marietta and leave Monday for Morgantown, where they will have lunch before departing for Frostburg, Md. The nine-day, 2,300-mile trip ends June 30 in Gardiner.
For more information, email greatracemarietta@gmail.com or go to the Great Race of Marietta Facebook page.
Jess Mancini can be reached at
jmancini@newsandsentinel.com