Trending
The city of Marietta has been selected to host an overnight stop on the 2024 Hemmings Motor News Great Race in June.
The Great Race is a nine-day, 2,300-mile classic car rally with 120 of the world's finest antique automobiles competing for $150,000 in cash prizes. Unlike most car races, the focus isn't as much on speed as it is on precision and strategy. Teams are awarded points for the accuracy of the driver and navigator to match a time and speed through the predetermined course.
Marietta Mayor Josh Schlicher announced that "the city of Marietta will welcome for the first time the Great Race 2024 to our historic downtown. This event will showcase the world's finest antique automobiles as well as our local car enthusiasts and collectors. Our downtown streets will be lined with the classics of yesteryear and those that take pride in their collection. We all will roll out the red carpet and welcome a once in a lifetime event that will be impressive. If you are an antique car, boat, tractor or motorcycle enthusiast, you will want to be in downtown Marietta, June 23, 2024."
The Marietta community is home to three former Great Race participants, including Pioneer Group Chairman of the Board Dave Archer, his racing partner Wally Kandel, and Dean Booth. These men, along with David Haas, motorsports enthusiast and President of Morrison Inc., were integral in getting Marietta included on the race route.
"I've participated in the race several times and saw what an incredible impact it had on the communities where we stopped. It was like we brought the party to town and everyone came to see what it was all about. I expect the same kind of response when it comes here. I wouldn't be surprised to see it draw up to 10,000 spectators here to Marietta," Archer said.
The city, working closely with Archer, Kandal, Haas, and Booth, along with many other community organizations and volunteers, will be preparing for the event as well as planning activities, including a car show, to entertain those who come to Marietta to be a part of the Great Race experience.
The race will begin in Owensboro, Ky., on June 22 then travel to 19 cities across Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, ultimately concluding in Gardiner, Maine, on June 30.
It will include teams and cars from Japan, England, Australia, Germany, Canada, and every corner of the United States.
The stop in Marietta is scheduled for Sunday, June 23, 2024.