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LEWISBURG -- For nearly two hours this summer, approximately 120 cars will stream through downtown Lewisburg, with the drivers stopping in Hufnagle Park to grab a bite to eat, and interact with the big crowd expected to fill the community for the unique event.
The 2024 edition of the Hemmings Motor News Great Race -- a competition featuring antique cars from across the globe -- sets off Saturday, June 22, in Owensboro, Ky., and ends Sunday, June 30, in Gardiner, Maine. Among the stops along the way will be a lunch break at noon Wednesday, June 26, in Lewisburg.
"This is an old car race, held across the country each year," Jeff Stumb, the race director, explained. "Every year it's a different route. Last year, it was Florida to Colorado.
"It's all vehicles that are 1974 and older," he continued. "About half the cars are pre-World War II cars… The oldest car in the event will be a 1913 Haynes…. A 1916 Hudson was the winner last year."
On average, he said the value of the cars ranges between $50,000 and $100,000.
"These are cars you would be lucky to see if you went to a great museum," Stumb said. "Here, we have them on the road, driving them, and bringing them to hometowns."
Several years ago, he said a Japanese competitor paid $1 million for a car at an auction, and immediately flew it to the United States to enter it into the race.
"Last year, we had… a 1965 Corvair that was probably a $5,000 car," Stumb said. "It made it all the way to the end… It's all kinds of cars, all kinds of values."
He also explained the format for the race, noting that finishing positions are determined by timing, speeds and distances traveled through the course of the event.
"The winner is the one who does it the most accurately," Stumb said.
The overall winning team will bank $50,000 out of a $160,000 purse. Stage winners are also declared each day.
"The overall winner might not win a single day," Stumb said, noting that consistency is the key to victory. "Somebody will win the day, and the next day they finish 79th."
As each day of the race begins, cars are released individually, at 1-minute intervals.
"You are talking about two hours of an old-car train moving across the countryside," Stumb said. "If everybody does it correctly, they stay one-minute apart (throughout the day)."
The cars are timed electronically, in order to determine who stays on the designated roads, with the most consistent time. Each vehicle contains a driver and navigator.
At the start of each day, Stumb said the competitors are given the directions they are to follow on that stage.
"The instructions are rather cryptic," he explained. "We don't use, or sometimes don't use, any street names. It's just 'turn right.'
"They're not meant to trick anyone," Stumb continued. "You don't know where you're going, other than 'we're going to Lewisburg for lunch, and you're going to Binghamton.'"
What he classified as "secret checkpoints" are set up along the route to electronically record how the participants are progressing, and if they're staying on track.
"You want to stay on course, on time, all along," Stumb said.
Staff involved with the race drive the route multiple times before the competitors set off.
"We have a computer and a wheel system that we measure the route," Stumb said. "We do it five times prior to the first car doing it."
The route's already been driven, in August. Additional drives will be held in late March or early April, and again in May. A staff member will also drive the route immediately prior to the start of the race.
On June 26, the cars will set off from Gettysburg, and end in Binghamton, N.Y.
Initially, Stumb said the course for the 2024 race was to follow a path further east in Pennsylvania. However, race staff ran into difficulties regarding overnight accommodations on that route.
"We ended up having to move (the overnight stop) to Binghamton," he said. "We had to alter our course for the day. Very quickly, we honed in on Lewisburg.
"It's very much the type of (community) we look for," Stumb continued. "You have an awesome downtown. It's fairly off the beaten path. Eight-five to 90% (of race participants) have never been there."
Initially, he said race organizers reached out to Susquehanna River Valley Visitors Bureau Director Andrew Miller to see if a stop in the community was feasible. He immediately embraced the project, as did other community officials.
"Everybody from Lewisburg has been tremendous," Stumb said. "Everybody has just been over the top. That makes us feel good… We are bringing a turnkey show to town.
"It will be three, three-and-a-half hours of cars coming and going."
Since the cars are released at 1-minute intervals each day, Stumb said that should be the timing in which they arrive in Lewisburg, assuming all competitors stay on course.
Each car will stop for one hour in the park, meaning it will be a constant stream of classic vehicles coming and going.
"Logistically, it's amazing to see," Stumb said. "We will be there at the park, Hufnagle Park, it's free to the public.
"The roads are closed, people can come in and talk to (the competitors)," he continued. "It's a very fun afternoon."
"The show," as Stumb describes it, will start at noon. The first car is expected to cruise into town at 12:20.
"We will start with a show, just like any race you've ever seen," he explained. "An announcer will tell everybody what they'll see, (introduce) any dignitaries.
"As the cars start rolling in, 1-minute apart, we've got the announcers to tell everybody 'it's a 1914 Model T driven by so-and-so from Seattle, Wash.'"
The competitors typically enjoy the lunch stops in communities like Lewisburg.
"Absolutely the best thing about the event, car people are great people to begin with," Stumb said. "This combines their love of old cars, driving those old cars on back roads, and parlaying this with getting to go to these small towns… just great places to visit."