OGUNQUIT — A road rally with 115 vintage cars kicked off Saturday in Maine, where drivers embarked on a nine-day drive to Florida in vintage vehicles, including a couple that looked like they were straight out of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”
Participants in the “Great Race” departed at timed intervals from Ogunquit, Maine, traveling through New Hampshire and Vermont en route to in Lowell, Massachusetts, the first stop. It’ll take nine days and 2,100 miles for the antique cars to meander down the Atlantic Coast to Florida, said spokesman Jeff Mahl.
Participants included Humpy Wheeler, a legendary NASCAR promoter who was participating with his grandson in a 1953 Hudson Hornet painted to look like “Doc Hudson” from the Pixar movie “Cars.”
Others included a 1916 Studebaker racer, a 1930 Rolland Pilain, 1935 Auburn Cabriolet, 1936 Bentley Saloon, 1932 Auburn Special Speedster, and all manner of muscle cars, including a replica of the “General Lee” 1969 Dodge Charger.
The event is a time/speed/distance rally with each driver and navigator being judged on how well they follow precise instructions that detail every move down to the second.
Part of the challenge is following the instructions to win the race; the other challenge is finishing the race without any major mechanical breakdowns, officials said.
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