Great Race Spring Rally presented by Stahls Automotive Collection

The Great Race is one of our favorite automotive events in the world, although we might be a bit biased since it operates out of our office here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The event has been going on since 1983 and we're proud to be the presenting sponsor of the event, which is coming up June 22-30, 2024. But before we can wave the green flag on the main event, the Spring Rally presented by Stahls Automotive Collection serves as an awesome warm-up event. It's a three-day clover leaf style rally, meaning that each day starts and ends from the same place. In this case, the event headquarters was Chesterfield, Michigan, which is the home of Stahls Automotive Collection.

The Spring Rally allows rookies to get rallying experience and still be classified as a rookie in the big race, so it's an important three days for those teams. For the veterans, the Spring Rally offers great practice, as John Classen always lays out a challenging course. On the route, racers experienced rural roads and tricky instructions, but the fun factor comes with the hosted stops along the way. Racers enjoyed a kick-off dinner at the historic St. Clair Inn, while Friday's activities included a quick lunch in Frankenmuth, and a hosted dinner stop at the Packard Proving Grounds. On Saturday, lunch was hosted at the Wills Sainte Claire Automobile Museum in Marysville, Michigan and then we had another great reception and dinner, this time at the Stahls Automotive Collection. We made a second trip to the Stahls Collection on Sunday for the awards banquet.

Although the racers have a blast checking out all the sights, the reality is the Spring Rally features intense competition. Scores were tight right until the end, and it was 2017 Great Race Grand Champions Jody Knowles and Beth Gentry taking the overall victory in their 1932 Ford Cabriolet. The fenderless Ford rolls on a set of our Smoothie wheels, wrapped in BFGoodrich Silvertown Radial whitewall tires. Rookie winners were Lydia Thompson and Jake O'Gorman behind the wheel of a 1939 Ford coupe, which features a set of our Coker Classic 16-inch radials and Gennie wheels. Congrats to the winners, and thank you to the Ted and Mary Stahl for hosting us for an awesome weekend of Great Racing!