GARDINER (NEWS CENTER Maine) — Imagine driving from Buffalo, New York, to Halifax, Nova Scotia – in a 102-year-old car.
That old vehicle and about 120 others are scheduled to make the trip and will spend a few days in Maine along the way.
The Great Race, an annual rally for antique and classic cars, is a 2,100-mile journey over nine days which attracts teams from across the United States and many other countries.
Cars can be no newer than 1974, and the oldest is from 1916.
Peter Prescott of Gardiner knows the Great Race well. He has competed in it four times in his 1948 Ford 4-door sedan and will be part of the race again this year.
Prescott said the race is especially challenging because teams are allowed no electronics — meaning no GPS or other modern devices. They can carry a cell phone, only for emergencies, and aren’t even allowed to use maps. Instead, they have a chronometer, a speedometer and a hand-held stopwatch.
They also start each day with a set of written instructions that provides the day’s route, often described only in terms of speed, time and landmarks.
"Oh, it's lots of fun," Prescott said, as he steered with the big wheel of the Ford sedan. "It should be on everybody’s bucket list."
Prescott likes the Great Race so much that he has encouraged five other Maine teams to enter, including father-and-son team John and Charles Harris, who will drive their 1937 Packard touring car.
The Harris team is calling itself "Maine Boyz 2," a tribute to Prescott and his "Maine Boyz" team.
Prescott also helped persuade the Great Race to include Maine in this year’s route, and to make an overnight stop in Gardiner. He hopes it will bring business to local hotels and restaurants and introduce new people to Maine.
"[It will] promote not only Maine but this whole area," he said. "To get people up here to have people know what’s available and what’s here."
Gardiner is planning a big welcome for the racers when they come to town on Tuesday, June 26. The cars and drivers are scheduled to drive into town by 5 p.m. and will be on display in the Waterfront Park area.
The Great Race will have two other overnight stops in Maine: