Two teenagers from Maine and a car museum in Arundel are participating this year in an annual multi-state automobile race and rally featuring classic cars.
The Great Race is an annual event that started in 1983 to promote classic cars. This year’s nine-day event spans a 2,300-mile route from Kentucky to Maine, with about 120 vehicles and their teams competing for cash prizes.
One of those teams will drive a 1961 Cadillac Sedan DeVille provided by the Maine Classic Car Museum in Arundel.
“I wouldn’t say I’m super-nervous,” said Max Flynn, 18, one of the teens taking part in the event. “I think there’s a good chance that we’ll do well.”
Flynn just finished his junior year at Greeley High School in Cumberland. He is joining Cotton Schlaver, 16, who just finished his junior year at Biddeford High School, on the team. Neither will be driving – the race requires the driver to be 21 or older – but both will ride in the car and navigate. Top prizes for the team’s division are $5,000 for first place, $3,000 for second and $2,500 for third.
One of the two drivers participating is Tim Stentiford, 63, a marketing manager at the museum. He said the museum, which opened in 2019, and its associated auto dealership, Motorland, which opened in 2011, have been itching to take part in the race for some time now.
“From Day One, it’s been on our radar screen to participate,” he said.
The annual race has been a favorite among classic car enthusiasts, with Stentiford calling it “our Super Bowl.” The route changes from year to year, but always meanders through back roads and small towns. The event, he said, is usually greeted by the local populations with enthusiasm.
“Each town and city that we roll into, it’s an instant festival,” he said.
Despite its name, the competition is not a “race” in the traditional sense, in part because classic cars from various eras would have trouble competing in that fashion.
Instead, the race is about precision. For each daily leg, teams are given precise instructions: Where and when to turn and how fast to go. If drivers follow the directions perfectly, they will arrive on time at their destination. If they are too late, or too early, teams lose points.
But they are not told what “on time” means, so if they find themselves driving slower than expected – say, due to traffic – they must estimate and adjust their speed elsewhere along the route to compensate for falling behind. That means Flynn and Schlaver have to do a lot of calculating – and recalculating – on the fly, and all without the help of GPS or even paper maps.
“We’re actually not allowed to use maps at all,” Schlaver said. “We have to keep any kind of phone, anything electronic or cellular in the trunk, and there are people watching throughout the race to make sure you don’t check your phone at all, or you’ll get disqualified.”
Schlaver, a straight-A high honors student, said he was pretty confident in his math skills, but worried about juggling the numbers along with working with the driver to maintain exact speed. Flynn agreed that time management will be tricky, considering all the variables to factor in.
“It’s very easy to get tripped up when you’re worrying about direction,” he said.
Both boys learned about the race through the museum, where each works part-time. Both said they have liked cars since their respective childhoods.
“When I was really young, I used to always watch videos, started going to car shows more often, and I just came here for fun one day, and that’s what started all that,” Flynn said.
Schlaver said he is also president of his school’s history club and loves working with living monuments to the past. He owns a 1973 Ford F100 pickup himself, but said he doubts he will have a career as a mechanic.
“I do think I want to do something with classic cars, but honestly, I’m not sure yet,” he said.
The trip begins on Saturday, June 22, in Owensboro, Ky., and ends in Gardiner on Sunday, June 30.