Sheldon, Iowa — A lineup of vintage cars will be making it’s way through northwest Iowa Saturday morning, and one of them is being driven by a Sheldon man, with his support crew in tow.
“The Great Race” is a timed speed and endurance event that features vehicles from 1972 and earlier in a cross country rally from San Rafael, California to Moline, Illinois. Sheldon’s Mike Weaver is driving one of the vehicles in this year’s race. We caught up with the driver of Weaver’s support truck, Craig Jongerius, somewhere on the rally course in South Dakota, and he tells us about what he calls “a once in a lifetime thing you can do every year.
Jongerius explains how the race works.
He says his team’s Model A has experienced no problems thus far in the event, unlike the vehicle they used last year.
Jongerius tells us there is a good bit of prize money at stake in the event.
He says the rally has 5 different classes, the Grand Champion Class, made up of past winners, Expert Class, made up of racers that have finished well in previous years, without winning. Sportsman Class, in which Weaver’s team is competing, is the largest class in the rally, Rookie Class is for 1st year competitors, and X-Cup Class is for college and high school teams.
“The Great Race” left San Rafael, California last Saturday morning, June 18th, with their first overnight stop at Sacramento. Sunday’s trip took them to Reno, Nevada, with Monday’s destination being Elko, Nevada. Tuesday took the rally to Evanston, Wyoming, then off to Cheyenne on Wednesday. Thursday found them heading for Rapid City, South Dakota, with Sioux Falls being Friday’s destination. Saturday, the rally is passing through northwest Iowa, on a route that isn’t revealed until 30-minutes before the cars leave Sioux Falls, on the way to the Saturday stop-over in Cedar Rapids. “The Great Race” will conclude Sunday in Moline, Illinois.
Here are some photos of Weaver’s Model A, competing in “The Great Race”.
