Route 66 Great Race Plans Collinsville Stop June 20 ...
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Vintage and antique cars racing the Mother Road
Route 66 Great Race Plans
Collinsville Stop June 20
The Hemmings Great Race presented by Coker Tire will shine the spotlight along The Last 100 Miles of Route 66 in southwest Illinois on Saturday, June 20 with a stop in Collinsville.
A total of 140 of the world’s finest antique automobiles will travel the Mother Road in this annual race that is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Ro0ute 66. Vintage and antique cars will begin arriving in the city at approximately 4:15 p.m. along Main Street. Each hosted stop on the race is free and open to the public.
Spectators will be able to visit with race participants and get an up-close-and-personal look at the participating cars until 7 p.m. There will be an arrival ceremony to commemorate the first stop on the race route.
This Route 66-themed race begins on Route 66 in Springfield, IL, the morning of June 20 and will end in Pasadena, CA on Sunday, June 28. A total of 17 stops are planned along the centennial highway.
When the Great Race pulls into a city it becomes an instant festival,” says Brad Phillips Great Race Director. He continued, “Last year, we had several overnight stops with more than 10,000 spectators, on our way to having 250,000 people see the Great Race during the event. There are more than 500 people just in our entourage.”
The Great Race was started in 1983 by Tom McRae and it is now the world’s premier vintage car rally. This traveling time/speed/endurance rally isn’t just a casual back road cruise. It has a strict set of rules to keep competition tight. The vehicles, each with a driver and navigator, are given precise instructions each day that detail every move down to the second. Drivers are scored at secret checkpoints along the route and are penalized for arriving at the checkpoints early or late. As in golf, the lowest score wins. There is a purse of $160,000 which is split among five classes with the overall winner taking home $50,000.
“We are incredibly excited for Collinsville to be a host city for the 2026 Great Race,” Collinsville Mayor Jeff Stehman said. “This multi-state event is a fantastic opportunity to showcase our historic Uptown Collinsville, highlight our local businesses, and welcome visitors from across the country. The timing couldn’t be better – we are hosting the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle Festival on the same day as the Great Race. These two community events will create an unforgettable experience and truly capture
Teams and cars from Japan, England, Australia, Canada, and every corner of the United States participate in the annual event, which is often considered a “bucket list” item for car enthusiasts, especially in 2026 with the Route 66 theme. Cars, trucks and motorcycles built in 1974 and earlier are eligible to compete, and the scoring system features an age factor to keep the earlier cars competitive. In the 2025 Great Race, a 1933 Ford pickup truck won the event. A 1913 Chevrolet, a 1916 Hudson and a 1918 American LaFrance are the oldest cars scheduled to be in the 2026 Great Race.
The 2026 Great Race will begin on Saturday, June 20 in Springfield, Illinois, home of President Abraham Lincoln. In fact, the event will start in front of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln first rose to fame. In between the start and finish cities are approximately 2,300 miles of competition and 17 hosted city stops in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California, with many iconic Route 66 sights along the way.
The event’s main sponsors are Hemmings, Coker Tire, McCollister’s Auto Transport, Stahls, Petersen Automotive Museum, Knipex, Samuel Smith Old Brewery and American Muscle Car Museum.
