The 2023 Great Race Has Come To An End!
North American Racing TeamÂ
Day 1 Recap
The team went from St. Augustine, FL to TIfton, GA. “Stage 1 is in the books. We had 4 – 1 seconds legs which is good and a 2. Overall good day but look forward to sniffing out some aces tomorrow” shared Eric and Aaron.
Day 2 Recap
Tifton, GA to Auburn, AL for a lunch stop and then end the day in Birmingham, AL. “We ran into some mechanical issues but Tony has us back in business. Heat today did play some havoc and we had a couple mistakes that will result in thrown out legs”. For day 2 their standing is number 23 of 127 teams and 9th of the 18 Experts. Tomorrow is their day to start moving towards the top!
Day 3 Recap
The team moved up 8 spots on day 3 after finishing 6th of 127 cars! This was one of the more difficult days they had experienced in their 5 years of racing, so those results sure do feel good. The rig didn’t make it into any photos or win the day, but they still had a great run and look forward to the next leg tomorrow. As of today, they are in 15th place out of 127 contenders. Let’s reach for top 10!
Day 4 Recap
The team seems to be running into 1 bad leg a day! They aim to be more consistent to be able to get into the top 10 overall and have a chance to get into the top 3 in expert. They moved into 11th out of 127 at the end of day 4 and moved to 5th of 18th in expert. Clean day for day 5 puts them in striking range!
Day 5 Recap
Russleville, AR to Eureka Springs for lunch & ending the day in Joplin, MO. Good day with no throw outs! The team moved from 11th to 10th place out of 127. Stayed in 5th of 18 in expert class.
Day 6 Recap
Day 6 was a hot one! When arriving to Witchita in the afternoon, temperatures was at 103. Two of todays legs become throw outs, which aren’t the results the team wanted but they still have 3 days left! As of day 6, they dropped 1 spot in standing and are back in 11th for total & 6th in Expert.
Day 7 Recap
Day 7 the team traveled through Kansas, from Wichita to Garden City. Their morning went great but after the lunch stop in Great Bend, it didn’t go as good which made them slip to 12th place of 127. They still are placed 6th in Expert class.
Day 8 Recap
Unfortunately, the team had a mechanical issue that ended the race early for them. The truck struggled to keep idle and died under load. Fuel pressure was low and Tony had worked on it for 3 hours but sadly couldn’t get the fuel pressure back over 2 psi. They ended Stage 8 in 12th Place and 6th in Expert.
Day 9 Recap
Although the team had a rough day 8 and ended in DNF, they still showed up to Colorado Springs, CO to show their support to the rest of the contestants and drive through the finish line to end this years Great Race on a good note! The amount of support the team had this year was incredible and just makes next years Great Race even more exciting.
2023 Great Race Map
Our Race CarÂ
Oil Changers will race in the 1941 Ford Pick Up
Driver: Eric Frankenberger (President of Oil Changers)
Navigator: Aaron Reed
Mechanic: Tony Campbell
History: No stranger to the scenic state highways, Eric and the 1941 Ford took home 1st Place in Rookie Class in the 2016 Great Race.
More Details
What is the Great Race?Â
The Great Race is an antique, vintage, and collector car competitive controlled-speed endurance road rally on public highways. It is not a test of top speed. It is a test of a driver/navigator team’s ability to follow precise course instructions and the car’s ability to endure on a cross-country trip. The course instructions require the competing teams to drive at or below the posted speed limits at all times.
How does it work?
Each day the driver and navigator team receives a set of course instructions that indicate every turn, speed change, stop, and start that the team must make throughout the day (usually 220 to 250 such instructions per day). Along the course route, there will be from 4 to 7 checkpoints recording the exact time that the team passes that point. The objective is to arrive at each checkpoint at the correct time, not the fastest. The score for each team is the result of the team’s ability to follow the designated course instructions precisely.