June 26, 2025 • 14 mins
Today, we’re going on a journey with Houston Gibson, race organizer of The Great Race, a legendary cross-country rally featuring vintage vehicles and classic Americana. Since 1983, this time-speed-distance rally has brought drivers and spectators together for a one-of-a-kind road adventure.
This year, The Great Race made a stop in Rochester, Minnesota. In this episode, Houston discusses the event’s rich history, its lasting appeal, the impact it has on host communities, and how he got involved.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Growing Destinations podcast is brought
to you by Experience Rochester.
Learn more about Minnesota'sthird largest city, which is
home to Mayo Clinic and featureswonderful recreational and
entertainment opportunities, byvisiting
experiencerochestermncom.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
The term Great Race Family gets used all the time
because it is Actually.
I've got a competitor out herewho has been doing this every
race since 1983.
I mean the bonds and therelationships you have with
somebody like that after thatmany years.
I've got a lot of people thatdo it for a long time.
And then the other cool thingis to see how the teams form.
This is a family affair.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Welcome to the Growing Destinations podcast,
where we take a deep dive intodestination development and
focus on a wide range of topicsfrom tourism and entertainment
to economic development andentrepreneurism and much more.
I'm your host, bill Von Bank.
Today we're going on a journeywith Houston Gibson race
(00:56):
organizer of the Great Race, alegendary cross-country rally
featuring vintage vehicles andclassic Americana rally
featuring vintage vehicles andclassic Americana.
Since 1983, this time-speeddistance rally has brought
drivers and spectators togetherfor a one-of-a-kind road
adventure.
This year, the great race madea stop in Rochester, minnesota,
(01:16):
and we chatted with Houstonabout the event's rich history,
its lasting appeal, the impactit has on host communities and
how he got involved.
Houston Gibson, welcome to theGrowing Destinations podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Hey, bill, I really appreciate you having me on.
It is a pleasure to be herewith you today.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Well, we're recording this as cars are rolling in.
I've seen dozens of them comein, including a 1913 Chevrolet
Pretty fascinating man.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
I am so impressed to see that car out on the road,
especially on a warm day liketoday.
Those guys lined up at back tothe 50s weekend this morning In.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
St Paul.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
And just powered through and made it here to
Rochester.
So they're killing it today.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Well, let's talk about this great race and give
us the history and the originstory of it, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Okay, so the great race actually started back in
1983.
And it's been going on.
It's actually kind of likeloosely based on like the movie.
If you've ever seen the moviefrom back in the 60s, I mean,
it's a stacked cast of a lot ofreally great famous actors and
it is based on the originalgreat race from New York to
Paris I believe 1908, that theThomas Flyer won back then, and
(02:20):
so it's just kind of evolutionof that, and so it's really been
going across the country herein the US since 1983.
Of that, and so it's reallybeen going across the country
here in the U?
S since 1983.
So how does it work?
So what is this?
It's a time speed endurancerally.
So what these guys are doing isyou've got a driver and a
navigator that are going to bein a vintage car that is 1974
and older, open to any brand,any make, european, whatever you
have, and you're you're handeda detailed packet of
(02:43):
instructions each day, 30minutes before your official
start time, and these cars aregoing to be staggered and start
one minute apart for usuallyabout a two hour span of time.
So you're going to get theseinstructions real quick and
you're going to filter throughand you're going to kind of mark
up stuff that you think, oh, Ineed to make sure I keep an eye
on this.
Like these are the highlightthings that I need to keep an
(03:04):
eye on to kind of preparementally for what's ahead,
because you don't know the route.
It's all absolutely a secretuntil that 30-minute window
before we leave or before youleave for your official start.
So you go through and do that,and so the navigator is prepping
for that.
They're getting their stopwatchall dialed in, we have an
official race clock that theyall set to and your driver's
(03:26):
going off and filling the car upand making sure it's full of
oil and the cooling is good andjust topping everything off, and
then you guys are ready to hitthe road at your exact start
time.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
St Paul was the start , so 30 minutes before they left
St Paul they got the route orthey got some directions.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Yeah, now what I can tell you is the official start
goes a little different, becausefor those of you that have been
to Back to the 50s weekend, itis a madhouse of people over
there so it's not exactly likethat on the first day, but now
that we're on the road and we'vemade it here to Rochester
tomorrow morning, that's howit'll go is the official start
is eight o'clock, so they willbe handed that packet the first
(04:04):
person, car number one, at seven30.
And they'll like say they'llhave their 30 minute window to
prepare and then then they'reoff and it's a race of one.
Like you, you're really justcompeting, you know.
Just you, like you and yourteam, are running your own race.
Yeah, you're trying to stay ontime.
You're trying to make sure youfollow all the instructions,
that you don't miss any signs.
(04:24):
It's got some challengingelements to it.
It is extremely impressive whatthese guys can do.
So it's not about who gets toone spot first, absolutely not.
We actually have a coupledifferent divisions and brackets
that run within that have abearing on where your start
position is for the day, andthen, like I say, when you get
that, you're just running yourown race and then it's tabulated
.
And so what you'll see out backhere right now is, as the cars
(04:45):
come in the final checkpointshave already wired back in what
the scores were, and so they'rehanding them their score sheets
as they're pulling in, so theyknow how they've done for the
day as soon as they hit the backgate out here.
Okay, so you get a lot ofexcitement, enthusiasm, and then
some people have had some toughdays, so you miss the turn.
It can kind of throw your dayoff a little bit.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
You said it started back in 1983.
Give us the evolution to today.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
So it actually let's see.
So it's been partnered withCoker Tire Company since we'll
say, I believe, 2010.
So in between Coker Tire andHemings, which is the title
sponsor of the event, hemingsand Coker Tire have been
partnered since then to pull offthis fantastic event that's
running across the country andit's just grown from what
(05:30):
probably used to be about 50 or60 cars and today I've probably
got about 124 pulling in here tothe Mayo Civic Center.
So the interest has grown towhere now we actually cap it.
Ideally, we're about 125 carsis our ideal amount of people to
for the way the system is setup.
That's what we're really set upto accommodate.
Well, prize money?
Oh, absolutely so we actuallygive away a total purse of
(05:54):
$160,000.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Wow, that's impressive.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
So the first place winner which will be awarded in
Irmo, south Carolina, here lateron this coming Sunday as not
tomorrow but actually a weekfrom week out so this is day one
for us that the winner will get$50,000.
We have the big giant check andI've got the confetti and it is
an incredible celebration,excitement, just the enthusiasm
going on.
It is a fantastic time.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
If I read the map right, there's 10 states
involved, correct, correct?
Oh yeah, I think about thisfrom community engagement and
community and economicdevelopment that happens just
with a race like this.
Can you share some, some impactthat a race like this has on a
community?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
oh, absolutely it's a booster for sure for your
economy.
So pretty much our overnightstops, like we're doing here in
rochester this evening, we we'regoing to take 300 hotel rooms.
Um, I've got 500 people total.
That's in the entourage.
So about half of that iscompetitors driver, navigator,
that kind of stuff and then wealso have a lot of them will
(06:53):
bring support crews along.
So I've got a lot of trucks andtrailers with extra parts for,
hopefully, anything that's goingto come about, they can fix it
here in the parking lot and beback on the course in the
morning.
Hopefully, anything that'sgoing to come about, they can
fix it here in the parking lotand be back on the course in the
morning.
And then we have a staff of 50that kind of help work with me
here to just pull off the events, whether they're checking the
checkpoints out on the backroads, they're here selling
t-shirts, they're parking cars,putting up inflatable arches.
(07:15):
We have an incredible team thathelps us pull this off.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
What keeps people drivers and fans alike coming
back year after year forsomething like this?
Speaker 2 (07:23):
oh man, the.
It's almost hard to describe ituntil you experience it.
This is a, a community of afamily, the.
The term great race family getsused all the time because it is
.
I actually I've got acompetitor out here who has been
doing this every race since1983.
I mean the, the bonds and therelationships you have with
somebody like that after thatmany years.
I've got a lot of people thatdo it for a long time.
(07:45):
And then the other cool thingis to see how the teams form.
This is a family affair.
I've got some fantasticmother-daughter teams in their
classic Mustang that come inhere and drive across the
country Cousins from out in theFargo area.
Just so many cool peopleadventures to have with your
family?
Speaker 1 (08:04):
How do you see younger generations engaging
with the event?
Speaker 2 (08:07):
That's a super cool element of this bill actually.
So we run an entire divisioncalled the X-Cup and what this
is is.
This is high school and collegekids that are going to be
between, basically by the timeyou get your permit.
So I'm going to say most ofthem are going to be between the
age of 15 and 21.
And we allot 10 spaces that thegreat race contributes to them.
(08:27):
There's no entry fee for themto get them invested in this.
So I've got a lot of communitycolleges, a lot of great museums
, like Al's head up in Maine,that formed these teams from
their local communities.
Get these kids invested in thecar, in their wrench and working
on it, getting it ready to haveout here, and then I've got
Coker tire coming along topartner with them and they give
them all a free set of tires.
So the community is really allabout investing in it.
(08:52):
We do an auction for them.
On the opening night we raised,I think, $40,000 that this
family here threw in to help getmore people engaged in it and
get more next generation carpeople.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
How do cities like Rochester, minnesota, get chosen
as host stops and what goesinto preparing a city for race
day?
Speaker 2 (09:08):
So we usually work about a year or two in advance.
For example, look, we've gotgreat friends at MSRA.
They were excellent partnersfor us for this morning, for the
launch of this, and so we startout usually with our start and
finish cities, and then we kindof fill in in between and so I'm
going to reach out to greatfolks like we have here in
rochester and say, hey, we'vegot this super cool event.
(09:31):
We'd love to come to your town.
You know, we got a.
It'll be a very exciting timefor the community.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
We would love to partner with you guys and pull
this off, and it just kind offorms out from there and I
understand that your stop inrochester is a bit unique
because you're actually parkingthe cars inside and you normally
don't do that, and you knowwhat?
We're having one of the hottestdays of summer so far.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
So it worked out pretty good for you.
Oh, absolutely, I will tell you, when we were planning this, I
was like oh man, like you know,minnesota will be one of the
cooler stops of the race, notexpecting a record heat day.
So I can tell you, as the staff, we are super pleased that we
had organized this to be indoorsand our racers are absolutely
loving it.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
How about a little bit about you?
What first drew you to theGreat Race?
Speaker 2 (10:13):
So I'm actually based in Chattanooga, Tennessee,
which is where the Great Race isbased from, and so I started
about 12 years ago working forthe Coker Tire Company, which is
one of the partners of the race.
I used to handle theinternational market for those
guys and then this positionopened up to be the second ever
full-time employee of the greatrace and I was like, absolutely,
this has got my name all overit.
(10:34):
Like all the people that I getto deal with out here I mean the
international friends that Ieven make from this.
I've got teams from Japan, fromAustralia, from the UK.
It's just so cool to be able tohelp foster this environment
and be a part of these memories.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
What do you enjoy most about your role in putting
this massive event together?
It's staged really well.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
I would say right now like we're down to the moment
of truth here.
So when I see the things thatI've been working on all year
long to come to fruition and weget to actually see the plans
come together that we talkedabout and brainstormed and try
to make it the best that wecould To see that all come
together is absolutely the mostexciting part of what I do.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
And organizing a cross-country rally must come
with plenty of surprises, anystandout stories from the road.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
One time I had a lunch stop in a super rural part
of the country and I mean,we're not they, they didn't have
subways around, really likewe're talking rural, uh
countryside and I get there andthey were ready for me, except
for they had given the catererthe wrong day.
oh, no, and so I was in a bit ofa scramble, like, uh, what are
(11:39):
we gonna have for lunch today,you know?
So luckily they were fantasticand they just divide and
conquered the volunteer staffand they brought in pizzas and
chicken sandwiches.
We had like a full I guessyou'd say smorgasbord of just
all the great food and theracers ended up loving it and it
was one of the best stops ofthe entire race.
But it's just one of thosethings that you didn't.
You know.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
You plan but things happen, let's look at the past
races and any memorablemilestones or historic moments
that you can think of.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
One of the really neat ones is in the past we've
actually I think it was about 12years ago we did Route 66 and
went all the way to the SantaMonica Pier and we actually
parked the race cars on theSanta Monica Pier which is, I
would say, a nearly impossiblefeat today, but just super cool.
I mean, we've done the LincolnHighway, it's been all over.
I think we've hit All the lower48 states by this point.
(12:30):
We're big fans of becoming bigfans of the northern states with
the cool temperatures, exceptin Minnesota this year.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Yeah, it was a horse stride.
So this year the route is fromMinnesota to South Carolina.
Do you have next year's routeand the year after that?
I mean, how far out do you plan?
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Well, usually we try to be a good 18 months to two
years out.
So the exciting thing is iswe're actually going back to
Route 66 next year.
So we'll be starting inSpringfield, illinois, I guess
mid-June of 2026.
And we will be making our wayto Pasadena.
Now, route 66 is kind of thebackdrop, as you know, like
there's sections of it thataren't really a deal anymore and
(13:09):
so a lot of the competition mayactually go off of that.
But we're going to try to hit alot of the iconic locations
from Illinois all the way toCalifornia.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
What keeps your passion going for an event like
this?
Speaker 2 (13:20):
I think meeting new people, having great
conversations and everybody kindof joining around the love of
the car hobby, it really justenergizes you so much when you
see all the shared interest andthe love for what's going on.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Well, it's fun to see that today and it's really fun
to see all of the residents ofRochester show up and many of
them just with their phones,just going at it full bore, just
constantly just taking picturesand video of all these cars
coming through.
It's really cool.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
We are very excited to see them coming out here.
It's a great communityinvolvement, so we are very
pleased to be here.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Houston Gibson, it's been wonderful to have you join
us today and share some insightsinto the great race.
Thank you for being our gueston the Growing Destinations
podcast.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Absolutely my pleasure.
Bill, Thanks for having me ontoday.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Thank you for tuning in to the Growing Destinations
podcast and don't forget tosubscribe.
This podcast is brought to youby Experience Rochester.
Find out more about Rochester,Minnesota, and its growing arts
and culture scene, itsinternational culinary flavors
and award-winning craft beer byvisiting
experiencerochestermncom.
The Growing Destinations podcast is brought
to you by Experience Rochester.
Learn more about Minnesota'sthird largest city, which is
home to Mayo Clinic and featureswonderful recreational and
entertainment opportunities, byvisiting
experiencerochestermncom.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
The term Great Race Family gets used all the time
because it is Actually.
I've got a competitor out herewho has been doing this every
race since 1983.
I mean the bonds and therelationships you have with
somebody like that after thatmany years.
I've got a lot of people thatdo it for a long time.
And then the other cool thingis to see how the teams form.
This is a family affair.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Welcome to the Growing Destinations podcast,
where we take a deep dive intodestination development and
focus on a wide range of topicsfrom tourism and entertainment
to economic development andentrepreneurism and much more.
I'm your host, bill Von Bank.
Today we're going on a journeywith Houston Gibson race
(00:56):
organizer of the Great Race, alegendary cross-country rally
featuring vintage vehicles andclassic Americana rally
featuring vintage vehicles andclassic Americana.
Since 1983, this time-speeddistance rally has brought
drivers and spectators togetherfor a one-of-a-kind road
adventure.
This year, the great race madea stop in Rochester, minnesota,
(01:16):
and we chatted with Houstonabout the event's rich history,
its lasting appeal, the impactit has on host communities and
how he got involved.
Houston Gibson, welcome to theGrowing Destinations podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Hey, bill, I really appreciate you having me on.
It is a pleasure to be herewith you today.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Well, we're recording this as cars are rolling in.
I've seen dozens of them comein, including a 1913 Chevrolet
Pretty fascinating man.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
I am so impressed to see that car out on the road,
especially on a warm day liketoday.
Those guys lined up at back tothe 50s weekend this morning In.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
St Paul.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
And just powered through and made it here to
Rochester.
So they're killing it today.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Well, let's talk about this great race and give
us the history and the originstory of it, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Okay, so the great race actually started back in
1983.
And it's been going on.
It's actually kind of likeloosely based on like the movie.
If you've ever seen the moviefrom back in the 60s, I mean,
it's a stacked cast of a lot ofreally great famous actors and
it is based on the originalgreat race from New York to
Paris I believe 1908, that theThomas Flyer won back then, and
(02:20):
so it's just kind of evolutionof that, and so it's really been
going across the country herein the US since 1983.
Of that, and so it's reallybeen going across the country
here in the U?
S since 1983.
So how does it work?
So what is this?
It's a time speed endurancerally.
So what these guys are doing isyou've got a driver and a
navigator that are going to bein a vintage car that is 1974
and older, open to any brand,any make, european, whatever you
have, and you're you're handeda detailed packet of
(02:43):
instructions each day, 30minutes before your official
start time, and these cars aregoing to be staggered and start
one minute apart for usuallyabout a two hour span of time.
So you're going to get theseinstructions real quick and
you're going to filter throughand you're going to kind of mark
up stuff that you think, oh, Ineed to make sure I keep an eye
on this.
Like these are the highlightthings that I need to keep an
(03:04):
eye on to kind of preparementally for what's ahead,
because you don't know the route.
It's all absolutely a secretuntil that 30-minute window
before we leave or before youleave for your official start.
So you go through and do that,and so the navigator is prepping
for that.
They're getting their stopwatchall dialed in, we have an
official race clock that theyall set to and your driver's
(03:26):
going off and filling the car upand making sure it's full of
oil and the cooling is good andjust topping everything off, and
then you guys are ready to hitthe road at your exact start
time.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
St Paul was the start , so 30 minutes before they left
St Paul they got the route orthey got some directions.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Yeah, now what I can tell you is the official start
goes a little different, becausefor those of you that have been
to Back to the 50s weekend, itis a madhouse of people over
there so it's not exactly likethat on the first day, but now
that we're on the road and we'vemade it here to Rochester
tomorrow morning, that's howit'll go is the official start
is eight o'clock, so they willbe handed that packet the first
(04:04):
person, car number one, at seven30.
And they'll like say they'llhave their 30 minute window to
prepare and then then they'reoff and it's a race of one.
Like you, you're really justcompeting, you know.
Just you, like you and yourteam, are running your own race.
Yeah, you're trying to stay ontime.
You're trying to make sure youfollow all the instructions,
that you don't miss any signs.
(04:24):
It's got some challengingelements to it.
It is extremely impressive whatthese guys can do.
So it's not about who gets toone spot first, absolutely not.
We actually have a coupledifferent divisions and brackets
that run within that have abearing on where your start
position is for the day, andthen, like I say, when you get
that, you're just running yourown race and then it's tabulated
.
And so what you'll see out backhere right now is, as the cars
(04:45):
come in the final checkpointshave already wired back in what
the scores were, and so they'rehanding them their score sheets
as they're pulling in, so theyknow how they've done for the
day as soon as they hit the backgate out here.
Okay, so you get a lot ofexcitement, enthusiasm, and then
some people have had some toughdays, so you miss the turn.
It can kind of throw your dayoff a little bit.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
You said it started back in 1983.
Give us the evolution to today.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
So it actually let's see.
So it's been partnered withCoker Tire Company since we'll
say, I believe, 2010.
So in between Coker Tire andHemings, which is the title
sponsor of the event, hemingsand Coker Tire have been
partnered since then to pull offthis fantastic event that's
running across the country andit's just grown from what
(05:30):
probably used to be about 50 or60 cars and today I've probably
got about 124 pulling in here tothe Mayo Civic Center.
So the interest has grown towhere now we actually cap it.
Ideally, we're about 125 carsis our ideal amount of people to
for the way the system is setup.
That's what we're really set upto accommodate.
Well, prize money?
Oh, absolutely so we actuallygive away a total purse of
(05:54):
$160,000.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Wow, that's impressive.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
So the first place winner which will be awarded in
Irmo, south Carolina, here lateron this coming Sunday as not
tomorrow but actually a weekfrom week out so this is day one
for us that the winner will get$50,000.
We have the big giant check andI've got the confetti and it is
an incredible celebration,excitement, just the enthusiasm
going on.
It is a fantastic time.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
If I read the map right, there's 10 states
involved, correct, correct?
Oh yeah, I think about thisfrom community engagement and
community and economicdevelopment that happens just
with a race like this.
Can you share some, some impactthat a race like this has on a
community?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
oh, absolutely it's a booster for sure for your
economy.
So pretty much our overnightstops, like we're doing here in
rochester this evening, we we'regoing to take 300 hotel rooms.
Um, I've got 500 people total.
That's in the entourage.
So about half of that iscompetitors driver, navigator,
that kind of stuff and then wealso have a lot of them will
(06:53):
bring support crews along.
So I've got a lot of trucks andtrailers with extra parts for,
hopefully, anything that's goingto come about, they can fix it
here in the parking lot and beback on the course in the
morning.
Hopefully, anything that'sgoing to come about, they can
fix it here in the parking lotand be back on the course in the
morning.
And then we have a staff of 50that kind of help work with me
here to just pull off the events, whether they're checking the
checkpoints out on the backroads, they're here selling
t-shirts, they're parking cars,putting up inflatable arches.
(07:15):
We have an incredible team thathelps us pull this off.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
What keeps people drivers and fans alike coming
back year after year forsomething like this?
Speaker 2 (07:23):
oh man, the.
It's almost hard to describe ituntil you experience it.
This is a, a community of afamily, the.
The term great race family getsused all the time because it is
.
I actually I've got acompetitor out here who has been
doing this every race since1983.
I mean the, the bonds and therelationships you have with
somebody like that after thatmany years.
I've got a lot of people thatdo it for a long time.
(07:45):
And then the other cool thingis to see how the teams form.
This is a family affair.
I've got some fantasticmother-daughter teams in their
classic Mustang that come inhere and drive across the
country Cousins from out in theFargo area.
Just so many cool peopleadventures to have with your
family?
Speaker 1 (08:04):
How do you see younger generations engaging
with the event?
Speaker 2 (08:07):
That's a super cool element of this bill actually.
So we run an entire divisioncalled the X-Cup and what this
is is.
This is high school and collegekids that are going to be
between, basically by the timeyou get your permit.
So I'm going to say most ofthem are going to be between the
age of 15 and 21.
And we allot 10 spaces that thegreat race contributes to them.
(08:27):
There's no entry fee for themto get them invested in this.
So I've got a lot of communitycolleges, a lot of great museums
, like Al's head up in Maine,that formed these teams from
their local communities.
Get these kids invested in thecar, in their wrench and working
on it, getting it ready to haveout here, and then I've got
Coker tire coming along topartner with them and they give
them all a free set of tires.
So the community is really allabout investing in it.
(08:52):
We do an auction for them.
On the opening night we raised,I think, $40,000 that this
family here threw in to help getmore people engaged in it and
get more next generation carpeople.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
How do cities like Rochester, minnesota, get chosen
as host stops and what goesinto preparing a city for race
day?
Speaker 2 (09:08):
So we usually work about a year or two in advance.
For example, look, we've gotgreat friends at MSRA.
They were excellent partnersfor us for this morning, for the
launch of this, and so we startout usually with our start and
finish cities, and then we kindof fill in in between and so I'm
going to reach out to greatfolks like we have here in
rochester and say, hey, we'vegot this super cool event.
(09:31):
We'd love to come to your town.
You know, we got a.
It'll be a very exciting timefor the community.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
We would love to partner with you guys and pull
this off, and it just kind offorms out from there and I
understand that your stop inrochester is a bit unique
because you're actually parkingthe cars inside and you normally
don't do that, and you knowwhat?
We're having one of the hottestdays of summer so far.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
So it worked out pretty good for you.
Oh, absolutely, I will tell you, when we were planning this, I
was like oh man, like you know,minnesota will be one of the
cooler stops of the race, notexpecting a record heat day.
So I can tell you, as the staff, we are super pleased that we
had organized this to be indoorsand our racers are absolutely
loving it.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
How about a little bit about you?
What first drew you to theGreat Race?
Speaker 2 (10:13):
So I'm actually based in Chattanooga, Tennessee,
which is where the Great Race isbased from, and so I started
about 12 years ago working forthe Coker Tire Company, which is
one of the partners of the race.
I used to handle theinternational market for those
guys and then this positionopened up to be the second ever
full-time employee of the greatrace and I was like, absolutely,
this has got my name all overit.
(10:34):
Like all the people that I getto deal with out here I mean the
international friends that Ieven make from this.
I've got teams from Japan, fromAustralia, from the UK.
It's just so cool to be able tohelp foster this environment
and be a part of these memories.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
What do you enjoy most about your role in putting
this massive event together?
It's staged really well.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
I would say right now like we're down to the moment
of truth here.
So when I see the things thatI've been working on all year
long to come to fruition and weget to actually see the plans
come together that we talkedabout and brainstormed and try
to make it the best that wecould To see that all come
together is absolutely the mostexciting part of what I do.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
And organizing a cross-country rally must come
with plenty of surprises, anystandout stories from the road.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
One time I had a lunch stop in a super rural part
of the country and I mean,we're not they, they didn't have
subways around, really likewe're talking rural, uh
countryside and I get there andthey were ready for me, except
for they had given the catererthe wrong day.
oh, no, and so I was in a bit ofa scramble, like, uh, what are
(11:39):
we gonna have for lunch today,you know?
So luckily they were fantasticand they just divide and
conquered the volunteer staffand they brought in pizzas and
chicken sandwiches.
We had like a full I guessyou'd say smorgasbord of just
all the great food and theracers ended up loving it and it
was one of the best stops ofthe entire race.
But it's just one of thosethings that you didn't.
You know.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
You plan but things happen, let's look at the past
races and any memorablemilestones or historic moments
that you can think of.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
One of the really neat ones is in the past we've
actually I think it was about 12years ago we did Route 66 and
went all the way to the SantaMonica Pier and we actually
parked the race cars on theSanta Monica Pier which is, I
would say, a nearly impossiblefeat today, but just super cool.
I mean, we've done the LincolnHighway, it's been all over.
I think we've hit All the lower48 states by this point.
(12:30):
We're big fans of becoming bigfans of the northern states with
the cool temperatures, exceptin Minnesota this year.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Yeah, it was a horse stride.
So this year the route is fromMinnesota to South Carolina.
Do you have next year's routeand the year after that?
I mean, how far out do you plan?
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Well, usually we try to be a good 18 months to two
years out.
So the exciting thing is iswe're actually going back to
Route 66 next year.
So we'll be starting inSpringfield, illinois, I guess
mid-June of 2026.
And we will be making our wayto Pasadena.
Now, route 66 is kind of thebackdrop, as you know, like
there's sections of it thataren't really a deal anymore and
(13:09):
so a lot of the competition mayactually go off of that.
But we're going to try to hit alot of the iconic locations
from Illinois all the way toCalifornia.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
What keeps your passion going for an event like
this?
Speaker 2 (13:20):
I think meeting new people, having great
conversations and everybody kindof joining around the love of
the car hobby, it really justenergizes you so much when you
see all the shared interest andthe love for what's going on.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Well, it's fun to see that today and it's really fun
to see all of the residents ofRochester show up and many of
them just with their phones,just going at it full bore, just
constantly just taking picturesand video of all these cars
coming through.
It's really cool.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
We are very excited to see them coming out here.
It's a great communityinvolvement, so we are very
pleased to be here.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Houston Gibson, it's been wonderful to have you join
us today and share some insightsinto the great race.
Thank you for being our gueston the Growing Destinations
podcast.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Absolutely my pleasure.
Bill, Thanks for having me ontoday.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Thank you for tuning in to the Growing Destinations
podcast and don't forget tosubscribe.
This podcast is brought to youby Experience Rochester.
Find out more about Rochester,Minnesota, and its growing arts
and culture scene, itsinternational culinary flavors
and award-winning craft beer byvisiting
experiencerochestermncom.
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