Two student docents from the Maine Classic Car Museum are taking part in the 2024 Great Race as part of the X-Cup Challenge. Click here for part eleven of their journey.
We did it! We crossed the finish line in historic downtown Gardiner, Maine, to end an incredible Great Race 2024. As we rolled under the arch on Water Street, there seemed to be thousands of cheering fans welcome all the Great Racers, including our family, friends, and mentors.
We woke up this morning in Augusta with excitement but also a tinge of sadness that our journey with all these great people was coming to an end. Of course, the race master did not disappoint us with the final leg. While it was the shortest course of the entire race, it made up for that with so many twists and turns that we were on our toes every moment.
As she had all race, Ruby, our 1961 Cadillac Sedan DeVille performed beautifully. After completing the course, we were staged at a local car museum with an amazing collection of early Fords.
There was a festival held downtown in our honor, and then the Great Race organizers hosted a banquet and awards ceremony. Mr. Peter Prescott, the local Gardiner sponsor, treated everyone to a delicious Maine “lob-stah” dinner. At the awards banquet, we all got a chance to congratulate the father and son team from Fairport, New York, who were grand champions for the second time. A job very well done! We congratulate the Stones River AACA X-Cup team for taking top honors in the student X-Cup division. We are excited to see our good friends from Alfred State University receive the Team Choice Award, voted on by all the X-Cup teams to honor the one team that most exemplified the spirit of the Great Race.
Nick Ellis from the RPM Foundation presented special awards, the Scott Henderson Memorial Scholarships, thanks to the generous support of the Henderson family. Cotton was surprised and grateful to receive a $1,500 scholarship for finishing in second place in the race among all applicants.
Overall, we are pleased with our results, finishing in 91st position, achieving our goal of making it in the top 100. Getting the two aces was just a bonus, the motto for the Great Race “to finish is to win” really hit home for us. Looking at all the big smiles and high-fives last night, it’s easy to see why everyone in the Great Race is a winner. We may be at the finish line today, but this is just the beginning for us, as we’d love to do it all again next year. Thank you to all for your support and well wishes. We Hope to see you again next year at the starting line in Minnesota for a the Great Race 2025! We will wrap up our blog tomorrow with a report on our student after party celebration at the Maine Classic Car Museum.
