The Great Race 2014: Hagerty teams gear up in Mustang and Peerless ‘Green Dragon’

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines…

Two Hagerty teams are gearing up this week to compete in the 2014 Great Race, which will travel from Maine to Florida starting on Saturday, June 21.

The Great Race is an annual timed, controlled-speed endurance rally – an intense competition based on precision driving and navigational skills. Participants face nine days of driving over 2,100 miles in all types of driving conditions.

In honor of the Mustang’s 50th anniversary, our all-female team will drive the 1964½ Ford Mustang Coupe that was restored by 100 Hagerty employees. Leading Team Mustang is third-year driver Tabetha Hammer, Hagerty’s Affinity Communications Manager, who grew up restoring antique tractors and graduated from McPherson College’s auto restoration program. The team’s first-time navigator, Sam Bonter, is a Service and Endorsement Senior Manager for Hagerty.

Hagerty’s second team will pilot the 1917 Peerless Speedster “Green Dragon,” one of the oldest cars in the event, which holds the title for most consecutive Great Race competitions. This is the third year that Public Relations Senior Manager Jonathan Klinger and Parts Finder Davin Reckow will represent Hagerty as driver and navigator. Last year they finished 18th overall out of 91 vehicles with a total time of 1 minute, 55 secs and were second in the Sportsman Division.

Click here to follow the Hagerty teams’ progress on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/HagertyClassicCars

The Hagerty teams would love to meet you! Here’s the schedule of where we’ll be each evening.

• Saturday, June 21
  • Great Race Start
    • When: Starting at 10 a.m.
    • Where: Beach Street, Downtown Ogunquit, Maine
  • Dinner Stop
    • When: 5 p.m.
    • Where: Middle Street, Downtown Lowell, Mass.
• Sunday, June 22
  • When: 5 p.m.
  • Where: Shadows on the Hudson, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
• Monday, June 23
  • When: 5:15 p.m.
  • Where: Valley Forge Casino Resort, 1160 1st Ave., King of Prussia, Pa. 19406
• Tuesday, June 24
  • When: 5:30 p.m.
  • Where: North Landing Park, Portsmouth, Va. 23704
• Wednesday, June 25
  • When: 5:15 p.m.
  • Where: Middle Street, Downtown New Bern, N.C.
• Thursday, June 26
  • When: 5 p.m.
  • Where: Water Street, Downtown Wilmington, N.C.
• Friday, June 27
  • When: 4:30 p.m.
  • Where: Patriots Point, Mount Pleasant, S.C.
• Saturday, June 28
  • When: 5:25 p.m.
  • Where: The Landing, 2 Independent Drive, Downtown Jacksonville, Fla.
• Grand Finish: Sunday, June 29
  • When: 3 p.m.
  • Where: Lake Sumter Landing, The Villages, Fla.