Jack's Great Race 2014

Jack Hausmann has run the Great Race at least seven times and is going this year again with his granddaughter, Zoe. She is his navigator, as she was last year when they raced from St. Paul to Mobile!  This year, the 2014 event will start in the state of Maine on Saturday, June 21, and end in Florida nine days later on Sunday, June 29. 

It will mark the first time the Great Race has been to the state of Maine, and it will be the first time in 10 years that it has been in Florida. In 2004, the Great Race started in Jacksonville. Other states the Great Race will pass through in 2014 will be Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

They will be giving a running commentary here and friends and family are welcome to contribute encouragement and accolades! 

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Comment by Michael Thies on July 2, 2014 at 12:20am

Congrats to Barry and Irene Jason for being the 2014 Grand Champions! Click HERE to see the final scores!

Comment by Michael Thies on July 2, 2014 at 12:10am

Congratulations on a "great" race and and "GREAT " Story!  Are we going to see you at Caffeine & Octane?

Comment by Jack Hausmann (Jack) on July 1, 2014 at 9:25pm
Our final post
Thanks to all of you who followed our great adventure and send your words of encouragement. Zoe and I learned a lot this year and our car performed well. We are ready for next year when the Great Race follows Route 66 from St Louis to Santa Monica. Check it out at Greatrace.com and Happy Motoring!
Comment by Jack Hausmann (Jack) on July 1, 2014 at 9:19pm
The last day is always exciting with the anticipation of who will win- the first and second place teams were only 6 seconds apart. Zoe and I started the last day in 29th position which is a great place to be if we had a good day! We started with two great legs and then things fell apart. We missed a turn which caused us to miss a checkpoint and our day was over! We had a great stop at the National Parts Depot full of beautiful cars and We finished 50th overall. The day finished with a fantastic reception. The Villages turned out a great crowd with great support from the local car clubs. The beetle as usual attracted many fans, all with their own VW story.
Comment by kate hausmann on June 29, 2014 at 9:04am
Going in to the last day the Hausmann's are ranked 29th overall. Let's cheer them on to a super strong finish!!!!
Comment by Tim on June 29, 2014 at 7:58am
You guys are doing fantastic. Thanks for keeping us updated on your travels! Tim
Comment by Jack Hausmann (Jack) on June 28, 2014 at 12:59pm

On the subject of yesterday's race, Jack says, "YAY, what a great day." Our route began by cruising around Wilmington Harbor, which was indescribably gorgeous. The route was hot and sticky, but nice. We stopped at Myrtle Beach for lunch, and quickly got back on the road. The day ended in Mt. Pleasant, SC, with dinner on the USS Yorktown Aircraft carrier. Dinner was short of sublime, but we had 13.44 seconds for the day, and came in 11th.  As we get closer to home - our score is improving!

Comment by Jack Hausmann (Jack) on June 28, 2014 at 12:57pm

For the first time the Great Race has a team from Japan!!  This is the car they brought with them

Comment by Jack Hausmann (Jack) on June 28, 2014 at 12:55pm

aScott and Mallory Henderson in a 1965 Ford Mustang.  They are competing this year in the XCUP division as they have two navigators that share the job.  Isabella is from Germany and seeing a whole new side of the USA!

Comment by Jack Hausmann (Jack) on June 28, 2014 at 12:52pm

Jeff and Eric Fredette in a 1933 Ford Pickup.  Jeff is really known as a legend in motorcycle racing, but loves the GreatRace as an event for the whole family to participate.  He now does it with his son, but has participated with his father in years past and in fact wears a great button in his honor as he is out on the course!  Another Fredette family vehicle is competing as well.

Comment by Jack Hausmann (Jack) on June 28, 2014 at 12:45pm

Friday night Stop was in view of this great Carrier at Patriot's Point in Mt. Pleasant, SC, just outside of Charleston

Comment by Jack Hausmann (Jack) on June 27, 2014 at 12:04pm

Zoe's Post:

Yesterday started off well enough. By coincidence, we happened to be behind the same people for the second day in a row. It went mostly okay, except for two caveats: the South is hot, and the South is humid. Benny the Beetle is basically an oven on wheels. After our morning steaming, which was dreadfully boring, we had a nice lunch in Clinton, NC. I really liked the mac and cheese. We headed off to our second start. Something we previously thought not possible happened, and the route became less interesting than before. I fell asleep four times during one monotonous segment. After a couple quick, hard turns to wake us up a little, we went on our merry way. Unfortunately, the attention span of a fifteen year old is not what you might call reliable. I started doodling on the instructions, and I seriously messed us up. We missed a turn, and ended up 1:38 late to our checkpoint. On the way to Wilmington it rained a little bit. My mom met us in Wilmington, and we had dinner at Mellow Mushroom, which was especially nice!  It was a rough day, but we made the best of it.

Comment by Jack Hausmann (Jack) on June 27, 2014 at 11:41am

Beauty on Wheels!!

Comment by kate hausmann on June 26, 2014 at 5:55pm
Can't wait to see y'all on Saturday and finish on Sunday! Keep having fun and working hard. Zoe I need more Aces or you will be walking home (just kidding)!!!!!
--k
Comment by Michael Thies on June 26, 2014 at 3:08pm

Keeping up with this Great Race is wonderful. Thank you both so much for the effort!  I love the photos!  M.

Comment by Jack Hausmann (Jack) on June 26, 2014 at 2:33pm

Enjoying a moment of shade before we move on in 1937 Ford Coupe from Dunwoody!

Comment by Jack Hausmann (Jack) on June 26, 2014 at 2:29pm

All lined up and ready for the second leg of the race this morning.  Usually at the beginning of each leg of the race - we receive directions that might say "drive past the speed limit sign at 35mph".  So all of the racers will line up with enough distance to speed up to 35 by time you drive by the sign!

Comment by Jack Hausmann (Jack) on June 26, 2014 at 12:01pm

Yesterday we started from the Sheraton in downtown Norfolk, VA, which had a
beautiful view. Once we hit the road, we did our speed check, and got ready to start in position ninety seven out of ninety eight, which put us at the tail end of the caravan. But, as always, we
played our own game, so our position doesn't matter. We had a good start, but
then the car that was supposed to be a minute in front of us was right in front
of us. It's very unsettling, because you wonder whether you did something wrong,
and you second guess your navigation and/or driving. We slowly got closer, and
had to pass them. At the first stop, they came over and apologized; and said
that they had misadjusted their speedometer. They were a very nice family. The
lunch stop in Elizabeth City was lovely, with a waterfront venue. The
food was good, and the people were very nice (they gave all the women in the
race flowers). After lunch, the sky gradually got darker. Pretty soon, we were
under a hovering mass of clouds, ready to burst at any minute. It poured, and
our windshield wipers were broken. Luckily, it was near the end of a leg, and we
made it to a gas station. Our rooftop suitcases were soaked, and our stuff
would've been ruined, but the racers in the Traveling (they travel with the
race, but don't compete) minivan behind us were kind enough to take it. On the
way to the restart, it promptly stopped raining. The rest of the day was peachy,
and we ended up with 39 seconds for the day, and got bumped up to 30th overall.
We rolled into New Bern, and were greeted by roaring applause, because everyone
loves the VW, newly christened Benedict Augustus Tiberius Hausmann. After a
fantastic dinner, Billy Cothern helped fix our windshield wipers. New Bern was a
lovely stop, and the adventure continues!

Comment by Jack Hausmann (Jack) on June 26, 2014 at 11:53am

Another fellow Georgian Chad and Jennie Caldwell from Newnan!

This fantastic 1931 Auburn Boatail Speedster was just finished 36 hours before the great race began,  It only had 300 miles on the car at the start line.  Chad and his father in law worked long hours completing the restoration and it is GORGEOUS!

Comment by Jack Hausmann (Jack) on June 26, 2014 at 11:50am

Beautiful view as we approached Norfolk

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