Vintage cars, two person teams.

Great Race is a cross-country competition where over nine days, classic cars and their drivers are put to the test.

This year, traveling more than 2,300 miles across one of the most famous roads in America, Route 66.

The connection really this year is multiple, right?

It's the anniversary of the country, it's the anniversary of the mother road.

You know, I mean, there's never much of a distance between classic cars and the hobby and Route 66 anyway.

And this is just kind of the heightened marriage of the two.

Vintage cars and Route 66 are a natural pairing, both hearkening back to an era when the journey was just as much a part of the adventure as the destination.

It's a place that you would never really have a chance to go and it's a gorgeous country.

What we find is in this rolling car show is people in towns like this come out and say "Oh, my dad used to have one of those" and it's just great for people to reminisce and say "Oh, I used to have that Vega like that" you know that kind of thing.

It's just so much fun.

On day one, the race led competitors from Springfield to Collinsville, Illinois, a fitting location for the competition's first stop.

Decades earlier, Route 66 brought travelers through here, stopping for food, fuel and rest before continuing westward.

There's a brand new car for them this year in 2026.

We're pumped.

Buddy and Trevor, come on in, show it off.

Welcome to Collinsville, Illinois.

The concept was how can we get out and enjoy our cars?

So it's a fairly simple on paper competition format where you follow directions precisely, kind of like golf, low score wins.

- Emphasis on following directions.

Dating back to 1983, this long distance road rally isn't about who can drive the fastest.

These teams follow a carefully planned course, trying to arrive at specific points at exactly the right time.

No GPS, no smartphone telling them where to turn.

Instead, the navigator follows detailed instructions while the driver tries to maintain the correct speed.

So your job is navigator.

And the navigation, from my understanding, again, I'm a novice here, is really, really important because if you aren't getting to the exact spot, no pressure, no pressure, but if you're not getting to the exact spot at the exact time, then that all matters, right?

Yes.

Yeah.

And I would think it'd be like I can't get out my phone and GPS myself.

Yeah, no phones, no maps, only the paper instructions that they give you and your stopwatch.

It's hard.

It's really hard.

How's she doing?

Um, we'll have a redemption run tomorrow.

Most of the rallying takes place on back roads away from heavy congested areas, but touching this year's route, Route 66, as much as possible.

Most days, teams will travel 150 to 200 miles.

The cars do have to be roadworthy and safe, and if it's newer than 1974, it's not allowed in this race.

The older the car, the better.

The scoring system is set up to favor an older car.

So starting in the 50s, you have zero correction factor, but it goes back to 1900 to favor you to drive an older car.

What is your car here?

Give us a little tour.

It's a 1968 Ford Torino.

My grandpa bought this in 1969 and it's been in the family ever since.

My dad drove it in high school and college and then it sat for a while and then I've been restoring it.

At the finish line in Pasadena, California, $160,000 worth of prize money will be divided up among five competition classes.

But the big winner is Collinsville, because for one night, these vintage cars and the teams behind the wheels brought a little piece of Route 66 history back to life.