Sally and Chuck Oliver of Pittsburgh look at a 1938 Buick Model 41 four-door sedan on display in Marietta as part of the Motorsports Show held throughout the day as people awaited the arrival of the racers participating in the 2024 Hemmings Motor News Great Race. Marietta was the second overnight stop on the 2,300-mile race from Owensboro, Kentucky, to Gardiner, Maine, from June 22-30. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

MARIETTA — The 2024 Hemmings Motor News Great Race rolled into Marietta on Sunday as crowds gathered all along Front Street to welcome the drivers in what many called “a once-in-a-lifetime event” for the city.

Marietta was the second overnight stop this year’s 2,300-mile race that began in Owensboro, Ky., on Saturday and ends in Gardiner, Maine, on June 30. The race travels through 19 cities in 11 states.

Drivers and their cars were welcomed by the large gathering of people from around the region lined up along the Putnam Bridge and Front Street.

Gary Turner of Marietta said this was something the community needed to bring people out during the summer and have fun.

“This is awesome,” he said. “This is exactly what Marietta needs.

Brian Cisler of New Matamoras looks at a 1950 Chevy truck on display on Second Street in Marietta as part of the Motorsports Show held throughout the day as crowds waited for the arrival of the racers participating in the 2024 Hemmings Motor News Great Race. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

“This is a historical community. The people here just love this kind of thing.”

Brian Cisler of New Matamoras was looking at the classic cars displayed as part of a massive Motorsports Show on Second Street in conjunction with the race. He said it was a unique opportunity for Marietta as the Great Race changes its course every year and no city is in it twice.

“Seeing all of the cars that are actually in the race is what brought me here,” Cisler said. “I have been a car enthusiast all my life, and this is something I really wanted to see.”

Chuck and Sally Oliver of Pittsburgh have followed the race on three separate occasions when it passed through this part of the country. The couple is retired and are traveling around the area, taking in a number of local and regional sights.

“My husband and I are both car lovers,” Sally said.

Bill Peoples of Peoples Mortuary Museum with his 1938 Packard AJ Miller Formal Hearse, which was one of over 600 vehicles on display Sunday for the Motorsports Show held throughout the day in conjunction with the 2024 Hemmings Motor News Great Race which stopped in Marietta Sunday night. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

Chuck said they are regular visitors to Charleston and Huntington so they decided to catch the race as it came through Marietta. This was the first time they were able to stop in Marietta and walk around.

“This race is something, and it has been going on for a number of years,” he said. “It is really something to see when all the cars start coming in.”

They talked about young people being involved in the race, traveling in vehicles that are older than they are. They were both amazed the distance some of the cars are able to cover.

Bill Peoples of Peoples Mortuary Museum in Marietta had 11 vehicles among the more than 600 on display at the Motorsports Show.

He was glad to be able to get out and show his cars as this event had brought a lot of people to Marietta on Sunday.

Cassidy Tucker of St. Marys feeds some of the animals at a petting zoo set up on the lawn of the Armory in Marietta Sunday as crowds awaited the arrival of the racers participating in the 2024 Hemmings Motor News Great Race on Front Street. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

“The Great Race is a once-in-a-lifetime event for Marietta,” he said. “They never go to the same town twice.

“We knew it would be a big deal.”

He had hundreds of people coming through looking at his cars, some of them hearses, and asking about them. A 1938 Packard AJ Miller Formal Hearse featured wood carving on the side. Some of his vehicles are still used for funerals

“People are surprised when they find out some of my cars are one of a kind,” Peoples said. “Some have wood carvings on them, and people are surprised by that.”

Harvey Lipman of Augusta, Maine, came in a 1955 2-10 Chevy and was one of the first racers to arrive in Marietta. He had never been to Marietta before.

People lined up on the Putnam Bridge in Marietta Sunday to greet the cars coming into Marietta participating in the 2024 Hemmings Motor News Great Race. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

The car was his grandfather’s, who bought it in 1955 in Lynn, Massachusetts, and Lipman got it after graduating from prep school in Maine. One of his classmates was from Marietta and hoped he’d be able to see him.

“I have owned this car for 54 years,” Lipman said. “It runs like a top.

“I love seeing America this way. We don’t drive on primary highways.”

He and his navigator had to travel using paper maps and no GPS.

“I have no idea how I got here from Lawrenceburg, Indiana,” he said with a laugh. “I have no idea the roads we were on.

A 1916 Hudson Speedster passes numerous cars Sunday in Marietta where the drivers and navigators of 140 antique cars will stay the night before heading to Morgantown today in the 2024 Great Race. (Photo by Art Smith)

“All I know is we went over hill and dale.”

Ahna Holder of San Diego arrived in a 1964 Ford Mustang coupe, the first year the Mustang came out. She was participating in her fifth Great Race. Her daughter, Della Smith, is her navigator. They drove her grandparents’ Model A Ford before that.

“This is an amazing turnout,” she said of the crowd greeting the racers in Marietta. “There are a lot of people here.”

They were one of two mother/daughter teams in the race.

“I thought she would appreciate doing something hard and really appreciating it when it was done” Holder said. “She got competitive and really loves doing it. As long as she wants to do it, we will keep doing it.”

Throughout the day on Sunday, they encountered rain and sun and rain and sun.

“We got all of the elements, but we are glad it cooled down a bit,” Holder said. “With these old cars, you get all of the elements.”

They did have power steering added to the car to make it easier to drive. However, the car has no air conditioning.

“These races are always hot,” Holder said.

Smith said she likes the challenge of the race and figuring out how to get from place to place just using paper maps and directions.

“My mom really likes it, and I think it is important to spend time with your family,” she said. “It is the challenge of trying to do better every day.”

As they encountered a lot of rain on Sunday, she felt sorry for the people in open-cab cars. Although it was hot the first day, it did cool down on Sunday.

“I don’t look at the scores, I just go,” Smith said. “It is hard, but you need to do things that are hard. You got to challenge yourself to prove you can do something.”

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com

Among the vintage automobiles entering Marietta Sunday for the 2024 Great Race was a 1968 Ford Mustang. The group will leave for Morgantown this morning. (Photo by Art Smith)

A 1955 Chevrolet crosses the Putnam Bridge in Marietta for the overnight stopover in the 2024 Great Race. (Photo by Art Smith)