GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE LINE IN THE GREAT RACE

Oklahoma Team should have Championship locked up - unless they blow last two days

WALLA WALLA, WASHINGTON - July 8, 2005: The Great Race, Presented by the National Guard is down to its last two days of racing on the roads of America. After 3,807 miles, eighty-four teams remain in competition for a share of $270,000 and it will all be decided on the roads between Walla Walla and Tacoma, Washington where the race finishes on Saturday, July 9.

The "Championship Run" as its called, is where the rubber meets the road for Greg Cunningham and Sam Goeppinger from Ponca City, Oklahoma in a 1928 Ford Speedster. The pair has led the race since day two and appears to have a lock on the Grand Championship. After having their worst day of the race today, scoring 20 seconds, they still lead by a seemingly insurmountable 26 seconds.

But then it gets interesting. Thirteen teams are all within thirty seconds of second place. Anything can happen. Five-time Grand Champions, Dick Burdick and Wayne Bell were in a similar position in 1987 only to lose everything on the last day, making a wrong turn that cost them $50,000.

Defending Champions, G.R. Pike and Bobby Hadskey are closest and waiting for the leaders to falter. "It will be fun," said Hadskey, navigator in the 1916 Hudson. "The first day of the Championship Run is always the most difficult. There will be lots of turns, speed changes and probably a few surprises. We should know by lunch if we are in it or watching from the sidelines."

Today's rally-race between Twin Falls, Idaho and Walla Walla was a difficult 416-mile trek through three states and across the Snake River two times. The X-Cup team from Walla Walla High School led the vintage cars into their hometown and received a hero's welcome from 5,000 people who lined Main Street, downtown. Team Walla Walla was driven by eighteen-year old Daylan Gibbard who was overwhelmed by the response." It was better than I thought. I knew there was going to be a lot but I didn't expect this many people that knew he we were and to be cheering for us. It was exciting."

One of the newest cars in the race is a 1960 Chevrolet Corvair, the car that gave cause to Ralph Nader. The four-door, six-cylinder air-cooled coupe costs $2,100 new in 1960 and wasn't much more when purchased last year by the driver and owner, Richard Tiffany from Lampville, New York. "It was a $2,500 dollar car when we bought it and we've had as much fun in it as you would have in the Mercedes 300SL its sitting next to."

Stage/day Number: 12 Miles Driven Today: 416 Elapsed Mileage: 3,807 Yesterday's Mileage: 365 Cars still in race: 84