Great race pit-stopping on square

Greencastle will welcome several hundred new visitors to its courthouse square on Wednesday, June 28.

The Great Race, will once again make a pit stop in Greencastle on its 14-day race from Philadelphia to San Rafael, Calif.

Competitors will race in pursuit of a $270,000 purse, with a top cash prize of $100,000 going to the Grand Champion.

"The Great Race was last seen in Greencastle in 2003, and we're thrilled to be bringing it to the community once again," said Bill Ewing, Chief Executive Officer for event organizers Rally Partners.

More than 100 antique cars and 250 people, including NASCAR team owner Jack Roush and two recent winter Olympic medalists, will be stopping in Greencastle during the race that will have drivers coming in on S.R. 240, stopping at the square and then leaving on West Walnut, said Michael Nees, the executive director of Main Street Greencastle.

The first car will arrive at approximately 9:31 a.m. and the last car will leave at approximately 11:30 a.m. In between the other cars will arrive in one-minute intervals.

During their 30-minute pit stop there will be "30 old cars on the square" at any given time after they start arriving, Nees said.

Snacks during their pit stop will be provided by the Senior Center. In addition, the local National Guard will be representing the corporate sponsor by setting up a climbing wall during the event.

The Great Race will cause several street closings on the morning of Wednesday, June 28. From 6 a.m. to noon the north and east sides of the courthouse will be closed.

The timed race, in which the winner is the one who sticks the closest to the set time frame will go around the world in 2008 to celebrate the original 1908 race from New York to Paris.

For more information about the Great Race, visit www.greatrace.com.