Coker Tire sponsoring vintage car road rally

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—Coker Tire has agreed to become the presenting sponsor of the Hemmings Motor News Great Race, a nine-day, 2,300-mile road rally for vintage cars scheduled for June 24-July 2.

The agreement with Hemings Motor News expands Coker Tire's role with Great Race, an event Coker has been affiliated with since the 1990s as a sponsor, tire service provider, volunteer support, etc.

The organizers did not say whether the sponsorship deal is a one-time or multi-year agreement. Financial terms were not disclosed. The event's presenting sponsor the past several years was Hagerty Motoring Club.

The 2023 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Coker Tire will start in St. Augustine, Fla., in June 24 and finish in Colorado Springs, Colo., on July 2, running predominantly on secondary roads and visiting dozens of small towns along the way.

This year's rally will make stops in 17 cities in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Colorado.

Entrants are competing for up to $158,000 in prizes. The winner gets $50,000.

The event, now in its 40th year, is open to vehicles built in 1974 or earlier. The event has averaged over 120 entries the past several years.

"Collector car enthusiasts have a choice when it comes to tires, and we're glad the Great Race community values the authenticity and reliability of our products for such a demanding rally," Coker Tire CEO Mike Kealey said, noting that roughly 80 percent of Great Race participants use Coker Tire products in the event.

Founded in 1958 by Harold Coker, Chattanooga-based Coker Tire is the self-proclaimed world's largest supplier of tires and wheels for collector vehicles. The company is considered part of the "Legendary Companies" collective, a corporate identity created in 2019 after the firm was acquired by a team of Coker Tire executives and private-equity provider Irving Place Capital.

Hemings Motor News is a monthly magazine published By American City Business Journals for the vintage car sector. This is the magazine's 69th year in circulation.

The 2024 Great Race will start on June 22 in Owensboro, Ky., and finish on June 30 in Gardiner, Maine.