Corky Coker speaks to navigator Sawyer Stone and driver David Reeder in a 1933 Ford on their way to a safety check for the Coker Tire Challenge, a time, speed and endurance rally held in 2006 in Chattanooga. Stone and Reeder placed first this summer in the 2006 Great Race winning $100,000.
Staff File Photo by Dan Henry/Chattanooga Times Free PressChattanooga’s reputation as an auto city has gained another wheel.
Next month, the city will serve as the starting point for the Great Race, the vintage car competition recently bought by Chattanooga businessman Corky Coker.
Coker Tire, his business, is a big provider of antique car tires and purchasing the name and assets to the Great Race was a natural, said Wes Kliner, the company’s general counsel.
“Collecting antique cars is a passion for many people, not just in the United States but pretty much worldwide,” Kliner said.
He said the Great Race, which started in 1983, had gone into bankruptcy after its previous owners tried to undertake a New York to Paris event.