The Great Race, the world's premiere old car rally, will bring 120 of the world's finest antique automobiles downtown to Court Street for the $150,000 event.

The race will start June 20 in Kirkwood, Mo., and finish June 28 at the Santa Monica Pier in California traveling along historic Route 66.

Along the 2,400-mile route, competitors will travel parts of The Mother Road in all eight states it originally ran through - Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

The Great Race, which began 32 years ago, is not a speed race, but a time/speed/distance rally. The vehicles, each with a driver and navigator, are given precise instructions each day that detail every move down to the second. They are scored at secret check points along the way and are penalized one second for each second either early or late. As in golf, the lowest score wins.

Cars start - and hopefully finish - one minute apart if all goes according to plan. The biggest part of the challenge other than staying on time and following the instructions is getting an old car to the finish line each day.