Hometown Pride Tour: The Great Race stopping by Nocona

NOCONA, Texas (KAUZ) - The Great Race, a national event where car enthusiasts take a road trip across the U.S., has chosen the hill country of Nocona as one of its overnight stops.

In Tuesday’s Hometown Pride Tour, Ebonee Coleman has more on the story.

“For over 40 years it’s been a classic cars endurance race,” said Michelle Fenoglio Toerck, Nocona Chamber Board Member. “They have about 120-plus participants that will all be in vintage cars, some over 100 years old.”

Being crowned the Car Capitol of Texas, participating in The Great Race is one of the biggest events Nocona has ever seen.

“When they called us with the opportunity to be a stop, I was actually dumbfounded because they don’t normally choose a town this size but Nocona rose to the occasion,” said Toerck.

So much that they decided to make it a three day weekend of fun.

“Their travelers will have the opportunity to view the Horton Classic Car Museum, they will be fed,” said Toerck.

That road trip will begin in San Antonio and will reach it’s final destination in Greenville, South Carolina and it’s made each and every Nocona Chamber of Commerce member shake up the way they do things.

“More people are coming to me or Cheryl or anybody and needing help with their Facebook to help promote themselves for big events like this, it gives a lot of the businesses incentives,” said Destinee Norman, Nocona Chamber Marketing Manager.

“Destinee Norman brings in youth and life and new ideas. We, as an aging chamber, now have this to offer,” said Toerck.

For The Great Race event, that will bring in crowds of people, it will make a town that has a population of around 3,000 people seem not so small.

“When I left, there weren’t really those kinds of events and then when I came back like downtown was completely renovated,” said Norman. “It has definitely blown up, when I came back I was very surprised. We get people from all over the metroplex area that come and say how great our small town is.”

Toerck said The Great Race stopping in Nocona also marks a historical moment as this will probably be the first and only time it will be in the city.

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