Vintage Wheels Ready to Roll in Great Race

The MBNA America Great Race XV begins today, which means there will be another opportunity for several Orange County competitors to take to the highways in pre-1951 vintage autos and motorcycles.

And it’s another opportunity for some of the prominent families of vintage auto racing, the Curries and Stanfields, to compete.

The 4,400-mile trek, from Sonoma to Jacksonville, Fla., ends July 4.

The winner of the Championship division receives $40,000. The total purse is $250,000.

Frank Currie of Anaheim will drive a 1920 Packard Speedster in this year’s race. Last year, he rode from Tacoma to Toronto in a 1910 Seldon Raceabout with his son Ray; in 1995, he drove from Ottawa to Mexico City with his son John. This year, another son, Charles, will navigate in the 1910 Seldon.

Frank Currie’s wife, Evelyn, will navigate a 1928 McDowell Special for Doug Asay of Gilroy.

The Curries aren’t the only family who take the race seriously. Wayne Stanfield of Santa Ana, competing in his 15th race, lost last year’s race by one second on a 1936 Harley Davidson motorcycle. This year, he’ll drive the Seldon that Charles Currie will be riding in.

Stanfield’s daughter, Rebecca, a television reporter in Redding, will navigate a 1935 Hispano Suiza for the second year in a row.

Other local racers are Anaheim’s Tom Coad and Gary Poulin, who will drive a 1917 Hudson Indy Racer; and Orange’s Gail Alger and Barry Kentrup will ride in a 1930 Oldsmobile convertible.