A group of Lawrence school district students and their 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air were rolling along Monday afternoon in second place during the third day of a cross-country car race.

“The car’s doing great and the kids are doing great,” David Tenpenny, the students’ auto mechanics instructor, said.

Tenpenny and fellow auto instructor Ted Crady were following the race on Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The students who weren’t driving were traveling in an old school bus, although many of them were assisting the race organizers, Tenpenny said.

The Great Race, which features antique cars, began Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla., and will end July 3 in Monterey, Calif. About 120 teams are participating. The Lawrence students are competing for $10,000 in scholarships in the student and amateur division.

The race is not so much high speed but following directions teams are given by the race organizers.

“They keep us on our toes,” Tenpenny said. “You have to follow instructions.”

The cars will be in Lawrence for a Thursday pit stop in the parking lot of Dillons, 3000 W. Sixth St.