On a day where thousands gathered in Tulsa to celebrate the 100th birthday of America’s most iconic road, the city shattered the Guinness World Record for most classic cars in a parade during the Route 66 Capital Cruise Saturday.
The official count: 3,596 classic cars traveled 5.5 miles west along the Mother Road from Yale to Cheyenne. That number handily beat the previous world record of 2,491 classic cars, set in Dorado, Puerto Rico in April 2017 by more than 1,000 cars.
More than 5,000 registered to participate in the Capital Cruise parade in celebration of the Mother Road’s centennial, but less than 4,000 showed up, said Michael Empric, Guinness World Records adjudicator. Additional cars were deducted by stewards due to stalls and gaps between vehicles.
“The stewards were pretty harsh,” Empric said. “These were community members that volunteered to do this, and they did exactly what they were told to do. They deducted those spaces, they deducted those vehicles, and you still set the Guinness World Record.”
All morning, spectators cheered on motorists to rev their engines and roar their exhausts along the Mother Road. For Katherine Poslick from Sand Springs, it was everything she expected and more.
“It was awesome,” Poslick said. “I love hearing the cars. I love seeing them.”
Heather Copley, a Tulsa woman, called the parade a “once in a lifetime opportunity.”
“To break the Guinness World Record on the 100-year anniversary, you can’t do that again,” she said.
Andrew Graham left his house in Yukon, Oklahoma at 3:30 a.m. to beat the road closures.
“I’m geeking out over cars, and everyone has just been so nice,” Graham said. “But that’s just Oklahoma.”
Honoring the ‘Father of Route 66’
Bob Berghell, the grandson of Cyrus Avery — often called the “Father of Route 66” — served as one of the parade’s grand marshals. Avery was on a federal subcommittee responsible for creating the U.S. highway system, where he championed a Chicago-to-Los Angeles route that swung through Tulsa. That highway system was approved in November 1926.
Now 100 years later, Berghell coasted with his family in a 1950 Studebaker Commander along the road his grandfather made a reality.
“I can just imagine if my grandfather could beam down and see this going on, how tickled to death he’d be over the whole thing,” Berghell said.
Berghell told the Flyer he remembers traveling along Route 66 almost every summer during his childhood and spending weekends outdoors at Avery’s ranch near Santa Monica, California.
“He and I would go out to his ranch that was outside the city about 15 minutes. The minute we left the city center, he let me drive,” Berghell said. “I was like 10 or 11 … We’d take all this junk food and go out and spend a weekend at the ranch. I’d be shooting .22s. I’d be riding horses, swimming in the creek.”
It wasn’t until Berghell studied abroad in Japan when the weight of his grandfather’s work dawned on him.
“I went over to Japan to study one summer while I was in engineering school at UCLA, and I found that the Japanese were just wild about Route 66. They knew all about it,” Berghell said. “There were cowboy bars where Japanese guys were singing cowboy songs they couldn’t possibly know the words to, but they really knew Route 66 stuff.”
Beyond his grandfather’s work, Berghell said his wife, Evelyn, who immigrated to Chicago from the Philippines as a child, traveled along Route 66 when she moved to California — where they met.
“I’m just delighted to be a part of it, and delighted that my kids see this and understand the connections,” he said.
Tulsa Police Department gets into position to kick off the the Route 66 Capital Cruise, a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest classic car parade ever. The starting line began at E. 11th St. and S. Yale Ave on Saturday, May 30, 2026. Credit: Molly McElwain 
Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell waves at spectators from a 1960 Buick Electra 225 convertible during the Route 66 Capital Cruise May 30, 2026. Credit: Molly McElwain 
A stilt performer stands along E. 11th St. while entertaining spectators at the Route 66 Capital Cruise, a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest classic car parade ever on Saturday, May 30, 2026 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Credit: Molly McElwain 
Spectators line up along E. 11th St. to kick off the the Route 66 Capital Cruise, a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest classic car parade ever on Saturday, May 30, 2026 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Credit: Molly McElwain 
Spectators line up along E. 11th St. to kick off the the Route 66 Capital Cruise, a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest classic car parade ever on Saturday, May 30, 2026 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Credit: Molly McElwain 
Spectators observe the Route 66 Capital Cruise, a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest classic car parade ever inside Tally’s Cafe on Saturday, May 30, 2026 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Credit: Molly McElwain 
A bystander uses her phone to record a passing classic car during the Route 66 Capital Cruise on May 30, 2026. The cruise was an effort to break a world record for largest classic car cruise. Credit: Judd Slivka 
A bystander watches a classic car go by during the Route 66 Capital Cruise on May 30, 2026. The cruise was an effort to break a world record for largest classic car cruise. Credit: Judd Slivka 
A classic car travels down 11th Street during the Route 66 Capital Cruise on May 30, 2026. The cruise was an effort to break a world record for largest classic car cruise. Credit: Judd Slivka 
Some of the first cars in the Route 66 Capital Cruise make their way towards downtown Tulsa on 11th Street on May 30, 2026. The cruise was an effort to break a world record for largest classic car cruise. Credit: Judd Slivka 
Spectators wave at participants in the Route 66 Capital Cruise on May 30, 2026. The cruise was an effort to break a world record for largest classic car cruise. Credit: Judd Slivka 
A classic car decorated with Route 66’s path travels down 11th Street during the Route 66 Capital Cruise on May 30, 2026. The cruise was an effort to break a world record for largest classic car cruise. Credit: Judd Slivka
Matt Pinnell: ‘This was our Super Bowl’
Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, who also served as a grand marshal in Saturday’s parade, called the parade a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” Pinnell waved at spectators from a 1960 Buick Electra 225 convertible.
“This is the pinnacle for me. This was our Super Bowl,” Pinnell said. “To pull off a full-day celebration of Route 66 bigger than any other state, and really to show taxpayers that there really is an economic driver and an economic impact to the Mother Road.”
Mayor Monroe Nichols and Route 66 journalist and historian Michael Wallis — who voiced Sheriff in Pixar’s “Cars” — also served as grand marshals in the parade. Nichols cruised on the back of a 1940 LaSalle convertible while Wallis drove a 1930 Model A Cabriolet.
Derek Bieri, a classic car enthusiast and YouTube personality, drove a custom 1971 Ford F-100 that he spent months restoring on his YouTube channel. He sold the vehicle for $38,000 during a Friday night auction at Expo Square, with all the proceeds going to Tulsa Mayfest.
Drivers from 42 states, Canada and France participated in Saturday’s parade. Organizers say an estimated 100,000 spectators lined the 5.5-mile route to watch.
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