YOUR ROUTE 66
PHOTO COULD
WIN
$500
$900
IN CASH PRIZES
10
FINALISTS
3
PHOTOS PER PERSON, MAX
CHAPTER 01 / JOIN IN
THE PHOTO THAT TAKES YOU BACK.
A long drive. A quick stop. A place you still talk about. If you took the photo on Route 66, we want to see it. Older photos are welcome.
01
PICK YOUR PHOTO.
Choose a Route 66 shot you took yourself. You can enter up to three photos, each in its own feed post.
02
POST IT.
Start your caption with “My Route 66 memory.” Mention and photo-tag @route66orbust, then add #route66orbust.
03
FOLLOW ALONG +
DM Us
Join the adventure! Follow @route66orbust, set your account to public for visibility, and send us your photos via DM. We can’t wait to connect!
04
MEET THE FINALISTS.
Our team picks 10 photos. The community votes by liking the finalist posts on our page.
ENTRY DEADLINE: OCTOBER 18 AT 11:59 P.M. PT. 18+ U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY. COMMENTING ENTER SENDS A CHECKLIST BY DM; THE PHOTO POST IS THE ENTRY. SEE FULL RULES BELOW.
CHAPTER 02 / THE PRIZES
THREE SHOTS AT THE CASH.
Three photos win. All three creators get a winner spotlight on @route66orbust.
FIRST PLACE
$500
PLUS A FEATURED WINNER SPOTLIGHT
SECOND PLACE
$250
PLUS A FEATURED WINNER SPOTLIGHT
THIRD PLACE
$150
PLUS A FEATURED WINNER SPOTLIGHT
BEYOND THE WINNERS
EVERY PHOTO OPENS A DOOR.
Cash goes to three winners. Every eligible entrant can be considered for what comes next.
A CHANCE AT A COLLAB POST
We may invite standout creators to publish an Instagram collab post with @route66orbust. Selected posts may be boosted. Selection and reach are not guaranteed.
EARLY PREVIEWS, IF YOU WANT THEM
Opt in to hear about upcoming Route 66 Project campaigns and events before they go public. Future promotional messages are optional.
CHAPTER 03 / WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
FROM YOUR FEED TO THE FINISH LINE.
The team chooses finalists for photo quality, sense of place, and story. Then the community decides the top three.
ENTRIES CLOSE
OCT 18 · 11:59 P.M.
Last chance to publish your photo. Pacific Time.
TEAM REVIEW
OCT 19–25
Ten finalists are chosen by the team.
COMMUNITY VOTE
OCT 26–29
72 hours of likes on our finalist reposts.
WINNERS
OCT 30
First, second, and third place announced.
GOOD TO KNOW
A FEW THINGS BEFORE YOU POST.
CAN I ENTER A PHOTO I TOOK YEARS AGO?
Yes. The photo can be old, as long as you took it and publish a new qualifying feed post during the entry window.
CAN I ENTER MORE THAN ONCE?
Yes. Up to three photos per person, one photo per separate feed post. The team may select only one finalist photo per person.
DOES SHARING TO MY STORY COUNT?
No. A public feed post with the required caption, tag, hashtag, and follow is the entry. A Story mention is optional.
HOW ARE WINNERS CHOSEN?
The team selects 10 finalists. Likes on the 10 finalist reposts at @route66orbust determine the top three after 72 hours.
DO I LOSE THE RIGHTS TO MY PHOTO?
No. You keep ownership. Entering grants the limited use permission set out in the Official Rules.
THE FINE PRINT
OFFICIAL RULES & CONDITIONS.
Eligibility, judging, prizes, image rights, and platform release are set out below. Read the complete rules before entering.
NO PURCHASE OR DONATION NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR DONATION WILL NOT IMPROVE AN ENTRY’S CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
1. SPONSOR
The “My Route 66” Photo Contest (the “Contest”) is sponsored by The Route 66 Project LLC, 30 N Gould St. Ste N. Sheridan, WY 82801 (the “Sponsor”). Questions about these Official Rules may be sent to hq@theroute66project.com. The Sponsor operates the Instagram account @route66orbust.
2. ELIGIBILITY
The Contest is open to legal residents of the United States who are at least 18 years old at the time of entry and have a public Instagram account. Sponsor's team members, employees, contractors working on the Contest, investors, and each of their immediate family members and household members are ineligible. Sponsor may request reasonable proof of age, residency, identity, photo ownership, and eligibility. The Contest is subject to applicable federal, state, and local laws and is void where prohibited.
3. CONTEST PERIOD
Entries open October 1, 2026 at 8:00 AM Pacific Time (“PT”) and close Sunday, October 18, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. PT (the “Entry Period”). Sponsor's timekeeping controls. Entries posted before or after the Entry Period are ineligible, even if the underlying photograph was taken earlier. A past photograph is welcome if the entrant took it and makes a new qualifying Instagram feed post during the Entry Period.
4. HOW TO ENTER
During the Entry Period, an eligible person must:
1. Follow @route66orbust on Instagram and keep the account public through the conclusion of the Contest.
2. Publish an original Route 66 photograph that the entrant personally took as a new post on the entrant's Instagram feed. Publish one photo per entry post. A photo may have been taken before the Entry Period.
3. Mention @route66orbust in the post caption, tag @route66orbust on the photo, and include #route66orbust. Do not inaccurately tag any person or account in the image.
4. At the beginning of the caption, disclose that the post is a contest entry using “My Route 66 memory” or an equally clear statement. A caption may also tell the story of the location or moment photographed.
An entrant may submit up to three separate photo posts, for a maximum of three entries. Each entry must meet every requirement above. The Instagram account holder is deemed the entrant. Entries are free, but ordinary internet or mobile data charges may apply. An entrant must not submit the same photo from multiple accounts.
Commenting route66orbust on Sponsor's announcement post can request the entry checklist by direct message; it does not itself enter the Contest. Sharing an entry to an Instagram Story and mentioning @route66orbust is optional and may trigger an automated acknowledgment; it does not replace any required entry step or improve the entry's standing.
5. ENTRY STANDARDS
Each entrant represents that the photograph is their original work, that they took it, that they have the rights needed to submit it and grant the license below, and that their entry does not violate another person's copyright, privacy, publicity, or other rights. Entrants must obtain any permission legally required for identifiable people or privately owned material featured in the entry. Entries must be appropriate for a general audience and may not contain unlawful, hateful, or infringing material. Sponsor may reject or remove an entry that does not meet these rules, after a good-faith review.
An entry must remain visible to Sponsor through finalist selection. Sponsor is not responsible for entries it cannot view because of a private account, deletion, incorrect tagging, a missing hashtag, platform settings, or a technical failure.
6. FINALIST SELECTION
From October 19–25, 2026, Sponsor's team will review eligible entries and select 10 finalists based on photo quality, sense of place, and the story behind the shot, considered together. A compelling photograph from a small account has the same opportunity to be selected as one from a large account. The team may select no more than one finalist entry per person. Sponsor will contact prospective finalists by Instagram direct message to confirm eligibility and repost details. A person who cannot be reached or verified within [finalist response period] may be replaced by the next eligible entry selected under the same criteria.
7. COMMUNITY VOTE AND WINNER SELECTION
Sponsor will repost each of the 10 finalist photographs as a separate post on @route66orbust, crediting the photographer. The intended voting period begins Monday, October 26, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. PT and ends Thursday, October 29, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. PT (72 hours). Sponsor will post the finalists at the start of the voting period and announce any necessary timing change before voting opens.
The likes on Sponsor's finalist reposts, as shown to Sponsor at the voting deadline, determine the ranking. Likes on an entrant's own original post do not count. The finalist post with the most valid likes wins first place; the next two win second and third place. If finalist posts tie in likes, the post with more comments on Sponsor's repost at the deadline ranks higher. If they also tie in comments, the judging team will break the tie using the finalist criteria in Section 6.
Finalists may invite friends and followers to vote. Purchasing likes, using bots, coordinated inauthentic activity, or manipulating engagement is prohibited. Sponsor may disqualify an affected entry or disregard invalid engagement when reasonably supported by available evidence, subject to a good-faith review. Sponsor's determination under these published criteria is final to the extent permitted by law.
8. PRIZES AND NOTIFICATION
There are three cash prizes, totaling $900:
Place — Cash prize
First — $500
Second — $250
Third — $150
Each winner also receives a featured spotlight on @route66orbust. Sponsor plans to announce the winners on Friday, October 30, 2026, and send each winner an Instagram direct message with verification and payout instructions. Each prospective winner must respond within 48 hours after Sponsor sends the message. If a prospective winner is ineligible, fails to respond, cannot be verified, or declines the prize, Sponsor may award that prize to the next highest-ranking eligible finalist, subject to the same verification process.
Cash will be paid by PayPal, Venmo, Zelle or check, as arranged with the verified winner. Prizes are nontransferable. Winners are responsible for any taxes associated with a prize; Sponsor may request information reasonably needed to fulfill applicable tax reporting obligations. Sponsor will not ask a winner to pay a fee to claim a prize.
9. OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL ELIGIBLE ENTRANTS
Every eligible entrant may be considered for a future Instagram collaboration post with @route66orbust. Sponsor alone selects any featured creators; a collaboration post, paid boost, particular reach, or publication date is not guaranteed. A selected creator must accept any required Instagram collaboration invitation. Sponsor may promote selected collaboration posts through paid media.
Eligible entrants may also choose to receive early previews of upcoming Route 66 Project campaigns and events by direct message. Consent to receive promotional messages is optional and is not a condition of entry or of winning. Administrative messages about an entry, finalist status, or a prize may be sent as needed to run the Contest. Entrants may withdraw from optional future messages using the instructions provided in those messages.
10. OWNERSHIP, LICENSE, AND CREDIT
Entrants retain ownership and copyright in their photographs. By submitting an entry, an entrant grants Sponsor a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to reproduce, display, repost, crop, resize, and publish the entry photograph and its accompanying story and Instagram handle in connection with the Contest, finalist and winner posts, Sponsor's Route 66-related social channels and website, and promotion of selected collaboration posts, for [license duration to be approved]. Sponsor will provide creator credit where reasonably practical. Sponsor may not sell an entrant's photograph as a standalone image or place it on merchandise without separate permission from the copyright owner.
Sponsor may identify finalists and winners by their public Instagram handles and show their submitted photographs in Contest-related announcements. A selected Instagram collaboration post requires the creator's acceptance of the platform invitation. No transfer of copyright ownership occurs under these rules.
11. PRIVACY
Sponsor may process the entrant's public Instagram handle, entry photo and caption, engagement data, and any information an entrant supplies by direct message to administer the Contest, verify eligibility, contact finalists and winners, deliver prizes, and exercise the rights in Section 10. Sponsor may use a messaging service provider to send requested checklists and Contest administration messages. Optional future promotional messages require a separate opt-in; Contest questions may be directed to hq@theroute66project.com.
12. PLATFORM AND TECHNICAL MATTERS
This Contest is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Instagram or Meta. By entering, participants release Instagram and Meta from liability relating to this Contest to the extent permitted by law. Information supplied for the Contest is provided to Sponsor, not to Instagram or Meta, except for information an entrant posts through Instagram's ordinary features.
Sponsor is not responsible for platform outages, unavailable accounts, lost entries, or delays beyond its reasonable control. If a material technical problem prevents fair finalist posting or voting, Sponsor may pause the affected phase and announce a reasonable revised schedule and consistent method of counting votes. Sponsor will not materially change the stated judging criteria or prize amounts after the Entry Period begins except where required by law. If the Contest cannot proceed fairly, Sponsor may cancel it and explain the decision publicly, subject to applicable law.
13. GENERAL CONDITIONS
By entering, an entrant agrees to these Official Rules and to Sponsor's decisions made under them. To the extent permitted by law, Sponsor and its officers, employees, and agents are not liable for claims arising from a participant's entry, platform failure, or acceptance or use of a prize, except to the extent caused by their own unlawful conduct or where such a limitation is prohibited. If any provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in effect. The Contest is governed by the laws of the state of Wyoming. Sponsor's formation or other state approved by counsel, without overriding any non-waivable consumer protections that apply to an entrant.
Sponsor: The Route 66 Project LLC, 30 N Gould St Ste N Sheridan, WY 82801. Contact: hq@theroute66project.com. Official Rules URL: https://www.theroute66project.com/contest
THE ROUTE 66 PROJECT LLC