Saturday, February 26, 2011

Gentleman – START YOUR ENGINES!



Admittedly we are not big race fans. However, a combination of cabin fever and the promise of automobiles hurdling thru the Ozarks backwoods has peaked our (maybe I should say “my”) interest. For several years there has been a sanctioned rally type event not far from where we live. It’s called the 100 Acre Wood Rally here’s a link: 100 Acre Wood Rally.




The event headquarters is Salem, MO, a sleepy little town in the south central part of the state. This must be the biggest annual event in Salem as witnessed by every business having a “Welcome 100 Acre Rally Participants” sign out front. The gist of the race is that there are timed trial sections of road all around Salem. The participants drive between these trial sections and then compete to see who can drive each section the fastest. When I say fastest – I mean HOLY CRAP! WHAT THE HELL JUST FLEW BY ME AT 100MPH?



It would be impressive to see these cars fly by at such high speeds on asphalt or concrete. But that is not what Rally Racing is all about. These guys are slinging these cars around corners, up and down hills and across water crossings on roads that consist of no more than graded DIRT and GRAVEL.

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!




This must be a pretty popular type of racing. We saw license plates from as far away as Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, and Ontario, Canada. Watching the race could only be done from certain designated locations with very strict rules as to where you could or could not stand. After watching a few of these cars fly by Erin was ready to give it a try. Look for her and I to be piloting one of these all-wheel-drive 4 cylinder land missals in next years race. Now, where can I find a racing jump suit in a portly size 60 long?



dd

4 comments:

Keetha Broyles said...

Good grief! That sounds scary dangerous!

Erin, you look cute as a bug in a rug in that last picture!

Keetha said...

Go Erin! I bet you could do it!

Keetha said...

Go Erin! I bet you could do it!

Erin said...

I have been searching for rally schools! It was great to watch, but would be even better to do!