Where do you start when you completely fall in love with a motorsport? I expected to have some fond feelings about stage rally going into the weekend but I left Sunday night completely exhausted and worn out, and undeniably, exceptionally enthralled with everything about the sport. From stages hosted in Newport Speedway (one of which we missed due to being at our stage late), to ripping up forest service roads every thing about the Overmountain rally was exhilarating. Time between stages was passed by chatting with spectators and volunteers, all of whom were welcoming to a newbie such as myself and learning more and more about the events hosted by ARA from the local to national levels.

Friday night was a special stage held at Newport Speedway where 2 cars would go head to head, looping the track twice and completing 2 jumps each time. Some folks sent it hard, flat out and full send while others were more conservative in their opening night shenanigans. Before the racing started there was a lot of time for fans to meet the teams and to check out all the cars parked along the infield. Every person I spoke to was exceedingly friendly and I was thrilled to see so many women involved at every level, from driver and co-driver down to techs and crew, as well as support roles. Also check one off of the list of ‘things teenage me would think are super cool’ — meeting Travis Pastrana and since, having had conversations with his co-driver, Rhianon.

Saturday we chose a captive stage where the course shifted from gravel to pavement, which according to some of the drivers, was a bit slippery from a build up of moss. The first pass of our stage was shortened due to an off course just up the stage from us- one of the teams had missed the turn and wound up down the mountain side in the river, so we had a total of 8 cars make it through the first run. The second run there was a fuller roster, though notably more than just one car was missing. It was noted by most teams that this was one of the most technical rallies of the season, and the hills of Tennessee were proving to be harsh and challenging. By the time the third pass for our stage began the light was fading and the number of cars that passed had dwindled from a start of 50 down to a total of 36 that had made it to the last off road stage of the night. From there the teams headed back to Newport Speedway for the final event, a jump and barrels, which we missed due to helping clear our stage of spectators and cleaning up any trash as well as the tape used to mark off spectator areas.

My spot Sunday was a bit easier to get great shots from, and the captain of the spectator zone had made a specific area just for media for which I was grateful, even if my shins toted home some new bruises from gravel being kicked up by a few competitors. The Sunday viewing spaces were also captive, but we were at a campground within the forest which had camp toilets, which was a nicety I was grateful for. There were only 2 passes at our location scheduled and the end of the first had 3 cars which were escorted out at travel pace due to an unhappy local at the finish who wanted to pass through despite the road being closed. The stages saw some carnage and, much like Saturday, the number of cars dwindled between passes of our stage. During the service break it began to rain in patches along the stages; some, like our area, seeing a little more than a drizzle while others saw full out downpours causing rapidly changing conditions to battle not just for competitors but also for the media crews as well. It was obvious how much muddier other stages were by the conditions of the cars as they passed by, some looking like they had attempted to drive through endless mud puddles and all coated in gravel dust and dirt as they dried out.  Due to work schedules and a lengthy drive home, we didn’t stay to capture the podiums and end of the rally festivities, but I certainly know for next time to make time for this.

I cannot wait to cover more of these events, and I fell in love so much with the whole experience I want to try my hand at driving a stage rally myself. The spectators were friendly, the volunteers were all amazing and helpful and every team was excited to be there and incredibly welcoming, all of which made it so very easy to fall in love with stage rally. I am looking forward to covering more of these events, from national ARA events to as many grassroots and smaller events that I can make it to in 2026. And who knows, with any luck I might get to drive in a few too.