Rally in the 100 Acre Wood is a two-day stage-performance racing event held on March 13-14 throughout a three-county area. Drivers compete in special stages for a short time, starting at one-minute intervals, to see who can drive that section the fastest. An evening meet and greet will be available from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on March 12 at Hood Park, where the drivers will be present to meet with the public. Food trucks, including the All American Food Co., Swafftastic BBQ, Muddy Boots Coffee and Mad Moose & Crew BBQ, will be available throughout the event.

Rally in the 100 Acre Wood includes special stages in three different counties. Starting with the parc expose at 11:45 a.m. on March 13 in Downtown Potosi, Washington County, stages are expected to travel through Crawford County, before ending around 9 p.m. on the first day. Day two will begin with another parc expose at 9 a.m. in Salem, Dent County, and will finish around 10 p.m. after the awards ceremony.

Chairman Curt Faigle said this event has been around for a while.

“The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood is the second national event of the American Rally Association national calendar. The history goes back to the late 70’s, but then it stopped around 1983 and was resumed in 2002,” Faigle said. “A rally car race involves street-legal cars with safety additions such as roll cages, fireproof driving suits, helmets, etc. All the cars have to go through a thorough check to make sure they have everything.”

A total of 70 drivers have entered to race in one of the five competition classes.

Some of the top competitors have endorsements and sponsorships, but most run on their own money. There is also no prize money, just trophies.

Event organizers set up a course that is anywhere from 200 to 500 miles, which includes the special stages that are closed to the public for a short time, and driving public roads, and obeying all traffic laws while getting from one special stage to the next.

It takes about 300 volunteers to run the event, and safety is very important to everyone involved.

“We use a ham radio net to monitor everything that is going on,” Faigle said. “The rally cars now have trackers in them to let the organizers know if they are stopped or in need of help.”

For more information, or for the spectator guide, visit their website at americanrallyassociation.org/100aw.