Missouri Ozark Rally coming to Texas County
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(July 5, 2022) – The 100AW Performance Rally Group is partnering with the Texas County Commission to bring rally racing to the county. The Missouri Ozark Rally is planned for Saturday, July 30, near Cabool.
In April, Kim DeMotte, President of the 100AW Performance Rally Group, approached the commission in search of a home for the Missouri Ozark Rally. DeMotte proposed a small, one-day event, designed for officials’ training and a close-to-home experience for a small group of Rally Racers within an approximate 150-mile radius of Texas County.
The organizer group has been meeting with the commissioners and the townships since April. The commission, of course, is always looking for events and excitement to bring people to the county and the organizer group is always looking for new roads and venues on which to conduct their events. The organization is also the governing body that conducts the Show-Me Rally in Washington County in November, and the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood in Dent and Washington counties every March. The Missouri Ozark Rally would also serve as a “proof-of-concept” for potentially including Texas County in the large International Rally in the 100 Acre Wood conducted annually in March.
Working closely with Sargent Township Board member Jeremy Minton, organizers have laid out a course east of Cabool for the racers and officials to compete on Saturday, July 30. With the commissioners’ blessing, traffic will be controlled on these roads throughout the day making it safe for the competition, spectators and local residents.
“Rally racing is a unique form of motorsport that’s been as popular in Europe as NASCAR is in the U.S.,” DeMotte said. “And it’s growing in the U.S. with entries at last year’s 100 Acre Wood pushing 100 cars.”
Cars start a competitive section at one-minute intervals and race a prescribed course, one car at a time, so no wheel-to-wheel racing takes place. It’s all against the clock. In between the prescribed race sections they transit at safe speeds to the next racing section.
The racers will gather at the Texas County Fairgrounds in Houston on Saturday morning, around 9 a.m. and will leave for the rally course at 10:30 a.m. Meanwhile, their pit crews will convene in front of the Cabool High School Gymnasium, where the racers will come in for service around noon.
The racers come home to the Texas County Fairgrounds Saturday afternoon to their finish and awards banquet. They will join an already exciting cadre of things to do that evening. The Missouri Ozark Rally coincides with the final day of the Texas County Fair, with a demolition derby and a carnival planned for that evening at the fairgrounds.
An accurate schedule and spectator guide will be published about a week prior on the organization’s website, www.missouriozarkrally.100aw.org. Those wishing to volunteer can check out https://rally101.100aw.org/volunteerinformation/.
“We’re always looking for volunteers to come enjoy the fun with us,” DeMotte concluded.
