Boone Forest Rally Brings Eastern Regional Fight to Appalachia
- masonrunkel
- 4 minutes ago
- 6 min read
(London, Ky., July 23, 2026) — The American Rally Association (ARA) Eastern Regional Championship heads to Kentucky on July 25 for the Boone Forest Rally, a one-day Super Regional event based around London and McKee in the foothills of Appalachia.
Following the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally’s (STPR) rough and attritional fight in Pennsylvania, Boone Forest Rally offers Eastern Regional competitors a very different challenge. The event’s smooth gravel roads and portions of asphalt will send the 19 entered teams through five twisting mountain stages run twice, plus a rally-ending spectator stage, for approximately 56.5 total stage miles across a compact but demanding Saturday itinerary.
Coming just two weeks after STPR, Boone Forest Rally gives Eastern Regional teams little time to repair, regroup, and re-prep for a very different kind of event. For crews coming out of Pennsylvania with momentum, damage, or unfinished business, Kentucky offers a quick chance to either build on their STPR results or reset before the Eastern Regional season concludes at Overmountain Rally Tennessee in September.
Boone Forest Rally activities kick off Friday, July 24, as teams gather at Town Center Park in London, Kentucky, for a Parc Exposé from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m.
Saturday morning competition begins at 8:30 a.m. after an 8:00 a.m. Parc Exposé on W Water Street in McKee, Kentucky. Cars will traverse the “Mill Creek,” “Turkey Foot,” and “S Tree Tower” stages before returning to each once more ahead of service. After service, the itinerary consists of a “Hale Ridge” and “White Ash” loop run twice, followed by the spectator stage at the Appalachian Overland Triangle to cap off the competition before the awards ceremony.
With a compact one-day format, late finish, and an eleven stage itinerary, Boone Forest Rally offers little time for teams to settle in. Less than two weeks after STPR’s rough forest stages tested durability, Boone’s shorter sprint format could reward the crews able to quickly switch from survival mode to clean, committed pace.
Castro Brings National-Level Equipment to Boone
The favorite to win Boone Forest Rally is the local entry of Javier Castro and Ezequiel Garcia in the RC Competition Audi A1 Maxx. Based in Kentucky, RC Competition has long been a supporter of Boone’s event organizers, the Backroads of Appalachia group, and its entry not only raises the level of competition for the other 18 teams, but also brings national-level rally machinery to the hollows of Kentucky for fans to experience.
As the lone RC2 entry, Castro and Garcia are far and away the favorites for the overall win—so long as they can stay out of trouble on the stages—but they are not the only Kentucky locals entered.
Louisville’s Nathan Coulter once again brings out his Naturally Aspirated Four-Wheel-Drive (NA4WD) 1990 Subaru Legacy with Bryce Proseus in the navigator’s seat. With multiple class podiums and an overall win to his name, Coulter brings seven years of experience to the 2026 running of Boone Forest Rally.
“Boone is my home rally, so of course we have to represent,” Coulter said. “Even if it wasn’t, the roads are worth the trip. This year, we will actually be refining notes from last year instead of writing them from scratch. My note writing has finally gotten to a high enough level that we aren’t making wholesale changes year over year.”
Coulter’s last event, at Southern Ohio Forest Rally (SOFR), was interrupted by engine issues, but after leaving Ohio and doing an overnight engine swap at the shop in Kentucky, he and Proseus returned for the final day of competition with the second-fastest regional combined time across the final 10 stages.
“This year at SOFR was our first time reusing notes, and it worked really well,” Coulter added. “Speaking of SOFR, the car still has the engine we put in that weekend.
“Our goal is to not put the car on its side like we did last year, so we can be in contention for the podium. It’s going to be a good battle with Tom Mayer and Dillon McKenna. I know we will both be pushing to top each other on every stage.”
Mayer and McKenna are expected to be some of Coulter and Proseus’ closest competition in their RallySport Direct-backed Limited Four-Wheel-Drive (L4WD) 2002 Subaru WRX. Currently leading the Eastern Regional Championship under STPR’s provisional results pending inquiry, a strong finish at Boone would put the pair in excellent position ahead of the season-ending Overmountain Rally Tennessee in September.
In L4WD, five other competitors will be pushing for the top spot as well. Most notably, stunt driver Tyler Witte brings his 1996 Mitsubishi Evo with Cray Dumeah co-driving.
The event marks Witte’s first rally since 2025’s Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, but not the first time his car has seen sideways action since then, as it recently starred in Witte’s Uber Extreme short film.
Peter Farrow and Jackson Sedivy in their 2002 Subaru Impreza and Drew Staples and Glen Ray in their 2008 Subaru Impreza represent two more groups of familiar faces, while Luke Hughes and Heather Yakely in their 1994 Subaru Impreza enter for their first stage rally experience at Boone, as does Remington Roberts, with Lucas Mozes co-driving in their 2006 Mitsubishi Evo IX.
Fighting Coulter for the top of the NA4WD podium, Erik and Jordan Buetow’s 2008 Subaru Impreza will be pushing for a strong class finish while also eyeing a potential first overall ARA regional podium.
Short-course UTV racer Michael Branning and co-driver Brandon Pace will enter their first ARA rally together in their NA4WD 2004 Subaru Impreza. While Branning has some experience in U.S. stage rally, Boone marks his first ARA entry, and Pace brings years of Canadian championship expertise to Kentucky.
“I am coming to Boone to get familiar with ARA and to prepare for Overmountain,” Branning said. “For me, it’s impossible to determine how I will approach a rally until I drive the stages for recce the first time, and even then, the plan will change before the end of the rally.
“Usually the racing I do has laps to feel out the course. Getting a corner perfect on the first try isn’t critical, and rally is helping me break my ‘first-lap caution.’ From the videos I have seen, there looks to be mostly large marble-style gravel, which can make driving aggressively counterproductive.
“The reason for coming to ARA is to race against the best and see where I land. Right now, I don’t have a specific goal beyond running clean. If I do that, I think we’ll be in contention for a plaque.”
Becca GT Brings Stunt Background to Boone 2WD Field
Witte isn’t the only stunt driver taking to the stages this weekend in Kentucky. In Limited Two-Wheel-Drive (L2WD), Becca GT is back once again after making her return to the stages at STPR in a rebuilt Ford Fiesta ST following a big off at SOFR in 2025. With more than a decade of stunt experience and credits including FBI: Most Wanted, The Blacklist, and Sneaky Pete, she brings a unique background to the ARA field.
“I’m finally taking some time off my job as a stunt performer for TV and film and pursuing a few more ARA events this year in a newly rebuilt Ford Fiesta ST,” GT said.
As it is her first time at Boone, she and co-driver Tiago Lourenco plan to keep it smart on stage.
“I’m going for a slow and steady approach,” GT said. “I would love a solid finish. I’m still getting comfortable being uncomfortable in the car again after last year’s crash at SOFR.
“My goal is to focus a bit more on racing. My job as a stunt performer utilizes driving fancy for camera, making things look out of control while being in control. This does not translate well to actual racing, so that has been a bit of a challenge for me to grasp. I’m hoping to improve my stage times as the event progresses and keep the car shiny side up.
“I will be at Parc Exposé handing out Rally MENTALity decals and posters. Rally MENTALity is my brand that embraces the concept of never giving up, thriving in chaos, and enjoying the crazy ride.”
GT and Lourenco will be joined in L2WD by Cole Clements and Gabriel Nieves in the Honda of America Race Team (HART) Rally Team 2017 Honda Civic, Joel Bruns and Makisa Upton in a 2015 Ford Fiesta ST, and Gregory Haley and Caleb Heffner in a 1994 Volkswagen Golf.
In the faster Open Two-Wheel-Drive (O2WD) class, Sean Burke and Nathan Werner lead the entry in their 1991 Honda CRX, having taken first in class at Boone in 2024 and second in 2025.
To take the top spot again, they’ll have to fight off Emmons Hathaway and Zane Jackson in their 1993 Honda Civic, Steve Rowlands and Boyd Smith in their 2001 BMW 330i, and Bob Martin and Jim Kloosterman in their 1988 Dodge Shadow.
It all kicks off July 24 at Town Center Park in London, Kentucky. Follow the action live on the ARA social media channels and ara-rally.com.
To see images for Boone Forest Rally - visit the 2026 Boone Forest Rally gallery on Apexiel.
~Mason Runkel for the ARA