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International Champions and World Rallying Royalty Assemble for Overmountain Rally Tennessee

masonrunkel
1 day ago
18 min read
Photo by William Conley
Photo by William Conley

(Newport, Tenn., September 14, 2026) — The 2026 American Rally Association (ARA) National Championship enters its penultimate round this weekend as Overmountain Rally Tennessee returns to the hills and hollows of Eastern Tennessee’s Cherokee National Forest for its third running, bringing with it one of the deepest and most internationally diverse fields in recent ARA history.


The 58-car entry list welcomes some of global rallying’s biggest names, including 2019 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) Champion Ott Tänak from Estonia, Canadian four-time ARA National Champion Brandon Semenuk, multi-time Mexican National champions Ricardo Cordero and Ricardo Triviño, and 2025 Overmountain winner Conner Martell. All join the fray as current championship leader Lia Block and second-place Seth Quintero fight for valuable points against an influx of international talent in Tennessee.


Ireland’s Aoife Raftery leads the ARA LN4-class championship as she heads to Overmountain for her first rally since clinching the British Rally Championship’s BRC3 title at Rali Ceredigion in Wales, UK last weekend. Now leading a championship stateside as well, Raftery has the opportunity to secure two national class championships on two continents in the same season.


Meanwhile, Open Two-Wheel-Drive (O2WD) is set for another dogfight with nine entries, led by championship leader Daniel Shalev, who also arrives tied for the lead of the Stellantis Rally Cup North America in his Argonaut Motor Club-prepped Peugeot 208 Rally4.


Henry Tabor is capable of wrapping up his first-ever National Championship title one round early at Overmountain in Limited Two-Wheel-Drive (L2WD), but to do so, he’ll have to take down the usual suspects, as well as pro drifter Ryan Tuerck, making his stage rally debut this weekend.


Photo by William Conley
Photo by William Conley

A deep Regional field will also fight for the East Regional Championship in its final in-region round, although competitors can still count one out-of-region result toward their final championship total.


Located in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, Overmountain’s tight and twisting roads make it one of the more technical challenges on the ARA calendar. The stages combine frequent hairpins and low-speed first- and second-gear corners with steep climbs and descents, rough rocky sections, and little room for error. As repeated passes wear away the gravel surface, tire preservation and keeping out of trouble can become just as important as outright speed.


National competitors will tackle 99.87 stage miles across 13 stages on Friday and Saturday. The fun begins Thursday evening with “Rally Fest,” a fan-friendly Parc Exposé at the Cocke County Courthouse, with cars in place at 7:00 p.m. ahead of the seeded draw and driver roundtable.


Friday commences with a short Parc Exposé at Newport Speedway at 10:25 a.m. before the first cars leave at 11:00 for two passes each of “Low Gap” and “The Gulf of Tennessee” separated by a single one-hour service.


Saturday begins with another Parc Exposé at Newport Speedway at 8:30 a.m., followed by first car out at 9:00. Teams then tackle repeated runs of “Wasp,” “Weaver’s Bend,” and “Big Clifty” before the National-only final loop and “Big Clifty” Power Stage, which pays out extra championship points to the top finishers.


The rally concludes Saturday night with a 0.75-mile head-to-head, fan-favorite Super Special Stage at Newport Speedway, where two cars will start on opposite sides of the racing surface and simultaneously complete two laps each over a course featuring two large dirt jumps. With any crew starting the Super Special guaranteed to be classified as a finisher, even if the car becomes disabled, the rules give competitors little reason to hold back in front of the crowd.


Photo by Jerry Winker
Photo by Jerry Winker

Championship Battle Intensifies as Champions Join the Field

Fresh off her first ARA National overall victory at Ojibwe Forests Rally, championship leader Lia Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino bring the Rockstar Energy-backed Block House Racing Hyundai i20 N Rally2 to Overmountain with a 21-point advantage over TGR-WRT’s Seth Quintero and Topi Luhtinen in the GR Corolla Rally RC2. Sitting in the co-driver seat for Quintero will be James Morgan, filling in for Luhtinen who is unable to compete after sustaining injuries while competing in WRC Rally Chile last weekend. Morgan has competed in most events over the last three years in a TGR Yaris Rally2 overseas.


Just one round ago, Block and Quintero entered Ojibwe separated by only two points after Quintero took consecutive victories at Southern Ohio Forest Rally and Rally Colorado. Block’s first overall win in Minnesota, combined with suspension damage that took Quintero out of the Ojibwe fight on Friday, stretched that advantage to 21 points, although Quintero salvaged the maximum five ARA Power Stage points after restarting on Saturday.


With only Overmountain and the season finale Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR) remaining, however, the championship math is more complicated than the raw points total suggests. ARA regulations count only a competitor’s best six National event scores from the eight-round season toward the Overall Championship, while all Power Stage points count regardless of which event results are dropped. With six rounds now complete, Overmountain is the first event where that system begins to come into play, allowing a strong Tennessee result to replace one of a competitor’s weaker scores from earlier in the season.


That leaves Block with valuable breathing room, but plenty still on the table. A National victory is worth 22 championship points, with another five available to the winner of the Power Stage, meaning every position could matter as the championship heads toward its October finale.


Photo by Trav.is.Video
Photo by Trav.is.Video

TGR-WRT’s second GR Corolla Rally RC2 will be driven by 2019 FIA World Rally Champion Ott Tänak and co-driver Martin Järveoja, with the Estonian crew making its ARA debut and likely giving the field a new benchmark.


According to Toyota, “The Estonian crew’s participation forms part of their ongoing testing work, helping the team gather valuable knowledge of the local gravel roads in a region under consideration for a future WRC event in the United States.”


Tänak’s arrival—much as WRC veteran Jari-Matti Latvala’s did earlier this year at Olympus Rally—has helped attract an impressive collection of champions to Tennessee. Among them, four-time ARA National champions Brandon Semenuk and co-driver Keaton Williams return to ARA competition in a 2024 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, giving the pair a rare opportunity to test themselves against a WRC champion in the same RC2 field. Semenuk and Williams have already competed internationally in Rally2 machinery this season, including in the FIA European Rally Championship.


Multi-time Mexican champions and reigning Canadian Rally Championship (CRC) titlists Ricardo Cordero and co-driver Marco Hernandez also return to American Rally stages in their Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale, which they debuted in ARA competition at Rally Colorado. The pair are using their 2026 ARA appearances to prepare for a planned full-season attack on the championship in 2027.


“This rally is important for us because it will be our last ARA event in 2026, and there is the Ott Tänak factor, so we are going to push,” Cordero said. “We have nothing to lose now. We are Mexican and FIA North American champions, and we are preparing for the ARA attack in 2027, so watch for a big fight. Maybe top six?”


Another international champion joins the field in 10-time FIA North and Central American (NACAM) Rally Champion and two-time Mexican champion Ricardo Triviño, who will make his ARA debut alongside co-driver Sergio Salom Lopez in the first Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 to compete on ARA stages.


Photo by Brittney Johnson
Photo by Brittney Johnson

Travis Pastrana had been slated to drive the Open Four-Wheel-Drive (O4WD) Subaru WRX ARA25 for Subaru Motorsports USA at Overmountain, but the extreme sports legend will miss the round as he continues to recover from injuries sustained last month while practicing a freestyle motocross stunt. In his place, Vermont SportsCar test driver and defending 2025 Overmountain victor Conner Martell will pilot the Subaru, giving last year’s winner a chance to measure himself against Tänak on familiar roads. Martell made his WRC2 debut earlier this season at the Acropolis Rally.


“I’m beyond excited to get the call to be in the driver’s seat for Subaru,” Martell said. “I’m really bummed for Travis, and I hope he has a speedy recovery, so he can be back in the car soon. I've tested Travis' Subaru WRX ARA25 on several occasions, including a recent test where I logged some good miles, so I'm feeling comfortable jumping into the car on short notice like this.”


Pat Gruszka also returns in his Green APU-backed Hyundai i20 N Rally2 after taking time away from competition following a multiple sclerosis diagnosis earlier this season. After stepping back as a precaution and receiving medical clearance to return to racing, Gruszka plans three days of testing ahead of Overmountain before getting back on stage.


“I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a few months ago, so I took some time off out of precaution to make sure I was healthy and okay to return to racing,” Gruszka said. “My doctors have cleared me and said everything is okay. I’ll be doing three days of testing just to make sure my body can handle everything. Two months might not seem like a long time, but being out of the car is always hard.”


Additional RC2 entries include first-time Rally2 driver Sean Donnelly, joined by experienced co-driver Alex Kihurani in a 2020 Ford Fiesta Rally2, along with Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell and Michael Hordijk in their Mitsubishi Mirage Proto.


Photo by Michael Winters
Photo by Michael Winters

Raftery’s Intercontinental Championship Chase

Bringing a 10-point advantage over her nearest rival into Tennessee, Aoife Raftery arrives in the DirtFish Women in Motorsport-backed Ford Fiesta Rally3 just one week after becoming the 2026 BRC3 Champion at Rali Ceredigion, aiming to make it two class championships on two continents in the same year.


Raftery and co-driver Hannah McKillop surged into the lead of LN4—the combined Limited Four-Wheel-Drive (L4WD) and Naturally Aspirated Four-Wheel-Drive (NA4WD) National Championship class—after a strong performance despite mechanical issues at Ojibwe Forests Rally. Now, the Irish driver enters the penultimate round with an opportunity to add an ARA title to her British championship.


Tied for second in LN4 points with the absent Mark Piatkowski, Madelyn Tabor returns in the Steven Redd Racing Ford Fiesta Rally3 alongside co-driver Sophia McKee, who is back after missing Ojibwe. That leaves Tabor within striking distance as the pair look to make a major impact on the championship fight in Tennessee.


“I’m excited to return to Overmountain Rally for our second outing here,” Tabor said. “I’m tied for second in the class, so it’ll be another big opportunity for points. This was a challenging event for us last year, as we hadn’t competed at an event like this before, with super technical roads, but we learned a lot and are excited to come back this year with a little familiarity.


Photo by Max Mitchell
Photo by Max Mitchell

“The Rally3 got a good refresh from the Steven Redd Racing crew after finding some damage that potentially happened at Rally Colorado but didn’t make itself apparent until Ojibwe. So, big shoutout to SRR!”


The third and final Rally3 entry comes from the Eagle Rock Racing camp, with 2024 Limited Two-Wheel-Drive champions Richo Healey and Michelle Miller returning in their Ford Fiesta Rally3 EVO. The pair only stepped into L4WD competition at Southern Ohio in June but have already earned a class victory at Rally Colorado and will be chasing another this weekend.


Looking to throw a wrench into everyone’s plans, Ukrainians Nick Pysklyvets and Roman Romanchuk bring their Standard Energy-sponsored L4WD 2015 Subaru WRX STI to Tennessee with powerful momentum after earning their first class victory at last month’s Ojibwe—only their sixth national event ever.


Finally, the MINI USA and John Cooper Works Race Team 2025 MINI Countryman JCW of Luis Perocarpi and Mark Wells rounds out the LN4 field at Overmountain.


Photo by Izabella Lawrence
Photo by Izabella Lawrence

Shalev Enters Pivotal Round in Dual ARA and Stellantis Cup Fights

The ARA National Championship’s O2WD class has often been headlined by high-powered rear-wheel-drive machinery, but entering Overmountain it’s Daniel Shalev who leads the pack by 11 points in the nimble, front-wheel-drive Argonaut Motor Club-prepped Peugeot 208 Rally4.

Bursting onto the scene with his ARA debut at this year’s Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, Shalev earned third in class before following it with runner-up finishes at Southern Ohio Forest Rally (SOFR) and Rally Colorado, then finally earning his first class victory and the championship lead at Ojibwe Forests Rally.


Now heading into Overmountain, Shalev and co-driver Glen Ray hold a strong advantage as the rally’s tight, technical stages could play to the strengths of the small, nimble Rally4 against the more powerful rear-wheel-drive favorites.


Shalev also finds himself tied for the lead of the Stellantis Rally Cup North America with Canadian Vincent Lalande. The new single-make championship is reserved for Peugeot 208 Rally4 competitors across selected ARA and Canadian Rally Championship events, with each competitor counting their four best regular-round results alongside the double-points semifinal at Lake Superior Performance Rally and finale at Rallye de Charlevoix. Overmountain serves as the final regular round before the semifinal, giving Shalev and Lalande one last opportunity to strengthen their regular-season scores before double points come into play.


Behind the two Cup leaders, Olympus Rally O2WD winner William Tung returns in another Argonaut-prepped Peugeot 208 Rally4 alongside co-driver Michael Szewczyk and will also look to take advantage of Overmountain’s technical stages.


Photo by Chris Colten
Photo by Chris Colten

Other front-wheel-drive entrants looking to make an impact include relative newcomer Nicholas Tippmann and rally veteran Brad Morris.


Tippmann enters Overmountain third in the O2WD championship and aims to defend that position in his second year of rallying, driving his 2019 Ford Fiesta ST with David Tippmann back in the right seat.


“After a bit of a break, my usual co-driver David Tippmann is back in the passenger seat,” Tippmann said.


“My goal this late in the season is defense, and the list of names I have to defend my podium position from is staggering. I stand between [Matt] Nykanen, [Seamus] Burke, [Bill] Tung, [Andy] Cowan, and [David] Quillen’s path to the podium, and they are well within reach of knocking me off of it.


“Dave and I have to bring our best to Overmountain. Our car will be in its best shape ever, but the roads here are technical and rocky. I think it will take more than skill to come out on top here. You also need a little bit of luck.”


Photo by Erik Sils
Photo by Erik Sils

Morris and co-driver Vivin Vimal, meanwhile, will bring their Mitsubishi Mirage G5 out for the first time in 2026, looking to settle back into rally competition while proving themselves against a deep O2WD field.


“We have not been on stage in over a year, so we are going to go out at a pace well in hand and then work on our pace,” Morris said. “I have a new co-driver in Vivin V., and we are going to use this event to work on our notes and our teamwork.


“This weekend will mark my 20th anniversary in rally as a driver. The Mirage has been updated with new suspension and a new motor, which should bring us a little more pace.


“Our goals for the event are to work on teamwork and get up to pace with the leaders in O2WD. It’s always fierce competition in O2WD, and we want to be a part of it.”


Of course, the rear-wheel-drive favorites are still well represented, led by a pair of River City Rally Lexus IS350s. Longtime Lexus campaigner Michael Hooper and co-driver Michael Farrow enter second in the championship, while 2025 Ken Block Rookie of the Year Award winner Matthew Nykanen and co-driver Will Ross return for their second event in an IS350 after getting their first taste of the platform at Ojibwe.


Rounding out the nine-car class are Andy Cowan and Tiago Lourenco in their 1990 Volkswagen Jetta VR6, David and Drew Quillen in the MINI USA and John Cooper Works Race Team 2025 MINI JCW, and Tad Ohtake and Bob Martin in their 2002 Ford Focus. Martin had originally been set to serve as Deputy Clerk of the rally before stepping down from the role to compete.


“Tad Ohtake and I won a couple of class championships back in the ’90s but haven’t run together for at least 20 years,” Martin said. “We are running at Overmountain as a reunion.”


Photo by William Conley
Photo by William Conley

Drifting Legend Joins L2WD as Tabor Looks to Secure Championship

In addition to the big names fighting at the front of the field, L2WD welcomes longtime Formula DRIFT competitor Ryan Tuerck, who has competed in the series since 2005 and now takes to the ARA stages for his stage rally debut.


Tuerck is joined by co-driver Mika Rajasalo as the pair bring a River City Rally (RCR) Lexus IS250 to Tennessee to take on four L2WD regulars.


First and foremost is championship leader Henry Tabor and co-driver Dylan Hooker in their 2015 Ford Fiesta ST. Tabor has earned three class victories and a runner-up finish on his way to a 16-point championship lead entering Overmountain, putting him in position to potentially secure the title one round early.


“This will be a very important round for us,” Tabor said. “We have a great chance at taking the National Championship, which has been a lifelong aspiration, just like my dad in 2004, running what would be the same class as he did. We need to leave Overmountain with a 14-point gap to do it, with how the dropped events are estimated to work out.


“No pressure, right?


“Otherwise, this event last year was good to us, despite narrowly losing to Chris Cyr after a battle that went down to the final loop. I would love to finish one spot better, but we have a bigger goal. It will be awesome to race with Ryan Tuerck. Hopefully he does well, but behind me, ideally.


“Trying not to stress about where we are, but shoot, I want this more than anything.”


Second in points, Ryan McGrath and co-driver Crystina Coats bring another RCR Lexus IS250 as they chase their first class victory of the season. The L2WD field is completed by Stepan and Bo Kravets in their 2014 Ford Fiesta ST and John Barnett and Caleb Heffner in their 1987 BMW 325is.


Photo by Codey Dahl
Photo by Codey Dahl

STRYKER Challenge Faces Technical Tennessee Test

The developing ARA STRYKER Challenge returns with three RX1 entries at Overmountain as the new platform continues to build mileage in its inaugural season of National competition.


After making its first appearance at Rally Colorado and continuing development at Ojibwe, Overmountain presents a different challenge for the Can-Am Maverick-based machines. The tight, technical Tennessee roads will put the focus on agility and durability as the crews continue to learn the purpose-built rally platform.


Rally Ready founder “Texas” Dave Carapetyan returns alongside co-driver KJ Miller, while STRYKER co-founder Cole Powelson and Michael Gilbey continue their season together.


The third entry brings a new driver to the platform as Mika Block and Gary McElhinney step into an RX1. Block began his ARA stage rally career earlier this season in a Ford Fiesta R2T and has continued to gain experience through the year.


Photo by  Brittney Johnson
Photo by Brittney Johnson

Mayer Ready to Seal East Regional Championship at Overmountain

Alongside Overmountain Rally Tennessee’s National competition, the East Regional Championship contests its final in-region round over nearly the same roads, omitting only SS11 and SS12, which make up the National-only Power Stage loop. The result is an 87.64-mile, 11-stage Regional rally that all but closes the 2026 championship.


The catch is that while Overmountain is the final event on the East Region calendar, ARA’s Regional points system allows each competitor to count their best result from outside the region toward the championship. With 20 of Overmountain’s 25 Regional entries also entered in October’s Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR) Super Regional, the Central Region event effectively serves as a bonus round in the East championship fight.


Leading the charge by 23 points, Tom Mayer and co-driver Dillon McKenna have an opportunity to seal their respective overall championships regardless of LSPR’s outcome with a podium finish at Overmountain in their RallySport Direct-backed L4WD 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX.


“I’m really looking forward to hitting the Cherokee Forest stages again this year,” McKenna said. “Priority for the weekend would be for myself and Tom to seal up our respective Regional overall championships. Top step of the podium would obviously be an added bonus, but with how we’ve been trading times with Ryan [Pryzbylkowski] at SOFR and STPR, along with Camden [Sheridan] and his new motor, we’ll definitely have our work cut out for us.”


Speaking of Sheridan, the NA4WD competitor and co-driver Jeremy Frey of Wide Open Rallysport enter their second event of the season following a fourth-place overall finish at Sno*Drift in their 1999 Subaru Impreza, now equipped with a fresh powerplant upgrade and an eye on the front of the Regional field.


“I’m here for the roads,” Sheridan said. “The elevation changes and WRC-like character are hard to find at another event, and the forest stages are simply my favorite. We’re approaching it wide open.


Photo by  Charlie Discoe
Photo by Charlie Discoe

“The Super Special is very cool and a great way for fans to get up close to the cars. The car is fresh from a powerplant upgrade, and we’re ready to throw hands with the Rally3 cars. If nothing else, we want to duke it out for the Regional podium, and I’m eager to see how we stack up against the WRC drivers and all the RC2 cars.”


Ryan Pryzbylkowski and Betsy Nguyen have already proven the pace of their NA4WD 2001 Subaru Impreza 3.0RS and will be looking to defend their Overmountain success after winning the class and finishing second overall in the Regional rally last year.


Three additional NA4WD cars round out the class, with Andrew Williamson and Julia Stewart in their 1993 Subaru Impreza, Dan Shirley and Eric Eisele in the fan-favorite “War Weasel” 2005 Subaru Impreza OBS, and Jason Mesman and Gio Dumford in their 2006 Subaru Impreza.

With six competitors total, the L4WD field will also be looking to make things difficult for class front-runners Mayer and McKenna.


James Pryzbylkowski and Ethan Curtis already have a class victory at Overmountain from 2024, followed by a runner-up finish in 2025, and return in their 2004 Subaru WRX with a strong shot at another podium. Drew Staples also finished on the L4WD podium at Overmountain in 2024 and returns this year alongside co-driver Kendra Miller in his 2008 Subaru Impreza.


Additional competition comes from Niall Donnelly and Gage Gregory in their 2007 Subaru STI, Leonardo Quintero and Leonel Fuerte in their 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, and Luke Hughes and Heather Yakely in their 1994 Subaru Impreza L.


The four-wheel-drive field is completed by the O4WD Subaru Impreza of Zoltan Hajdu and Beatrix Veszpremi, whose ARA experience includes a top-10 Regional finish at STPR in 2022.


Photo by  Romulo Chagas
Photo by Romulo Chagas

Fresh Builds Highlight Regional 2WD Efforts

As usual, many of the most unique cars in the field can be found in the Regional two-wheel-drive classes, and Overmountain brings several fresh builds and varied lineups to the table.

Starting at the front of the 2WD field, multi-time Regional champions Chris and Sara Nonack bring their freshly built O2WD ANY% 2013 Scion 2GR-86 to Overmountain after earning a class victory on the car’s first-ever outing at STPR. After a lengthy build of the Toyota 2GR-FE V6-swapped FR-S, the pair are ready to continue putting the new package through its paces in the Cherokee National Forest.


“Excited to be returning to Overmountain for the most technical roads the East Region has to offer,” Nonack said. “We had a good first outing with the freshly constructed O2WD car at STPR, so this event will be a continued shakedown where we hopefully don’t find too many interesting new-build problems and I can keep learning to drive the thing. O2WD certainly has plenty of competition to see how we measure up in terms of stage times!”


Behind them in the O2WD start order, Travis Mattonen and Anikka Nykanen enter in their rear-wheel-drive-swapped 1998 Subaru Impreza, while Michael Gillespie and Brian McNamara bring a tried-and-true 1976 Ford Escort.


In fact, every O2WD entry comes from a different manufacturer, with Spiro Voudouris and Lilly Schwartz in a 2012 Mazda 2, Adam Brock and Nick Bukky in a 1989 Volvo 244, and Jack Pullen and Chris Zoni in a 2015 Honda Civic LX. The final O2WD entry belongs to Daniel Downey, who returns in his 1987 BMW 325is for the first time in more than a year alongside co-driver James Spoth.


Photo by  Von Hillner
Photo by Von Hillner

“Being my only rally this season, the first goal is to complete the event and outdo myself,” Downey said. “This is my 10th year as a stage rally driver, and I believe it will be the 20th event for the car and me. We also have several upgrades that are still largely untested after only getting about five stage miles at STPR last year, including an upgraded differential, engine management and tune, and an entirely new chassis wiring harness.


“My usual co-driver for the past six years, Sammie, isn’t able to make this one, so my friend Jim Spoth will be in the right seat. The goal is to have a reliable rally, find some of the extra speed we’ve been looking for the past few years, and see if we can compete with the National O2WD front-runners. We feel good about the car, the preparation, and how it should suit these roads. More than anything, it’s another great adventure, and I hope we feel good about our performance at the end.”


L2WD brings its own assortment of unusual new builds, including a pair of cars making their competition debuts.


First is the 2014 Hyundai Veloster R-Spec of Aaron Phillips and Charles Tompkins, with the newly completed Atlanta Rallysport entry taking both competitors to their first-ever stage rally.


“This will be our first rally event, and it’s also one of the closer ones for us Southerners,” Phillips said. “We’ve followed the past events and know how challenging the conditions can be, so we plan to stick to one goal: finish. We’re not striving for eternal rally glory just yet. We just want to finish, learn as much as humanly possible, and have a damn good time.


“All we’ve seen of the stages so far is media from previous years, but we’re stoked for the Super Special and just hope the suspension lets us finish it!


“The car started as a completely salvaged Hyundai Veloster last May, and now it’s a functioning rally car. Our team, Atlanta Rallysport, hopes to become a staple of rallying in the Southeast, and this weekend is the first step.”


Photo Courtesy Nathan Walker
Photo Courtesy Nathan Walker

Another build that is both new and unique in L2WD comes from Nathan Walker and James Bettencourt, who bring a 2.0-liter turbocharged 2019 Chevrolet Camaro to Tennessee.


“James and I are coming out of Tampa, Florida, to race Overmountain Rally Tennessee for the first time,” Walker said. “We previously rallied together in a prepared 2001 Ford Fiesta at Show-Me Rally in 2022 and 2023. After that I thought I was done with rally, but no. I needed to build my own car, and I had my own vision of how I wanted to have the most fun: rear-wheel drive, horsepower to spare, and a car I am willing to fix frequently.


“The car is a 2019 Chevrolet Camaro LS with the 2.0-liter turbo for L2WD. The cage was built by Adam Brock of 9HIO, and the car is almost completely stock aside from reinforced links in the rear drivetrain and an LSD. It even retains the air conditioning, Apple CarPlay, and power windows. We also came in under budget on the livery at just shy of $26.


“Overmountain will be a shakedown and proof of concept. We’ll be testing tires, engine and transmission temperatures, and getting comfortable with how the car performs on loose surfaces. We have no designs on winning, only finishing and collecting good data to get ready for Sno*Drift in 2027.”


The Veloster and Camaro will be joined in L2WD by the Ford Fiestas of Imogen Thompson and Steven Harrell, Joel Bruns and Makisa Upton, and Becca GT and Brandon Pace, along with the 1994 Toyota Celica of James Letchworth and Lucas Mozes.


Overmountain Rally Tennessee kicks off September 18 in Newport, Tennessee. Follow the action live on the ARA social media channels and on ara-rally.com.


To see images for Overmountain Rally - visit the 2026 Overmountain Rally TN gallery on Apexiel


~Mason Runkel for the ARA


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