Prescott Rally Opens New Spring Date for 34th Running
- masonrunkel
- 59 minutes ago
- 6 min read
(Prescott Valley, Ariz., March 23, 2026) — The American Rally Association (ARA) West Regional Championship heads into its second round of the 2026 season this weekend as the Prescott Rally shifts from its traditional September slot to a new spring date, March 27–28.
Moving back to the Prescott area and now headquartered in Prescott Valley, the event returns to the region’s dusty mountain roads—terrain that has crowned past winners such as Paul Choiniere, Rod Millen, and Mark Lovell throughout its long and storied history.
Organizers Alor Motorsports, Inc., in conjunction with the Arizona Rally Association and Rodnoc LLC, will host 25 competitors across two days of competition, covering 13 stages and 125.53 miles of action.
The rally continues to be among the best for fan accessibility with two Parc Exposés at the Harkins Center in Prescott Valley, from 8:00–9:00 a.m. on Friday and 9:00–10:00 a.m. on Saturday. And two spectator-friendly stages will also take place at the venue on Friday, March 27 starting at 6:45pm.
Friday’s route features the “Penske Pass” and “Witty Tom” stages, which will then be run in reverse as “Tom’s Witt,” followed by “First View South.” After a mid-day service near the Liberty Traditional School, crews will complete a second loop of “Tom’s Witt” and “First View South” before tackling the spectator stages “PV Super Special 1” and “PV Super Special 2,” separated by a service.
Saturday begins with a Parc Exposé before crews head out for “PFO” and “First View South,” followed by service. The rally then returns to “Penske Pass” before continuing to “Perkinsville West.” After a final service, competitors will take on the 20.9-mile “PerkinsView” stage to conclude the event.
Prescott Rally Crucial for Early Points Lead in West Regional Championship
As the second round of the six-event 2026 American Rally Association (ARA) West Regional Championship, Prescott Rally presents an important opportunity for early momentum in the title fight following the season opener at Ridge Rally in December 2025.
Currently, it is the Open Four-Wheel-Drive (O4WD) 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX of Charles Watson and Ben Triplett leading the standings with 17 points after their victory at Ridge, holding a three-point advantage over Arto and Mary Ylikangas. The Ylikangas duo debuted the latest evolution of their 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX at Ridge, transitioning from O4WD into Limited Four-Wheel-Drive (L4WD) for the 2026 season.
Despite showing strong pace with two stage wins at last year’s Prescott Rally, Watson’s event unraveled after a 10-minute penalty for an illegal service to free a stuck parking brake, followed by further issues including engine warnings and a hood failure on stage—problems he aims to put behind him in 2026.
“I like to think that I’m a better driver coming out of that experience last year,” Watson said. “I definitely think those lessons helped us get the win at Ridge Rally to kick off this season.
“This year, I’m especially excited for the rematch with Arto Ylikangas, who took the overall win last year after an amazing drive.”
Ylikangas remains a key contender as he continues to refine the latest version of his car. The two drivers have a growing rivalry, highlighted by close battles at Rally Colorado last season and multiple tightly contested events since.
With Triplett unavailable for Prescott, Watson will be joined by experienced co-driver Jamie Beliveau, who leads the Team O’Neil Rally School co-driver training program.
Third in the current ARA West Regional Championship standings, Elijah and Jeff Kleeman return in their O4WD 2018 Subaru WRX after securing their first overall podium at Ridge Rally, now taking on Prescott’s desert stages for the first time.
While the top three build on points from round one, much of the field is just starting their season at Prescott and all are on the hunt for points.
Starting second on the road, Fritz and Brooke Croy headline the Naturally Aspirated Four-Wheel-Drive (NA4WD) class in their 2002 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS at their home event. The pair impressed at Ridge, leading early before retiring late, and now return aiming to convert that pace into a result.
“Ridge Rally was a valuable learning experience for us,” Croy said. “While an off-road excursion didn’t give us the result we were aiming for, it pushed us to take a hard look at where we can improve, both in driving and in preparation.
“Since then, we’ve been putting in the work to make ‘Sally’ a more competitive car. From setup refinements to overall performance improvements, the goal has been to come back stronger and more dialed in.”
Fellow locals Sean Spring and Justin McBee also contest NA4WD, swapping seats for 2026 as they enter their third rally together in their 2002 Subaru Forester. After two events with McBee driving, Spring takes over driving duties at his home event.
“The car has had a handful of changes to help make it more robust, but we’re still on stock-style suspension,” Spring said. “That is one of our main vulnerabilities, so we’ll do our best to manage that and make it through the rally.”
The NA4WD field is completed by Albert Goad and Loren Bench in their 2005 Subaru 2.5RS, Paul Trout and Stephen Hamacher in their 2002 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS, and Brian Gilbreath and Elijah Grant in their 1993 Subaru Impreza.
In L4WD, 2024 West Regional Champion Phil Clarke returns with co-driver Michelle Miller in their 2003 Subaru WRX, aiming to reclaim the title in 2026.
“Phil and I met in 2019 when he took his first class at DirtFish,” Miller said. “He was instantly hooked and went on to run his first rally in 2022. This will be the first time both Phil Clarke and I compete at Prescott Rally… it’s a big change from what we’re used to.”
“We’ll be starting first on the road, which means sweeping the stages will be a new challenge for me,” Clarke added. “After a tough 2025 season, our aim is to kick off 2026 with a strong result—and a podium finish would put us in a great position to reclaim the L4WD West Regional Championship.”
Also entering the fight, Jordan O’Connell and Anthony Campbell bring the Donut Motorsports Team’s 2005 Subaru Impreza STI into their second event together, targeting the overall win.
“We’re looking forward to the fast, flowing roads and to battling with Charles [Watson] and Arto [Ylikangas] for the overall win,” O’Connell said.
The seven-car L4WD field is rounded out by Chris and Lori O’Driscoll in their 2003 Subaru WRX, Jonathan Myers and Jeremy Agostino in their 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX, and Julian Zamora and Alex Larrinua in their 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX.
From Veterans to New-Comers, 2WD Field Brings Depth to Prescott
The Limited Two-Wheel-Drive (L2WD) class features just four entries, but brings a wide range of experience and machinery, setting the stage for an intriguing battle across Prescott’s two days of competition.
Expected to set the pace, James Besing and Travis Harrell return to their home event after winning the L2WD class at Prescott in 2024 and securing podium finishes in two additional appearances in their 1995 Honda Civic Si.
“There’s a good mix of really fast, flowy sections and tight, technical sections,” Besing said. “The desert roads give a lot of grip and can be very smooth, but they keep you on your toes with rough, rocky sections. And don’t get me started on the scenery—'First View’ says it all.
“Our main goal is always to finish, but we’re always trying to beat our previous stage times and get a little quicker each year. Last year we hit 99 mph on Perkinsville—this year I want to finally reach triple digits.”
On the other end of the experience spectrum, Ezra and Timothy Johnson return for just their second stage rally in their 2002 MINI Cooper after retiring from last year’s Prescott Rally.
“My son has dreamed of building and racing a stage rally car, and he was able to do it,” Timothy Johnson said. “I’m riding shotgun on his dream — racing with him is fantastic and terrifying. Our goals are to get to the start, stay safe, finish more stages, and improve our results.”
Rounding out the L2WD field are Jennifer and Terry Stonecipher in their 1987 Volkswagen Golf GTI, and Philip Mickleborough and Nikita Latman in their 2002 Ford Focus SVT.
In Open Two-Wheel-Drive (O2WD), fresh off a class win at Ridge Rally, event organizer James Veatch III returns in his Lexus SC400 with co-driver Jenna Cooper, aiming to improve on last year’s runner-up finish at Prescott.
A competitive group of challengers will contest the class, including Erik Christiansen and Amy Floyd in their 1987 Volkswagen Golf GTI, Brian Maskrey and Tyler Swartz in their 1985 Toyota Corolla, and Eric Zabala and Andrea Lauria in their 2014 Ford Focus ST.
Follow the action live on the ARA social media channels and on ara-rally.com.
~Mason Runkel for the ARA