Winner Take All: Block and Quintero Fight for Historic Championship at LSPR
(Marquette, Mich., October 7, 2026) — History will be made at the Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR) October 9-10 as the 2026 American Rally Association (ARA) National Championship comes down to one final event and two young stars battling for the title of overall American Rally National Champion.
Lia Block—the 20-year-old daughter of rally and action sports legend Ken Block—is poised to become the first woman in history to win the American Rally National Championship overall. Following in her late great father’s footsteps, the Rockstar Energy-sponsored Block House Racing driver has the chance to finish what he started, winning a title that eluded him throughout his 18-year rallying career.
Standing in her way is 24-year-old Californian Seth Quintero of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team (TGR-WRT), who in his first season of stage rallying has won overall twice and scored two additional podium finishes.
Quintero trails Block by 17 points entering the season finale. Due to ARA regulations, there are multiple points scenarios to consider, but the simplest is this: Winner Take All. If Quintero can score his third overall rally win of the season and collect maximum bonus points from the ARA Power Stage, he’ll be champion. And if Block can add her second overall rally win of the season, regardless of the Power Stage points, she’ll be champion—and it’ll be the first time that pronoun has ever preceded the title.
Meanwhile, the LN4-class Championship will also come down to LSPR, with American Madelyn Tabor leading Ukrainian rookie Nick Pysklyvets and Irishwoman Aoife Raftery into the finale. Tabor holds an 11-point advantage over Pysklyvets and 15 over Raftery, with all three still mathematically capable of taking the title.
Madelyn’s younger brother Henry already sealed the Limited Two-Wheel-Drive (L2WD) Championship one round early. He travels to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with the pressure off, supporting his sister and looking to add a fourth class victory to his 2026 record, but he’ll face one of the strongest L2WD fields of the season.
Likewise, the ARA Open Two-Wheel-Drive (O2WD) Championship was settled last month at Overmountain Rally Tennessee with Danny Shalev on top, but he enters LSPR with a second championship on the line: the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup North America, which pits Canadian Rally Championship (CRC) and ARA National Championship teams against one another in identical Peugeot 208 Rally4 cars. With double Stellantis Cup points on offer at the ARA season finale as well as the CRC’s finale Rallye de Charlevoix, LSPR has attracted five Stellantis Cup competitors from around the world, including Shalev’s main rival, Canadian Vincent Lalande.
With 83 entries, the field is full of potential spoilers waiting to steal points away from championship hopefuls, while the concurrent Super Regional, the penultimate round of the ARA Central Regional Championship, adds another layer of points battles throughout the field.
A 16-stage, 123.80-stage-mile National itinerary over a mix of forest logging roads and sandy unpaved public roads through the fall foliage of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula serves as the battleground for it all. Weather often plays a major role in LSPR’s unpredictability, with conditions capable of ranging from clear, dry, and dusty to rain, mud, and even snow.
A Thursday evening Parc Exposé at Fox Marquette Subaru (October 8, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.) precedes competition, which begins Friday afternoon with the field scheduled to depart the Sidnaw Service Area at 1:00 p.m. Competitors tackle a five-stage loop consisting of “Passmore Short,” “Teepee Tower Short,” “Far Point,” “Bob Lake,” and “Markey Lake” before a one-hour service and a second run through the same stages into the evening.
Saturday begins with another Parc Exposé at the Northern Michigan University Berry Events Center from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. before competitors tackle the fan-packed “Mt. Marquette” stage, followed by “Al’s Playground” and “Menge Creek.” After service, the field repeats the latter two stages before the National season comes down to one final run of “Al’s Playground” as SS16, the bonus-points-paying ARA Power Stage. The rally then finishes with a street party in downtown Marquette, with awards scheduled for 6:15 p.m.
One Final Fight for the 2026 Championship
After a season full of ups and downs for both of them, Block House Racing’s Lia Block and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team’s (TGR-WRT) Seth Quintero enter LSPR for their final bout separated by 17 points.
Block, in the Rockstar Energy-backed Hyundai i20 N Rally2, appears to have a healthy advantage over Quintero in the Toyota GR Corolla Rally RC2, but the gap isn’t quite as comfortable as it might seem. The ARA National Championship counts each competitor’s six best event scores from the eight-round season, while every Power Stage point accumulated through all eight events are included. Quintero, having missed the season-opening Sno*Drift Rally and DNF’d at March’s Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, currently has two rounds with no points to discard, while Block has only one, a disqualification from Sno*Drift, leaving a 12-point finish as her next-lowest score.
The result is that an LSPR victory would net Block only 10 additional event points—the 22-point win replacing the earlier 12-point result—plus whatever she earns on the Power Stage. That said, if Block finishes ahead of Quintero, she wins the championship. If Quintero finishes ahead with Block still on the podium, the title will come down to the Power Stage on “Al’s Playground.” Regardless, Quintero must finish on the overall podium to retain any path to the title.
Playing spoiler to the championship fight, Conner Martell is back behind the controls of the multi-championship-winning Vermont SportsCar-built Subaru Motorsports USA (SMSUSA) WRX ARA25 Open Four-Wheel-Drive (O4WD) car. Martell substituted for the injured Travis Pastrana at last month’s Overmountain Rally Tennessee and has been pressed back into service as Pastrana’s broken leg has not healed sufficiently for him to rejoin competition.
Martell and Whittock showed immediate pace together at Overmountain Rally Tennessee last month, running in podium contention before a mechanical issue ended their challenge. Martell also brings plenty of familiarity with Subaru machinery as a longtime Vermont SportsCar test driver, while his 2025 ARA campaign included six podiums, an overall victory at Overmountain and second in the championship. Much of his 2026 season has been spent competing in Europe in Rally2 machinery, including his WRC2 debut at the Acropolis Rally.
“I’m excited to be back with Subaru Motorsports USA for LSPR,” Martell said. “Overmountain gave me a chance to get comfortable with the team and the car in competition, and LSPR is a completely different challenge. It’s fast, the conditions can change quickly, and I’m looking forward to getting back out there with Ross and pushing for a strong finish to the season.”
“Really excited to be back with Subaru and Conner,” Whittock said. “LSPR is the complete opposite of Overmountain, so it will be good to feel the car at speed.”
With competitive mileage now under his belt in the ARA25, Martell enters LSPR as another serious threat at the front of the field.
Joining Martell in playing spoiler this weekend, Pat Gruszka and John Hall return in the Green APU-backed Hyundai i20 N Rally2, while Green APU adds a second RC2 entry for Pat’s father and teammate, Art Gruszka. The 2017 Rally America champion returns to the driver’s seat alongside co-driver Lukasz Wronski in a 2021 Hyundai i20 N Rally2.
Irish rally veteran Enda McCormack and co-driver Liam McCormack also return to ARA competition for LSPR in a Hyundai i20 N Rally2, with Enda making his first ARA start since 2024.
Rounding out the RC2 field, DirtFish’s Brenten Kelly hops into the Steven Redd Racing (SRR) Ford Fiesta Rally2 alongside Stefan Trajkov, stepping up from the older Fiesta R5 he drove to fourth overall at Oregon Trail Rally earlier this year.
The rest of the O4WD field consists of Pat Moro and Ole Holter in the fan-favorite LT1-powered Chevrolet Sonic and Todd Hartmann and Shawn Callahan in their 2010 Ford Fiesta Proto.
Three-Way Battle for LN4 Carries into LSPR
It’s no secret that the combined ARA National class for Limited Four-Wheel-Drive (L4WD) and Naturally Aspirated Four-Wheel-Drive (NA4WD) cars, known as LN4, has produced one of the most interesting championship battles of the 2026 ARA season.
The championship lead has changed hands repeatedly. Mark Piatkowski opened the year on top after winning Sno*Drift, Travis Pastrana then moved to the front in the Subaru Motorsports USA WRX ARA25L, and DirtFish Women in Motorsport’s Aoife Raftery and Hannah McKillop later took over in their Element RallySport Fiesta Rally3. Now, the Tabor Racing Team-run Steven Redd Racing (SRR) Ford Fiesta Rally3 Evo of Madelyn Tabor leads the way.
Tabor moved to the top after winning LN4 and the Power Stage at last month’s Overmountain Rally Tennessee, giving her an 11-point lead over Ukrainian rookie Nick Pysklyvets, with Ireland’s Raftery another four points back. Pysklyvets and co-driver Roman Romanchuk took an LN4 victory one round earlier at Ojibwe Forests Rally in their Standard Energy-backed 2015 Subaru WRX STI.
Now, with Pysklyvets and Raftery behind her, Tabor looks to seal her first ARA National championship at LSPR. A third-place finish or better guarantees her the title. If she finishes fourth, either challenger would need both the LN4 win and Power Stage bonus to beat her; a lower Tabor finish opens more combinations for the challengers.
“I'm excited to race LSPR; it'll be our third time competing here,” Tabor said. “It's one of our favorites on the calendar and a great way to end the season. Last year we DNF'd with a double puncture, so I'm definitely looking to have a good finish. I'm also coming into this event first in LN4, so I'm hoping to finish it with the championship win. Sophia [McKee] and I found a great rhythm at the end of Overmountain, so I'm hoping to continue that momentum into LSPR!”
Tabor and co-driver Sophia McKee will have no shortage of competition, with 12 other cars entered in LN4 at LSPR. Beyond her main championship rivals, Sean Donnelly and Carl Williamson are entered in their L4WD 2024 Renault Clio Rally3, which has collected five class podiums, including two wins
Local favorites Grzegorz Bugaj and Elizabeth Dziubanski of GZB Rally Team return in their L4WD 2011 Subaru WRX STI after building a strong LSPR record that includes a class win, another class podium and two fourth-place overall finishes in recent years.
Richo Healey and Michelle Miller return in the L4WD Eagle Rock Racing (ERR) Fiesta Rally3 Evo after a season of high highs and low lows in the new car, while Olympus Rally class winners Camerion Gholson and Drea Lauria return in their L4WD 2012 Subaru WRX. Algen Kaumeheiwa and Phil Barnes bring out another 2024 Ford Fiesta Rally3, while Luis Perocarpi and Carlos Schrunder close out their debut season in the MINI USA John Cooper Works Race Team 2025 MINI JCW Countryman ALL4.
Rounding out L4WD, Roberto Yglesias returns in an SRR Fiesta Rally3, but with a new outlook.
“For me, what brings me to LSPR is the yearly opportunity to race some awesome roads through the most beautiful fall colors and end at the best rally party of the year.
“This year I come to LSPR with a new mindset. We're not fighting for a championship or wins. I have fully embraced my gentleman driver status and am treating each race as a rally vacation going forward, an opportunity to see friends, do cool rally stuff and enjoy it without worrying about where we place or trying to beat anyone else. I did it for the first time at SOFR, and it was some of the most fun I've ever had, so now we're looking forward to keeping it going at LSPR with Krista Skucas back in the team and driving the amazing Rally3 from Steven Redd Racing.”
On the NA4WD side, Eliza Coleman and Ryan Scott have locked up the 2026 ARA NA4 Cup in their 2005 Subaru Impreza, an entry-dependent weighted Cup for NA4WD cars. At LSPR, they’ll take their victory lap alongside Erik and Jordan Buetow in their 2008 Subaru Impreza and Michigan native Andrew Layton, author of Press On Regardless: The Story of America’s Longest, Oldest, and Meanest Road Rally. Layton returns to LSPR with his father, Joe, in the co-driver’s seat after flying home from a military assignment in Liberia, West Africa. Saturday’s finish falls on Joe’s 70th birthday, adding another layer of meaning to an event Layton already considers his home-state rally.
“LSPR is definitely the stage rally that means the most to me personally,” Andrew Layton said. “I’m a Michigan guy, and I love the history of Press On Regardless and the generations of Michigan drivers who made these roads part of American rallying’s story.
“One of the biggest milestones for me this weekend is getting to rally with my dad, Joe, co-driving. There aren’t many opportunities in life to do something you love with your dad, especially something like stage rally. Saturday’s finish will fall on his 70th birthday, which makes it especially meaningful. If we can get to the finish together, I honestly can’t think of a better way to celebrate.”
Away from the stages, Layton is also using LSPR weekend to launch pre-sales through Revolution Press for an expanded edition of In Like a Lamb, Out Like a Lion, Tom Grimshaw’s 1994 biography of American rally legend John Buffum. Layton and Jim Booth of the Rallying in America podcast are producing the updated edition, which adds new material covering the second half of Buffum’s career.
Peugeots Flood O2WD Field as Stellantis Rally Cup Heats Up
Of the 10 cars entered in the LSPR National Open Two-Wheel-Drive (O2WD) class, half are Peugeot 208 Rally4s. The platform has seen an uptick in popularity with the inaugural Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup North America taking place across the ARA and Canadian Rally Championship (CRC) this year. Team FJ and Argonaut Motor Club have supported the series with arrive-and-drive Peugeot 208 Rally4 programs and technical assistance, lowering the barrier to entry for prospective competitors.
The Cup offers $25,000 CAD in parts vouchers across the semifinal at LSPR and final at Rallye de Charlevoix, while the season champion will earn a choice between a National rally in a Citroën C3 Rally2 or an international WRC or ERC rally in a Peugeot 208 Rally4, along with a Stellantis Motorsport experience in Europe.
LSPR is worth double points in the Stellantis Cup as the semifinal round, and the top three drivers in the standings are all entered to maximize their title chances. Newly crowned 2026 ARA O2WD driver champion Americans Danny Shalev and co-driver Glen Ray lead the Stellantis Rally Cup with 78 points, ahead of Canadian Vincent Lalande and Frenchman Fabien Craen on 67 in second, and Americans William Tung and Michael Szewczyk on 52 in third. With both LSPR and Rallye de Charlevoix awarding double points and counting automatically toward the final six-result championship total, it’s all to play for heading into Michigan.
Joining them in the Peugeot contingent, Block House Racing’s 15-year-old Mika Block and veteran Irish co-driver Gary McElhinney step into their third different car of the season after campaigning a Ford Fiesta R2T and STRYKER RX1 at previous rounds, giving Block another very different platform to learn.
Meanwhile, 14-year-old Polish driver Bruno Gryc makes his U.S. debut in a Peugeot 208 Rally4 at LSPR.
“We received an invitation to take part in this rally and started discussing whether we could make it happen,” Gryc said. “After a number of conversations, we managed to find the right solution, so I can finally say it: we’re really going to the USA!
“It’s a huge adventure for me and something completely new. We’re not putting any pressure on ourselves. The rally, the stages and the whole atmosphere of competing in the United States will all be new to me. Above all, I want to make the most of this opportunity, learn as much as possible and gain experience that will help me in the future. Of course, I’ll do everything I can to show my best. We’ll fight, I’ll give it everything I have and, most importantly, we’ll try to enjoy every kilometre as much as possible.”
Gryc is joined by Lithuanian co-driver Ugnius Vainevičius, who has co-driven for him multiple times during a competition career dating back to 2021. Despite his age, Gryc already has more than 30 rally starts across multiple countries and championships. Ironically, however, Vainevičius will be required to take over driving duties for all LSPR transit stages because Gryc is too young for a U.S. driver’s license.
Outside the Peugeots, Matthew Nykanen and Michael Farrow once again enter in a River City Rally Lexus IS350. The 2025 Ken Block Rookie of the Year winner will be looking to finish his difficult season on a high note in the high-powered Lexus. The Irish duo of Seamus Burke and Martin Brady, multi-time champions in the class, aim to bounce back after crashing out of the Ojibwe Forests Rally in their 1977 Ford Escort.
Nicholas Tippmann is hoping to finish the year among the top three in O2WD as he and co-driver David Tippmann take their 2019 Ford Fiesta ST to the stages.
“Coming into the final round of the ARA Nationals, I am somehow still holding onto third place for the season,” Tippmann said. “With [Bill] Tung on my heels and [Andy] Cowan ahead by a healthy margin, there’s no room for error.
“There are five Peugeot 208 Rally4 cars in my class this event, and those cars are no joke. This will either be a blessing or a curse for me. If I can get into that mix, the sheer number of entries could help me get the points I need, or they could prove to be a hindrance.”
Rounding out the O2WD field, Andy Cowan and Tiago Lourenco enter in their 1990 Volkswagen Jetta VR6, while David and Drew Quillen bring the MINI USA John Cooper Works Race Team 2025 MINI Cooper JCW to the final round of the program’s first full National Championship season.
L2WD Heavy Hitters Converge at LSPR
While the 2026 ARA National Limited Two-Wheel-Drive (L2WD) Championship has already been secured by Henry Tabor and Dylan Hooker, the class will still be one to watch at the season finale, as many of its best make the trek to the Upper Peninsula for the final National round of the year.
Of course, Tabor’s six opponents will all be chasing down the champion in his 2015 Ford Fiesta ST, and while Tabor has winning on his mind, he’s also focused on his sister’s LN4 title chances.
“I am super excited to be heading to LSPR for the second time in my career,” he said. “Behind the Oregon Trail Rally, LSPR is easily my favorite event. From the history of the [Press On Regardless] rally to the changing colors and great roads, there is honestly a bit of magic that surrounds this one.
“The championship is sealed with Dylan and me on the top step, so we go into this one hoping to have a lot of fun as the pressure subsides. The Limited 2WD class is stacked, with almost every winner signed up to run.
“I'm not sure I can keep pace with Santiago [Iglesias] and Tim [Wickberg] in the BRZs or Chris Sladek in the Honda, but I'll do my best and get everything out of our Fiesta one more time, especially as I don't know what my 2027 will look like.
“I'm really here to support Madelyn and Sophia, as they have a huge opportunity to win the LN4 championship. I'm cheering both of them on, and I'm so proud of how much they've both learned and improved as this season has gone on. This could be a really special rally.”
Tabor’s concerns about his competitors are not without merit. Sno*Drift class winner Santiago Iglesias of Escuderia Boricua Rally has stepped up his game with an FA24-swapped 2013 Subaru BRZ. He enters LSPR alongside co-driver Cray Dumeah with the goal of proving the new motor.
“Sadly I will not get a chance to play spoiler to the L2WD championship,” Iglesias lamented, “but it's looking like an incredible battle with several of us who have won the class this year going head to head again.
“My goal is to get a clean finish after the teething issues with the new motor at Ohio and our DNF from last year. The ‘big block,’ a Gen 2 BRZ 2.4L, seems to be running very well now, so I'm hopeful. Still, the Civic is an absolute weapon, and Henry has nothing to lose. Plus there's Tim [Wickberg] with the other big-block, winged BRZ. Going to have to push hard to stay ahead of everyone!”
As Iglesias mentioned, Tim Wickberg and Matthew Trott are entered in a remarkably similar 2016 Subaru BRZ, with comparable aero and engine modifications that helped carry them to a class victory at the harsh Rally Colorado earlier this year.
Chris Sladek took a class victory at Southern Ohio Forest Rally and now returns in the Honda of America Racing Team (HART) Honda Civic. LSPR is a special rally for Sladek, as it was here in 2022 that he clinched the LN4 National Championship behind the wheel of the HART Honda Passport.
While he hasn’t reached the top step of the National L2WD podium in 2026, Ryan McGrath has already secured second in the driver championship after earning five class podiums in his RCR-built 2007 Lexus IS250. Three of those podiums have come alongside LSPR co-driver Crystina Coats, including runner-up finishes at Sno*Drift, Ojibwe and Overmountain, and the pair will look to turn that consistency into a victory at the season finale.
The final entries in the L2WD class include Stepan and Bo Kravets’ 2014 Ford Fiesta ST and John Barnett and Lucas Laeser’s 2008 Lexus IS250.
Lake Superior Performance Rally kicks off October 9 in Marquette, Michigan. Follow the action live on the ARA social media channels and at ara-rally.com.
To see images for Lake Superior Performance Rally - visit the LSPR 2026 gallery on Apexiel
~Mason Runkel for the ARA
