Sliding through icy switchbacks at opposite lock doesn’t require a factory-built rally car flown in from Europe. Or a big hauler. Luke Quilliams podiumed at the Sno*Drift Rally with a 25-year-old car he used in Lemons last fall. And Luke drove it to the rally and back home.
“A lot of Europeans may raise their eyebrows at us a bit when they see some of our cars on our entry list,” admits Preston Osborn, series manager for the American Rally Association. “The car can be bone stock other than safety gear.
“We see a number of cars that are still on stock suspension and brakes,” he continues. “Yes, you may be limited performance-wise, but you can still go out and have an adventure and have fun in the woods.”
While ARA welcomes homologated race cars, like those from Rally2 in Europe, they are certainly not required. Got a car? Great! And let’s not get too fussy–Sno*Drift had entries like a ’96 Audi A4, ’83 Toyota Celica and ’08 Volkswagen GTI.
The Ford Focus in Lemons trim. Photo courtesy Luke Quilliams.
Luke entered the same 2002 Ford Focus that he drove during the 24 Hours of Lemons at Road America last fall. He had the car prepped for rally by February. While he already had an FIA-certified roll cage, he still had a lot of little things to work on during his now shorter-than-normal off-season.
Luke had to outfit a bunch of safety equipment on his ride, including brake and fuel line protection, engine and fuel tank skidplates, two fire extinguishers, a first-aid kit (and its mount), glass and seat belt cutters, mudflaps, safety triangles, a spill kit and tow rope.
He had to add door panels and a catalytic converter, too. Unlike a Lemons event on a road course, this rally required Luke to bring a spare tire with him, in the race car, as well as tire-changing tools. And lastly, ARA requires RallySafe, a device that tracks cars’ whereabouts during events.
Fortunately, Luke didn’t have to go into the rally alone. His co-driver, Eric Dietrich, a seasoned racer, mentored him from the get-go. The two met when Luke took in his first rally as a spectator while attending college. Eric encouraged Luke to volunteer at a rally to learn the ins and outs of the sport. After two years of doing that, Eric finally convinced Luke to enter his first rally as a participant.
Luke found the costs of doing stage rally comparable to Lemons, although those expenses are spread across fewer drivers. One entry in Lemons costs shy of $1900 (and includes four drivers). Early entry for Sno*Drift was $1500 for national participation (with one extra stage), $1100 for regional.
Stage rally, being on mostly gravel roads, generally puts more wear and tear on your race car than Lemons. You also need a few crewmembers for your rally effort, too, for when you hit the service area.
Photo courtesy Luke Quillams.
With entry fees paid and plans made, it was go time for Luke to embark on his first rally. “[My] biggest worry for me was conditions,” Eric says. “From previous years I knew we could have tons of snow, straight ice or mud. Luckily, this year we were able to have some snow in the first pass of the stages, and that unfortunately turned to ice the second time through.
“I was in an untested, stock car with little experience driving the car at speed on loose surfaces,” Eric continues. “My expectations were to drive the car to the best of my abilities but be conservative and just try to keep it in one piece and finish the event. Needing to drive the car 3 hours back home, I didn’t have the option to break it and just throw it on a trailer.”
Doing your homework on the routes helps, Luke says, not only with finding more speed but also putting a novice driver more at ease. Still, road conditions can change. Luke adapted, although he did get stuck in a snowbank once.
With brutal road conditions, you may be thinking there’s no snowy chance in hell that Luke and Eric would do well, right? This was a Lemons car piloted by a newbie. Wrong. They not only finished but placed runner-up in their regional class, only to be bested by GRM forum regular ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, aka Chris Nonack, and Sara Nonack. The Nonacks won the L2WD overall, beating two national teams and finishing 12th overall. Still, Luke considered the outing a success, especially since he got to drive his car home.
Now Luke is looking forward to his next rally, although he might need a new co-driver, as Eric should have his race car ready soon. “I will probably have Brendan Rzeppa, who raced Lemons with me, as my co-driver,” Luke says. “That will lead to another learning experience.”
The stage for the sequel is set. Date to be determined, but count Luke in.
Photo courtesy Eli Goethel/American Rally Association
Comments
It was great to see these guys out there, and on the podium no less! There is also a magnificently slow diesel Mercedes lemons car which occasionally enters rallies in the southeast- the lemons cage rules are actually pretty close to an FIA 253 appendix J cage with a few elements missing, so if you do your homework and add a little more tubing your lemon can be a rally car too.
buzzboy
UberDork
3/30/26 12:48 p.m.
We tried to endurance race a NASA Stage Rally car in Lemons. It didn’t go great. Methinks it was worn slam out on the Sandblast and had little life left to give.
I’d love to try stage Rally but I know my Lemon’s cage is a ways from NASA Rally spec.
Colin Wood said:
There you are, deep in the forest, eagerly awaiting the next car to drive the stage, when all of a sudden you hear something familiar quickly approaching…
Unfortunately, Luke had to remove Thomas from the front of the car for rally. Either way, Thomas’ spirit lived on as the car kept on chugging at Sno*Drift.
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