OpenPaddock RallyCast

As most of you know, I’ve been around rallying for over a decade, but oddly it wasn’t until last month that I competed in my first ever TSD rally. Fellow Oregon Trail Rally organizer Mike Nagle wrangled me into joining him for the iconic Nor’Wester Auto Rally put on by the Rainier Auto Sports Club. Although I had a general understanding of TSDs, I had no idea just how challenging and enjoyable these regularity rallies could be. 

So in this episode we chatted with Ron Sorem, the Routemaster. We talked about the history of the Nor’Wester Auto Rally and how he and his team go about selecting such awesome roads. You’ll also hear more of the “Team Mike” experience from an audio diary we made as we did the event.

This is part 2 of our stories from the 2021 Ojibwe Forests Rally. After the event we caught up with Mark Piatkowski who explains his crazy 1.8 second win over Ele Bardha and his hopes for a national championship. We then chatted with co-driver Steven Harrell about his 3rd place in the hotly contested regional overall, as well as his earlier adventure in the desert with Ryan Millen. Finally we bring back co-driver and our former co-host Ian Holmes claimed his first regional Open 2WD class win at a national event. 

This is Part 1 of our chats from the Ojibwe Forests Rally 2021, and in this episode we caught up with Stephen and Katie Gingras about their close fight for the regional overall, and we get a taste of what LSPR is going to look like. I also introduce you to Derek Johnson Love, a longtime supporter of Open Paddock, and now taking  on a larger role behind the scenes to make the RallyCast sound better.

In this episode we chat with driver Dylan Gondyke. Dylan started out crewing, but that was short lived as once he saw stage rallying with his own eyes, he needed to do it himself. He tells us about learning AWD and crashing his co-driver’s car, his dramatic first event at NEFR 2019 that defined everything we love about the rally community, and how just two years later he and Ben Chuong are regularly fighting for regional podiums.

You can follow Dylan Gondyk’s onboards and build videos here on YouTube

And the team social media on Instagram

In this nearly two months late episode, I chatted with Danny Norkus who’s had a fantastic season so far including his first ever overall win at Colorado earlier this year with Travis Nease as well as a 2nd in class at SOFR with Chris Greenhouse. I also caught up with reigning Eastern Regional Limited 2WD class champion Santiago Iglesias right after his Southern Ohio win, and it turns out he's got quite the regional battle on his hands with a young Patrick Gruszka who’s currently leading the points.

Then I ask the question, "is Barry McKenna’s 2021 Ford Fiesta WRC too fast for the ARA championship and the Vermont Sportscar built WRX STIs he's competing against?" I did some real math to find out. Special shout out to Nathan Usher and his https://sneakattackrally.com site for all the data.  So grab a cold one, as it’s going to be blazing hot out west again, and enjoy another round from the virtual rally pub we call the RallyCast Podcast.

We bring back our good friends Alex and Rhianon Gelsomino which is now an all Subaru family.  In this episode we discuss their recent vacation travels, review their experiences from the Olympus Rally, and delve into what to expect as challenges at SOFR this weekend. We also take a tangent into the WRC which was in Sardegna last weekend, where Rhianon shares the humorous tale of a long ride on, not in, a tow truck.

We caught up with Krista Skucas after a dominant win at the Mike Nagle Regional Rally co-driving for Derik Nelson in the Nordic Motorsports BRZ. We chatted about the event and it's new stages, a dramatic moment that almost ended it all, as well as how she got started co-driving. 

Part 3 of the 100 Acre Wood review, it's all about NA4WD.  We kick it off with regional overall winners Ryan and Rachel Rethy who had a fabulous run with some extremely close competition. Then it's Co-Driver Katie Gingras  who with driver Chuck Surdyke was battling the Rethy's until they got a little over ambitious into a fast left hander. And finally it's a chat with Arek Bialobrzeski about his killer H6 swapped 2011 Subaru WRX hatchback that was so fast that it was competing with the R5s at the front.

📷 David Cosseboom

It's our 100th episode! We start our chat with current ARA champion Barry McKenna who gives us all the details on his World Rally Car and all the changes they did to have it meet ARA regulations.  It's always a treat to be joined by Martin Brady.  100 Acre Wood didn't go so well for he and Seamus, but their speed was remarkable. Then it's co-driver Cameron Carr with some stories about recce and what it’s like to compete in an R5 for the first time alongside driver John O'Sullivan. 

📷 David Cosseboom

In this show we chatted with a bevy of 2WD competitors including National 2WD winners Michael Hooper and Kevin Allen, 2nd in National Limited 2WD Ryan Sanders, 2nd overall Regional and 2WD class winner Steve Olona, and 3rd overall Regional 2nd in 2WD Al Dantes Jr.  

Be sure to follow these competitors at their social media links below:

River City Rally Team
Tower City Race Team
Verve Racing
GoSPEED Racing