THE HISTORY

Rally in SOUTHERN Ohio

The state of Ohio has hosted American national championship stage rally events on 32 separate occasions since its formal entry into the MONY Series and subsequent development of the SCCA Pro Rally Championship starting in 1968. Many of the stages that made up previous Ohio events returned to action in 2017 as the Southern Ohio Forest Rally made its Rally America debut. 2018 brought back even more of the historical roads of Ohio Rally's by including Tar Hollow State Park. For 2019 the Southern Ohio Forest Rally moved to the sanctioning of the American Rally Association, a USAC Racing entity. The SOFR crew and Ohio Forestry Department have worked together to add Shawnee State forest. We’ve also worked with the City of Chillicothe to bring back the infamous City Park stage in downtown Chillicothe's Yoctangee Park. While 2020 was an “odd” year, we managed to pull off a successful one-day event as one of the largest in North America. The 2021 Southern Ohio Forest Rally will be an ARA National Championship event. The City Park Stage remains as a Friday night opener, with Scioto Trails and Shawnee Forest as the host forests.

Only ten drivers have taken overall victories in Ohio, led by John Buffum and Paul Choiniere with five apiece. The battles between Buffum and three-time event winner Rod Millen defined the Ohio stage rally scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the two drivers finishing 1-2 on five occasions (Buffum came out on top four times).

PREVIOUS SOUTHERN Ohio Event Winners

• 1968: Stan Crews/Suzanne Crews

• 1970: Dave Kuehne/Len Potts

• 1971: Dick Zwitzer/Gail McGuire

• 1972: Dick Zwitzer/Gail McGuire

• 1973: Scott Harvey/Wayne Zitkus

• 1974: Jim Walker/Terry Palmer

• 1975: John Buffum/Vicki Dykema

• 1976: John Buffum/Vicki Dykema

• 1977: Ralph Brooks/Dick Messal

• 1978: Jim Walker/Virginia “Ginny” Reese

• 1979: Rod Millen/Mark Howard

• 1980: John Woodner/Virginia “Ginny” Reese

• 1981: Rod Millen/Bob Kraushaar

• 1982: John Buffum/Doug Shepherd

• 1983: John Buffum/Doug Shepherd

• 1984: John Buffum/Neil Wilson

• 1985: John Buffum/Tom Grimshaw

• 1986: John Buffum/Tom Grimshaw (Tulip 200)

• 1986: Rod Millen/Harry Ward

• 1987: John Buffum/Tom Grimshaw

• 1988: Paul Choiniere/John Bellefleur

• 1989: Rod Millen/Tony Sircombe

• 1990: Paul Choiniere/Scott Weinheimer

• 1994: Paul Choiniere/John Buffum

• 1995: Paul Choiniere/Jeff Becker

• 1996: Paul Choiniere/John Buffum

• 2017: Arkadiusz Gruszka/Lukasz Wronski

• 2018: Piotr Fetela/Dominik Jozwiak

• 2019: Adam Kimmett /Dominic Adams

• 2020: B. Mckenna/L. Jordan

• 2021: B. Mckenna/L. Jordan

• 2022: K. Block/A. Gelsomino

• 2023: B. Semenuk/K.Williams

• 2024:

RALLY LEGENDS

Ken Block - Remembering a legend

Professional rally driver and head hoon in charge of Hoonigan. Ken’s first SOFR event was in 2020 during the COVID pandemic and with a broken toe. Ken brings an entirely different driving style to rally with his Gymkhana skills and flat-out speed. He brings lots of wins and podiums. Finishing 2nd place in 2020.

Travis Pastrana

Getting his start at a young age on a dirt bike, quickly showing his talent and speed through motocross and X-Games. Travis is a true action sports hero. with his recent 2020 Gymkhana YouTube video with Vermont SportsCar. Including years in the car for stage rally, Travis always puts on an amazing show. This Red Bull superstar has multiple event wins and podiums. Travis’s first SOFR experience, in 2020, sadly did not end well with his car being a total loss from a car fire.

John Buffum

The most successful American stage rally driver of all-time, with 11 national championships and 117 event victories to his name, Buffum has won in Ohio as both a driver and navigator. Since hanging up his driving gloves, he has served as both a team owner and mentor to many of the sport’s biggest stars, including Travis Pastrana.

Rod Millen

One of the most accomplished international racing drivers in the world, Millen’s triumphs range from multiple SCCA Pro Rally titles, to setting records at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, to victories in off-road trucks, rally raid, and even the 24 Hours of Daytona. Millen’s sons Rhys and Ryan have followed in his footsteps.

Paul Choiniere

The dominant figure in American stage rally at the end of the last millennium, Choiniere won eight SCCA Pro Rally championships from 1990 to 2000. After taking his first win in the state in 1988, he won the last four major stage rallies to take place in Ohio while driving for Audi (1990, 1994) and Hyundai (1995, 1996).

Images on this page were provided by rally historians and past competitors R.W. Graves and Tim Shannon. Click their names for the broad history of rally in southern Ohio.