For Immediate Release: May 5, 2020 @ 5:00 PM CT
SPEEDWAY, IND. ~ The recent decision made by the state of Ohio to extend its “Stay Safe Ohio Order” order until May 29, 2020, coupled with the postponement of the necessary permitting from the state’s Division of Forestry, is causing another postponement to the restart of the 2020 American Rally Association season.
According to event officials, and in conjunction with the ARA, the Southern Ohio Forest Rally originally set for June 19, 2020 has officially been postponed.
“We are disappointed that we will not be able to make our much-anticipated return to the national schedule in June,” said Event Chairman Jeremiah Johnson. “We are looking at additional dates, and working with the ARA and other national events to find a plausible solution to host SOFR this summer.”
The ARA, and its parent company USAC, are working with all of the organizers on the 2020 schedule on how to best handle each event and those needs specific to each region and event. USAC, a member of ACCUS, has been at the forefront of finding solutions to get motorsports events back up and running as soon as possible.
“We believe that there are some immediate opportunities for us to get rally back quickly,” said USAC President Kevin Miller. “We have developed several new procedures to help events not only manage their event on-site, but also show local and state authorities how we can mitigate the spread of the virus. There have been many positive changes to how states are handling this pandemic, and we are working hard to find the right solution.”
Despite postponements with four of the first five ARA events, the series still expects to run a strong national schedule in 2020.