Catching and passing a slower car. We both spun at the turn the lead car is turning into. They waited a little while longer as we collected ourselves and headed up the road. Photo by Richard Worden.

A winter rally provides completely different challenges than those at other times of the year. The road conditions are not as obvious, for one. Is there ice under that snow? Is there ice under that ice?

Early on in the first of two Club Rallies. This shot was taken just prior to a nose-first shot into a bank. After a full 360 spin we got pointed the right way for a 90 right. Our ice capades were captured for posterity on film by Rocket Videos. Photo by Mark McNamara.

Sno*Drift is definitely a rally that I look forward to with this car. I like to think that my driving style (or lack thereof) is best suited to the slippery conditions encountered at Sno*Drift. Early on we ran conservatively and actually helped pull several cars out of snow banks. It's always nice to make friends! During the mid-rally break we looked at the stage times. Though we were entered in the Club Rally, some of our stage times were in the top 10! The time spent pulling out others, an exciting incident with the Citation of Jerry Brownell and stuffing it ourselves (for about 2 minutes) took its toll on our overall score. We completed the first Club Rally ("Sno") in 7th place.

Snow, ice and approaching darkness greet our crew at the second of two Club Rallies. Notice the scuff mark just above the right fog light - evidence of our recent spin. Photo by Jerry Winker.

After this sudden awareness of our potential we resolved to improve in the second portion. The plan was working flawlessly until the last stage. Unknown at the time, we were poised in 2nd place and had just turned the fastest PGT times (including the "Pro" competitors) on stages 11 and 12. Oh, but lucky stage 13 would prove to be our undoing. With the bit clearly between my teeth, I approach the last stage as if it would be another fast, smooth third gear run. After the first off, it should have been clear that this was probably more of a second gear stage. But I still wanted to go fast! Moving along rather briskly in third gear, we came to a crest. Over the crest, the road went left--we went straight.

It was eight long, agonizing minutes before a suitable car arrived to help pull us out (one of the guys we had pulled out earlier in the day, #527). I worked frantically to try to dig us out, but we were stuffed in too deep. Luckily the pull of another Talon did the trick. We cautiously worked our way to the end of the stage, with the driver fuming all the way.

A nice front end shot of us just as the sun is starting to go down. Photo by Adam Spieszny.

We made it to the finish to claim 9th overall. The eight minutes lost really hurt. The big thing, though, was the two finishes. Jeff Hribar achieved these two valuable results, and thus became eligible for his Pro Rally license. It turned out we needed it later in the year.