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The 2011 Ford Fiesta R2 of TJ Miller and co-driver Jeremy Miller held strong through both days, resulting in second place for 2WD and tenth place overall with a 3:09:50.0.
Dylan Helferich and Drew Rosek finished strong on Friday’s regional Sno rally with a second place finish in open light. Saturday proved less fruitful after they had a big off on stage 19 requiring them to shovel their way back onto the stage for over an hour, fortunately both the vehicle and competitors were unharmed. 
FY Racing’s 2007 Subaru STi was back after a DNF at LSPR with a blown engine. The new power plant was provided by Vermont Sports Car and proves to be a stout performer. Adam Yeoman and co-driver Jordan Schulze finished fourth in open and ninth overall in the event with a 3:09:36.8. If you’re ever in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, stop by the Continental Fire Co. in Houghton, you won’t be disappointed.
Team O’Neil was in fourth for 2WD for much of the event until they bumped Panos Karpidas off the podium in the final stage of the event. Comrie-Picard and Holter would finish in thirteenth overall with a 3:33:12.2. Johnson and Wimpey were stuck on a snowbank for several minutes towards the end of day two, but with the help of some spectators they were able to get going again and finish the stage. Even with this delay they were able to clinch a victory in 2WD with a final time of 3:00:38.6. ACP did well to take some time off the gap between him and Johnson’s Scion so it will be interesting to watch the competition in this class as each driver becomes more accustomed to their respective vehicles in coming events.
Nick Roberts is another strong competitor in SP this year, and was the 2013 Rookie of the Year. He and co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino did well, finishing third in SP and sixth overall with a time of 2:45:59.0.
At the end of the day Subaru would take the overall win at Sno*Drift with a final time of 2:28:30.7. Throughout the weekend the Subaru would win sixteen out of the twenty stages. This was the nineteenth consecutive podium finish for Higgins, and is a good start towards his fourth straight overall championship win.
L’Estage and the Evo X finished close behind Higgins, trailing only 2:10.5 behind with a total time of 2:30:41.2. He clearly wasn’t letting Higgins walk away without a fight as he had a lead over third of a little more than fourteen minutes. Not wanting to push too hard and have an off, he was keeping the pressure on Higgins and would have been in a great position to snatch first should the Subaru have faltered.
The first event in the Rally America championship is in the books, and its shaping up to a highly competitive season. I suspect that Super Production will be the most contested class, with such talented drivers as Nick Roberts (2013 Rookie of the Year), Lauchlin O’Sullivan (2012 SP champion), David Sterckx (2013 SP champion), and Dillon Van Way there is plenty of potential to have a four way showdown for the championship. Two Wheel Drive will be interesting to watch as well with Andrew Comrie-Picard in a new car competing against his old car driven by Matt Johnson, both drivers learning more from their vehicles with each event. Open should prove to be quite exciting as well with the return of Travis Pastrana to the Subaru Rally Team which should only add more fuel to the fire between David Higgins and Antoine L’Estage. No matter which class you like to watch there is guaranteed to be plenty of action!
The next stop in the Rally America championship is in a few short weeks for the 100 Acre Woods rally in Salem, Missouri on February 21st and 22nd. See you there!
