We’re huge fans of rally racing. From stage rally to time-speed-distance rally, we love everything about this form of motorsports competition. However, in the U.S., rally has never been as popular as other forms of motorsports. But now the American Rally Association (ARA) is taking steps to grow stage rally in North America.
On December 10, 2024, the ARA—the largest rally series in the United States and the country’s only national championship for the sport of stage rally—announced a big step forward for 2025 and beyond.
Rally legend Lance Smith (Vermont SportsCar and Subaru Motorsports USA) has signed a multi-year agreement with the United States Auto Club (USAC) to take over promotional rights for all ARA activities, including the eight-event ARA National Championship, East, Central, and West Regional Championships.
Kubota Joints as the Presenting Sponsor
Smith’s newly formed organization, RallyForward, is dedicated to advancing the sport of stage rally in America. It starts with the announcement of Kubota Tractor Corporation as Presenting Sponsor for 2025, joining longstanding supporter Subaru of America.
As part of the sponsorship, Kubota will have a presence at all 2025 ARA events with a booth in the Parc Expose featuring equipment displays and fan giveaways, among other activities. Kubota will also provide its UTVs for ARA official use during race weekends and Kubota Genuine Parts will host a “Part”ner Parts & Service Booth to assist race teams with reliable replacement parts to get them quickly back in the action.
While this is Kubota’s first official stage rally sponsorship, in recent years the company has supported both NASCAR and dirt track racing sponsorships, and currently partners with multiple rally drivers including Rhianon Gelsomino, co-driver for extreme sports icon Travis Pastrana, and her husband, Alex, co-driver for Conner Martell.
The 2025 ARA National Championship Presented by Kubota kicks off with the Sno*Drift Rally February 7-8 in Atlanta, Michigan. See below for the full schedule.
2025 ARA National Championship Presented by Kubota Schedule
February 7-8 – Sno*Drift Rally
March 14-15 – Rally in the 100 Acre Wood
April 12-13 – Olympus Rally
May 16-18 – Oregon Trail Rally
June 12-14 – Southern Ohio Forest Rally
August 21-23 – Ojibwe Forests Rally
September 20-21 – Overmountain Rally Tennessee
October 17-18 – Lake Superior Performance Rally
Our Love of Rally
For us, rally has gotten into our blood. We’ve covered the Oregon Trail Rally before both on Crankshaft Culture, our sister site, Subcompact Culture, and in various magazines. We participate regularly in time-speed-distance rallies (TSDs), and have come to love the sport, the culture, and pretty much everything about it.
While in Europe this summer, we took a ferry from Helsinki, Finland to Tallinn, Estonia. On the boat, they were showing the WRC Rally Poland event! Yes, that’s how popular rally is in other parts of the world. And, with any luck, maybe this effort by the American Rally Association will help grow rally in the U.S., too.