The 20th Annual Prescott Rally, held in beautiful Arizona will be the location where the rallynotes team will start its 11th rally and celebrate their engagement anniversary. This event is by far the team favorite. Great flowing roads and a wonderful southwest backdrop make for a fantastic weekend in the woods. They will be looking for their second USRC Production 2WD win and will be gunning for a top spot in the regional class.

Hopefully getting some of the drama out of the way early, Driver Kristopher Marciniak discovered a much worn center differential pin in the transmission. “This is our backup transmission, and I pulled it out after Prescott in 2005. It wasn’t until yesterday that I discovered the differential pin had been half chewed through by the planet gears. Had I not discovered it – well, lets say the rally would have ended very badly.” Check out pictures of the completely worn pin.

A new name on the rally car! Co-Driver Christine Wittish and Driver Kristopher Marciniak were married on August 11th. The two celebrated with family and friends in New Jersey, a honeymoon in Tahiti, and a second celebration with rally friends in California. The vinyl C. Wittish has been changed over to a C. Marciniak. The two are officially a rally couple.

The forest roads may be off limits this year, but that’s not going to stop the Rim of the World organizers from putting on a great show in less then a week. The center of the action will be the Lancaster Fairgrounds for a unique format called ‘Rally Challenge.’ This event, which is part rally super special, part rallycross, all with a spectacular Rim of the World flavor, looks to be quite a show. Spectators will get to watch the action all day up close from the grandstands along with tons of other activities from an autocross to a car show. For more information on the event held this Saturday April 28th, go to http://rimoftheworldrally.com.

The team is pumped up to show off its skills. Just like the super stage at Laughlin last year, the competition is going to be fast and close. The Dodge Rally Neon is in great shape for an attack on the USRC Stock classes. “We excel at the super specials, usually with the fastest production car times. It’s a pumped up rallycross - and that’s what we do when we’re not running stage rallies,” said Driver Kristopher Marciniak. The team recently finished 2nd overall in a CRS rallycross at Glen Helen organized by formularallyx.com.

The team is going to benefit from their outstanding performance last year. Not just through experience, but financially as well. “For Rim, I’m really excited about the USRC Rookie of the Year Scholarship, which was so generously retro-acted for the 2006 season. This scholarship has made the 2007 USRC season, which was going to be hard to budget with our upcoming wedding, a lot easier to participate in,” exclaimed Co-Driver Christine Wittish. For more details on the URSC check out their website at: http://www.unitedstatesrallychampionship.com

We hope to see you at Rim!

Last weekend in Blythe, CA. the Desert Storm rally swept into town. It was accompanied by a vicious rain storm that didn’t seem to faze the organizers or the twenty plus teams running the event. The weekend was full of surprises much like the rain. Some large boulders, fresh puddles, and deep washes were found around the fast corners of the stages. Taking it easy on Friday the team finished 8th overall. Saturday, however, a jump taken too hard gave the team their first mechanical DNF (did not finish) with the Dodge Rally Neon.

“It was a bummer – but we drove the car out and over to spectate the Harquahalla stage before being picked up by the crew. We could have done some heroics in service, but I knew we needed at least an hour to repair the rear suspension - tough to do in 20 minutes, so we decided to ‘call it’ right after the stage,” remarked Driver Kristopher Marciniak. As a consolation prize, the team scored a second place in CRS P-Stock on Friday, earning valuable points for this year’s championship.

The lightweight crew consisted of Judd Barber as Team Manager, Brian Driggs and Vanessa DuLaney as Co-Crew Chiefs, and Jake Caler lending a hand on the mechanical work. “The time and effort that the crew puts forward is always appreciated and unexpected. Having all the little stuff taken care of is so important, but often goes unrecognized. The crew did great this weekend,” said Co-Driver Christine Wittish.

The Dodge Rally Neon will be repaired and strengthened for its next outing: The Rim of the World Rally Challenge in April.

Author: USRC Media
The United States Rally Championship Board of Directors and it’s organizers have announced the “Rookie of the Year Scholarship” for the 2007 United States Rally Championship season.

The requirements for the Rookie of the Year scholarship program are listed in the USRC GRR’s and state the following. “The title will be awarded to the rookie driver and co-driver who have placed highest either in the AWD USRC Championship standings or in the 2WD Championship standings.”

Michael Taylor, President of the United States Rally Championship, Inc. stated, “This program will offer a 25% discount off of entry fees on all USRC events for the following year awarded to the chosen Rookie of the Year for 2007. We hope this program will help our competitors with their costs.”

The 2007 United States Rally Championship Rookie of the Year will be announced at the final event of the season, the Laughlin International Rally.

Board member Ivan Orisek added “The Board and Organizers also agreed to offer this discount to our 2006 Rookie of the Year team for the 2007 events.” Congratulations Kris Marciniak and Christine Wittish.

Reply: What can we say but WOW! We are planning to run as many USRC events as possible this year. Christine and I would like to once again thank the USRC for their support.

Author: USRC Media

The United States Rally Championship is pleased to announce the 2006 Rookie of the year Driver, Kristopher Marciniak and Co-Driver, Christine Wittish. This recently engaged pair raced their trusty RallyNotes.com Dodge Neon to four strong finishes throughout the season to score maximum points towards the Rookie of the Year honors in their first year as National level competitors.

Their first event was the always-tough Rim of the World rally in Lancaster, CA. A brutal event for a Stock class car but surprised Kris and Christine found themselves spraying champagne at the end. A trip to the Pacific Northwest was next with the Olympus Rally. These roads were much easier on the Neon and another finish was in the bag. A trip to Prescott in October brought the team another finish and win and an unexpected proposal from Kris on the Limestone Canyon turn-around stage. The season ending Laughlin Rally held the most excitement for this duo. A miscue on the fast Black Canyon Stage put them in a ditch with broken parts and the very real possibility of their first National DNF. The ever-present “Red Army” service crew took over and readied the Neon for the final day’s competition. The “Super Rally” format allowed them to restart on Sunday and another fine finish was theirs.

Kris and Christine embody the spirit of rally and proved that a Stock class car can be reliable and competitive through a full year of competition. They will be honored, together with the United States All-Wheel Drive Rally Champions Seamus Burke and Christine Beavis, and the Two-Wheel Drive Rally Champions Bruce Davis and Jimmy Brandt at the United States Auto Club (USAC) Annual Awards Banquet at the Westin Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana on Friday, January 19, 2007.

The United States Rally Championship, America’s premier rally championship, consists of Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) internationally listed events sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC) and presented by the National Auto Sport Association (NASA). More information on the Championship is available at the series website at www.usrallychampionship.com. More information on USAC is available at www.usacracing.com, on NASA at www.nasarallysport.com and on FIA at www.fia.com.

Reply: Christine and I are absolutely thrilled to have won this award. If there is any testament to what a low cost production car with an awesome volunteer crew can do - this is it! For anyone out there thinking that rally is too expensive, you have to get yourself into a USRC Stock Class car and get out there and run it! We had a blast all season and this is just icing on the cake! Thanks again to everyone who organizes and runs the USRC - you made it a great year for two wheel drive!

At the final round of the United States Rally Championship, held last weekend at the Laughlin International Rally and Motorsports Festival in Laughlin, NV, the Rallynotes.com Team grabbed more then a ten minute lead over their competition in stock class on Friday and lost it all on Saturday to a tricky corner after a long fast straight. “That’s rally,” said driver Kristopher Marciniak. “The Taylors got a flat on Friday and we jumped into a ditch on Saturday. I was actually taking it easy – going fast where I thought we could and going slow through the tricky stuff. Even a slow pace for us is still pretty hairy, and this ditch on the left caught us out and flattened three tires. Were it not for our tough Bilstein shocks we might have had more damage.”

To keep the rivalry going, the team worked quickly to repair the damage and was able to restart the rally at the Super Stage on Sunday. With the Rallynotes.com Team paired against the Ford pickup driven by Michael Taylor and co-driver Steven Taylor, they made for the closest battle of the day. “We beat them on Friday and they beat us on Saturday, so I wasn’t going to let them beat us in front of a crowd on Sunday,” joked Kris. After three runs the Dodge Rally Neon was out on top by only .01 of a minute. “That’s as close as it gets, but we beat them on Sunday. They are great competitors and we were razzing each other all weekend. They earned the champagne at the end of the day.”

As the International Rally is also run as three regional events, the team scored their highest ever finish in the tough California Rally Series P-Stock Class with a 2nd on Friday. That’s 15th overall in a bone stock Dodge Neon. “We pushed hard on Friday and we beat a lot of faster cars and drivers. Sometimes I want more power out of the Neon, but days like that I know I’m driving her as fast as she’ll go,” remarked Kris. The Rallynotes.com Team are now the 2006 USRC Stock Class National Champions.

Our fantastic volunteer crew once again kept the Dodge Rally Neon in top shape. Kevin Patterson, Harry Bushling, Kaiser Chen, Brian Driggs, Danielle Patterson, Cyndi Stivers, and Vanessa DuLany. Without them the team couldn’t have continued on Sunday. “The crew had the car fixed in time for us to drive over the finish ramp on Saturday night. I can’t thank them enough for their hard work. Afterwards we celebrated the season with a nice dinner at the Ramada Express,” said co-driver Christine Wittish.

The Prescott Rally was a fantastic success for the team on many levels. Since Prescott is part of the USRC this year, the team now has a commanding lead in the national stock class championship. Pushing hard for second place in the very competitive regional P-Stock class, the team got a flat on SS12 and was forced to change it on stage. Not discouraged, they continued to push and set an unbelievable 7th fastest time on stage 14, the long 22 mile PerkinsView. Unable to make up all of the time lost, they landed in 3rd for CRS P-Stock, a very strong finish after their problems at the Gorman Ridge Rally.

Driver and Co-Driver: Kris and Christine have been together for a little over three years now. This is their sixth rally together and Kris felt the time was right to pop the question. Limestone canyon is a turnaround stage where teams wait at the end, turn the cars around and run it in the other direction. During the break, Kris pulled a hidden box out of the camera case and completely surprised Christine while she sat in the rally car. “She had no idea what I was up to,” said Kris. “The really cool part was that no one had any idea. Our parents were able to watch that stage and they didn’t know until service that I had asked.”

News of their rally engagement quickly spread and soon the celebration extended into the champagne ceremony. “It was great to share the news so quickly with our rally friends and family there! I am really excited to be engaged. Kris is an awesome guy, and not only picked a beautiful ring, but also an excellent time and place to propose. It was a total surprise!” Christine shared.

The large volunteer crew had lots to keep them busy with the rough roads this year. The team destroyed three rims and lots of bolts needed to be tightened down at every service. Made up of eight people, some of which have helped at many events and some first timers: Brian Driggs, Jake Walters, Kaiser Chen, Kevin Patterson, Vanessa DuLaney, Caleb Boulier, Shawn Threkold, and Chris Rees. Kris commented, “The crew was great. Everything was checked and double checked. We were out on time after every service.”

Even with the rough roads, the Dodge Rally Neon equipped with Bilstein shocks is in great shape for the season finale in Laughlin, NV. The Laughlin International Rally held on November 9-12th will be a first for the team and they are ready for the long stages of the event. For more details about Laughlin, check out: http://www.rallyusa.com

I know the girls want to see the following: the engagement, the ring, and the hand.
Plus more has been added to the Prescott 2006 Gallery.

The beautiful southwest flowing landscapes, scenery, and sunsets are the backdrop for the team’s most anticipated rally of the year; The Prescott Rally in Prescott, AZ. The roads are wide and fast with a lot more speed than California rallies. An expanded spectator stage has been built at the Yavapai County Fairgrounds and will give fans a close look at the action.

The rally will be held on October 6th & 7th and the team is pumped up and ready to go! “I can’t wait to get out on the roads here. They have combined two of the popular stages to make a twenty mile test called ‘Perkins View.’ It equates to driving flat out for about a half hour. I’ll be saving my adrenaline for that one,” remarked Driver Kristopher Marciniak.

The Dodge Rally Neon is in great shape and ready for the win. A fresh set of Bilstein performance shock absorbers have returned from testing and will compliment a new set of Hankook Rally Tires over the one hundred plus stage miles. The team will be in excellent hands as eight crew members have signed up for the event. Some new faces as well as returning crew from an Arizona based car club (AZ2GNT.net) last year.

Among the fans watching the rally will be Kris and Christine’s parents. They have flown out to see the team in action for the first time. “I’m really excited that our parents are coming from the east coast – I’ve been telling everyone! Neither set has even been to a rally, and I really want them to see what we have been so excited about for the last couple years,” said Co-Driver Christine Wittish.

Ten miles into stage seven, with three stages to go, the team was holding onto a second place in class when the Dodge Rally Neon’s computer failed. At that point an overwhelming five out of the six P-Stock competitors had dropped out of the Gorman Ridge Rally. The problem was related to an oxygen sensor that ground out, stalling the car on the transit between stages two and three.

“Of course we’re bummed, but it had to happen sometime. I’m happy we were able to at least finish all of the morning stages. It’s disappointing that our problem was most likely due to something we could have easily replaced on stage – unlike the whole transmission locking for example – but I’m also thankful the failure was not caused by something more major. I’m looking forward to getting out to our next event,” reported co-driver Christine Wittish.

“It’s our first DNF (did not finish), but we still had an awesome time! The car ate up all the bumps and jumps. The new damping in the rear Bilstein struts kept the back end from popping up and we landed flat every time,” said driver Kristopher Marciniak. “I didn’t give up when the car stalled during the transit to stage three. I pulled out the rear O2 sensor plug and got the car going again. I tried everything when she died on stage seven, but I knew when we heard the fuel pump and cooling fans running even with the keys out of the ignition that we were done.”

The Rallynotes.com Team finished all of the stages in the Hungry Valley ORV Park. These same stages were included in this year’s X Games competition. The crew of four: Harry Bushling, Jake Walters, Colten Becker, and Kevin Patterson did an awesome job of checking and repairing the car while in service.

Looking forward to their next event, the team re-joins the competition of the USRC in October at the Prescott Rally in Arizona.

Hungry Valley, the same stages and location used by the inaugural X Games Rally competition, will once again host the Gorman Ridge Rally on August 19th. This is a tough regional event that those local to Southern California always enjoy. We invite you to come out and see rally up close at the open spectator area! For an even closer look, you can volunteer to help at Gormanridgerally.com - Check the website for volunteer and spectator information.

This event marks the team’s first anniversary of competition and continues the excitement of their 2006 season. “Gorman is a tough rally and it was such a relief just to finish it last year. Now that we’ve driven the roads and know more of what to expect, we’ll try to have another smooth run here,” said driver Kristopher Marciniak. The team goal of this rally will be consistency and survival. “There’s no need to destroy the car on the first stages. If you watched the X Games, then you know how tight and rough these roads are. They claimed two top competitors and punctured dozens of tires.”

The Dodge Rally Neon is in top shape and ready to handle the rough stuff. Bilstein has made some changes to the rear damping and it will be pushed to the limit at Gorman over the jumps, dips, and water bars. The team has done some major work to the car over the last two months. From seam welding the front end, to strengthening a new sub-frame, the Neon continues to prove itself as a tough little car.

Constantly sharpening her skills, Co-Driver Christine Wittish attended a seminar taught by the world famous Nicky Grist following his performance at the X Games. “It was great insight from a world champion and the experience positively reinforced everything I’ve been doing as far as pre-rally prep, and co-driving in general. Gorman will be a good rally and we’ll be going a hell of a lot faster then we did last year!”

We would like to thank the following for their support!
Bilstein
RallyDecals.com
The Southern California Neon America Club