ARA TO ESTABLISH NATIONAL RALLY TRAINING CENTER IN BOONEVILLE

Complex to Serve as Center of Excellence for Rally Event Officials,  Technical Training, Team and OEM Testing 

- 200+ acre site outside Booneville, Ky., abuts Daniel Boone National Forest, includes 60,000 sq. ft. facility with shop bays, classroom, 

     The American Rally Association (ARA)—the largest rally  series in the United States and the country’s only national championship for the sport of stage  rally—is putting down roots in Kentucky.  

     Through a partnership with the Backroads of Appalachia  

(BoA) outdoor tourism and economic development organization, American Rally will establish a national rally training center to cultivate a nationwide cadre of rally officials  to grow the sport.  

     “ARA’s mission is to advance the sport of stage rally in the  U.S.,” said Lance Smith, founder of Rally Forward, promoter  of the ARA, including the ARA National Championship  

presented by Kubota. “A big part of doing that is assisting our  event organizers in recruiting, training and retaining the  

people who make it all possible.  

     “The ARA National Rally Training Center will give us a base of operations to share knowledge, safely practice skills and  ensure we have a world-class rally workforce ready to  

execute events as the sport scales up. We’re grateful to Erik Hubbard of Backroads of  Appalachia and to the Appalachian Regional Commission and other area leaders for  recognizing the economic impact that ARA rally already has in many small towns across the  country and seeing the potential benefit that we can bring to the Appalachian region.” 

     The ARA National Rally Training Center is one aspect of the larger Appalachian Overland  Triangle (AOT) project, a tri-state initiative connecting Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio  through a strategic blend of adventure tourism, motorsports development, and rural economic  revitalization.  

     Led by the Backroads of Appalachia and   funded in part by a $7.4 million ARISE grant  

from the Appalachian Regional Commission,  

the AOT project is anchored by a 200+ acre  

site in Owsley County, one of the most   economically distressed counties in America.  

     The site will include a 1.4-mile off-road course  

for OEM and team testing and training, as  

well as the 60,000 sq. ft. facility where ARA’s  

new national training center will be based.  

The project also includes a collaborative effort  

to vet and map every public access road  

across the region for competitive stage rally  

use.  

     “ARA is a perfect partner and anchor tenant  

for the AOT project,” said Erik Hubbard, who  

is both the founder of the BoA and director of   the Boone Forest Rally, an ARA “Super  Regional” event, based in McKee, Ky. “This  region has some of the best roads in the  country for rally, and ARA already has a proven track record of engaging and supporting local  and rural communities through their events.  

     “The Appalachian Overland Triangle is more than a motorsports project—it’s a regional  movement to create opportunity through adventure. By leveraging the natural terrain and  cultural pride of Appalachia, the AOT will establish a new identity for the region as the undisputed home of American grassroots motorsports—and a model for how recreational  infrastructure can drive rural prosperity.” 

     The American Rally Association (ARA) is the largest rally organization in the  United States and promotes the country’s only cohesive, nationwide competition for the sport of  stage rally: The ARA National Championship Presented by Kubota.  

     Synonymous with extreme-sports-stars-turned-rally-champions—such as Ken Block, Travis  Pastrana and Brandon Semenuk—ARA rally, sanctioned by USAC, provides a direct link to pure  automotive adventure: a top-speed race against the clock on real roads specifically chosen to  challenge production-based cars and world-class drivers on diverse surfaces that include snow,  sand, gravel, dirt and tarmac. To learn more about the ARA and its partners, go to  www.AmericanRallyAssociation.org