Overmountain Rally Tennessee - 2024 ARA National Championship Round
In the fall of 2024, the top-level competitors of the American Rally Association (ARA) National Championship will descend on Johnson City, TN and Northeast Tennessee for the inaugural Overmountain Rally Tennessee presented by Team O’Neil Rally School. This new round of the ARA National Series will build on the already successful Bristol Forest Rally which has occurred annually since 2021.
Burke/ Brady navigating a section of forest service road at Bristol Forest Rally 2023.
Photo by Robert King (robertkingphotography.com)
Competitors, volunteers, and rally fans can expect high stakes drama as world class rally drivers tackle the sometimes rough and always extremely technical gravel stages in the Cherokee National Forest of Northeast Tennessee.
We’re thrilled to have picked up a national calendar slot. This is a coveted position that we’re in, and our team is beyond excited for the opportunity to contribute to the National Championship. I think the Overmountain Rally will produce outstanding competition and action for the national series as it has for the ARA East Regional Championship the past two years.
- Dave Matheson, Rally Chairman
Historically the Bristol Forest Rally has been a spring event, running in the first or second week of May, but the date of the rally will be changing (along with the name) to better fit into the ARA National Series calendar. The Overmountain Rally Tennessee will take place September 14-15, 2024.
In addition to the new name and new date, the rally will be adding new stages never used in competition before.
The rally’s relationship with the National Forest Service is great. They have supported our expansion from a small rally on a single paved road in 2019 to a multi-day gravel event worthy of promotion to the ARA National Series in 2023. In the past 3 years, the rally has funded nearly $20,000 back into the roads we use for competition. With the event growing and more competitors expected, we anticipate to be near $100,000 of total contribution by 2029. The positive impacts we make on the public gravel road system are substantial.
- Dave Matheson, Rally Chairman
Schmidt/ Roberts Zoom (zoom) past a communications/ medical intervention point on a section of forest service road.
Photo by Robert King (robertkingphotography.com)
The ARA National Championship series includes 8 rallies and stretches from east to west coast over 7 different states. The Overmountain Rally will be the first event added to the National series since the inclusion of the Southern Ohio Forest Rally in 2020.
We are very excited for the inclusion of the Overmountain Rally in the ARA National Championship. The route will offer challenging, technical roads with some of the lowest speeds in the series. Not only are the roads some of the best in the ARA, but the organizing group is engaged and forward-thinking. We look forward to working with Dave and his committee for years to come.
- Preston Osborn, ARA Competition Director
Team O’Neil Rally School will continue their relationship with the event as the presenting sponsor in 2024. Owners of the rally school, Chris Cyr and Tim O’Neil, have both attended the Bristol Forest Rally the past two years and are hoping to be back in Johnson City in 2024 for the inaugural Overmountain Rally.
Cook/ Beliveau show off the aerodynamic attributes of their Team O’Neil Rally School prepped Fiesta.
Photo by Team O’Neil Rally School
The future for rally in the Northeast Tennessee area is very bright. We love technical rallies and the Bristol roads are some of the most technical and fun roads we have seen. To see a majority of slow speed corners is very refreshing and has been fun to race on so far. Being a national event, Overmountain will test drivers and co-drivers and really highlight the best of the best in our sport.
- Chris Cyr and Tim O’Neil of Team O’Neil
More information on how to be involved in the event as a volunteer or sponsor will be announced soon. Follow the Overmountain Rally on Instagram and Facebook by clicking on the links below. You can contact the organizing committee here:
Scratch the itch for a big ole American adventure!
Photo by Robert King (robertkingphotography.com)