Sno*Drift facts for kids

Sno*Drift is an exciting rally car race held every year in Montmorency County, Michigan. The main office for the event is in Atlanta, Michigan. It's currently the first big race of the Rally America National Rally Championship season.

Sno*Drift is special because it's a winter rally. This means the race happens mostly on roads covered in snow and gravel, usually in January. In 2009, the winners of the Sno*Drift Rally were Travis Pastrana and Christian Edstrom. They drove a Subaru Impreza WRX STI. This team also won in 2007. In 2008, they were winning but had to stop when their car hit a deer near the end of the race.

The History of Sno*Drift

Early National Races (1970s and 1980s)

The Sno*Drift rally first started in 1973. It was a national event, meaning it was a big race for the whole country. It was part of the SCCA Performance Rally series near Grayling, Michigan. The first winners were Erhard Dahm and John Campbell in a Jeep Wagoneer.

The race happened again in 1974 and 1975. In 1975, Scott Harvey and Wayne Zitkus won in a Dodge Ramcharger.

After a short break, Sno*Drift returned in 1979 as a national event for the SCCA. Many teams entered, and Taisto Heinonen and Tom Burgess won in a Toyota Celica GT.

In 1980, Guy Light and Jim Brandt won in a Jeep CJ-7. The race continued in 1981, with Jean Paul Perusse and Jim Brandt taking the win in their Peugeot 504.

In 1982, John Buffum and Tom Grimshaw won with an Audi Quattro. The last national Sno*Drift race of this early period was in 1983. Rod Millen and Michael Parris won that year in their Mazda RX-7.

Years as a Smaller Event

In 1984, Sno*Drift was still held, but it was a smaller, regional event. Tom Bell and Mary Jo Czyzio won in a Datsun 510.

The rally returned in 1991 and 1992 as a different type of race called a time-speed-distance rally. Gene Henderson and Jim Mickle won both years in a BMW 325ix.

Becoming a National Event Again (1990s)

After another break, Sno*Drift became a national event for the SCCA again in 1997. It was held in Montmorency County, Michigan. Frank Sprongl and Dan Sprongl won in an Audi S2. The race was planned for 1998 but had to be canceled because of really bad weather.

In 1999, Sno*Drift was held again as a national event. Tom Ottey and Pam McGarvey won overall in a Mazda 323 GTX.

Becoming a Full National Event

In 2000, Sno*Drift became a full national event. This meant it included all the race stages. It was part of the SCCA's ProRally series. There were also two smaller SCCA ClubRally events: "Sno" for the first part of the race and "Drift" for the second part. Drivers could enter any or all of these races.

In 2000, Paul Choiniere and Jeff Becker won the main national rally in a Hyundai Tiburon. They won again in 2001. In 2002, Frank Sprongl and Dan Sprongl won the national rally, also in a Hyundai Tiburon.

Expanding to Two Days

In 2002, Sno*Drift grew to cover two full days of racing. The "Sno" club rally took place on the first day, and "Drift" was on the second day. In 2003, the event was even named "ProRally of the Year" by the SCCA. The 2004 race had a lot of snow, which made it very challenging!

Moving to Rally America

In 2005, the SCCA handed over the organization of its rally events to a new group called Rally America, Inc. Sno*Drift was the very first event on the 2005 calendar under this new organization. It has been a key event for Rally America ever since.