Deep in the woods of eastern Kentucky, the seeds for rally racing have been planted by two promoters, Matt Earl and Bernie Obry. After starting two NASA Rally Sport events in the Bluegrass State last year, they’re looking to expand on their success in a state not only seemingly built for the sport, but quite welcoming to rally racing, too.
The Backroads to Success
Erik Hubbard leads Backroads of Appalachia. The nonprofit organization seeks to revitalize the eastern Kentucky economy through motorsport tourism. Erik introduced Matt and Bernie to Kentucky’s McCreary County, an area in which their economy once centered around the coal mining industry decades ago.
“When I was able to check out the roads, I said, ‘Man, we got a rally,’” says Bernie. “The roads are unimaginably different from one another just a couple miles away. Each one of them is a superior rally road. We said to each other, ‘These are great roads and they need to be driven.’”
The roads were just what Matt and Bernie wanted.
“We like gravel rallies,” Matt says. “We like roads that are fast, flowing, technical and sideways. Those types of roads are fun. There are thousands of miles of gravel roads in [Kentucky]. Erik said he had a lot of those mapped out for motorcycle tours, and he said there was a good opportunity in McCreary [County].”
Rallying Support from the Community
It’s no secret that the decline of the coal industry has ravaged eastern Kentucky. Unemployment, poverty, illicit drug use and resultant crime have taken its toll on the region. Despite the area’s issues and its need for an influx of capital, racing still needs to prove itself as not a Simpsons-like monorail- project.
“It’s important to include [the locals so they can] see what their tax dollars have been invested in to make more money,” Matt says.
But, how? How can you show it? Rally racing does not lend itself well as a spectator sport. To help prove its worth in front of the local community, Matt and Bernie came up with an idea.
“We developed, in Lawrence County, a Super Special Shakedown,” Bernie says. “It was an event where you could watch the cars ride in and out of this unique course at the county fairgrounds. [It was] followed by a parc expose, where all the…
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