11.19.06:  November 11th at Deland, contributed by Jonathan Godinez...
On Saturday November 11, 2006 we packed our bags and went over to Deland, FL to start the 2007 Florida RallyCross Championship Season. 17 Drivers arrived early Saturday morning to change their tires and get ready for the ruff terrain. Once the course was set up, the course run through was done and off we went.  Got the beautiful horses eating on one side of the farm, and that was the green light for the competitors.  This was definitely an all wheel drive course and boy did they love it! The rear wheel drive classes had some trouble but that did not stop them from pushing their cars and bouncing over the small hills on the farm land.  By noon, 4 runs from each of the two groups were done, with the course times being all around a little over a minute. The results for this event were extremely tight as the 5th and 6th run came into action. Never have we had such a tight turn out. Not between 2 competitors, but 4 competitors.  David Calhoun came out in first by a hundredth of a minute with a 665 in his new class M4.  Duncker Felix also in M4 and Carlos Filipe in the SA class were right behind with a 666 each.  Finishing off the top four was Eduardo Bancalari in M4 with a 667.  This event was tons of fun and we are all anxious to come back for another round sometime in the season.

09.01.06:  The SCCA Florida Region will host their first ever Divisional Rallycross on September 23^rd and 24^th at the Homestead Speedway. The two day event will begin at 11:00am Saturday. Sunday’s activities will begin at 9:00 am with prize giving at 3:30 pm. The event will have a total of 10 runs on the 1.2 mile course over the two days. 

Please keep in mind that if you plan to participate you will need to be there at least an hour before the proposed times to have the technical inspection and registration completed prior to event start.  This event promises to be very exciting with entrants from other SCCA Regions participating.  We look forward to your support of this historic event.

05.15.06: SCCA Central Florida Region finally pulled off an event in Deland and it apparently went well.  Here's a first-hand report from Bob Ricker:

04.25.06:  Online registration is now closed for Homestead's April 30th event, so if you haven't registered be sure to arrive early for registration.  The amount of administrative activity that is involved directly impacts how much track time we all get.  So if you registered online and end up only getting 4 runs for the day, please be sure to explain to those registering onsite how easy and simple it is to do it online.  Then we all get more seat time!

02.13.06:  The RallyRebels Season Opener went off successfully with tremendous participation and everyone having a great time.  Thanks to the dedicated efforts and excellent promotion of our rally enthusiasts word is getting to more and more people.  We're still looking into more sites, especially in the central Florida area, and will be posting new events as they're scheduled.  For now you can view the official results from Homestead in the EVENTS section of the site and photos will be put up as soon as we receive them.  Thank you to all who attended!

01.11.06:  **** FORT MEADE SITE CLOSED ****

Due to circumstances surrounding an accident on Pool Branch Road during the night rallycross in December we will no longer be able to host events on our Fort Meade property. We sincerely regret this unfortunate outcome, but until further notice we must abide by this.

Thanks to everyone for the outstanding support for the site over the last two years. RallyRebels is committed to rally in Florida and the Southeast with an eye to finding and developing more sites. We are also hopeful about re-opening Fort Meade as well, so keep us in your rally-prayers and thoughts!

Thank you,

Joe Black

01.08.06:  Welcome to 2006!  Our third year is about to begin with the season opening event in Homestead on February 12th.  This year brings many changes, with Grassroots Motorsports jumping on-board and the Rally à la Carte program giving competitors control over where and when events happen.  We may also have one or two new central-Florida sites to try out as well, so stay tuned and get ready for another great year of rally!

12.07.05:  We still have some serious issues with competitor registration and scheduling, but thanks to a dedicated group the December 10th event will happen as originally planned.  Special thanks go out to Per Schroeder and Grassroots Motorsports for their involvement, support and efforts.

12.06.05:  Due to lack of interest and only four registrations the December 10th Night Rally has been cancelled.  A smooth, fast course totaling just over a mile was laid out but will now be maintained pending competitor interest.  Future events at Fort Meade will be competitor scheduled, for details please click on this link: Rally à la Carte.  Keep an eye on the schedule (located in "EVENTS") for our next Homestead event in mid-January, and news of a potential new site in Deland starting February.

11.07.05:  Thanks to all who attended our November 5th event!  While quite a bit wetter than usual, everyone had a good bit of fun.  Unfortunately we were only able to get four runs in due to some equipment failures and getting an effective course layout in place.  Still, the 2WD cars got the worst of it while the AWD crowd took home a layer of mud to backup the smiles.  =)  I want to extend my personal thanks to everyone for being more diligent about their trash as we had very little to pick up compared to past events.  On other news, our final event for 2005 will be on December 10th and it's going to be a night event.  Check the "EVENTS" section of the site for additional info and registration/start times.  Typically we like to get in a fun-run or two just before dark so everyone can get a feel for the course, then a break for it to get really dark before the first competitive run gets off.  Light-pods are allowed but not necessary.  We'll have a completely fresh, new course layout and will try to use areas not driven before.  For those traveling to the event be sure to check the "LINKS" section of the site for local info on accommodations and weather.  There are plenty of clean, inexpensive places to stay within a few minutes for those not into the camping scene.  The last night event wrapped up about midnight, so keep that in mind when planning.  Thanks again, and see you in December!

11.03.05:  IMPORTANT NOTICE:  Motorized vehicles other than those used for transportation or competition will no longer be permitted at the Fort Meade location.  This is a result of abuse and liability/insurance issues at this privately held site.  So please, no dirt or mini bike, scooters, quads etc. at this site.  If you have children there isn't a problem with bicycles or other human-powered devices.  As of this time, this does not affect Homestead which is a commercial facility.  Please pass along to any you may know that don't read this site.  Thank you!

09.18.05:  Thanks to all who came and participated at the September 17th RallyCross in Homestead!  I really appreciate the positive feedback and kudos for my first course layout.  As for the other comments, well, just wait until Fort Meade!  =P  I'd also like to thank those who were able to attend the "Town Hall" meeting held at Gusto's Restaurant immediately after breaking the course down.  Some great ideas and suggestions were put forth about the future of RallyCross here in Florida.  Stay tuned for more to come as we announce upcoming changes and improvements to the program.  Also be sure to register for the forum to stay in touch with other enthusiasts and get a more up-to-date idea of what's going on around the state.

08.15.05:  It's been some time since any news updates, but not too much has been happening with our last two events cancelled due to mother nature and a schedule conflict.  But now we're gearing back up for a solid run of events through year-end.  With our next event less than a week away, of course the Internet Gremlins had to visit and have bitten online registration.  So please use the Fax Registration form until the online system is repaired.  We'll be at Homestead this time and also in September, then the final three rallies will be back at the tortuous Fort Meade course to test your mettle and leave you with something to work on for next year.

06.07.05:  Due to excessive rain during each of the past 10 days and the increasing forecast of heavy rain through the upcoming weekend, we are forced to cancel the June 11 rallycross at Fort Meade.  Please be sure to check this website periodically in the event of a re-schedule or separate event.  Otherwise, the next scheduled event is August 20^th at Homestead.

05.13.05:  It's 5PM Friday and registration is now closed for tomorrow's event.  If you're planning on attending and haven't registered, please be sure to print out the mail/fax form and bring it with you filled out so we can get you signed up and into tech before the driver's meeting.  We've got a challenging 1-mile course for Saturday that should keep everyone one their toes!  If you can't make this one just be sure to check after Sunday for photos of what you missed.  The next event in June is just around the corner!

04.23.05:  Event #2 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway was a stunning success and we had great attendance and beautiful weather.  Photos and results have been posted as well.  Folk from the ongoing 12-Hour event running at the Speedway came by to see what the action was and we may have made a few more rally converts as a result.  We'll find out in a few weeks as registration for Event #3 at Fort Meade on May 14th is now open.  And as the veterans all know, Fort Meade separates the rally enthusiasts from the rally wanna-be's!  So get your tires and suspension ready, pack up the blue tape, it's time to see who's got what it takes.  It's on!  ;-)

04.08.05:  Tomorrow is event #2 of the Florida RallyCross Championship and also our opening at the new Homestead Miami Speedway venue.  The course is approaching 1.5 miles in length and promises a good challenge for both new and experienced drivers.  Definitely a good time will be had by all!  =)  The weather is looking good and the speedway has invited us after the rallycross to view the ongoing 12-hour race running the same day.  So I've just closed online registration as we're about to load the XR4Ti and head South.  If you haven't registered yet and plan on attending be sure to print out the mail/fax entrant form and bring with you as it'll simplify registration for you.  See y'all there!

03.15.05:  Registration is now open for the April 9th second event of the Florida RallyCross Championship!  Just select "EVENTS" where you can go to the SCHEDULE for more info and REGISTRATION to enter online.  You can also pay in advance online as well, or print out an entry form for fax or mail.  The event will open at our new South Florida location utilizing the RV parking area of the Homestead Miami Speedway.  It's long, flat and fast which will present a particular challenge to control.  Just what Dr. Rally ordered!  So get signed up and start putting your car in order.  We've got some rivalries heating up already and nine more events to find out who's the best of the best in the Southeast!

03.07.05:  Migration of data from the old Fort Meade RallyCross has finally started.  Mostly it's photos and videos from past events, but then again that's the best part!  With a fairly easy real-life week ahead of me I'm hoping to accomplish a lot of updating on the site, including the promised discussion forums.  The new software is in hand and all I need is to get the database running on the server.  But that's all geek talk, let's get on with some rally news!  The second event for the Florida RallyCross Championship is right around the corner on April 9th.  This event debuts at our new Homestead venue utilizing the super-smooth RV parking lot.  John Schellenberg recently set up the area for testing and preliminary course layout and finished the day absolutely ecstatic with the results.  So I drafted him to write course-bios for both sites!  He got some photos too, so that coupled with shots from Ft. Meade will give new folk a better idea what each site has in the way of terrain.  In any case, online registration will open much sooner than the first event and we'll look to keep consistent in our future registration schedule.  We had a lot of bumps getting started with the Championship and we appreciate everyone's patience and support.  The best reward is seeing the smiles at the end of the day and seeing all the familiar faces at the next event.  Y'all make it worth doing!  THANKS!

02.15.05:  Thanks to all who have been providing valuable feedback as we work on the new site.  I certainly appreciate it as the rush to get things in place lets little errors slip through, and sharp eyes have picked up on them and reported back for correction.  You'll notice changes to the site as features are changed to reflect better ideas or improved implementation.  I'm not a professional web guru and not even a lucky novice.  But what I lack in skill I hope to make up for in tenacity and ham-fisted determination!  LOL!  In any case, the first event of the Florida RallyCross Championship is just a few days away an I sincerely hope it helps start a wildfire of interest in rally through Florida and the Southeast.  After a very successful 2004 season we've listened and have put a great deal of effort into implementing the your ideas and suggestions.  Come out, compete, observe and let us know what you think!

02.12.05:  Registration now works!  Apologies to all who attempted to register prior to 5:00PM today, as we were working out issues on the server that caused the registration form to fail.  It has been tested and is working fine.  Once registered for an event you will receive a confirmation email, so be sure that you receive that and bring a printout with you to guarantee your entry.  Thanks to all for their patience!

02.11.05: After a lot of work and many delays we bring you RallyRebels.com!  When we originally began hosting rallycross events on our Fort Meade property in 2004, we were unsure of the response and future.  But after four very successful events and surviving three Hurricane direct-hits, we're here to stay.  So a dedicated web site and domain name were in order and for 2005 it begins here.  Please be patient as you navigate the site as data from the Fort Meade RallyCross site is migrated and the pages are populated and created.  I didn't want to open the site incomplete, but registration for the first Florida RallyCross Championship event forced the early move.

So feel free to look around!  You may hit a dead end or two, but the basics are here.  New features are online registration payments and a discussion forum for the Florida and Southeast rally community.  Thanks to everyone for their continued support and helpful input!  Without you, the enthusiasts, we wouldn't be able to enjoy this.  =)

Thanks again,

Joe Black