Team GotCone.com driver Christy Carlson competed in last weekend’s Rally America Rally in the 100 Acre Wood event held on the usually very fast roads around Salem, MO. The heavy rain that fell on Thursday made the roads very slippery and made for some deeper then usual water crossings.
Carlson set some impressive times right from the start. She was able to put down one of the fastest 2WD stage times during the Super Special Stage at Potosi Lions Park, despite having the fuel pump lose power and having to coast across the finish. The fuel pump was fixed and the car was able to make it’s way to the next stage.
Unfortunately on the final stage of the day, Ollie’s Camel, the slippery road conditions caused the Sentra rally car to slide into a ditch and get stuck, costing car #298 to lose over 15 minutes on the stage and also damaged the passenger door. Luckily the door was able to fixed overnight (special thanks to the crew from UMR for the help) and the car could continue onto Saturday’s stages.
After having one day under her belt, Christy felt much more comfortable behind the wheel and with her co-driver’s pace notes and quickly climbed up the standings. After the 3rd stage Christy and car #298 now sat in 7th place in the G2 class, but disaster happened on the next stage.
The slippery wet conditions caused over a fourth of the cars entered in the rally to retire early from the event and unfortunately it also claimed the 1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R driven by Christy Carlson and co-driver Adam Kneipp during the 100 Acre Wood Rally on Saturday. During the Super Special stage back at Potosi’s Lions Park the car died and would not restart. Electrical issues had struck the Sentra and forced the car to retire from the event with 6 stages to go.
Christy gained some invaluable experience during the event and hopes to apply that as she prepares for her next rally event. Follow Christy’s rally and other racing adventures on Christy Carlson Racing or Facebook. For further information or sponsorship information please email Christy at wrxgrl@gmail.com
