I’ve talked a lot about rally cross on this podcast over the last year and a half and how it’s a gateway into stage rally.

Well, finally, I believe it now. My guests this week are RJ Ridgway and Ryan Symancek. We chat about the why and the how-to. I’ve included our discussion before we got started because I feel it is good for you to hear. I left the conversation pretty much unedited.

I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. I also hope that you can get a chance to experience rally cross if you haven’t already.

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This week, my guests are Zach Arnold and Jack Cuezze, both in their second year studying mechanical engineering at Oregon State University and co-founders of the Oregon State University Rally Club. Zach shares his family's connection to rally. His grandfather was involved in the sport, fueling Zach's lifelong passion for cars. Jack revealed that his father's enthusiasm for automobiles drew him into rally as well—he drove a WRX throughout high school and even attended a class at DirtFish after graduating from high school.

Zach and Jack talk about how they got started in rally, which began with volunteering at Olympus and by making some questionable financial decisions.

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Welcome. This week on Rallying in America: The Recce Podcast, my guest is Greg Wilcox. Greg is an avid hillclimb competitor as well as part of the 2026 Paul Giblin Memorial Climb to the Clouds organizing committee.

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Here is my collection of interviews and tidbits from my trip to Olympus for the ARA National event back in April.

Going to start off with the main reason I was there and that was to hang out with and observe the crew of Screech Owl Garage.

I was invited by Screech Owl founder Daniel Quarto to come out to Olympus back in March. Daniel offered to cover my room and board for the weekend. Little did I know it would involve some fantastic food and being woken up in the middle of the night by some very tired, sleep deprived mechanics.

Screech Owl helped maintain the vehicles of four different rally teams throughout the weekend. I was impressed as to how Daniel handles his crew. He has a background in youth leadership and martial arts. Those experiences lend themselves in keeping a great chemistry going, especially through such a long, tiring weekend at a rally.

The crew comes from many backgrounds as you will hear in the interviews and despite the stress of maintaining four different cars, they all worked together very well. As a result, the teams they support, feel more at ease and feel more confident with their cars.

Screech Owl Garage is more than just a crew but a family.

Perhaps the best story to come out of my experience was the fact that the crew swapped the engine out of Josh Gierman and Gavin Bowen’s 2000 Subaru Impreza in the middle of Saturday night with an engine that came from about 2 hours away. Josh and Gavin then went on through Sunday’s stages to bring home 8thoverall and a podium finish in the regional 4WD class.

Screech Owl’s story deserves so much more than just a bunch of sound bites edited together. Their story is truly amazing. Hope to have several of the teams they supported as well as Daniel himself on the podcast soon and work on an article about the crew as well.

I not only want to thank Daniel and the Screech Owl Garage family for their support, I also want to thank Mitch Meadows of MeLe Design Firm and MeLe Media, Gregory Wilcox, Lorne of Frozen Motion Pictures, and all the other wonderful people that helped support my trip to this year’s Olympus Rally.

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This week’s guest is Brian McMahon, a photographer and former rally driver. He began his career shooting night rallies like Press On Regardless, unaware of how the film would turn out. Later, he competed in TSD and stage rallies, starting with a ’69 Camaro before switching to a Datsun. Brian also shares how rally fans have diverse backgrounds and often engage in interesting conversations in the woods.

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My guest this week is David Weiman.

David started rallying during the mid-1960s, quickly developing his skills and passion for the sport. In 1970, he achieved a significant milestone by winning a national Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) rally.

During the interview, David discusses the history and significance of the "Press on Regardless" rally event. He shares insights into the early years of stage rallying, describing the challenges and excitement of the sport during its formative period.

David recounts his experiences competing against notable rally figures such as John Buffum and Tom Grimshaw, among others.

David also delves into his involvement with the Space Shuttle Program, providing an opportunity for a deep dive into his technical and scientific interests.

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This week on Rallying in America: The Recce Podcast, I welcome rally drivers and brothers, Ryan and James Pryzbylkowski of Vilko Motorsports. We cover a lot of topics including what it’s like to have a two-car rally team, ice racing, hill climbs and more. We even talk Steak-Umm.

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This week’s episode is a special one for me. My guest is Rusty Campbell. You may not have heard of him, but he was one of the original organizers of the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally. He helped with the inaugural run in 1977 and for the next 15 plus years.

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