Hosting SCCA® RallyCross events can be a challenge. By its nature, no two RallyCross sites look alike, meaning there’s no one-size-fits-all template for hosting events. Earlier this year, we saw how Detroit Region creatively manages its events in a part of the country that faces rainy conditions that can be hard on a property’s surface. But other parts of the country – namely the dry desert air of the Southwest – face their own unique problems.

Arizona Region’s Sean Spring knew that the Region’s RallyCross site near Phoenix required loads of water to turn silt dust into something resembling mud. For one group, that mud would fly everywhere, but in just a few minutes it would be back to an inescapable dust storm once more. A new location was needed.

For two years, Spring posted on social media, scanned Google Maps, and drove around searching for open areas that could work as a RallyCross site.

“There were so many conversations that led to nothing,” Spring said. “So many conversations felt hopeless, as the person I was speaking with had no idea what I was proposing and had no interest in learning or entertaining anything other than what they had already considered I was doing in their head.”

Finally, he got a lead on the Camp Verde Arena Association, an equestrian center about an hour south of Flagstaff that hosts rodeos, barrel racing, and demolition derbies.

“When I pulled up to the site and saw the lot in question, I knew we needed to book this place,” Spring said.

Between the location, sitting right off the interstate that runs between Phoenix and Flagstaff, and the facilities, which included use of the on-site tractor and implements, a 4,000-gallon water truck, and a water treatment facility less than 100 yards away with unlimited water, it was a godsend.

To top it all off, the composition of the site is decomposed granite and dirt that readily accepts water without turning to mud. If the track is kept on the dryer side, it actually develops a “blue groove” in the same way a dirt oval would – rubber laying down on the surface and on the racing line.

While site selection was hard work, it laid the foundation for Spring to grow the Region’s RallyCross program. From there, it was a matter of working with existing and potential competitors to give participants what they were looking for, rather than what had always been done.

For Arizona Region, that meant events featuring a practice day on Saturday with competition on Sunday – shortening the requirement to participate. But more than that, they have invested in helping people improve with what they call “skills drills” on Saturday afternoon.

“We have been able to have our drivers practice on a skid pad to learn how throttle and brake inputs affect the car at speed,” Spring explained. “We have also set up figure-eight practice as well as an out-and-back slalom and a fairly typical barrel racing setup with an exit gate, decreasing radius turns, and exit gate. The feedback from our drivers with these skills drills has been amazing. We run these as open sessions with a running line that you just hop into as much or as little as you want for the given session.”

This concept allows drivers to concentrate on what’s happening in a given maneuver. “Traditionally, a RallyCross has been a blind track that you can hone into as you progress through your six runs,” Spring added. “But for a lot of beginners, or anybody trying to master a given technique, having the targeted practice has been showing results.”

Most importantly, Spring and his team have learned that the secret is simply hard work, stepping back, and moving forward again.

“Prior to taking on the role as the RallyCross Coordinator for the Arizona Region, I had no experience hosting any events,” he said. “It's been a steep learning curve with its faults, but I'm fortunate to have an understanding community behind me that is devoted enough to support the work we put in.”

Most importantly, everyone is having fun and learning lessons that could apply to any RallyCross program across the country.

Find out more about SCCA’s RallyCross program on SCCA.com and in the RallyCross Facebook group.

To get a better idea of what a RallyCross at the Camp Verde Arena Association site looks like, check out the video below (or click this link).

Photo by Richard Edwards with Sedaholic Productions