The state of Ohio has hosted American national championship stage rally events on 22 separate occasions, beginning with the establishment of the SCCA Pro Rally Championship in 1973 and ending in 1996. Many of the stages that made up previous Ohio events returned to action in 2017 as the Southern Ohio Forest Rally made its Rally America debut. 2018 brought back even more of the historical roads of Ohio Rally’s by including Tar Hollow State Park. For 2019 the Southern Ohio Forest Rally moved to the sanctioning of the American Rally Association, a USAC Racing entity. The SOFR crew and Ohio Forestry Department have worked together to add Shawnee State forest. We’ve also worked with the City of Chillicothe to bring back a teaser of the infamous City Park stage in downtown Chillicothe’s Yoctangee Park. While 2020 was an “odd” year, we managed to pull off a successful one-day event as one of the largest in North America. The 2021 Southern Ohio Forest Rally will be an ARA National Championship event. The City Park Stage remains as a Friday night opener, with Scioto Trails and Shawnee Forest as the host forests.

Only ten drivers have taken overall victories in Ohio, led by John Buffum and Paul Choiniere with five apiece. The battles between Buffum and three-time event winner Rod Millen defined the Ohio stage rally scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the two drivers finishing 1-2 on five occasions (Buffum came out on top four times).