Ozark Event: Crescent Classic Ferrari Tour

If I could take this blog on the road and charge admission, it would go like this: invite dozens of Ferraris and other sports cars to the most picturesque town in the Ozarks, then spend days devouring local roads. Don't hold your breath for Ozarkbahnfest, though. The annual Crescent Classic Ferrari Tour in Eureka Springs had the idea way before me, and has quietly become one of the premier performance car meets in America.



The attendees make their headquarters at the Victorian-styled, spooktacular Crescent Hotel of 1886 vintage. From there, the prancing horse tifosi and friends day trip on brisk guided rallies throughout the spiderweb of roads outside Eureka Springs.



If you fear a meeting of men with boater hats, imported navy blazers, and "daughters," don't worry. To keep the focus on driving, the Crescent Classic organizers have a strict dress code: jeans only. The cars are the stars of the weekend.



Exotics too often become static displays, imprisoned in climate-controlled garages. While Ferraris are objects of status and privilege, they are meant to be driven. The violent, beautiful sound is worth the exposure alone. Even this Shell gasoline advert is content to watch and listen.

[Your author's favorite television commercial of all time]

New or old, there is no such thing as a Ferrari that looks, goes, or sounds badly, so it's exciting to bring them out in numbers. After the group returns to the Crescent for the evening, it's an assuring sight to see an ocean of Ferrari Red smeared with bugs and brake dust. Sure, each is hand-washed nightly courtesy of the event sponsors, but there's a degree of respect in challenging the usual hazards of the open road. Last year an unlucky 360 Modena owner had a encountred a deer, vermin of the Ozarks. You can figure the rest of the drive was pretty fun, though.



The 2009 Crescent Classic takes place Thursday, September 10, through Sunday, September 13th. If you can respect a policy of look, but don't touch, no one minds terribly if you ogle the machinery up close in the hotel parking lot. Another chance to see the cars in person is during the parade and show in downtown Eureka Springs, usually on Saturday. The more modern and reliable Italians like the 328, 355, and 360 are best represented, but there's no telling what will show up. An Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint or Lamborghini is pretty good company.



If you want to see it yourself, the best part is that fine Ozark drives like Highway 62 or 23 are unavoidable. Event organizer Chris Parr said, "I grew up on these roads and have always felt like this area of Arkansas had some of the best roads in North America."



The Crescent Classic Ferrari Tour is a great excuse to grab your friends and take the day off. If you have the means, I highly recommend it.

Ozark Event: 100 Acre Wood Rally

Performance rally racing is the among the most impressive and demanding of all sports, and every year the Ozarks host one of the biggest rallies in the country. Sanctioned by Rally America, the annual 100 Acre Wood event in Missouri follows the same premise as the rest of the rally calendar. Rather than making laps on a permanent track, racecars are flung through nature at intervals, one at a time, with the goal of finishing unrehearsed routes between checkpoints in the shortest time. A navigator in the passenger seat barks a non-stop stream of pace notes to the driver, who completes the stage with unflinching speed.

[In-car footage from 100 Acre Wood Rally 2009 winner Ken Block]



It may look undramatic from the comfort of your computer desk, but the reality is a frenzy. Drivers are sliding sideways inches from ditches and trees with smooth precision, at speeds that would get you arrested on most highways. For this event, all on narrow gravel roads. The cars are production sedans modified to perform at speed on all surfaces and in all conditions, yet they're required to remain street legal for transit between stages on public roads.



To watch a rally, you don't buy a grandstand seat and drain cups of beer. You get up close and personal at roadside, which requires some work. While the rally cars are knifing through the woods at competition speeds, meeting them at spectator stages means carrying on your own rally. The 100 Acre Wood race weekend demands hours of navigating curvy, rolling backroads in near-total isolation, then hiking up fire roads and into the woods to camp for a prime viewing location. In 2009, the weather factor added six inches of snow for the final evening.



The mix of driving thrills and physical toil rewards with an intense display of performance cars and driving talent. Rally fandom means dedication, and it affords a grassroots-level experience rare in any sport. You'll often eat breakfast in a country diner with the team, follow their exploits throughout the day, and retire to the service areas where they prepare the vehicles for upcoming stages.



The rally also demonstrates how much of the Northeastern Ozarks remain beautiful frontier, densely wooded hill country unmarred by population. Spectacular roads such as MO-DD, MO-P, MO-Y, and Highways 32 and 49 become vocabulary over the course of a weekend, themselves worth the travel from home. The terrain mapped below gives a hint of the excitement for both competitors and spectators.

[Google Maps Sample route between Salem, MO, and Potosi, MO]

Part race, part outdoor adventure, the 100 Acre Wood Rally is a must for Ozark driving enthusiasts. See my pictures below if you need further convincing.

[2009 100 Acre Wood gallery]