100 Acre Wood Rally: Salem, MO

The annual 100 Acre Wood Rally is more than enough to get Missouri gearheads amped up about the beginning of the 2010 automotive season. March marks the opening of track days, drag strips, autocrosses and other racing locales that we've been waiting for all winter long. This race provides a chance for the majority of us to check out only as spectators, but some fortunate and bold Missourians, such as Mark Hubbe in his more-than-baller '70 V-dub, strap on their helmets in late February.

The back roads near Salem, MO are where the racing of the second stop on the Rally America schedule occur. For series mad man (and icon of trendy clothes-wearing folk), Ken Block, this is an event that he has some history with. His win in '06 was his first national rally win, and he has now won the event for his 5th consecutive year after taking the top spot on the podium again on Saturday. His new Fiesta is apparently as mean and gnarly as its appearance suggests; it surely didn't slow him down one bit.

Rally fans, locals and the people that fall into both categories lucked out with warmer-than-freezing temperatures and clear skies for the weekend. Here's to hoping the rest of the year is anything near as exciting as the racing from this past weekend in rural Missouri. First are boring images of the exposes (park and check out locations) in Steelville and Salem. These are followed by photos of racing near Salem and the special stage in Potosi.

-Brian Doty

Class winners for 100 Acre Wood Rally:

Open: Ken Block/Alessandro - '09 Ford Fiesta

Super Production: Travis Hanson/Terry Hanson - '07 Subaru WRX STI

2WD: Christopher Duplessis/Catherine Woods - '90 VW GTI