Jacquot/Maxxis Subaru Prescott Rally and Season Wrap Up

Rallying owes you nothing.

It is this brute fact that makes it at once so alluring and so demanding. Stringing corners together sideways fits in there somewhere, too.

So it is hugely fulfilling to leave NASA Rally Sport's National Championship last weekend with a second place finish in all-wheel drive and a victory in the Pacific Rally Cup, NASA's western-states' series.

A new co-driver, Pete Pollard, fit in fantastically, both in the car and out. Pete and I shared a stoic optimism for the weekend, but it wasn't until the final stage on Saturday when the sun was low and the shadows were long that we really hit our pace. As everybody else was slowing to preserve their position, our timing and pace gelled into real velocity. We found corner exit speed and air under the car in places where there'd been none on the previous pass.

But it never comes easy. Twice that day my appreciation for the throttle put us off the road. The first was a fairly minor plunge into a soft roadside berm. The second was into a ditch filled with helmet-sized boulders which rapidly reshaped the car's right rocker panel, somehow without removing -- or even reshaping -- the rear wheel. Fate, however briefly, smiled on our rally.

Prescott Arizona is a place of stunning natural beauty and perfect, fast roads. It is a place where rallying belongs. And it was an awesome place to fight out a national championship. What an honor to be part of it.

As I write this with 2015 now almost completely in the books I recognize that the friendships, competition and resulting memories from this year will be forever burned into who I am. Leaving the season NASA Rally Sport's Pacific Rally Cup and a runner-up spot in the California Rally Series Open class is a real honor.

I'm of the belief that in life, like in rallying, time is our most valuable asset. So it's with humble appreciation that I need to thank my supporters: First,my wife, for embracing my insufferable obsessions. Her commitment to our family and this effort can't be overstated. What a woman. Also: Pete Pollard, Dave Coleman, Dan Edmunds, Mike Monticello, Kurt Smith, Reese Counts,Dan Frio and Clint Stringfellow. You've enabled more fun and fulfillment than I've had in a long time. Thank you.

This race, this series, this last eight months for that matter, are a culmination of years of hoping, saving and preparation. That it's over brings both relief and anticipation. The monumental task of re-prepping the car will be one I spread over six months or more. I look forward to more time with Tanya and our children. I look forward to some hard work on my bike. But I know that every time I pass the car in the garage it will be calling. And if next year brings half this much fun and achievement, then we've got a lot to look forward to.

Special appreciation also goes to Maxxis Tires, Sparco, Advanced Clutch Technology, All Wheel Engineering,llc Kartboy.com, TurninConcepts and Energy Suspension

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Josh Jacquot