WOODSTOCK, Maine — Each year, some of the best drivers you’ll find anywhere in the world make the western Maine woods their playground.
Blink, and you might miss them.
A total of 61 teams—a driver and co-driver in each car—headed to quiet stretches of logging and camp access roads for the New England Forest Rally.
They first set up camp Friday at Sunday River. Teams helmed by A-list action sports stars Travis Pastrana and Ken Block drew crowds of fans to their team garages by 8:30 a.m.
But the locals showed up in force as well.
Last Ditch Racing, based in Bangor and operated by driver/co-driver duo John Cassidy V and John Cassidy IV has competed in 23 NEFR's. Casey Keyler has helped the team for a handful of those rallies, and now serves as crew chief. He had his calendar marked for a while.
"364 days," he smiled. "We love it every year. We come out here and it’s so much fun. There’s a bunch of different rallies, but living in Maine, this is the home race."
Lost in Maine Racing is based in parts of southern Maine. NEWS CENTER Maine featured the team in early July, while driver Andrew Benson and co-driver Zach Stewart tested their new build. Finishing the race was their modest goal, while they later conceded they liked their chances to post respectable times.
The New England Forest Rally is entirely free for fans. If you can hike out in the woods near Concord Pond, you’re treated to one of the most famous stretches of rally road. It's the first stage in the New England rally, and teams told us they love it for its mix of straightaways and challenging corners.
NEWS CENTER Maine found a spot to watch the first stage from about midway through the course.
There, we met Roger Isaacs. Originally from South Africa, the now-Maryland resident happily made the pilgrimage to far-western Oxford County, Maine. He appeared to have a healthy obsession with the sport.
After each of the first three cars sped by at upwards of 70 miles per hour (including Pastrana and Block), Isaacs noted the steering and breaking techniques they employed, and the miniscule mistakes they made during the three seconds their blurry cars were in sight.
"Smell that! Taste that!" he howled, noting the high-octane gasoline fumes lingering in the air.
Despite his devotion to every detail of the course, Isaacs was the most thrilled to share the experience with his two adult sons.
"I’ve been following the rally all my life," he smiled. "I’ve got my sons involved now. It’s great to have them here."
He paused and turned his attention to another oncoming car, sure to not miss a split-second of action.
He turned back.
"You know they call rallying the king of motorsports?"
By nightfall, the quiet, untamed wild of that stretch of road would return to its sleepy existence. But for one afternoon, the trees shook.
And Roger Isaacs was in petrol paradise.