I'm sure everyone here heard about the Bill Caswell story and how he's became a hero of sorts. I admit I admire him to, and I signed the petition to have him compete in the X-Games, but I'd like to express my frustation.

How come it's always the big name stars competing for a medal? In the olympics you got "dream team" status athletes to the college kids living thier dream in such events.

Motorsport is big business no doubt. Sacrificing so much...

But unless you're a Travis Pastrana, Dave Mirra, Ken Block, or Tanner Foust...you got no chance in hell getting in....Unless you got a fat wallet.

This is what pisses me off, us local boys with big dreams are just as "X-Treme" in our hearts to hang with the big boys. We don't have a shoe sponsor, energy drink supplier, a tour bus, and expensive tools.

But The X-Games officials should know we are just as balls to the walls as their stars are.

Here is what I'm proposing for X-Games 17.

The Underdog Rule:

In future X-Games events, drivers who are underclass (compared to the superstar drivers) should be given thier own invites based on their performance on the RA Championship (or any other rally event) or have a chance to arrive to LA and qualify on a day alongside the big name teams and manufacturers.

Top qualifers and invited "underdog" drivers then compete in the SAME events such as Pastrana, Block, Mirra, etc. And you know what? Sure I, and chances are the other local drivers here, will have a slim chance of winning a medal...but like the Olympics or World Cup. It would feel good racing our little hearts out in a televised event.

This is what I'm suggesting and I'm seriously considering sending in to officals. Who's with me????

I am currently preparing for New England Forest Rally. The car is all apart, nothing is going as planned and my list is getting longer not shorter. Stress is through the roof, time is ticking and wonder why am I doing this anyways? I have raced 3 rallies- the pre event stress hasn't seemed to diminish but the reasons for committing all time and $ to a sport is clear- the downs make the ups that much more satisfying. Climbing a mountain from the bottom and feeling that sense of accomplishment perhaps is a perpetual strive to get better without having the low.

Rally is rough and not for the faint of heart- I am being tested at the moment if you couldn't tell.

Well...not racing, but attending. All 4 days, I'm stoked for the Rally events and the new SuperRally race. I bet it's gonna look like DiRT 2.

I am currently preparing for New England Forest Rally. The car is all apart, nothing is going as planned and my list is getting longer not shorter. Stress is through the roof, time is ticking and wonder why am I doing this anyways? I have raced 3 rallies- the pre event stress hasn't seemed to diminish but the reasons for committing all time and $ to a sport is clear- the downs make the ups that much more satisfying. Climbing a mountain from the bottom and feeling that sense of accomplishment perhaps is a perpetual strive to get better without having the low.

Rally is rough and not for the faint of heart- I am being tested at the moment if you couldn't tell.

I've (and I'm sure a good number of you are too) have been watching the 2010 FIFA World Cup. And I figured I might as well show you USA's (it's stated the World's) reactions of Landon Donovan's goal.

It's worth a watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbn3rOPmR9w

Photos taken at the Chatsworth Rally Show 2010

http://www.worldrallysport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1106

Official Website: therallyshow.org/

A great selection of classic to modern day rally cars also the 30th anniversary of the Audi Quattro

Weasel 555 was there for the June 5th day heres a few of the over 200+ photos he took!

I shut off my cell phone, sold my PS3 and all my games (and I was just DYING to play Gran Turismo 5), and I'll be moving back in with my parents.

I'm gonna start saving EVERY penny I make now, not that I'm in any financial struggle...but I'm considering getting a better job.

I'm thinking about being a truck driver. I heard they make good money, looking at some truck driving schools, anyone who knows a school or can give me more insight to the business feel free to leave me a message!

I'm gonna go brute force on this. I've admired them for too long, and I want in.

I gotta make a plan, I gotta somehow make a large company get on my side, get some support! how am I gonna get proper video footage? how to I show I'm worthy? I'm no ride buyer, I don't got the hollywood video crew, and I gotta take a different approach from the typical skateboarding "sponsor me" video.

Perhaps I should go underground on this. I've had to make do practicing in parking lots, backroads, and rural areas. Yes I know it's illegal what I did, but hey. I gotta make do somehwere, somehow.

FUCK! it's frustrating (pardon the language)

DC Shoes if you're out there, I'm gonna find a way to get you guys to notice me!

See the full story here with sweet WRS pictures: http://www.terrafirmaclothing.com/events/the-road-to-oregon/

The Road to Oregon | By Ben Slocum

Big offs hurt. Physically sometimes, confidence wise always. The only way to overcome is to get back on stage at the first chance.

Following our Olympus wreck, our crew chief, Mark Richard, and pro-from-Dover (Wales), Graham “Whiskers” Evans, worked their tails off to get us back in the game for Oregon. The damage was extensive, but with new glass, fenders, quarter panels, hood, roof, floor, motor mount, lights, bumper, cage bars and hundreds of hours of work we were ready.
Map - Carencro, LA and Minneapolis, MN

Despite a three week time crunch, Mr. Mark and Whiskers got us back in the game a full week before Oregon, giving us a chance to run Nemadji Trail in Minnesota as a shakedown. As a tulip instead of stage note based regional, Dillon and I didn’t fully open the car up. We just wanted to make sure the car was mechanically sound and that we were focused and ready to push out west when it would count.
Map - Nemadji, MN

The road was good, but my odometer didn’t work, causing me to sit through most of the stage and look at trees. Dillon was bored too, wanting to open up the throttle on every corner. A new-found-since-Washington sense of maturity kept his foot light on the gas and the Focus on the road. We placed first in class, but would have preferred to have been fighting for an overall win. It was a successful shakedown none the less.
Orange + Plaid + TF = Awesome

Before heading to Oregon we also got a new wrap. The freshest of Terra Firma wraps in fact. The only requirement for the design was more orange, and more is what we got.
Map - Portland, OR

With a successful shakedown and a clean new look we were ready to push. We recce’d with purpose, looking for any opportunity to gain a second. We stayed calm, clear and ready.

Thursday press activities went well. Pioneer square was a busy environment filled with Rally fans, interested locals and street kids. Practice runs at Portland International Raceway were key, allowing Dillon to fully push the car for the first time since sailing off a mountain three weeks prior. The only bit of drama through the day was a busted drive belt on the car, which was better than on race day.

Friday started well. PIR stages aren’t at all like the forest, but they have their merits. Lots of fans, a mixed surface and a fun atmosphere. We pushed within reason but kept focused. Oregon Trail can’t be won on day one, but it sure as heck can be lost. We took a few stages, lost a few seconds on others, but left the day with a 3.7 second lead. Although small, any amount of a lead helped to boost our confidence.
Map - The Dalles, OR and Dufur, OR

Saturday morning followed the good mood of PIR. Stages five and six were both solid wins, each putting another forty five seconds between us and our competition. We decided to give the car a break and maintained our pace while our competition sped up on repeat runs over seven and eight. We kept a decent lead heading to the prairie stages near Dufur. This is where the balance tipped out of our favor.

Dust. Dust is the only word to describe the remainder of our event. Everyone had to contend with hanging dust from other cars, we were possibly the only car that couldn’t see out of our own windows. During the repairs from Olympus several holes were missed in the Focus’ chassis. There just wasn’t the time needed to fill them. Over each stage the dust in the car got worse and worse. Dillon was able to keep his mind on the game, but I could hardly choke out stage notes while I coughed up black mucus. We wore tea towels like makeshift bandito masks for the final leg, but they became more of a hindrance to me than a help.
Team 600 | Dillon Van Way and Ben Slocum | Oregon Trail Rally

After Stage 11 I could hardly think. I was coughing and hacking, and the trapped moisture in my face mask was causing me to hyperventilate. I missed a transit call, causing us to get hit with a 30 second penalty. The final stage didn’t go so well either. Although we kept pace with the competition, I had to bail at the finish line to keep from up-chucking in the car.

We were down by 1.2 natural seconds heading into Sunday, 31.2 counting our penalty. The only option was to do our best on the first loop. Over the first leg we eked a few seconds back from our competition, despite the car misfiring for several miles following a water crossing. With one loop of three stages left we had to make our presence known.
Team 600 | Dillon Van Way and Ben Slocum | Oregon Trail Rally

Stage 13 was ours. It’s where the event turned. The notes were perfect, my calls were perfect, Dillon’s drive was perfect. We won the stage and took the lead back. Our main competition also suffered some major issues, giving us a wide berth through the final two stages. Our new found maturity came into play again.

Not wanting to risk another Olympus style last minute error we didn’t risk anything on the penultimate stage. Our only goal was to finish. When we crossed the final time control we had it, we won Oregon Trail by two minutes and MaxAttack! by one. Olympus’ bad juju was behind us.
Map - Wellsboro, PA

The Lanark Highlands Forest Rally is back for its second year, and this year it’s a lot drier. The overcast sky above didn’t bring any rain, thus making this years rally a completely different experience from last years.

The event uses the Lavant Mill Road, which was used in the 1974 WRC Rally of the Rideau Lakes. The road will be run 5 times to make up the 50km of competitive mileage, and the competition couldn’t be hotter. Last years champion Nick and Kelly Mathew are returning, along with many OPRC regulars. This year also saw the surprise, last minute entry of Crazy Leo.

The competition was intense all day in all classes. Leo set the pace for his day right off the start, setting a new stage record of 6m56s. Right behind him was Nicola Narini, followed by Nick Mathew. Leo held his lead all day, but the fight for second was on. On the second stage, Nick took back second place by 4s. The next stage Nicola fought back, and was back in second by 3s. He would beat Nick Mathew in the next two stages, claiming second. The fight for fourth was also gearing up, until a slow final stage by Martin Donnelly solidified him in fourth.

The Group 2 class was dominated by Peter Kocandrle, finishing 6th overall. The battle for second and third came down to the wire between Sergei Grishechkin and Patrick Rainville, both drivers were fighting hard, finishing just 7s apart.

Group 5 saw only two entries this year; Martin Walter in his 91 Nissan 240SX and Thierry Menegoz in his 2000 Dodge SRT-4. Martin would go on to win Group 5. Production GT had three entries, with the winner being Warren Haywood. Production Sport had several entries, with a good battle between Eric McKinnon and Grant Riddell. The two drivers swapped stage times throughout, but a 1m penalty to Grant pushed him back to finishing second in Production Sport.

A great time was had by all, the day saw lots of smiles on both the competitors and the volunteers.