Iowa Region SCCA RallyCross #8 — Independence Speedway
October 7, 2026 | Independence, Iowa
October in Iowa usually means cooler temperatures, crisp fall air, and some relief from the summer heat. Apparently, nobody told Mother Nature.
Instead, we were treated to unseasonably hot October weather and extreme amounts of dust! The dry conditions turned Independence Speedway into a giant dust bowl, with every passing car kicking up another cloud. At times, finding the next cone was almost as challenging as finding the fastest line!
But a little heat and a whole lot of dust weren’t going to stop the fun. With nine runs apiece, plenty of close competition, returning familiar faces, and four newcomers, it was another memorable day of Iowa Region RallyCross!
Welcome Back!
One of the highlights of the day was the return of Shelby K. to her navigator duties, riding along in the infamous “Snabb” !
It’s great to have Shelby back in the passenger seat, picking the tunes, helping Jay navigate the cones, dust clouds, and laughing the questionable driving decisions he might make along the way. Nothing says quality father-daughter time quite like getting tossed around in a rallycross car together!
We also had four drivers making their Iowa Region RallyCross debut!
Zaki A. made the trip over from Milwaukee Region for a little personal test-and-tune session and scouting the competition for the upcoming Freeze Your Curds Off Challenge. Apparently, his idea of testing involves taking home the SRWD class victory by over 31 seconds! We’d say the test went pretty well.
Trent R. and Ryan O. joined us as first-time rallycrossers. Trent brought perhaps the most unexpected vehicle of the day, a Lexus LS460. Yes, a full-size “luxury” sedan out playing in the dirt! Ryan jumped into stock all wheel drive with his Subaru Impreza and got his first taste of competition on the loose stuff.
Derek M. made the crossover from autocross, bringing his Subaru BRZ out to discover what happens when the pavement ends and traction becomes optional. He finished second in SRWD, proving that autocross skills translate pretty well to dirt — even if the car requires considerably more cleaning afterward.
Welcome to all four! We hope the dust and heat didn’t scare you away!
Then there was Hugh H…Hugh apparently forgot one of the more important steps in rallycross preparation: checking over his Subaru SVX more than 12 hours before the event. With the SVX sidelined, Hugh found himself sentenced to co-driving David L.’s “Penalty Box.”
Now, anyone who has watched David drive that Forester knows there’s something suspicious going on. Nobody can quite explain how he makes the times he does in that thing. It shouldn’t work as well as it does, yet David continues to make everyone else question their driving ability.
Hugh got to experience the magic of the Penalty Box firsthand, while David nearly drove it to another class victory. He was only 3 seconds behind Jay K. after nine runs, Hugh was another 42 seconds behind that!
We’re still not sure whether the Forester is secretly a race car or David just hasn’t been told it’s not supposed to be that fast.
MAWD – Modified All-Wheel Drive
Mod All saw five competitors battling the heat, dust, and each other at Independence Speedway, with Aaron B. taking the class win in his recently upgraded #53 Subaru wagon. Aaron was consistently quick throughout the day, finishing 25.119 seconds ahead of Erik O., who brought his 1996 Impreza NA/T home in second.
Dave E. rounded out the podium in third, just 14.707 seconds behind Erik. Dave also laid down the fastest single run in the class at 82.264 seconds, narrowly beating Aaron’s best of 82.290 by just 0.026 seconds! Unfortunately for Dave, a collection of cone penalties throughout the day kept him out of contention for the top two spots. It must have felt good to finally link the course together for the hot lap though.
Cliff J. had a particularly rough relationship with the cones, collecting penalties on six of his nine runs and finishing fourth. However, he saved his fastest run for last, dropping into the 86-second range.
Welcome-back to Dawn L., returning to rallycross after sitting out much of the summer’s extreme heat. Despite October apparently deciding to bring summer back for one more round, Dawn jumped right back into competition in their WRX. She steadily improved throughout the day, cutting more than eight seconds off her opening run and finishing fifth.
Class Results
Stock Rear Wheel Drive (SRWD)
1st — Zaki A. — Mazda Miata — 824.212
2nd — Derek M. — Subaru BRZ — 855.440
3rd — Trent R. — Lexus LS460 — 893.631
Zaki dominated the class, while Trent proved that you don’t need a traditional rallycross car to come out and have a good time!
Stock All Wheel Drive (SAWD)
1st — Eli B. — Subaru SVX — 800.481
2nd — Connor R. — Subaru WRX — 845.996
3rd — Ryan O. — Subaru Impreza — 891.988
Eli showed that the SVX platform can still get the job done, taking a commanding 45.515-second class victory.
Prepared Front Wheel Drive (PFWD)
1st — Jeff G. — Ford Fiesta — 877.296
Jeff had the class to himself, but still had nine runs to chase his own best time.
Prepared All Wheel Drive (PAWD)
1st — Jay K. — Saab 9-2X Aero “Snabb” — 778.040
2nd — David L. — Subaru Forester — 781.136
3rd — Hugh H. — Subaru “Penalty Box” — 823.504
The closest class battle of the day! Jay and his navigator Shelby held off David by just 3.096 seconds over nine runs (cutting 4 seconds off his time on the last 2), while Hugh learned what life is like inside the Penalty Box, without his usually trusty SVX.
Modified All Wheel Drive (MAWD)
1st — Aaron B. — Subaru Wagon — 755.838
2nd — Erik O. — Subaru Impreza — 780.957
3rd — Dave E. — Subaru WRX — 795.664
4th — Cliff J. — Subaru WRX — 838.751
5th — Dawn L. — Subaru WRX — 858.958
Aaron took the MAWD victory and fastest overall total of the day, but Dave E. claimed the bragging rights for the fastest single raw run of the event at 82.264 seconds, beating Aaron’s quickest run by a mere 0.026 seconds!
A Few Numbers Worth Mentioning
Fastest overall total: Aaron B. — 755.838 seconds
Fastest single raw run: Dave E. — 82.264 seconds
Closest class finish: Jay K. over David L. — 3.096 seconds
Biggest class-winning margin: Eli B. — 45.515 seconds
Most persistent summer weather: October apparently forgot it was fall.
A huge thank-you to everyone who came out to drive, work course, chase cones, handle timing, and keep the event moving. Working outside in the heat and breathing dust all day isn’t exactly glamorous, but these events wouldn’t happen without all of us.
And to our four newcomers, we promise Iowa RallyCross isn’t always this dusty. Well… maybe.
See you at the next one!
#IowaRegionSCCA