For Round 4 of the U.S. Rallycross Championship at the New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP), spectators turned out in even greater numbers than for yesterday's Round 3. The event certainly wasn't lacking for action with heats starting at 9:30 in the morning and running back-to-back races through the day until the final A Main final late in the afternoon. Fans lined the fences and cheered the heroic efforts of the competitors as they muscled for position through a tangle of car-to-car contact, flying dirt and displaced tire-walls.
During a lunch-time intermission, over a hundred Subaru owners took a parade lap of the NJMP Lightning Racetrack. From off-the-lot Outbacks to high-horsepower tuner WRX STIs, the lineup was an impressive array of Subarus and fan spirit. Hundreds of Subaru enthusiasts also piled into the Subaru Fan Fest area all day to check out the 2011 WRX and WRX STI model line and to grab promotional items.
Subaru Rally Team USA's Travis Pastrana won the B Main race, securing himself a position in the A Main final. Despite his hardest efforts, Travis came up just shy of the podium and landed in fourth place. Teammate Dave Mirra was right behind Travis and secured fifth. Dave drove well throughout the heat races and advanced directly to the A Main final starting grid. With a sluggish start, Dave was behind the pack in the beginning; but, he managed to work his way up the field by the time the checkered flag dropped.
Overall, this weekend's installments of the U.S. Rallycross Championship were a smash hit. A heavy international competitor turnout boosted the level of competition and made for an even more dramatic viewing experience. This outstanding success should propel rallycross into the future of American motorsport and we look forward to the 2011 U.S. Rallycross Championship.
