For the third time in the past 14 months, short-wheel rally drivers from across the country are gathering in Southeast Tennessee this weekend to race on the back roads of the Cherokee National Forest in Polk County as part of an effort to bring one of the world’s top racing events back to the United States for the first time in nearly four decades.
After test events in April and September last year, the organizers of Tennessee Rally USA are back in the Chattanooga area this weekend showing off their cars and racing teams.
A full day of racing in the Cherokee National Forest is planned Saturday with nine teams of drivers and co-drivers racing on gravel and back roads on 77 miles of the Cherokee National Forest spread across eight stages. An awards ceremony is planned Saturday night at the Chattanooga Choo Choo.
The event was scaled down to a single day of racing due to road and bridge repairs being made in the Cherokee National Forest, but rally manager William Stuart Wood said Saturday’s racing is expected to draw up to 2,000 spectators and involve more than 200 race volunteers to help drivers and race observers see the courses as a potential site for a World Rally Championship that organizers hope to bring to the area in 2026.