If you’ve never been to a rally, it’s hard to picture where you would even start.
Rally looks loud, fast, and technical.
It’s easy to think rally is only for drivers with money, experience, or the right connections.
Something you watch, not something you join.
That idea keeps a lot of people away. And it’s not true!
Rally is one of the most approachable motorsports communities out there, mostly because it doesn’t run on cars alone. It runs on people.
That’s what this "Face of Oregon Trail Rally 2025" project is made to showcase.
Rally doesn’t happen without people showing up and helping.
This photography project is about the people who make the event happen. Volunteers, organizers, service crew, media, co-drivers, drivers. People who all found their way in differently, usually without a plan.
When you read their stories side by side, one thing stands out. Almost no one started as a competitor. Most people started by just being there.
That was true for me too.
My first stage rally was Oregon Trail Rally in 2015. I wasn’t driving. I was volunteering as a road marshal. Standing on stage, watching Paul Eklund fly by in the yellow STI hatch, I remember thinking, one day I want to be doing that.
At the time, it felt like a passing thought, not a plan.
I came back in 2018 and volunteered again, this time assisting the late Andy Newell as a ham radio relay on Dalles Mountain.
I was still learning, still helping where I could, still very much on the outside looking in.
I never imagined that a few years later I would be lining up at the start of Oregon Trail Rally myself, racing my little red Impreza as a rally car.
That didn’t start with buying a car. It started with volunteering.
For most people, the first step into rally is just going to one.
You show up as a spectator. You watch a couple of stages. You walk through service park. You start noticing that rally isn’t just cars blasting through the forest. It’s a group of people working together to make it happen.
Spectating is cheap, low commitment, and the fastest way to make rally feel less intimidating. If you’re curious but unsure, this is the easiest place to start.
Volunteering is where things really change.
Rally events are run by volunteers. Without them, there is no rally. Many of those roles don’t require experience. Road marshal. Service park helper. Spectator control. You get instructions. You get support. You’re expected to show up and care.
For a lot of people in Face of OTR 2025, volunteering was the moment rally stopped being something they watched and started being something they were part of.
Once you’re around for a bit, opportunities grow.
Some people move into timing or safety roles. Some get into stage communications and decide to learn amateur radio. These roles come with more responsibility, but they’re also where you see how much trust rally depends on.
Another common path is helping a team.
You don’t need to be a mechanic to be service crew. Teams need help organizing tools, fueling cars, cleaning windows, moving gear, and keeping things moving during tight service windows. It’s busy, hands-on, and one of the closest ways to be involved without being in the car.
Some people come in through cameras instead.
Photographers, videographers, drone pilots, and writers document moments that would otherwise disappear. They help tell the stories that bring new people in. That path takes time and respect for safety, but it’s deeply meaningful.
Camera matters but simply showing up with what you have is a great start. Building up work gradually and constantly will lead to obtaining the media credentials to finally work on stage.
And yes, some people end up competing.
Co-drivers often come from volunteering or crewing backgrounds, learning notes and timing along the way.
Drivers show up from all kinds of places. Autocross, track days, sim racing, or years of being around rally. Rallycross events, such as those by Northwest Rally Association are great start, and highly competitive too for those who already have done stage rally.
Racing is one path. It’s not the starting line.
That’s really what Face of OTR 2025 is trying to show.
Rally isn’t hard to get into. It just looks that way from the outside.
Rally works because people get involved in all sorts of ways. And getting involved usually starts with curiosity, not a race car.
If rally has ever caught your attention but felt out of reach, the first step is simple.
Show up.
Everything else tends to follow.
2026 Rally Schedules:
- For national events in the US, see American Rally Association 2026 Schedule
- For regional events in the Pacific Northwest, See Northwest Rally Association 2026 Schedule
Pick one that’s close. Go watch for a day. Say hello. Ask questions.
The rest of the Face of OTR 2025 stories go deeper into these paths, one person at a time. Different roles. Different backgrounds. Different starting points.
If you’re curious about how people actually found their way in, those stories are where to look next.
Word and photographs by Peng Du (@fatgoooose)
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