The entire photo gallery of the event can be found here:
http://gtluke.smugmug.com/RallyAddict/805158

STPR 09 started with the RallyAddict.com team leaving our day jobs early and piling into the RallyVan for the 4 hour trek to Northern Pennsylvania. With the van fully loaded with camping and photography gear (along with enough diet soda to kill a pigmy horse) we headed to the Wal-Mart in Mansfield to gather up last minute essentials and then it was off to the Tioga Fairgrounds just outside Wellsboro. There, we would be picking up our VIP passes for the weekend. Oh, maybe some explanation is needed here…This was the first year (to our knowledge) that a VIP pass was offered to the rally spectators. The only way to really know that a VIP pass was available was to look on the STPR.org website and forum. A limited number of VIP passes were available for the weekend at $75 each and included the following…

• Admission to both Super Specials (SS1 & SS13) with separate VIP seating.
• Admission & transportation to a “VIP only” spectator area on the Waste Management area (SS1 & SS2) with refreshments and drinks.
• Admission & transportation to a “VIP only” spectator area on Leetonia Rd (SS9) with refreshments and drinks.
• A bag with souvenirs, including a STPR bumper sticker, water bottle and rally program.

I’ll go into details for each “VIP privilege” when we get to them but for now I’ll say we were a little apprehensive at first because…well…let’s face it, $75 is pretty expensive when you normally see a rally for free. Also, since this was the first year the VIP pass was available, nobody actually knew what the spectator areas were going to be like. Ah, what the hell, we decided “to be pigs” and I called in to reserve 4 VIP passes. Ok, where were we?

After picking up our passes at the fairground, we headed off to The Stony Fork Creek Campground where this would be the 3rd and LAST year we would be staying there.. While relaxing around the campfire, we had some unexpected visitors. About 50 feet from where we were sitting one of us noticed two animals bumbling through the site next to ours. In the pitch dark, through squinted eyes, the animals initially looked to be some sort of dog but it eventually became clear that these were bears….Black Bears. Once the initial feeling of disbelief subsided, utter fear set in and the once hardened outdoorsmen turned into panicked 6 year old girls screaming and running for the van. Concerned only with the thoughts of self preservation, we climbed over each other slamming the doors shut. With the van’s headlights now illuminating the vicious monsters, we watched silently from our shelter of glass and steel as the two bears checked the garbage cans for some dinner of their own. Coming up empty, they decided to move on, leaving us in fear that they may return in the middle of the night and eat our faces…like that guy on the Discovery channel. Luckily, I was sleeping in the van.

Dawn brought Day 1 of the STPR rally and the gratefulness that we were all still alive. Having some time to kill before the 1st stage, we decided to grab breakfast at the famous Wellsboro Diner (we ARE from Jersey after all) located 2 blocks from where Saturday’s parc expose is normally held. In previous years, we’ve either been too late to check it out or it’s been too crowded to even THINK about getting a seat. After dining on a delicious breakfast we headed over to the Tioga Fairgrounds where our bus would be picking us up and taking us to the Waste Management VIP spectator area.

The bus ride turned out to be a short but bumpy one as we drove over what could only be described as the Waste Management’s lawn or quite possibly the stage itself. We passengers watched in curiosity as the “road” became narrower and narrower. The driver however, had no problem piloting our full sized school bus down this trail that was probably more suited for an ATV. Eventually the trail led up to a fairly large pavilion set atop a man made pile of stone and surrounded by protective boulders. The bus emptied its excited passengers and we quickly scaled the pile of stone to see what the stage had in store for us. Off in the distance, we could see a freshly made path leading out from the woods and around a small tree. The stage then proceeded up a hill, (towards the spectator area) over a small jump and then turn slightly left to allow the cars to drift around us. The cars would pass about 10 feet from the spectator area and then proceed back into the woods. Needless to say, the spectator area was a buzz with excitement.

All of the stage 1 and 2 photos can be found here:
http://gtluke.smugmug.com/gallery/8479795_ZR532
Highlights:

Of course, it’s a Mitsubishi smoking up the forest

I’d like to take this opportunity to rant a little if I could. Even though this was a VIP area, our spectator area was still crowded with a fair amount of annoying media pass holders. I’m not talking about the respectable rally photographers such as Pete Kuncis or Bill from “Silly Glasses Photography” (hehe we gave him that name J). I’m talking about the “Rally-America Video Crew” in the orange vests. There must have been at least 8-10 people working the video crew and only 2 or 3 of them were actually holding gear! At one point, a pair of them decided that since they had a video camera, they could stand directly in front of where we were sitting. If you’re lucky enough to have the freedom of a media pass, why on Earth would you want to stand in front of us?!?

If you have been following RallyAddict.com, you know that we do actually get media passes sometimes. We’ve never taken advantage of obtaining extra media passes for our friends and ALWAYS consider the view of the spectator as being more important than our vantage point for photos. We are a rally spectator site after all. Ok, rant over.

Between SS1 and SS2 at the Waste Management area, we were presented with refreshments, soda, water and even a gift bag with souvenirs! Platters of fresh fruit and vegetables along with pretzels were laid out on the tables and were a welcome treat. A large box full of individually wrapped hand-wipes was made available to clean off any dust that the previous cars had kicked up. This was luxury rally at its finest! We filled up plates of fruit and vegetables and sat down to get ready for the 2nd stage.

The second stage at the Waste Management area would be the same course except ran in the opposite direction. The cars would now be passing the spectator area first, then downhill over the jump, around the small tree and back into the woods. After only the 2nd stage of the entire weekend, the cars were already taking a decent beating.

Travis mowing the lawn:

Rock pile starting to form from the cars hurling them at us, some of them a little heavy and a little too close for comfort.