ST. LOUIS — Not so knowledgeable about the sport of Rallycross? That's okay. Rallycross is making its St. Louis debut this weekend.
World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Ill. will be host of rounds two and three of the America's Rallycross ARX series.
In other words, dozens of races featuring small, four-wheel drive cars that can go from zero to sixty in less than two seconds will be battling each other in our backyard.
Getting Rallycross to St. Louis took four years and a custom built track. But it's all worth it according to track owner Curtis Francois.
"I think it's just a great opportunity to see stars from the internet that you haven't seen here in St. Louis. We've got Ken Block. We've got Tanner Foust. We've got many other guys out here ... they're right here at Gateway this weekend," said Francois.
In Rallycross, cars drive on both pavement and dirt. Francois was determined to build track that drivers could be excited about.
"Where there's a will there's a way. And I always pictured that in our infield for our road course, there's a great opportunity. We've got nice rolling hills of grass. We've added some jumps," said Francois.
Fans should also keep an eye on 14-year-old racing prodigy Gray Leadbetter. She will be racing all weekend at Gateway and is the youngest American female driver in the sport.
"I think the greatest aspect of Rallycross, in general, is the transition from going from asphalt to dirt on a singular circuit track," said Gray.
You can still purchase tickets online for this weekend's races, which also includes pit passes. The races go all weekend with gates opening at 8 AM on both Saturday and Sunday.
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