No, the cars weren’t drifting, but the dust certainly was as Colorado RallyCross and the Continental Divide Region hosted the 2013 Rocky Mountain National Challenge at Colorado Off Road Extreme (CORE) in picturesque Deer Trail, Colorado the weekend of June 1-2.  Fifty-eight competitors from Colorado, Louisiana, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming braved gale-force north winds and insidious dust on the upper course Saturday, followed by warm southerly breezes on Sunday’s lower course.  The Rocky Mountain Challenge was the fourth event in the Colorado RallyCross season and the fourth event in SCCA’s National Challenge Series.  Over the course of the two-day event, competitors completed a record 15 runs interspersed with fine dining in Deer Trail, movie night and chilly camping.

In Stock Front, Drew Little (Acura Integra) steadily put time on the rest of the SF field throughout the weekend to take first place by a margin of 60 seconds.  In Stock All, Utah’s Gonzo San Miguel (Subaru Impreza) overcame an uncharacteristic 5-cone run Saturday afternoon and finished 20 seconds ahead of Robby Eck (Mitsubishi Evolution), with Jake Blevins (Subaru Legacy) a mere two-tenths of a second behind Eck in third place.

Prepared Front was a see-saw battle among Antonio Serracino (Acura Integra), Bret Hunter (Honda CRX), and rallycross rookie Mark Smith (VW Golf).  At the end of Day One, a DNF by Hunter during Saturday afternoon dropped him from first to fifth and Smith held a five-second lead over Serracino.  On Sunday, Serracino stepped up the pace and overtook Smith for the win, with Smith finishing second, Hunter third and Seth Stapleton (Ford Focus) in fourth.