Kim DeMotte started scouting roads here in 1976 and organized the original road rallies in the 1970s and 1980s. After a 19-year absence, DeMotte got the rally going again in 2002. For years he served as chairman of the event.
In the 1970s Demotte was a co-driver. Now, he's come full circle and this weekend in the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood will drive a 1972 Dotson, the same car he drove here in the 1970s and 80s.
It's an event the St. Charles resident has been itching to drive in for the last three decades.
"I guess it's the little kid in me," DeMotte said Wednesday. "I've been grinning from ear to ear."
Demotte has many fond memories of the 1970s and ‘80s rally events in Salem.
The rally is named for the Disney character Winnie the Pooh and the other children's storybook characters that live in a fictional forest. Demotte even decorated his Datsun with an orange and black animal tail on the rear of his car, which his fellow racers nicknamed "Tigger."
"The cars were built more for endurance back then, DeMotte said. "If a lot of cars today hit what we hit then they would be done. Our suspensions were a little tougher, and we did what we had to do to finish."
The roads were more unforgiving back then, more like primitive roads, DeMotte said.
The other difference is that racers started around 4 p.m. and raced through the night until 7 a.m., and they did it for several days. Rallies with drivers putting 1,500 miles on their cars were not unusual.
"I do think today's rallies have more of a blessing than we did in the 70s and 80s, "Demotte said.
Some of biggest differences between the 1970s and now are the number of people attending rallies, stressing the economic impact on the community, and planning.
"I'm sure there was an economic impact, we were buying gas, food, staying overnight and other supplies," DeMotte said. "But we weren't thinking about that at the time. All we wanted to do is race and have a good time, which we did."
Having 3,000-5,000 people watching an event was unheard of back then.
DeMotte held his own in those rallies. He was rated as high as a Seed 3 driver with occasional top five finishes. He last drove at a stage rally in 1981 with current 100 Acre Wood Chairman Tom vonHatten as co-driver.
Racing here disappeared for a number of years. DeMotte said factors such as inadequate planning and overworked committee members took their toll.
"We had less than 10 on the planning committee," DeMotte said. "Now there are close to 50, it's more structured, safer and the planning for each event starts a year ahead of the event."
In the late 1990s those who took part in the 1970s-80s events were encouraged by many people, including Salem's Rob Benowitz, to get the event going again.
DeMotte and others still had the urge. Having raised families and with their children out of nest, they were anxious.
"Basically we wanted to see if we could still do it before we got too old," Demotte said.
During the 100 Acre Wood revival, DeMotte kept active in the sport by co-driving for well-known drivers such as Dennis Martin and Matthew Johnson.
But after years of co-driving and challenging other drivers by saying he could race faster and better, DeMotte was issued a challenge to drive again.
"I guess I was told to put my money where my mouth was," DeMotte said. "So here I am."
DeMotte is using the same Datsun he raced in Dent County in the 1970s, a car he once sold to Martin's crew members.
"I've scouted these roads, raced them, been the course opening car and the chairman for a long time," Demotte said. "Now I get to drive again. I can't wait."
DeMotte said he doesn't expect to win the regional Group 2 class, but he said it's a chance to back up his word, have fun and improve.
