Mindy DeLodder | Team Co-Driver

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As is the case with many rally spectators, Mindy’s love of rallying was stoked at the first event she was able to see up close and personal, the 2006 Rim of the World Rally. 

At this historic event, which would prove to be the last running of RIM in the mountain stages surrounding Los Angeles due to new US Forestry Service restrictions, Mindy used her press contacts to go behind-the-scenes to access areas most can only dream of. 

She was lucky enough to score a ride-along with multiple X-Games and Motocross champ (and subsequent 2006 and 2007 Rally America Champion) Travis Pastrana in his Open Class Subaru STi!  The 1.5 mile ‘Press Stage’ offered what every rally stage should have:  blind crests, 2,000 ft drop offs, plenty of rocks and trees, and a very powerful Blue Subaru. 

After experiencing first-hand the thrilling ride of a fully-prepped rally car, Mindy resolved to do everything in her power to get out on stage as quickly as possible.  She attended the CRS Rally Co-Driving School and was soon showing up the other co-drivers in training! 

Over the next year Mindy worked tirelessly to ready the first Team Car, a 1991 Mitsubishi Galant, for the brutal Southern California stages once more.  Dozens of sanding blocks, wire wheels, paint cans, and bruises later, the rally car was ready for stage use.  After a few practice runs, her and Eli were ready to tackle their first event, the Rim of the World Rally Challenge in Lancaster, CA.

On the third stage of Rim, despite Mindy’s spot-on corner calls, Eli got a little too aggressive and ended up tapping a berm, sending the car skyward.  A dramatic 2 aerial rolls later, the car came to a rest on its wheels and was almost totaled.  Thankfully, due to the safety system in place, no one was hurt and the car was turned around in about an hour to be stage-ready again by the crack service team. 

Undaunted, Mindy pressed on and got back into the groove immediately at the start of the 4th stage.  The team ended up finishing the two-day race despite an injured car and slightly bruised bodies (and egos).

At the Gorman Ride Rally later in 2007, Mindy used her knowledge gained from the CRS Rally Co-Driving School and pre-ran the stages with Eli (in rallying, this is called ‘recce’, short for reconnaissance).  This involves writing your own precise stage notes that describe every single corner, distance, and feature of the terrain ahead.  While many drivers have competed for years and years with nothing but organizer-prepared route books to guide them, Mindy took to writing stage notes incredibly fast and the resulting notes were extremely accurate and helped the team finish 4th in class in their first stage event.