Quintero takes American Rally title as late puncture denies Block

Two corners from the end of the last stage of the last rally of the 2026 American Rally Association National Championship, a dramatic double tire puncture dashed Lia Block’s championship hopes. While she recovered to finish the rally on the overall podium, the last-stage delay cost Block critical ARA Power Stage points and handed the title to rival Seth Quintero, who finished both the rally and Power Stage second to Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR) winners Conner Martell and co-driver Ross Whittock.

Martell, substituting for the injured Travis Pastrana, put in a dominant drive in the Subaru Motorsports USA WRX ARA25, winning all but one contested stage and setting new stage records along the way. Martell’s overall victory was vindication after a mechanical failure took him out of contention while leading at last month’s Overmountain Rally Tennessee.

Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team’s Quintero and co-driver James Morgan finished second overall in their Toyota GR Corolla Rally RC2, completing a debut season of American stage rally competition that included three podium performances and two overall wins. The result secured Quintero his first ARA title in Toyota’s inaugural American Rally season.

Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino completed the overall podium in their Block House Racing Hyundai i20 N Rally2. Despite falling just two points short of the championship, the 20-year-old capped off a breakthrough season that included her maiden overall victory at August’s Ojibwe Forests Rally, where she became the first woman ever to win an American national championship rally outright.

Power Stage points also made the difference in the hotly contested LN4 class as Irish rallyist Aoife Raftery finished fifth overall, first in class, and collected three bonus points on the Power Stage to earn the class championship. Raftery and co-driver Hannah McKillop also won the Pirelli Privateer Cup, an annual award presented to the highest finishing non-factory-backed team.

Danny Shalev, who sewed up the Open Two-Wheel-Drive (O2WD) class championship at the last round, earned his third class victory of the season. He also claimed the lead in the concurrent Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup North America, which pits Canadian Rally Championship (CRC) and ARA National Championship teams against one another in identical Peugeot 208 Rally4 cars.

With double Stellantis Cup points on offer at the ARA season finale as well as the CRC’s finale—Rallye de Charlevoix in Quebec at the end of the month—LSPR attracted the largest Stellantis Cup field of the season and produced an all-Peugeot O2WD class podium with Canadian Vincent Lalande, Shalev’s closest Stellantis Cup rival, second and Mika Block third.

Ukrainian driver Nick Pysklyvets was named the 2026 Ken Block ARA Rookie of the Year, presented by 43i. Introduced in 2025, the award honors the highest-finishing first-year competitor in the Overall ARA National Championship standings. Pysklyvets and co-driver Roman Romanchuk enjoyed a standout debut season in their Standard Energy Racing Subaru WRX STI, highlighted by an LN4 class victory at the Ojibwe Forests Rally.