Portland, Oregon -- The Primitive Racing team has been working hard since a heavy shunt following a second place overall finish at the Doo Wops 3 Rally in March. The car has been rebuilt from the firewall forward. "The car is running but not yet tested after a terrific effort by Subaru enthusiasts from all over the NorthWest last Saturday, who converged on Primitive Enterprises' home base in Tigard, and put the engine and tranny in," remarked team leader Paul Eklund. He continues, "...and we hope to complete wiring and assembly by this coming Saturday to provide some much needed testing on Sunday."

The accident came just weeks after R. Dale Kraushaar, Larry Richardson and Eklund clinched the overall win on the Alcan Winter Rally (a 4500 mile endurance event from Seattle to Anchorage via the Arctic Circle) driving a stock Subaru Impreza. Visit www.alcan5000.com for links to complete coverage and entry.

Royal Moore Subaru teamed up with Subaru Western Region to get parts and framework done on the screaming yellow zonker (a 1995 Subaru Impreza USX --2.2l turbo) in short order. The rebuilt car will feature an ACT Extreme pressure plate, more boost, and a new cold air intake system using 3" tubing.

The car now also features DMS (Drummond Motor Sports) 50mm Giant Struts and progressive rate springs. "We've been running on these struts since December," says Eklund, "but we were waiting to test them on a few stage miles before announcing it to the world." Initial tests indicate reliability improvements over the team's former setup.

The Oregon Trail Rally is in Eklund's back yard, but no competitors have seen the roads to be used around Tillamook. Eklund and co-driver Scott Huhn (new to the Primitive Team for 2000) hope to make a good impression in front of the home crowd. "This cars ROCKS!" claimed Huhn after a good final stage at Doo Wops.

The team hopes to win the series championship and to compete in the North American Rally Cup by attending some Canadian events, but they will have to contend with Lee Shadbolt and Bob Sherman on the Hairpin Racing Team, who have converted their '97 Impreza to a homologated Group A version for this season. This will make the first appearance of a Group A car at an SCCA ProRally in recent history. "They still have some teething problems, but it is apparent the car will get sorted out by the end of the season." The Hairpin, Primitive and Rocket teams (Pat Richard) provide good hope for an overall points finish for Subaru this year, and all indications point to additional Subaru teams popping up during the year as well.

For additional information on the ALCAN or PRIMITIVE RACING, please visit: www.writerguy.com/primitive. The site includes pictures before and AFTER the shunt.

Please visit www.oregonrally.com for more information on the upcoming Oregon Trail ProRally (April 15th and 16th). See ya in the woods...

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