Chris Greenhouse and codriver Brian Johnson collected a very impressive pair of Group 2 victories at Rally in the 100 Acre Wood last month. The duo fought through a few minor electrical problems on day 1 but still took the class win and on day 2 had a mostly clean run, finishing with another convincing class win and even managed to put their Plymouth Neon in 3rd place overall amongst the Regional competitors! Chris now holds a commanding lead in the Central Region Group 2 points with a 97 point advantage over his nearest rivals.

“This was as fast and as smooth as I can ever remember here at 100 Acre Wood. The stages were in absolutely pristine condition with the exception maybe of the dust that lingered during the evening and night stages. I was in a little less-than-perfect condition with a bit of a head cold this weekend, but I don’t think that impaired our performance too much. This was an excellent rally for us.”

The team was able to hold on to a 5th-place finish in the 2WD National event. “The other teams were able to capitalize on our electrical problem early on day 1 and we just weren’t able to get enough time back on day 2. A fuel injector wire had come loose and caused an intermittent power loss on stage 1 that turned into a more significant problem on stages 2 and 3. We were able to easily repair it at service, but the other teams who had a power advantage on us going into the event really made us pay dearly for electrical glitch on the first loop of stages.”

Look for the Weasel RallySport Team to step up to a turbo car at Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally in June. Chris, Brian and the Weasel RallySport Team would like to thank EBC Brakes, MadDog STS, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Angry Sheep Motorsports, Silco Fire Protection, Modern Performance and JayRacing.com for their continued support.

Chris Greenhouse and co-driver Phil Marsh took on the best two-wheel-drive rally teams in the US at Sno*Drift Rally, but came up short of a National podium finish after a mechanical problem on day 2 of the rally.

Sno*Drift is the season opener of the RallyAmerica National Championship series, and is held in Montmorency County, Michigan, USA, and it featured no fewer than 67 entries form all parts of the world. Studded tires are prohibited at Sno*Drift Rally, and the difficult conditions tested the drivers as the stages had a mixture of snow, sand, gravel and lots of glare ice. “Our recce notes were crucial this year,” said Chris. “It was very important to note the areas that had thawed and turned to gravel. It was equally important to to note the icy areas and slow down appropriately.” Chris and Phil stayed mostly clean on day 1, recording only one puncture near the end of Stage 5. Their fast but cautious approach kept them in a 4-way battle for second place at the end of day 1, and they handily took their first Group 2 Regional class win of the year.

Overnight snow covered some of the exposed gravel on day 2, but the team suffered a setback on the first leg of day 2, after a minor run-in with a snow bank broke a CV shaft. “It was entirely my fault,” said Chris. “I bumped a snow bank that had some gravel and dirt in it, and even though we were going slow, we broke the left CV joint in two. That was on Stage 15, and it meant that we had to run Stages 16 and 17 with only one-wheel-drive. It took us 4 minutes to climb the first hill on SS16. In fact, we needed help from some marshals and fans to push the car up the icy slope. One little mistake from me was all it took to end our bout for a National podium finish.” After the crew quickly repaired the damage at service, Chris and Phil then went out to battle back for some Regional points. They pressed hard and once again displayed their perseverance as they came from behind to take yet another Regional Group 2 win, although they could only muster a fifth place finish in 2WD National. The Weasel RallySport team finished the event with a double Group 2 Regional win and Chris is now the Central Region Group 2 points leader.

The team will be back in action at Rally in the 100 Acre Wood in Salem, Missouri, USA in February. Chris and the Weasel RallySport Team would like to thank EBC Brakes, MadDog STS, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Angry Sheep Motorsports, Silco Fire Protection, Modern Performance and JayRacing.com for their continued support.

Chris Greenhouse has made it four in a row. The Weasel RallySports team driver has won the 2011 RallyAmerica Central Region Group 2 championship for the fourth consecutive year. Piloting his Plymouth Neon, he took class wins at Sno* Regional, Tresspasser’s Wil, Finger Lakes, and Sherwood Forest rallies. He also took a 2WD National victory at Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally in June and finished 4th in the 2WD National Championship series as well.

“It was definitely a good year for us. We had solid, consistent finishes, a motivated team, and a little bit of luck along the way to our 4th championship. We had a few close battles, and we had to come from behind a few times, too. I think, more importantly, we were able to persevere through some adverse moments and we didn’t give up through those moments. We needed to hang in there to capitalize on the competition’s misfortune a few times, too.”

Chris expects to return to the stages in January 2012 in Atlanta Michigan, USA at Sno*Drift Rally. “We have a lot of work to do in the off-season, so much so that it isn’t really going to be much of an off-season. We have a new engine going into the Neon, and we have a few other improvements planned for 2012 also. For now, I would really like to thank EBC Brakes for supporting our championship efforts. Get ready, because we are coming back even stonger than before in 2012!”

Chris would like to also thank EBC Brakes, MadDog Short Throw Shifters, Angry Sheep Motorsports, JayRacing.com, and Silco Fire Protection for their support.

Defending four-time RallyAmerica Central Region Group 2 Champion Chris Greenhouse will be back in action at the Lake Superior Performance Rally in Houghton, Michigan, USA on October 14-15, 2011. Chris is coming off a rare and disappointing mechanical failure at Black River Stages in September and is looking to get back on track in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

“We broke an axle on the very first stage at BRS, and were retired. We had been setting a good pace, too, so that was a real disappointment.”

Last year at LSPR, Chris and codriver Brian Johnson came up short of winning the Group 2 Regional Rally Cup, and settled for second place behind Jan and Jody Zedril of Winnipeg, MB Canada. They did, however, manage to secure fifth place in the MaxAttack event, which is a 2WD-only series that combines all the 2WD entrants, including the high-horsepower turbo-powered Group 5 cars.

“I really wanted to win the Regional Championship, but couldn’t match [Jan] Zedril’s speed on the longer, faster stages. I won the 2009 Group 2 [Regional Rally] Cup and I want it back this year. And if we can place well in MaxAttack, I’d be quite happy with that too.”

Chris, Brian and the Weasel RallySport Team would like to thank EBC Brakes, MadDog STS, Angry Sheep Motorsports, Silco Fire Protection, JayRacing.com, and EZAutoaccessories.com for their continued support.

Defending three-time RallyAmerica Central Region Group 2 Champion Chris Greenhouse is going to New York later this month to compete at Black River Stages. The event, sanctioned by NASA RallySport, will be held in Harrisville, NY on September 23-24. Joining Chris in the codriver seat will be veteran codriver Brian Johnson.

“This will be a good opportunity for Brian and I to get ‘synced’ again. We haven’t competed together since Rally in the 100 Acre Wood in February, and this will be a good event to help us ‘shakedown’ before the important Regional Rally Cup event at Lake Superior Performance Rally in October. Although Brian has competed here before, this is my first time at Black River, so I know that I need to get up to speed quickly on these stages to make up for my lack of experience at this event. Brian’s experience here will be a big help.”

Chris is coming off an incredibly successful event at Susquehannock Trail in June. He scored a triple victory by winning Group 2 in both Regional Rallies, and also winning the 2WD National event. “At STPR, we were all but written off at the end of Day 1 after a very costly puncture on SS3, but we stayed in the fight and didn’t give up.”

“Our plan is to go flat out at Black River Stages. I am going for the [Open 2WD Light] Class win, period. I don’t expect anyone to just let me walk off with a 1st place trophy, though. There are some good teams out there that can give us some trouble, and there are a few teams that we haven’t competed against, so there are a lot of unknowns, too. But we are going to push the EBC Brakes Plymouth Neon as hard as we usually do, and I want the win.”

Chris, Brian and the Weasel RallySport Team, would like to thank EBC Brakes, Angry Sheep Motorsports, Silco Fire Protection, and EZAutoaccessories.com for their continued support.

Defending three-time RallyAmerica Central Region Group 2 Champion Chris Greenhouse outlasted the top 2-wheel-drive teams in the nation and took a stunning upset victory at the 2011 Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, USA. Against all odds, he and codriver Billy Mann piloted their Plymouth Neon to 1st place after coming back from a punctured tire on day 1 which dropped them all the way down to fifth place in class. They overcame an electrical problem and a damaged wheel bearing on day 2 and through their perseverance, stayed in the hunt long enough to capitalize on the misfortunes of other 2-wheel-drive teams. After fighting back and aiming for consistency all day on Saturday, Chris and Billy had risen to a 20 second lead over the Honda Civic of Brian Gottlieb and Patrick Darrow going into the final SuperSpecial Stage. Gottlieb had suffered an overheating problem for most of the event, but still pressed hard on the final stage. Unbelievably, the Honda team then suffered a broken halfshaft on the final corner of the event and feverishly pushed the car over the finish line much to the appreciation of the thousands of fans in attendance at the Tioga County Fairgrounds. But their fate was sealed as they were forced to sit back and watch Greenhouse smoothly navigate the SuperSpecial and take the win, which was the third 2WD National victory of his career.

Chris normally competes in RallyAmerica Regional events but this year has opted to also run a limited program in selected National 2WD events. So far, his non-turbocharged, Group 2-spec Neon has climbed the podium twice this year in a class where turbocharging and engine power are unrestricted. A third-place finish at Sno*Drift Rally and a second-place finish at Rally in the 100 Acre Wood means that Chris is now in third place in the 2WD National Championship series points behind Wyatt Knox’ Mazda 3 and the Ford Fiesta of Dillon Van Way.

Chris and the Weasel RallySports team would like to thank EBC Brakes, Angry Sheep Motorsports, JayRacing, EZ Auto Accessories, and Silco Fire Protection for their continued support during the 2011 season.

Photo by Greg McCracken