One element of rallying is perceived as more important than any other: experience. This is not circuit racing where the roads can be learned in an afternoon – it takes time and stage mileage to hone your craft and reach the front-running pace.
Casen Pedersen, it turns out, didn’t need any experience to make that happen. His rally-driving dreams finally became a reality at the Olympus Regional Rally, the third round of the American Rally Association season, this April. It was his first-ever stage rally.
Hopping into a rented Lexus LS250, Pedersen was fourth fastest in the Limited 2WD class on the first two stages of his rallying career. Then he blew everyone away by setting a string of three fastest times. For his rally debut, it was a deeply impressive performance.
“We were making passes [on the stage],” Pedersen told DirtFish. “I was passing probably two to three cars a stage, which was fun.”
Pedersen described the rented Lexus IS250 as a 'blast' and was setting fastest times in the L2WD class until engine failure forced him out of the rally
Unfortunately Pedersen’s rapid pace didn’t translate to a final result, as a mechanical issue ended his rally early: “It ended with a rod going through the steering column, which locked up the steering, which was wild! We were on like a back straight, sixth gear and then all of a sudden, the motor pops. It locked probably almost a quarter turn to the right at 80-85 miles an hour. It was a ride! Luckily, we found a little kind of ditch and slowly came to a stop in that.”
Though his rally ended on the side of the road, his speed was undeniable. But how did he manage to hit the ground running so effectively?
DirtFish was the answer.
When DirtFish was featured on an episode of Top Gear America, Pedersen and his father Scott agreed that they had to make the journey from North Carolina to Snoqualmie to cut their teeth in gravel rallying.
Skills learned at DirtFish Rally School helped Casen Pedersen impress on his rally debut at Olympus Regional Rally
What started as a family adventure soon developed into something more serious, as Pedersen explained: “At first, me, my dad and my brother always looked at it like once a year, maybe twice a year, get out there and just go have some fun. And then it started; we’re looking at times. We’d started sliding the car around or whatever and it kind of snowballed from there.”
The Pedersen family have become regulars at DirtFish, starting with a three-day course in a Subaru BRZ, before moving onto an Impreza WRX and progressing to more advanced courses, private programs and even sprints. It was a visit two years ago that the seeds of competition were planted. While at the school, DirtFish instructor Jack [Harrison] took Scott to one side and spelled it out: his son’s talent could not be ignored and he should really consider getting young Casen into his own rally car.
Pedersen picks up the story: “It felt fast. I was feeling quick but there’s always levels to these things. When Jack said that, it was very cool.”
Pedersen has spent many hours in DirtFish WRXs and would love to rally one himself in the future
Father and son initially considered building their own car but the path chosen was to rent an Lexus LS250, so that they could focus on driving: “It’s very composed and the power felt great,” said Pedersen of his rather unconventional mount. “It’s got the shortest gear ratios I’ve ever seen in a car, so you’re just constantly shifting. It’s a blast. An the sound of it – it’s got basically straight [exhaust] pipes and it just screams. It’s a blast.”
It was also an adjustment after plenty of time spent behind the wheel of a DirtFish Subaru WRX, given its rear-wheel-drive power distribution.
“I’ve only done one rear-wheel drive class at DirtFish,” added Pedersen, “and that was the first one when I was like 15. So my biggest nerves were in going from all-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive, but it was interesting.”
Another benefit of renting the Lexus was that Casen got to do his recce alongside Michael Hooper, the car’s owner. It may have meant 15 hours spent in the back seat of Hooper’s recce car, but it was well worth the discomfort, as he could observe a more experienced crew at work.
So, with all the training, and having sat with a seasoned crew, how did it feel when it was finally time to roll the Lexus up to the start of the first stage, how did it feel?
“It’s funny,” said Pedersen. “I was telling my dad about this and I was actually a lot more calm than I ever thought. There was a lot of pent-up energy of course, but then once the countdown started it faded away almost like it was just, all right, let’s go do it.”
His time at DirtFish was also clearly helping, as Casen explained when Brenten Kelly caught up with him just before the start of the second stage: “It was interesting. Oliver [Smith, co-driver] said I’m driving to the notes really well. The terrain might change, but the same practices and skills don’t, so all that I’ve learned from DirtFish has been really helpful.”
Not finishing the rally was a disappointment, given it was Pedersen’s main target for his debut. But he’s not too worried. Given his stage-winning pace on debut, he’s already got his eyes fixed on a strong result at the next round in Oregon on May 17-19.
“I’ve got Oregon Trail coming up and I still feel like I have to prove it to myself again,” said Pedersen. “I don’t think I’ll ever probably realize until I podium or win one, but that’s the goal. I want to finish and I want to be competitive.
“If it all goes well, I’d like to see the podium, maybe spray some champagne or something like that!”
While engine failure caused retirement at Olympus, Pedersen is hoping to continue his progress at Oregon Trail Rally in May
It’s clear that Casen’s time at DirtFish has helped him to hone his skills but, when asked if there was piece of advice that has helped him the most, it was simple: “Really just driving within yourself so you can be competitive and you’re not putting the car at risk.”
That was an especially important lesson to heed for Olympus, the most arduous round on the ARA calendar: “Those roads are some of the toughest in America. DirtFish may not have the elevation change and stuff like that, but they’re technical. All the courses are just as difficult as what we did at Olympus.”
He also praised how seriously the instructors take safety, and joked that: “If you hit a cone, that’s not good.” It’s that attention to safety that helped Casen remember to stay within his limits and not take unnecessary risks.
Pedersen clearly loved taking everything he learned and applying it to real stages, but there was one thing that stood out more than anything else: “The favorite moment for me was just hanging out with my dad in the pits, to be honest. I mean that was just awesome. He got his first time as a spectator, so it was his first rally ever, my first rally ever and he was able to go up to the spectator hill and watch.
“We were at service and he showed me a video of me coming through and everybody’s ringing the cowbells and stuff like that. It was just a really cool moment to see that, to know that he was there.”
While Oregon will be his next ARA event – and only the second of his rally career – Pedersen is also looking to enter two-to-three more events in Tennessee and Kentucky before the end of the year. A push for national points, and even to win a championship, is the goal for 2025. One thing is clear, though: almost 10 years after first visiting DirtFish, Casen is now hooked.
“I think I’m going to be doing it for a long time. In terms of how far I’ll get, I’m not sure about that, but I think, as a sport, it’s something that I’m going to do for the rest of my life and enjoy, no matter what the level or the results.”
It sounds like there might be a few more family trips to DirtFish in the future. We can’t wait to have them back and see how far ARA’s star rookie will fly.
