Kingsmen Road Rally beginning at RLC clock tower Sept. 13

INA, Ill. (Aug. 27, 2015) - Start your engines and get ready to take off at the Kingsmen Auto Club’s first Road Rally event, hosted at Rend Lake College next month. The club is using the college’s clock tower as the starting point for the timed event, which begins at 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 13.

A road rally, as defined by Kingsman Terry Hale of Mt. Vernon, is an event where participants race from one location to the next, while obeying all traffic laws, to try to reach the final destination first. Hale said the winner will receive a cash award.

“When you start, you’ll have a map of the first segment and you will drive to that first stop, where you will receive the second segment. That goes on for the third and fourth locations,” explained Hale. “It’s a timed event, so you’ve got to be on your toes, but you have to drive safe and can’t speed. We’re asking everybody to be safe and have a good time.”

Hale said the course is less than 100 miles from start to finish, meaning all participants should be at the final destination by noon. Soft drinks and food will be served at the last location, and participants are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.

“Rend Lake College is a good starting point, and we will end somewhere in Mt. Vernon. It’s going to be a great event to show cars off,” said Hale. “The college helps the Kingsmen a lot with different events, and we felt that the clock tower would be a good spot to start at. The club appreciates what Nigel Thompson [RLC Automotive Technology Professor] and the college do for us.”

This event will also honor Ron Hale, Terry Hale’s son, who died in 2006 and who was a car enthusiast. Hale said his son’s 1970 Chevy Nova will likely be one of the cars featured in the Road Rally.

“Anyone can come out and bring their car. You don’t have to be a member of the Kingsmen club. We just like to get our cars out and drive them. In fact, the more the merrier,” said Hale. “This is our first road rally and we hope to continue doing it every year.”

Cars and trucks must be 30 years old or older to participate in the Road Rally. Entry costs $30 per vehicle to enter on the day of the event, or $20 to preregister. Preregistration can be done by contacting Hale at 618-214-6187 or Jody Martin at 618-279-3137, or by completing the registration form below and sending it to one of the addresses listed. If bad weather threatens, the Road Rally will be rescheduled for Sunday, Sept. 20.