Drive the High Country is an SCCA-sanctioned Regional Tour road rally hosted by the Santa Monica Sports Car Club, an affiliate of the Cal Club Region of the SCCA. It runs on Saturday 14 November 2026 from Dink’s Deli and Bagel Bakery in Santa Clarita to Palmdale, per the organizer’s registration page.
It is Event 8 of the 2026 Southern California Road Rally Championship, a joint series of the Cal Club Region and the Santa Monica Sports Car Club, per the organizer and the series site. The rallymaster is Joe Akerman.
The schedule
Competitors can check in and collect route instructions from 8:30am. The first car leaves at 10:01am, and cars run one minute apart. The rally covers about 120 miles in under four hours, with a break about halfway, and finishes at Baracoa Cuban Restaurant, 853 Auto Center Drive, Suite F, Palmdale. The organizer publishes no exact finish time.
A Zoom orientation and entrants meeting runs on Thursday 12 November, with the link sent in the registration confirmation.
The start
Dink’s Deli and Bagel Bakery is at 28170 Newhall Ranch Road, Santa Clarita. The organizer invites teams to come in for coffee and breakfast, and check-in is outside the cafe.
What kind of rally it is
The organizer describes a Monte Carlo format: every checkpoint is listed in the route instructions with its time, and there are no average speeds to hold. Creeping and stopping are allowed without penalty. Teams follow directions to each checkpoint and pace themselves to arrive at exactly the right time. Lowest score wins. All roads are public and paved except about one mile of smooth, graded gravel and clay that links two sections.
Timing and scoring run on the free Richta GPS Competitor app on a smartphone, so no special timing gear is needed. The organizer calls the format the most accessible kind of road rally, because no set speeds or calculations are required. Trophies go to the top finishers in each class at the finish.
What it costs
Entry is $35 per car. The driver or the navigator must be an SCCA member, and a weekend membership costs $20 and can be credited toward a full membership, per the organizer. Online registration closes on the morning of the rally.
The rules
Every car needs a driver and a navigator. Passengers are allowed up to what the car can carry safely, and everyone signs the waiver. Minors must complete the online minor waiver in advance, with parental consent forms. Vehicles must be street legal, registered and insured, and drivers need a current license. The organizer says the route follows legal speed limits, in line with SCCA’s RoadRally guide, which sets average speeds below posted limits.
What time does Drive the High Country start?
Check-in opens at 8:30am on 14 November 2026 at Dink’s Deli in Santa Clarita. The first car leaves at 10:01am.
How much does it cost?
$35 per car. One of the two people must be an SCCA member; a $20 weekend membership is available.
Do I need special equipment?
No. A smartphone running the free Richta app handles timing and scoring, per the organizer.
Where does the rally end?
At Baracoa Cuban Restaurant in Palmdale, after about 120 miles.
Is it on dirt roads?
Almost all paved. The organizer notes about one mile of smooth, graded gravel and clay.
Details checked 4 sources, latest read 1 November 2026
- Source: Santa Monica Sports Car Club, MotorsportReg event page, read 1 November 2026
- Source: SCCA, event listing, read 1 November 2026
- Source: Southern California Road Rally Championship, read 1 November 2026
- Source: SCCA, What is RoadRally, read 1 November 2026
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