Ozark Euro Rally

By: Eric Climer

Five Audi Club chapters from seven states traveled as far as 800+ miles and 12+ hours to the small town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas for one epic car show. For those who don’t live in the Midwest, Ozark Euro Rally began as an overflow for the Eureka Springs Volkswagen show that occurs on the same weekend every year. Since those early days, organizers opened it up to all German manufacturers in order to introduce more people to the beautiful, scenic town of Eureka Springs. While many of the people who attended had been there before, this was the first time for many others including most of the Oklahoma chapter so not everyone knew what to expect.

Months of planning and promoting with individual clubs led up to the event. Coordinating cars, caravans, cruises, hotel reservations, and club gear was a mammoth task but Audi Club was poised to make its biggest splash at Ozark Euro Rally yet.

Activity began with the trek to the show. Many stayed in Eureka Springs or the surrounding areas the night before. Most of those who stayed Friday night enjoyed dinner, driving, and car talk in preparation for the next day. Those traveling greater distances made a multi-day trek just for the show.

Ozark Euro Rally is a bit different than other shows, and in a good way. It doesn’t matter when you show up to the Rally as long as you show up together. Parking is directed by an extremely helpful staff of volunteers who place cars onto the field as they arrive. The key here is to make sure groups are coordinated and together upon entry otherwise they risk being separated on the field. Gates open at 8:00 and cars began to trickle into the spectator parking lot to meet. By the 8:30 meeting time, the crews were all gathered and formed a long line of Audi participants from a trio of D2 S8s to modern B9s, C8s, R8s, and more headed into the show.

Once parked, the rest of the setup began and it was all hands-on deck for flags, tents, backdrops and even…a DJ? The Kansas City Chapter in particular is huge and knows how to show up to an event. By the start of the show at 9:00, setup was nearly complete and it was time to meet everyone. Most of the chapters had never met in person, only talked, and coordinated briefly via Facebook or e-mail. Strolling the show with new friends, admiring the long rows of Audi models was absolutely amazing. The only complaint was the heat and humidity. Eureka Springs was a balmy 80% humidity and 90+ degrees likely driving the heat index to well over 100.

Despite the heat and humidity, the show was amazing. Many participants began trickling out around in the afternoon in order to find somewhere with air conditioning to relax in Eureka Springs. With about half the group remaining, Kansas City and Oklahoma group leaders strolled the show to identify Audis that stood out the most. A wrapped Merlin Purple 2019 RS 3 (Maryland) caught the most attention while other mentions went to a 2017 RS 7 (Tulsa, OK), 2017 S3 (Oklahoma City, OK), 2007 A6 Avant (Lees Summit, MD), manual transmission 2001 D2 S8 (Avon, IN) and a beautiful vintage 1995 90 Coupe quattro Sport (Bentonville, AR) that also won a Top 20 award from the show. After giving out the Audi-specific awards, Audi Club was presented with our own award for best club participation of the show. The goal was to show up in force with many cars, and the award was proof that goal was accomplished.

While we were all exhausted, there was still one thing to do at the show: the post event cruise. While other participants took to Eureka Springs for a parade, the Audi Club borrowed a route previously used by the Porsche Club of America to hit the open roads of Arkansas and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Meeting up at a gas station near the show, most German makes had representation ranging from a diesel BMW wagon to VW Golf R and an X5M combined with club members in S4s, and S6 and a V10 swapped A6 Avant. The drive was gorgeous, the roads were in great condition and all the vehicles were able to stretch their legs after a long, hot day at the show. 

At one point the group got behind a beautiful yellow 60’s Mustang Fastback which was clearly setup for straight line performance with massive rear tires on it. That didn’t stop him from showing the group he could easily set the pace, driving through twisting roads with ease leading the line of sixteen German performance cars. After more than an hour of running the back roads of Arkansas the caravan returned to Eureka Springs, stopping at a local gas station to talk about the ride, the roads, the scenery, and the fun of the entire day.

From meeting other clubs at the gate, driving into the show, and seeing Audi after Audi lined up next to each other to a club participation award and an epic mountain cruise, the 2022 Ozark Euro Rally was a massive success. Plans are already starting for next year’s show where the Audi presence will be even larger.