The TableTop Rally

High price of gas keeping you off the road? Heat got you down? But you love to rally in your car, and learn things about interesting places in Texas that you can drive to, don't you? We can help.

Run the 2009 TableTop Rally, brought to you by the rallymasters at Texas Region, SCCA, with the cooperation of Mapsco. You "rally" in the Roads of Texas atlas, entirely in the air-conditioned comfort of your own home. The tricks, traps, and challenges are much the same as in one of our driving rallies, without actually needing a car.

There will be no 'in-person' registration. You must register here at MotorsportReg.com. You may pay here by credit-card; you may pay by Pay Pal at pp-rally@texasscca.org; or you may send a check (to arrive before registration closes) to Registrar, 702 West Shore Drive, Richardson, TX 75080. The cost is only $15 for SCCA members, and $20 for non-members. Registration will be open for the entire month of July.

You must have a copy of the latest Mapsco Roads of Texas, which is the same book that we sent out last year for the 2008 TableTop Rally. It is identified as "ISBN-13:  978-1-56996-421-6" on the back cover, or as "Copyright 2005, 2008" on page 1. You can order one by calling Mapsco at  800-718-4627 (M-F during CDT business hours from July 6^th through August 14^th) and asking to speak to Tracie Castor, and mentioning the "TableTop Rally." The price is $15 post paid. DFW residents can go by any Mapsco store and purchase the same book at a further reduced rate, again by mentioning "TableTop Rally."

On August 1 we will email out the General Instructions, the Route Instructions, and the sheet (file) to use to submit your answers. Your answers must be returned, postmarked by August 31, or time-stamped August 31 if delivered electronically. Mail to Rally, 702 West Shore Dr, Richardson, TX 75080, or email to rally@texasscca.org. Graded sheets will be returned to you, and you will have 1 week to tell us if you think we have made a mistake. Final results will be emailed shortly after that 1 week is up. DFW residents who want to get together and discuss the TableTop Rally results are invited to the awards ceremony for the DFW Map Rally, to be held September 5th around lunch time, at a location to be announced.

The registration system asks you for information on the Car you will drive in this rally. Since this is a fantasy driving event, you are encouraged to enter a fantasy car: whatever vehicle you would rally in if money and availability were no object! Results will include this car.

The Grandaddy of all such map rallies in the USA is "The St Valentine's Day Massacre". Portions of our TableTop Rally are being written by three Massacre experts, Steve Gaddy, Jeanne English, and Liz Witt. So enter today! Don't delay, because you will need plenty of time to get the correct answers. It will be fun, and it will be a challenge.

Classes: First-timer: never run a map rally before; Novice: never won a trophy in a map rally; General: does not meet the conditions of the other classes; Master: has won a first-place trophy in the Massacre or other Massacre-type map rally, or has entered such a rally 10 or more times. You may declare yourself in Master Class regardless of your experience level. The Class is determined by the most experienced member of the team.

This rally is sanctioned by SCCA, and is a part of the Regional RoadRally Championship. Sanction Number 2009-RGTA-41-05.