[October 25, 2025] In the early 1970s, I competed in several motorsport races held on rural public roads in West Texas. The popular name at that time was “Rally Sports.” These were races that tested the limits of both the car and the driver due to long distances, varied terrain, and nonstop effort except for refueling. It was also my first introduction to rally leaders and how they made a calling of the sport.
Only a few years later, I joined the U.S. Army and chose to pursue a career in Mechanized Infantry. Both rally sports and Infantry share many similarities. They are both exciting (because of the risks), memorable, and highly respected by those around them; winners.
For me, the thrill was racing against 20, or sometimes as many as 40, other drivers in various cars on different road circuits that could go anywhere in the vast open, flat terrain of Texas. The aim was to beat your competitors’ times. You had to be skilled at map reading since GPS devices were not available back then. We relied on a technique known as Dead Reckoning, where we estimated our next point based on a known point, speed, time, and sound judgment, along with a bit of luck.
Amateur Rally Sport is a type of motorsport that takes place on public roads using only street-legal cars. These events are not held on a circuit but follow a point-to-point format, where participants and their co-drivers drive between designated control points (special stages), departing at regular intervals from one or more start locations. Rallies can be won by driving to a predetermined journey time within the stages.
Preparation for the race was essential. Usually, there was a team leader who ran the overall operation. That wasn’t me, but my friend Jonnie, who had rally sports running in his blood, had volunteered to do all the coordination and oversee the special preparation for the car. I was the driver and simply loved the rush of air past my head and the speed of my car, a 1965 Ford Mustang. A good friend, Bob Smith, and I often traveled together as a team, with him reading the directions as navigator.
None of my relatives knew I was doing this, and they would have objected, surely. That’s why I never told them. My maternal grandmother, Bigmama, was against any “dangerous” activity of mine, and although I told her a lot about what I was doing, this activity was kept secret. There wasn’t much money in rally sports. The costs exceeded any winnings we earned on the team. I never played any sport for the money; I just did it for the excitement of being on a winning team and to blow off steam after working hard all week on my engineering degree.
That is what sportsmanship is about and why Jonnie did what he wanted to do. He was great. He kept us laughing (or crying), pumped up for the next race, and would occasionally give us a boot in the rear whenever he thought we were behind in our readiness. Jonnie was the kind of man you would follow anywhere. He was a kind man with a large family. He would do anything for you, just for the asking. Jonnie was a leader, and I am honored to have known him.
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Gen. Satterfield, I’m sitting here with my dog and scrolling through all the pages of your blog that I missed. I’ve been out with my family all weekend, taking some of my relatives on a short trip to some of my favorite eating establishments. What fun? Keep bringing these wonderful articles my way!!!!!!!! 👍
A disagreeable Gen. Satterfield as a young man. “None of my relatives knew I was doing this, and they would have objected, surely. That’s why I never told them.” — Gen. Doug Satterfield being himself again.
I had two cousins involved in similar pursuits at the amateur level, which I believe is what Gen. Satterfield is writing about here. Good job. I really like these kind of posts because it takes me back to a time when I was young and happy with my family. We were involved in activities of all kinds that didn’t cost any money but simply time and willingness to get involved. Rally Sports also exists at the professional level with highly modified cars and experienced drivers and navigotors. It’s hard to watch them so the sport is a niche. But local amateur rally sports could take off again.
“Dead reckoning” an idea kids today will never hear about or what it can do for you.
You beat me to it, Joe. I too was going to comment about “dead reckoning” as well. I remember growing up when my grandfathers (both) talked to me about traveling the world in an old automobile and before even maps were accurate and how they used guesswork – also called dead reckoning – to get from point A to point B. They also spent a lot of time talking with locals and getting directions.
Wow, very nice. 🏆
My dad participated in Rally Sports when he was working on the railroad in Oklahoma. He didn’t call the sport “Rally Sports” but just said that he and a bunch of buddies would spend time on a Saturday hanging out and then running their cars all over the countryside with others. He loved it. Mostly, it was a way to be around another bunch of friends – all guys, no women – and tell long stories, show off their cars and exchange ideas on how to make their cars run better, with more reliability. Just saying, he thought this sport was the cat’s meow.
Sounds like fun to me. Yes, this was the pre-GPS, pre-smart phone, pre-color TV era. You did what you needed to do to entertain yourself and be with a group of guys who were your friends.
Yeah, the old days, the very old days. I’m not that old, true! But don’t ask a girl her age. HA HA HA HA
Ah, the good ole’ days of yesteryear. Let us not, however, get hung up on the way things were. These kind of activities can be recreated easily. I found something similar in geo hunting events. Similar but different. Get involved. Volunteer (see article today 10/26/2026) and learn how to associate yourself with others in activities that benefit everyone.
Nice! A little excitement goes a long way.