The 21st Annual Sugar Valley Rally will be held this weekend. Cars will start going through tech inspection on Thursday. There will be a rally school and practice rally Friday. Then the actual antiique car rally will be held Saturday and Sunday.

According to Rally spokesman Darryl Bentley 61 cars are registered for the event. That is down 12 vehicles from last year. "It's mostly the local entries we are missing," Bentley said. "There are 10 local vehicles from last year that are not in this year.

"We pushed really hard for entries last year because of the 20th anniversary of the event," he added. "We have a nice number for this year."

Two of the local entries are very familiar. Don Gross has been in a dozen rallies, "finishing anywhere from third to last." His entry is a 1931 Ford Victoria that he bought from his brother in 1959 when he returned from the service.

Gross just had the car repainted. He is pictured with the car that use to be black.

Another local entrant is Pete Wylie Junior. His dad Pete Senior has entered a 1933 Hupmobile in every Sugar Valley Rally. They are teaming up this year in uncle Bill's car. "The goal used to be just finish," Pete Junior said. "Now it's to see how many seconds you are off. It's very competitive in all divisions."

Both the Gross and Wylie entries are in the limited classification. They travel a slower average speed than the unlimited classification. There are 32 cars in the faster classification and 25 cars in the limited field. There are four entries that are in the touring class, which is in its second year. Those entries, in cars of interest travel the same course with the same rules, but don't compete for the prize money.

There is a rally school Friday morning at WNCC with a practice rally scheduled for Friday afternoon. Cars will be on display for the public Friday night from 5:00 to 7:30 at Murdoch's Farm and Ranch Supply in Scottsbluff.

Contestant's will start leaving for the Rally competition Saturday morning at 7:01 from Team Chevrolet. The public is invited. There will be a pit stop in Burns, Wyoming, a lunch stop in Kimball and a pit stop at City Park in Morrill. Cars will begin arriving at the finish line Saturday at 3:45 pm. at Team Chevrolet.

Cars will start a second day of competition Sunday morning at 8:00 in front of the Knights of Columbus Hall on First Avenue in Scottsbluff. The first car is scheduled to arrive at the finish line at Cozad's Garage in Gering at 11:50 Sunday morning.

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