search
Donate

Men in powder blue hats and black shirts stand together.
The Lost By Choice Motorsports team at the Southern Ohio Forest Rally. [Charlie Ihlenfeld | WOUB]

Lost By Choice Motorsports brings charitable causes to rally racing

By:
Posted on:

< < Back to

MCARTHUR, Ohio (WOUB) – Main Street McArthur was overflowing with fans, cars and drivers ready from around the world on Saturday for the third day of the Southern Ohio Forest Rally.

One crew got their start in rally racing at the Southeast Ohio event. Lost By Choice Motorsports started coming to the rally three years ago. In their first ever race, they managed to make it onto the podium with an amateur driver and a restrictor plate, a device to limit an engine’s power. The next year, they finished fourth in their class.

Lost By Choice’s 2006 Ford Mustang [Charlie Ihlenfeld | WOUB]
Lost By Choice is all about the joy of racing. Gary DeMasi was a longtime rally racer before he became the crew chief for Lost By Choice. Before racing, he was in the Air Force and worked in the automotive industry. When he had a stroke, building and racing rally cars helped him in the rehab process.

As a result of his experiences, DeMasi and his crew are defined by their charitable causes. They work with the Jefferson Health Moss Rehab Institute of Brain Health, Avalon Action Alliance It’s Okay to Not Be Okay and Hope for the Day.

“We try to push that, find as many people as we can reach in order to just make it a better place,” said DeMasi.

DeMasi’s former photographer, Daniel Hayes, now a winning driver for Lost By Choice, echoed this sentiment.

“We’re out here to have fun and support some different missions that we have. I’m big into suicide prevention and talking about and breaking the stigma that goes into mental health,” said Hayes.

Hayes started watching rally racing more than 20 years ago. By 2012, he was working with DeMasi as his photographer. By 2021, he was behind the wheel.

Lost By Choice is unlike other teams in many ways. While the field is dominated by Subarus, Ford Fiestas, and a scattering of Lexus vehicles, the team races a much larger car, a 2006 Ford Mustang.

But like most crews, they draw talent from many places.

A car has decals of charitable causes on it.
Lost By Choice’s causes on the hood of their car. [Charlie Ihlenfeld | WOUB]
Lost By Choice was built out of DeMasi’s old team, V8 Rally Ranger. Team members hail from Pennsylvania, Ohio and Massachusetts. The team takes college students, former military members or people simply excited about rally racing and shows them the rally racing ropes.

“We encourage the passion,” said DeMasi. “Nobody argues and they do what they have to do.”

Southeast Ohio is a great opportunity for Lost By Choice to spread their message.

“If I can bring that to smaller communities and give them some resources that they could look at,” said Hayes, “we’re all better for it.”

The group promotes their causes on the hood of their car before the race. DeMasi hands out information to the crowds as they pass by the car.

Lost By Choice did not place in this year’s Southern Ohio Forest Rally. The title went to Ryan Booth and Lorcan Moore of America and Ireland, respectively. But a chance to spread their message is still a win for the group.