The parking lot at Vermont SportsCar in Milton, like most parking lots in the Green Mountain State, is filled with weathered Subarus. In the lobby are three sparkling-clean, souped-up ones, emblazoned with decals and logos. Unlike the vehicles outside, two of these have raced in rallies around the world, and one — the Airslayer — was driven by action sports legend Travis Pastrana. It jumped over a speedboat, a feat documented in a video with 68 million views.
Lance Smith founded Vermont SportsCar in a Colchester warehouse in 1988. He grew up in Chittenden County working on specialty cars, and his zeal for rallies sent him around the world. Rallying is an individually timed stage race against the clock on a variety of terrain types — dirt, snow, gravel, mud, asphalt — featuring obstacles such as water crossings, hills, jumps and dips. For the past two decades, Vermont SportsCar has teamed up with Subaru of America to manage its racing division, Subaru Motorsports USA, which has dominated the rallying motorsport, racking up 18 national championships.
In 2018, Vermont SportsCar opened its $12 million, 75,000-square-foot facility in Milton. Its eight work bays resemble a gleaming modern art gallery, with high ceilings and spotless floors. Sixty-five employees design, engineer and assemble Subarus for competitions and stunt videos, which garner millions of online views. Because no rallies are held in Vermont, the company has kept a low profile locally.
In the latest episode of “Stuck in Vermont,” Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger toured the Milton facility with Smith. Subaru and rally enthusiasts can schedule free tours on Fridays.
Sollberger spoke with Seven Days about filming the episode.
Why did you feature this business?
Back in 2019, I shot a video featuring Sports Car Club of Vermont’s Ice Time Trials on frozen Lake Champlain at Malletts Bay. It was incredibly exciting watching the drivers navigate the icy course at top speeds. So when I heard that a local company built rally cars in Milton, I had to see it for myself.
Are you a gearhead?
I know nothing about cars. As long as my hybrid gets me to video shoots without getting stuck, I am happy. So I did a lot of research to understand rallying and Vermont SportsCar. How did a small local company start with $2,000 and end up conquering the motorsport?
Seven Days‘ Ken Picard wrote a 2019 piece about Vermont SportsCar that gives a lot of the details of its tumultuous history — it hasn’t always been a smooth ride. And there is a series of videos on the Subaru YouTube channel called “Launch Control” featuring the company.
Smith’s passion for rallying is infectious: He has devoted his life to elevating the motorsport. So even though I am not into cars, I was excited to learn about his story and the wild ride Vermont SportsCar has taken.
Who did you meet?
It was a real treat to run into father-and-son duo Jonathan and Steele Funk in the gift shop. They live in North Carolina, but Jonathan grew up in Middlebury, and they were visiting for the holidays. Jonathan has been following Smith and Vermont SportsCar for years and is proud of their achievements.
Five-year-old Steele wants to be a race car driver when he is a kid, but not when he grows up. I was confused by this, so he clarified: When he is older he hopes to own Vermont SportsCar — or at least work there.
Jonathan has built two road-racing cars and purchased parts for them from the Milton company. On the day I met the Funks, they bought a remote-control race car that traveled home with them to North Carolina. I heard they have already driven it all over their neighborhood. Meeting this pair helped me better understand the intense rally culture.
Did you hitch a ride?
I was hoping to get a lift in a rally car, or at least hear a car engine revving, but that didn’t happen. But I have covered a number of races in Vermont over the years: Thunder Road in Barre (2009), NEK Snowmobile Drag Racing in Lyndonville (2012) and Redneck Lawnmower Racing at the Bradford Fair (2012). I caught a ride in the pace car at Thunder Road, which was thrilling.
What is it like working at Vermont SportsCar?
When I asked Smith what he was most proud of, he said it was providing solid jobs with benefits for his staff. One of those employees is Simon Kribstock. He grew up in Randolph and studied automotive technology at Vermont Technical College. He was a big fan of six-time Rally America champion Travis Pastrana, and Kribstock’s goal was to get a job at Vermont SportsCar. For more than 10 years, he has helped create the cars that Pastrana drives.
Kribstock was also a member of the Vermont Air National Guard and worked on the F-35 fighter jets. He smiled and said, “I like things that are loud and go fast, I guess.”
The original print version of this article was headlined “Car Talk | Touring Vermont SportsCar with founder Lance Smith”
This article appears in Jan 29 – Feb 4, 2025.
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