This is exactly the kind of oddball motorsports story we love at Demaras Racing. On September 18th and 19th, the 2026 Overmountain Rally took place in Tennessee. The rally stages were dominated by a Toyota GR Yaris, Ford Fiesta, and Subaru’s factory WRX rally cars. But a couple of maniacs decided to compete in a RWD domestic that has no place on a rally stage—a 2019 Chevrolet Camaro LS.
To be clear, this isn’t a big, American muscle car. The LS model rolled out the factory in Detroit with a 2.0 L turbocharged four-banger. The little engine still pumps out 275 HP to the rear wheels, through an 8-speed automatic transmission, and an LSD from the big-boy Camaro SS. Driver Nathan Walker, and his co-driver James Bettencourt, have also added a roll cage, skid plates, and underbody protection to the Camaro, yet it retains its stock suspension.
It’s even got air conditioning.
The Camaro reminds us of the Ferrari V8 powered Subaru Impreza rally car that won the Big White Winter Rally back in 2023. A unique—and quite frankly insane— machine.
Apparently Nathan Walker had rally raced a Ford Focus ZX3 in the past, but wanted something closer to his American RWD roots. A modern car that looked cool, was reasonably easy to repair, and had around 300 HP. The 6th-gen Camaro was the answer to a question almost nobody asked.
The Camaro survived more than 400 km of competitive stages and transit roads. Walker bent some wheels and repeatedly hit the bump stops, but the car made it through the event. He credited careful driving and Bettencourt’s navigation for keeping it together.
The rally’s final stage was a head-to-head race at Newport Speedway, a 4/10-mile paved oval with an incredible 26 degrees of banking in the turns. Think the Camaro would have a NASCAR-esque advantage at Little Bristol? Nope.
Gravel jumps were constructed on the oval track’s straights, and Walker thrilled the crowd by launching the Camaro into the air and bringing it down with a decidedly hard landing, right on the bumpstops. The spectators loved it, but Walker says suspension upgrades are planned before continuing to compete in the Camaro.