By Justin Pelletier,Staff Writer

BETHEL – Like any high school student, Chris Duplessis welcomed the chance to leave school early every day.

Unlike most high school students, though, Duplessis wasn’t looking for an easy pass through his formative years. Instead, his “time off” from Telstar High School was spent in independent study – building a car from the ground up.

The fruits of his work are paying off this year. Starting this afternoon, Duplessis and teammate/navigator Lise Mendham of New Hampshire will fire up his 1990 Volkswagen Golf and join 49 other teams in the 15th running of the Maine Forest Rally.

“I’m the driver, the car owner and the builder,” Duplessis said at Thursday night’s autograph session at the Bethel Inn and Country Club’s conference center.

There was no mistaking his pride as he pointed back to his Team O’Neil Golf, complete with a spare light rack bolted to the hood and two spare tires where there ought to be a trunk.

“I used to race go-carts, but every week it would rain and we’d have to cancel. It got frustrating. In rally car racing, you go in rain, shine, snow, middle of the night. It doesn’t matter. That’s what’s so fun about it.”

Duplessis’ passion for rally cars started early. When the Mason Township teen was 12, Tim O’Neil, a former national champion rally car driver in his own right, took him under his wing. In high school, Duplessis realized he had a chance to build his own car, and started working on getting the right pieces.

“I got sponsors to help me out,” said Duplessis. “I got the chassis from Tim, and I got the engine from Gaudreau’s junk yard. I had to do some work on it, but it turned out good. I started to get other parts from other places too.”

Two years later, Duplessis is ready to race with the big boys. And he does mean big.

This weekend’s race, which starts at the Mexico Recreation Area, is the fifth leg of the Rally America National Championship Series, and features some of the world’s top drivers. Among them are 2004 U.S. and Canadian Champion Pat Richard, 1984 World Rally Champion Stig Blomqvist, and the X-Games Gold Medalist Travis Pastrana.

“Those, those are the big cars,” said Duplessis, pointing to Pastrana’s 2004 Suburu Impreza. “Once those guys go through the track, it makes some big ruts for us, which makes it tough.”

Each driver is accompanied by a navigator, who will bark directional commands throughout the race.

“I’ve co-driven before, but this is my first time driving,” said Duplessis. “The goal is not to destroy the car and finish the run.”

All of the cars in this weekend’s race are street legal automobiles. Teams will compete in the grueling 18-hour endurance event that runs both night and day on gravel roads throughout Western Maine. The teams will compete on nine different roads, or stages, covering 90 miles of racing over both wide two-lane, as well as narrow one-lane roads. Speeds for the drivers can exceed 100 mph, and no practice has been allowed on the course. Being local, according to Duplessis, can be both advantageous and risky.

“It helps to know the course, but it doesn’t,” said Duplessis. “If you get too cocky and think you know the course well, you might miss a turn or something and end up in the trees. You have to be really careful out there.”