For many of us of a certain age, we realize that the world of automobiles and motorsports is incredibly hard to penetrate. Those of us who remember pulling up to our first autocross event, or a track day session, know it's an intimidating crowd (at first, and then mostly friendly) and that you'll soon be picking apart your performance on the course for the rest of the weekend. (Or, if you're like me, finding an excuse to buy a different car as a means to cutting a few seconds off your lap time.)
But let's be real: if you've been introduced to road racing or autocross by a certain age, there's a good chance you already had a toe in the hobby somewhere. Many of the stories you hear about the men and women who shaped auto racing in one form or another grew up in the business, with a family member who owned a car dealership or a father who worked in Dearborn. It's rare that an individual just happens to fall into auto racing and then goes on to become a household name in the sport.
Ken Block was a rule breaker in numerous ways, but the manner in which he made motorsports accessible to all is what stands out the most. Yes, he was a successful entrepreneur with the means to pick any sport he wanted to become competent in. The fact he chose rally racing is a godsend to anyone who wished that more young people showed an interest in competitive motorsports. While we often lament the fact that the internal combustion engine seems to be losing ground to electrified drivetrains, Ken Block showed us what the future could look like, where highly-specialized machines are celebrated and admired on a global motorsports stage. His achievements went beyond just introducing a new audience to the joys of auto racing; he showed us how the gasoline-soaked fantasies of our youth will survive in a world where the traditional means of transportation will likely evolve to electrified fleets at some point in the future. Block's Hoonigan brand created a world where a Subaru Loyale wagon could become a turbocharged street beast capable of jumping over a bridge and the swirling blades of a helicopter. It's the stuff of legends.
If you're a gearhead like me, you likely realize how much we owe Ken Block and the Hoonigan team. He put track cars into the mainstream and showed us that becoming a part of auto racing culture didn't require having a great uncle who worked on Brian Redman's pit crew at Sebring. He made it accessible to all and likely added hundreds of thousands (if not more) of followers to the hobby many of us hold dear.
Godspeed to Ken Block and may we never forget his culture-shifting achievements.