I'm sorry Jon, I forgot to answer your question about how far it is from me and what it's like!
From Kingston, it takes me ~1 hour to get there, but it doesn't seem that far since about 40 minutes of the drive is in the territory I work in on a daily basis. I take 209 South to RT. 17 for this rally usually. I
think you could hop on 84 west and cut up north somewhere pretty easily.
It does cost $5 to watch the rally, which you pay at the spectator area...the $5 goes to the boy scout reservation they hold the event on. You get a wristband and the $5 is for both days/all spectator areas. The local fire department also sets up a grill for dogs and burgers, soda, water, ect and they don't charge much. As far as the $10 admission charge to see the cars at Monticello Raceway, it's not really worth it IMO. Last year it was $8, I paid, and I did enjoy getting up close and personal with the cars and the drivers. Will I pay again? Probably not...
It's a really friendly atmosphere. There can be a lot of down time sometimes, but the rush of exitement for seeing the car for 5, maybe 10 seconds (if they go off) makes the wait worth it every time! People are nice, the Polish and Irish guys chain smoke like you can't believe, and the sensory overload you experience will stay with you for quite some time. You will hear the anti-lag systems in your sleep for the next week...you will smell clutch...brakes...race gas....



And one more video...
http://s13.photobuck...nt=MVI_3120.flv