At various points along the route, unknown to the competitors beforehand, the cars will be clocked in. Since the organizers of the event have measured the course prior to the event, the exact time that each car should arrive at these checkpoints is known. Teams are penalized one point for every hundredth of a minute that they arrive late or early at the checkpoint. At the end of the event, the team with the lowest score is declared the winner. Since all speeds are at or below the posted speed limits, no special vehicle is needed.
Rallies usually end at a restaurant or other social establishment.
Here competitors trade stories of their adventures and enjoy each other's company while waiting for the awards to be handed out. The Gimmick Rally is similar to the TSD rally in that the rally team will drive an everyday car on public roads. The difference is that the scoring does not usually depend on time, but on some other factor. There are several different types of gimmick rallies. One of these uses the idea of finding your way from point A to point B in the shortest distance.