I went up there weekend before last and for those over 21 it would be a blast! It could definitely be a day trip if started at a reasonable hour. We made it in 2.5 hours going the long way through some CRAZY twisties. We ended up spending the night then going rafting the next day down the Nantahala river and of course the drive back was tons of fun too! My wife had to take dramamine both ways to avoid car sickness from the turns, lol!
I have been up that way a few times. The river is nice for rafting, but its a little tame. I just like it because you don't have to spend the extra $ for a tour guide. I definitely like the highways up that way also. The one road that leads to the Nantahala has like 20+ switchbacks. The national forest is pretty sweet for some rally fun. I would definitely recommend some armor for your undercarriage though. There are some monster rocks that would love to tear your oil pan or diff. a new one. My buddy had his tire come completely off the wheel because he hit a rock sideways in his focus. Hopefully NASA won't cancel next years Cherokee Trails Rally.
+1 on not cancelling the Cherokee rally. I was all set to go watch this years, only to have them cancel it out.
There are rallies down here. Every February there is one in Cheraw, S.C.. Its called Sandhills Sandblast, and it is very much a blast. We go every year and normally work start/finish or marshalling positions. The speeds there are very fast in the deep sand. It is especially fun driving your personal vehicle onto the stages to work. There are two Tenn. rallies, one was last weekend, but its on the other side of Tenn and is a tarmac rally, the other is at Cherokee National Forest. Both are sponsored by NASA. You should check out the website so you can be in contact with some of the rally coordinators. If you do a couple of worker assignments, they even let you run an entire stage. There are also free rally schools to get a rally license if you work certain events. Honestly, its kind of dying and needs much more support. That is why the Cherokee rally got cancelled. We need more sponsors, more locations, more drivers, and more workers.