New RallyCross Season Ready for Launch

TOPEKA, Kan. (Jan. 25, 2008) €“ Cornfields, parking lots and fairgrounds beware, the 2008 SCCA RallyCross National Challenge starts this weekend. Quickly growing in popularity, RallyCross takes a traditional stage rally and scales it down to one site with one or more cone-marked courses, similar to a Solo event, minus the pavement. Also unlike Solo, in RallyCross a competitor€™s final time is based on the total of all their runs plus penalties. The newest form of motorsport in SCCA, RallyCross is a hit with those drivers looking to test their off-road power slide abilities, without the hazards of performance rally.This year€™s RallyCross National Challenge format features 11 stand-alone events, including a Western and Eastern Championship Event. The season concludes with the winner-takes-all RallyCross National Championship in October at Nashville Superspeedway, in Lebanon, Tenn.This weekend the RallyCross National Challenge kicks off at Stafford Speedway in Stafford Springs, Conn. After more than a month since its last RallyCross event, the New England Region is eager to hit the dirt and it shows. In addition to the National Challenge event, NER will hold two additional RallyCross events of their own this weekend, with a grand total of 80 competitors. All three events are sponsored by EngravingAwardsGifts.com, a long-time supporter of NER RallyCross.Located near the Massachusetts border, Stafford Springs has beautiful winter weather in store for participants this weekend with sunny skies, highs in the low 30s and a slight chance of snow Saturday night. Locals report the dirt on site is frozen with a small amount of snow and ice cover, which will make for a fast, durable course with a few tricky surprises. It€™s definitely the time of year to start tearing up some dirt!

-30-