European-Style Rally Cross Coming to NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK

RALLY AMERICA Schedules The “Joker is Wild” in Three Action Packed Weekends on Lightning Raceway Travis Pastrana and Ken Block Scheduled to Contend

Millville, NJ (February 25, 2010) - New Jersey Motorsports Park officials unveiled three Rally America sanctioned European-style rally cross races this year on Lightning Raceway. Rally America, Inc. is the premier sanctioning body for performance rallying in North America and is bringing this wildly popular racing to the United States for the first time.
“We are very excited about promoting this fiercely competitive form of racing to this beautiful circuit”, said J.B. Niday, managing director of Rally America, Inc. “Nestled in the heart of New Jersey’s pristine forests and rivers, with the excitement of nearby Atlantic City casinos, the beautiful New Jersey beaches and scenic fishing villages of Delaware Bay we have found a wonderful venue and perfect destination for our dedicated fan base”.
“Many of our top Rally America National Rally Championship campaigners plan to participate in these groundbreaking events”, added Niday. “They include Travis Pastrana, four time Rally America National Champion, and red hot Ken Block, perennial Rally Championship contender, the star of the amazing Ken Block Gymkhana You Tube videos. We certainly anticipate a tremendous turnout of established teams with many new racers coming aboard.”
NJMP Director of Membership and Business Development, Steve Stander said, “This is truly the motor racing version of rugby, combining elements from road racing, short-course off-road racing and X Games-style rally car racing. From green flag to checkered, it’s intense, non-stop action!” All three Rally America events will use parts of the Lightning Raceway in combination with gravel sections totaling about one mile in length. The course will include jumps, un-banked corners, hills and very challenging transitions between tarmac and gravel.
The highlight of each race is the “JOKER LAP.” A special, longer gravel section of the racetrack is built, which each driver must maneuver through once per heat. The Joker Lap duration is at least two seconds longer than a normal lap time. Drivers decide for themselves when they take the Joker Lap. If they fail to take the Joker Lap, or take it twice, they’ll receive a time penalty. It introduces a very strategic component into an already madcap event.Travis
The rally cross format is very popular in Europe with huge spectator turnouts. Six cars start side by side in each of the numerous three lap qualifying races leading up to the main event finale. “This is no holds barred racing with lots of pushing, rubbing and broadsliding through the corners”, said NJMP Track Official Donald Fauerbach. If you like short track stock car racing, you’re going to love this action!”

Two classes of cars will compete in this inaugural year of competition. The faster, all-wheel-drive cars resemble those running in current Rally America competitions; the Subaru Impreza has been the dominant marque. The second category of rally cross cars will be two-wheel drive including many highly modified, 450+horsepower Ford, Mitsubishi, Dodge and Honda speedsters on rally-style suspensions.

“This very exciting form of racing,” Fauerbach continued, “will add a fascinating new dimension to the broad tapestry of Motorsport entertainment available at NJMP.”

Races are scheduled for three weekends; August 28-29, October 2-3, and November 6-7.

For Ticket and Camping Information: visit www.njmp.com

Entrant information can be found on-line at
www.rally-america.com/account or click on "login" from www.rally-america.com

Rally America media contact: Ananda Siverts at 802-861-3067 or media@rally-america.com

NJMP media contact: Donald Fauerbach at 856-327-7201 or dfauerbach@njmp.com

Sitting on more than 500 acres in Millville, N.J., New Jersey Motorsports Park is conveniently located to Philadelphia, the Jersey Shore, New York and Baltimore, and offers diverse and dynamic motorsports attractions. The facility includes two world-class road courses (Thunderbolt and Lightning), a motorsports country club known as the Drivers Club, the Breighton Room Restaurant open to the general public, and F1 New Jersey, one of the top karting facilities in America. Approaching its third race season, New Jersey Motorsports Park hosts a number of professional motorsports events and countless club events and track rentals. The 2010 spectator schedule includes return visits by the AMA Superbike Championship, Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX, the Atlantic Championship powered by Mazda, and the Ferrari Challenge. Two vintage race weekends dot the 2010 schedule, plus the inaugural 12 hour SCCA “Devil in the Darkness” endurance race, and the inaugural RoadMods “Dirt Modifieds Fast 50” racing series, the first ever racing on a road course for high-powered dirt modified stock cars.

For more information on New Jersey Motorsports Park, F1 New Jersey, Breighton Room, or to purchase tickets, visit www.njmp.com or call 856-327-7217. Children 12 and under are admitted free to every event at New Jersey Motorsports Park.