SALEM, MO. — Unseasonably snowy weather has meant for a last-minute scramble for teams at the 100 Acre Wood Rally in southern Missouri this weekend as they made a quick change of strategy to contend with the treacherous conditions.

Many teams came prepared for the fast and flowing gravel roads that are typical of this early spring event, but a two-day ice storm has turned the course slick with ice.

“We’ll have to see how it’s going after the first couple of stages,” said Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block, who has claimed victory for the past two years at this event. “It’s going to be different on snow.”

Cars that had been readied for gravel conditions were returned to snow and ice setups this week, and teams called in favors to stock up on winter tires.

January’s first round saw Canadian snow and ice veterans Antoine L’Estage and Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard finish first and second, respectively. Both drivers have returned to the United States to compete at Round 2, and both are optimistic about their chances.

“It’s good to be Canadian and have experience in this weather,” said Comrie-Picard, before starting the contest on Friday. He finished third overall at this event in 2007.

Block’s Subaru teammate Travis Pastrana, who retired while leading late in the previous round (after striking a deer), said he was cautiously optimistic about the icy challenge facing him over the next two days.

“These are probably my favorite roads in the series,” said Pastrana, who finished second at this event in 2007. “But of any place I wouldn’t want to see snow on the course, this would be it.”

Pastrana is contesting this event with a new co-driver, Former Word Rally Champion Derek Ringer. Pastrana’s regular partner Christian Edstrom recently announced his retirement from regular competition.

Although teams recently took on ice and snow at the first round, Sno*Drift, in northern Michigan, the unusual nature of the weather in Missouri adds an extra element of risk. While winter events often feature forgiving snow banks that keep cars from sliding off the road, there is nothing but danger off the line here.

In addition to the 2008 championship title, teams are vying for a chance to complete at the high-profile X Games 14 this summer in Los Angeles. It is expected that the top teams after the first five championship rounds will receive an invitation to compete at the California contest.

The rally, through the scenic Ozark foothills of southern Missouri, began under threatening skies on Friday, with more icy rain and cold weather expected to come heading into Day 2.

Rally car racing is considered the extreme sport of automobile racing and is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” This all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over courses that cover more than 100 miles of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads.

The 2008 Rally America National Championship series consists of nine exciting events throughout the country in many different weather and road conditions. Throughout the year, teams take on everything from the forest logging roads in Minnesota, to the high-altitude Yampa River Valley in Northwest Colorado, and the Pacific Northwest forest and coast paths. The series moves west for the next round, the Olympus Rally in Olympia, Washington, April 19 to 20.