GOLDEN VALLEY, MN -- Word that there will be a rally in this summer’s X Games in Los Angeles has prompted intense speculation about who will compete. The answer is: nobody knows – yet.

X Games competitors are chosen by committee, with members drawn from among sport organizing bodies, journalists, competitors and officials. When details are finalized in the next few days, ESPN and Rally America will publish committee member names, and the criteria they will use to determine their picks.

“I want to clear up any speculation that there will be back room deals. The whole selection process is on the up-and-up,” says Rally America spokesman J.B. Niday.

It is expected that about a dozen teams will be invited to compete in Open Class cars – with a couple of crews named as alternates. Organizers are also hoping to offer spots to a pair of two-wheel drive competitors who won’t compete, but instead offer a demonstration of two-wheel talent to the X Games audience.

The most likely contenders so far are two-time U.S. champion Pat Richard, and Subaru Rally Team USA driver and X Games veteran Travis Pastrana.

After several years on the Canadian circuit and a stab at the Production World Rally Championship, Richard took on the United States series, dominating virtually every race. Pastrana, who comes to rally after a lifetime of extreme motorcycle riding, is an X Games veteran, widely considered the most successful rider in the history of X Games Freestyle.

But honing down the list of capable competitors to just a dozen won’t be an easy task. Rally America has already heard from leading drivers from around the world – including some World Rally Championship stars – who are interested in the X Games battle.

And while a high-profile driver from the WRC might seem like an obvious choice, Rally America spokesman J.B. Niday says organizers are committed to showcasing homegrown rally skills.

“I want the field to be competitors they can see in the Rally America series,” says Niday. “The X Games introduces millions of people to North American rally and North American talent.”

The X Games Rally will feature several top-level motorsports competitors new to the North American rally discipline, but Niday says these “at-large” drivers will be chosen carefully for their skills behind the wheel.

“These at-large guys can’t embarrass themselves, they’ve got to know how to drive. On the other hand, I fully expect one of our guys to win,” says Niday.

Even though some of Rally America’s top drivers don’t currently compete in the Open Class, Niday says they are still under consideration.

There will be more details on the process for the rally selection within days and a list of first-round picks in just a few weeks’ time. But Niday suggests the final spots could be seized in last-minute qualifiers at rounds four and five of the series in June and July – the Susquehannock Trail Rally and the Maine Forest Rally.