ATLANTA, MI — NOS Energy rally driver Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard will kick off his 2009 Rally America campaign with a return to the challenging Sno*Drift winter rally in northern Michigan on January 30 – 31. He is considered one of the top bets for the win.

“Growing up in the prairies, I had plenty of opportunity to master winter conditions,” said Comrie-Picard. “I love Sno*Drift – flat out sideways, dragging the tail through a snow bank is the essence of winter rally!”

The team has developed a reputation as a winter-weather threat. Comrie-Picard took the win at Sno*Drift in 2006 and finished second overall at the event last year.

“Winter driving is about taking calculated risks,” said Comrie-Picard. “Success means taking as few chances as possible in conditions that can kick you really hard if you make a mistake.”

Tire strategy is always critical in the sport and Comrie-Picard says he’s equipped to face the whole range of conditions -- from deep snow to glare ice.

“Yokohama makes the best tires for winter driving,” says Comrie-Picard. “We’ll be going 130 mph on glare ice in this contest on the IG20, a tire developed for street use, that anyone can buy for their car – they’re that good.”

The team has recently secured an early invitation to X Games 15 this coming summer, where they will once again compete alongside top talents in the sport including Travis Pastrana, Tanner Foust, Ken Block and Dave Mirra.

“The early X Games invitations were just announced, and we are really excited to be going back,” says Comrie-Picard. “It’s our year for the gold, especially after our race-ending flip last year.”

Comrie-Picard and co-driver Marc Goldfarb will contest Sno*Drift in the NOS Energy Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. The team is also developing a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X that they debuted last November in Canada. They will run the Evolution X in select events in 2009.

The team is pleased to announce the return of key sponsors NOS Energy Drink, K&N Air Filters, Yokohama Tire Canada, and Mitsubishi Canada, who will again partner with ACP Rally in the 2009 season.

The Rally America national championship is a challenging, all-season series comprised of nine events across the country, beginning with Sno*Drift and wrapping up in October with the Lake Superior Performance Rally.

The team’s next competition is the Canadian season opener, Rallye Perce-Neige Maniwaki in Quebec, on February 6. The team won that event in 2007, and finished second overall in 2008.

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 sport is featured in the annual X Games, the premier action sports event on the globe, featuring athletes competing for medals and prize money in sports including BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, and Rally. Comrie-Picard has been among the dozen invited drivers in each of the three years since the rally discipline was introduced to the contest, and he has already secured an early invitation to return in 2009.

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ABOUT THE DRIVER: Andrew Comrie-Picard is a contender for the top of the ranks in the American, Canadian, and North American rally championships and will return to compete in X Games this summer for the fourth time. When he isn’t racing, Comrie-Picard works in film, television, and print media as a car expert and divides his time between Toronto, Canada, and Los Angeles, California.

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ABOUT THE CO-DRIVER: Longtime co-driver Marc Goldfarb is a regular teammate to ACP. Goldfarb began rallying in 1979 and co-drove the first Subaru actively sponsored in the national pro-rally circuit. His co-driving course curriculum is taught at the internationally renowned Team O'Neil rally school. Goldfarb resides with his family in Atkinson, New Hampshire, where he works as an engineer.

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The ACP Rally program is made possible by: NOS Energy (www.drinknos.com), K&N (www.knfilters.com), Mitsubishi Canada (www.mitsubishi-motors.ca), Yokohama Canada (www.yokohama.ca), AMS (www.amsperformance.com), Motul (www.motulusa.com), Works (www.worksevo.com), Hot Bits (www.hotbits.ca), Brian Crower (www.briancrower.com), JE (www.jepistons.com), Exedy (www.exedyusa.com), Öhlins (www.ohlinsusa.com), Pfitzner Performance Gearbox (www.ppgearbox.com.au), Mishimoto (www.mishimoto.com), Oakley (www.oakley.com), Innovate Motorsports (www.tuneyourengine.com), Team Dynamics (www.teamdynamicsracing.com), Endless (www.endlessusa.com), NBB (www.nbblights.ca), Sparco (www.sparcousa.com), NGK (www.ngksparkplugs.com), and Skull Candy (www.skullcandy.com).

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For more information and video highlights, visit: www.acprally.com. To arrange interviews or find out more, contact team manger Jen Horsey at +1647-500-2729 or j-horsey(at)rogers(dot)com. Find us on YouTube or Facebook under ACP Rally. Photos by Chris Maydaniuk (www.worldrallysport.com) and Bill Lockwood.