LOS ANGELES, CA — NOS Energy rally driver Andrew "ACP" Comrie-Picard returns to battle with the best drivers in action sport when he takes on the invitation-only X Games Rally Car race on Sunday, August 2.

The unique X Games format sees drivers go head-to-head on a mixed asphalt and dirt course through the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, and features an exciting 70-foot gap jump that is a highlight for fans and drivers alike.

"I'm really looking forward to keeping it pinned and getting massive air over that gap," said Comrie-Picard. "We learned last year that the Evo likes a little more speed than the other cars heading into the big jump and that's going to be a real advantage when we get into the stadium at X Games 15."

The 2008 contest saw Comrie-Picard well in the lead over rival Dave Mirra when he shorted the jump slightly in his NOS Energy Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX and flipped end over end. It was a spectacular crash that made highlight reels around the world. Comrie-Picard was unharmed.

"The X Games is about going big and sometimes crashing big," said Comrie-Picard. "We gave the fans a show last year; this year we're in it for the gold medal."

The X Games is 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. 2009 marks the 15th anniversary of the high-profile contest.

"X Games 15 marks NOS Energy Drink's second proud and exciting year with Team ACP," said Ernie Manansala, Motorsports and Lifestyle Marketing Manager for NOS Energy Drink. "We have been anticipating this event with ACP since our end-over-end encounter at X Games last year and we look forward to ACP gunning for NOS Energy Drink's first X Games gold!"

The X Games Rally Car Race airs live on ESPN and ABC starting at 12 p.m. (Pacific Time) on Sunday, Aug. 2, with additional broadcasts in more than 100 countries around the world.

Comrie-Picard is among just four drivers from around the world who have been invited to X Games in every year since the sport was introduced to the contest in 2006. The Rally Car discipline is a hit in the X Games format, consistently setting the highest television ratings of the four-day action sports event.

The 2009 contest will see the elimination of rally co-drivers – deemed unnecessary on the short course – and the addition of in-car commentators that will allow fans to get closer to the action than ever before with first-hand analysis, live from the course. ACP's 2008 X Games co-driver Jen Horsey will be one of the commentators.

In the lead-up to the big show, Comrie-Picard was recently invited to throw the first pitch at a Los Angeles Dodgers home game against the Houston Astros. He will also take on a Lucas Oil Off Road race in a Bully Dog truck this coming weekend (July 24-26) in Lake Elsinore, California.

ACP enters the X Games contest as a strong contender for the Rally America title. There is just a four-point spread between ACP, in third at the mid-point in the season, Ken Block, Tanner Foust and Andi Mancin. All are trailing defending champion Travis Pastrana.

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 hundreds of miles of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads.

The field for the 2009 X Games Rally Car Race is as follows:
Andrew Comrie-Picard
Travis Pastrana
Ken Block
Dave Mirra
Brian Deegan
Tanner Foust
Matt Johnson
Andi Mancin
Piotr Wiktorczyk
Arkadiusz Gruszka
Jimmy Keeney
Kenny Brack

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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 an automotive expert and divides his time between Toronto, Canada, and Los Angeles, California.

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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), Motul (www.motulusa.com), AMS (www.amsperformance.com), Works (www.worksevo.com), 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), Seibon Carbon (www.seiboncarbon.com), Piloti (www.piloti.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 +1 647-500-2729 or musketeerracing(at)yahoo(dot)com. Find us on YouTube or Facebook under ACP Rally.