Manchester Village, VT -- Snap-on Tools Company has sponsored Noel Lawler Motorsports, currently the top-ranked team in the extreme motorsport of Pro Rally. Driver, Noel Lawler and co-driver, Charlie Bradley compete in a Hyundai Tiburon. The team joins an elite group of events and drivers sponsored by Snap-on in just about every form of racing. "This sponsorship gives Snap-on another opportunity to prove the performance of our products in the demanding arena of competitive racing," said Carl Johanson, Snap-on Motorsports Manager.

The performance quality of Snap-on Tools is a natural fit with the extreme nature of Pro Rally, explained Lawler. "Teams compete on grueling back road courses over two days and nights, and there is a lot of attrition as cars break suspension on rocks, hit trees and roll over. The objective is to get the car fixed as quickly as possible and get back into the event. Top quality tools and equipment are critical to finishing a rally."

Snap-on Tools is involved in almost every genre of motorsports racing from NASCAR to dragsters and hydroplanes. The company is the endorsement sponsor of Richard Childress Racing and drivers Dale Earnhardt and Jay Sauter. It is an associate sponsor of Dale Earnhardt, Inc., drivers Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Steve Park, Bill Elliott Racing, NHRA stars such as Angelle Seeling/Star Racing, Whit Bazemore/Chuck Etchells Racing, Richie Stevens and Steve Johnson, and the Team ASE/Ultra Motorsports NASCAR Race Truck.

The company is also the title sponsor of the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Snap-on Drag Racing Series; major sponsor of Doug Herbert's Snap-on Tools Top Fuel Dragster; official tool supplier to the Miss Budweiser Unlimited Hydroplane; and major associate sponsor/official tool of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Snap-on is a product supplier to most CART teams, and is the Official Tool of the Championship Association of Mechanics (CAM), representing nearly 800 mechanics in CART, Indy Lights, the IRL and Formula Atlantic.

At the halfway point in the 1999 Michelin/SCCA ProRally Series, Lawler and Bradley lead the championship by nine points in their Hyundai Tiburon, which is prepared by Libra Racing run by 11-time national champion, John Buffum. The car features the developmental engine from Hyundai Motor Korea as part of the testing program for Hyundai's world rally car. It also features Pirelli rally tires, the first car in the U.S. to compete on the same tires that won three straight World Rally Championships for Manufacturers for the Subaru 555 Prodrive Impreza Team.

Last season, the team finished second overall in the U.S. championship, helping to secure the Manufacturer's Cup for Hyundai in an Elantra. They also competed in Ireland and Jamaica. The pair, who have competed together over the past nine years in the U.S. and internationally, recently earned their FIA seeding. Lawler is a native of County Mayo, Ireland now residing in Manchester, VT, and Bradley is a native of County Donegal, Ireland now residing in Ardmore, PA.

Snap-on Tools joins five other major corporate sponsors for Noel Lawler Motorsports for the 1999 Michelin/SCCA ProRally Championship season. They include Cargotec, a heavy equipment manufacturer; Pirelli Tire North America; Hyundai Motor America; Hansen's Beverage, makers of Energy Drink; and Hella International.

Snap-on Tools Company is a subsidiary of Snap-on Incorporated, a leading manufacturer and distributor of quality hand and power tools, diagnostic equipment and tool storage units for professional technicians, industry and original equipment manufacturers in more than 100 countries. In the U.S., franchised dealers call on the nation's one million automotive technicians weekly. The company also operates the nation's largest technical sales and training force for automotive diagnostics.