SAN CARLOS, CALIFORNIA -- Carl Jardevall will be aiming high when he takes to the rugged coastal mountain roads of the Oregon Trail ProRally this weekend. Jardevall (of San Carlos, California) and co-driver Amity Trowbridge (of Olympia, Washington) will be trying for the Group 5 class win in their Nordic Motors Volvo 740 Turbo, a two-wheel drive car. But they're also hoping to beat most, if not all, of the fastest all-wheel drive turbocharged cars entered in the event.

"We won Group 5 and finished third overall here last year" said Jaredvall, a native of Sweden, "and we finished first overall at the Doo-Wop 3 ClubRally last month in Washington. We also set the new record time for a two-wheel drive car on the Brooklyn Tavern Stage, and third fastest time ever on the stage. There are some very good teams competing in the Open class, but with a little luck we could very well be battling for first overall." "The Volvo has been quite reliable and required very little service other than maintenance between rallies," continued Jardevall. "We installed a new, larger radiator late last season which eliminated some problems with the car running too warm. We continue to make improvements as needed, but overall the car is very good. Probably the biggest change we made over the winter was to give the Volvo a new Bright Yellow paint job." The Nordic Motors team finished in the top five overall on SCCA ProRallies twice last season. At the Oregon Trail ProRally, Jardevall and Trowbridge finished third, and at Wild West they were fourth overall. They were running a competitive third overall and leading the Group 5 class at the Rim Of The World rally in California when the Volvo suffered a suspension failure due to the rough roads. At the Ojibwe Forests ProRally in Minnesota, overheating problems dropped them from contention early in the event, but once the problems were repaired the team set stage times competitive with the front runners, and faster than the other Group 5 teams. The Nordic Motors Volvo will also be carrying a special passenger at Oregon Trail, "Race Car Jack", a 4.5-inch tall toy clown from the Jack in the Box restaurants. The bendable toy will later be auctioned off to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and its youth mentoring program. Nordic Motors is an independent Volvo and Saab repair facility, owned by Carl Jardevall and located in San Carlos, California. Co-driver Amity Trowbridge lives in Olympia, Washington, and is employed by the State of Washington.