Indianapolis, IN -- The 2006 United States Rally Championship will be expanded to eight rounds announced championship officials today in Indianapolis. Included will be the return of the famed Olympus Rally in Washington State, as well as full tarmac events in New York State and Tennessee.

The 2006 schedule will begin with the Cherokee Trails International Rally in Tennessee in March. The action will then head north for Rally New York USA in early April. Teams will then head over to the west coast for the Subaru Rim of the World Rally in California in late April, followed by the Olympus International Rally three weeks later in Washington State.

After a summer break, the action will resume in the east with the all tarmac Rally Tennessee over Labor Day weekend, and the all tarmac International Rally New York later in September. Cars will then move west for the final two events, the well-established Prescott Rally in Arizona in October, followed by the season final at the Laughlin International Rally, formerly the Ramada Express International Rally, in Laughlin, Nevada in November.

"We’re excited about the expansion of the schedule," stated Ray Hocker, one of the Championship organizers, "Prescott has a long history as a national level event, and the legend of the Olympus Rally is known to everybody in the rally community. We especially welcome the return of this former WRC event after a 14 year hiatus." "That’s not to give short-shrift to the eastern events either," continued Hocker, "With the two full tarmac rounds in New York and Tennessee, the Championship will be a true test of drivers on all surfaces."

"USAC is ecstatic at the growth of the series," added Rollie Helmling, President of the United States Auto Club, "With eight internationally listed events evenly spread between the east and west, awareness of the sport here in the U.S. will continue to grow in leaps and bounds. The benefit of this growth for competitor and fan alike is immeasurable, and USAC is proud to be part of it."

"NASA is as well proud of its continuing involvement in this top-level series," added John Lindsey, Chief Divisional Director of the National Auto Sport Association. "We’ve been working with many of these organizers since the formation of our Rally Sport arm, and it is nice to see their and our efforts being rewarded and the series expanding."

The United States Rally Championship, America’s premier rally championship, consists of Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) internationally listed events sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC) and presented by the National Auto Sport Association (NASA). More information on the Championship is available at the series website at www.usrallychampionship.com. More information on USAC is available at www.usacracing.com and on NASA at www.nasarallysport.com.

CONTACT:

Wilson von Kessler
United States Rally Championship Series
(423) 265-2020
wilson@nasarallysport.com

John Lindsey
National Auto Sport Association
(510) 232-6272
jlindsey@drivenasa.com

Dick Jordan
United States Auto Club
(317) 247-5151
djordan10@iquest.net