GOLDEN VALLEY, MN -- In a move that will vault extreme driving into the American mainstream, Rally America is taking performance rally to the X Games circuit this summer in Los Angeles.

�The X Games is our opportunity to present the sport to millions of viewers,� says Rally America spokesman J.B. Niday. �We get to show a new audience that rally isn�t just a video game. It�s really out there, and it�s really cool.�

Niday said Rally America believes the X Games venture will increase the presence of this thrilling action sport in North America, bringing much-deserved attention to rally competition from top talent and sponsors.

�Rally is just as extreme a sport as anything else in X Games,� says Niday. �This is the first four-wheel motorsport in the X Games and it�s a great fit.�

Even in the early stages, it�s a strategy that appears to be paying off. The announcement has been greeted with intense interest from across the continent and as far away as Europe. Several manufacturers and even a few World Rally Championship drivers have already inquired about getting involved in the X Games effort.

Niday said he expects that enthusiasm to carry over into the Rally America series.

The inaugural X Games rally will go to air live on ESPN and ABC Sports. ESPN first developed its X Games property in 1995 and today, the X Games and Winter X Games are the biggest action sports events in the world.

A select group of top drivers will battle it out for X Games gold in front of the action-mad audience. The event will include a day of top-speed driving over six challenging rally stages and a second-day stadium course that organizers hint could include a 40-foot jump.

�Rally Car Racing is incredibly dynamic and exciting,� says Ron Semiao, senior vice president of ESPN Original Entertainment. �We feel it matches our existing X Games audience while having the ability to attract new viewers, as well.�

The Rally America Championship is the premier rally series in the United States, with races taking place from coast-to-coast over a 12-month season. The first X Games rally will take place August 3-6, 2006, in Los Angeles.