For Immediate Release       Contact:  Andy Schupack
                                      (401) 739-5677

        EL NINO SWAMPS 1998 MICHELIN PRO RALLY OPENER



ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- February 23 -- Warm weather and

unseasonable rains have caused cancellation of the SNO*DRIFT

PRO Rally in Central Michigan, round #1 of the 1998 Michelin

PRO Rally Championship, scheduled for Saturday, February 28.



The event, held in the Petosky/Atlanta, Mich. area, usually

offers the drivers frozen, snow-covered forest roads;

however, up to six inches of mud have made those roads

impassable.



"As a recreational user of the forests along with skiers,

snowmobile riders, hikers, hunters and others, the PRO Rally

community is aware of its responsiblity to help maintain the

roads in the best of condition.  Although the rally cars

might be able to transverse the course through the mud, the

potential for damage to the roads has forced us to cancel the

event," said Mike Bodnar, SNO*DRIFT organizer.



Posponed, but not cancelled are the SCCA Divisional PRO Rally

national championships, which were schedule to run in

conjunction the with SNO*DRIFT event.  The Divisional Runoffs

will be rescheduled to run with an existing event sometime

this spring.


The next event for the 1998 Michelin PRO Rally Championship

is the Doo Wop PRO Rally, scheduled for March 14 - 15, in

Shelton, Washington.  The soon-to-be-announced ESPN2 PRO

Rally TV schedule will begin at the Little Creek Casino  Wild

West PRO Rally, also to be held in Shelton, Washington, in

April.



A revised 1998 schedule is attached.



                            # # #
 





                      MICHELIN PRO RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
		          1998 NATIONAL SCHEDULE
                             (revised 2/23/98)



 EVENT                     DATE            LOCATION        Organizer


 SNO*DRIFT+  (CANCELLED)   February 27-28  Atlanta, MI     Mike Bodnar
                                                           (248) 354-5852

 DOO WOP III & IV+         March 14 - 15   Olympia, WA     Ray Damitio
                                                           (360) 249-6173
 LITTLE CREEK CASINO
 WILD WEST PRO RALLY       April 18 - 19   Olympia, WA     Bob Grass
                                                           (206) 872-9696

 RIM OF THE WORLD          May 8 - 9       Palmdale, CA    Paula Gibeault
                                                           (760) 375-8704

 SUSQUEHANNOCK TRAIL       June 5 - 6      Wellsboro, PA   John McArthur
                                                           (716) 477-7742

 MAINE FOREST RALLY        July 31-Aug. 1  Rumford, ME     John Buffum
                                                           (802) 655-5768

 OJIBWE FORESTS PRO RALLY  August 28 - 29  Bemidji, MN     Beryl Ann Burton
                                                           (612) 529-6821

 PRESCOTT FOREST RALLY     October 2 - 3   Prescott, AZ    Rob Cherry
                                                           (520) 778-6489
 D&N BANK LAKE SUPERIOR
 PRO RALLY                 October 23 - 24 Houghton, MI    Lyn Nelson
                                                           (906) 249-3392

                                   # # #


+Doo Wop event is a co-efficient 3 rally - national license-holders earn
 60 percent of national points.

 The best six finishes are counted for championship points.

 National events will be telecast on ESPN2 on a delayed basis; produced by
 Replica Productions, of Cambridge, Mass. (617) 492-7444; details pending.