Travis Hanson Wins Sno*Drift, Makes History  - Saturday, January 29, 2011
Travis and Terry Hanson have won the 2011 Sno*Drift Rally, opening round of the Rally America Championship. The Hansons piloted their 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STi to victory with a huge lead of 3 minutes and 53.1 seconds over Dave Mirra, who took 2nd overall in a 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STi with a time of 2 hours 31 minutes and 13.6 seconds. A triumphant Hanson made U.S. rallying history today by being the first-ever Super Production class driver to win a National Rally America event outright! Rounding out the podium was Joseph Burke, who finished only 5.2 seconds behind Mirra in a 2006 Mitsubishi Evo 9. (All results are provisional and subject to change).

Super Production Storms the Leaderboard  - Saturday, January 29, 2011
The dramatic Day One shakeup at the 2011 Sno*Drift Rally has resulted in an unusual leaderboard with a Super Production driver leading the rally by a significant margin and a total of three SP crews out of eight in the Top 5 before the final two stages of the rally. Travis Hanson will win the rally overall barring any major mistakes and the crews of Roman Pakos/Maciej Sawicki in fourth OA and Jimmy Keeney/Melissa Keeney in fifth OA are poised to finish where they stand. SP driver Lauchlin O’Sullivan still has a chance to finish within the Top 10.

Duplessis and O’Sullivan Climb the Standings  - Saturday, January 29, 2011
Despite numerous setbacks, Chris Duplessis in the 2WD Scion Rally xD and Lauchlin O’Sullivan in the SP class Lucas Oil Subaru have gradually climbed up the standings from their overnight positions. Duplessis went from 21st overnight to 15th overall on SS8 and then settled into 11th after SS16. O’Sullivan shot up to 10th overall after SS16 from being 20th overnight. With only two Stages remaining, Duplessis trails O’Sullivan by 2.5 seconds and will be pushing hard for a spot on the leaderboard. O’Sullivan has incurred a 40 second penalty before the final Leg of the rally for being 4 minutes late to ATC due to a broken control arm, giving Duplessis an advantage to advance.

Hanson Holds Strong; Mirra Chases Burke  - Saturday, January 29, 2011
Travis Hanson continues to lead after the first Leg of Day Two’s stages with 4 minutes and 36.4 seconds over Joseph Burke. The Subaru driver has maintained his pace, setting the fastest times on SS8 and SS10. Burke remains the only Mitsubishi in the top ten after Ark Gruszka crashed and broke a wheel on SS8. SRT driver Dave Mirra has made up some of the time he lost due to a puncture on Day One, moving up to third from fifth overall. Mirra sits 50.3sec behind Burke going into the Super Special Stage and has his sights set on a second place finish. The shakeup caused by Day One’s drama has left the SP crews of Roman Pakos and Jimmy Keeney outside the top three overall, and Mason Moyle right outside the top five.

Super Special in Lewiston  - Saturday, January 29, 2011
The Sno*Drift Super Special starts at 2pm Eastern at the Lewiston Sand & Gravel in Lewiston, MI. Crews will run two passes on the Super Special Stage (SS12/13) and there will be a ‘warming’ tent and food concession available to spectators. Parking at the Super Special is very limited and will cost $10 per vehicle and $5 admission per person. Bus rides to the Super will be available starting around noon, and will transport people from the Atlanta School or the Lewiston Ace Hardware for $5 per person. The $5 ticket for the buses includes your admission fee for the Super and a roundtrip ride to the site.

Start Order for Day Two  - Saturday, January 29, 2011
Overnight leader Travis Hanson is first on the road, cutting into fresh snow on SS8. Today, crews will run 70.21 competitive miles over eleven stages before finishing in Hillman, MI at 7:31pm ET. Following Hanson will be Dave Mirra, Joseph Burke, Ark Gruszka, Lauchlin O’Sullivan, Roman Pakos, Jimmy Keeney, Henry Krolikowski, Chris Duplessis, and Erik Zenz.

Hanson Leaps Ahead After SS7  - Friday, January 28, 2011
Travis Hanson leads Sno*Drift overnight with a four-minute cushion over drivers Joseph Burke and Ark Gruszka. Remarkably, the Super Production class Subaru driver’s pace puts him ahead of eight Open class cars and gives him five minutes over the next fastest SP crew. Hanson has had a smooth, issue-free Day One as fellow competitors dealt with drama and progressively worsening conditions as the temperatures dropped and roads froze over.

Day Two begins on Saturday in downtown Atlanta, MI with Parc Expose from 7:30 to 9:30am Eastern and First Car Out on SS8 at 9:01am.

L’Estage Retires from Sno*Drift  - Friday, January 28, 2011
Antoine L’Estage is out of the rally after an off on Stage 4. The reigning champion won the first three stages and held a 20 second lead over Subaru’s David Higgins before hitting glare ice and going off. L’Estage’s Rockstar Mitsubishi had overheating issues due to the crash and wouldn’t start back up. The car did not get damaged badly and is expected to be ready for the opening round of the Canadian Championship next weekend.

Spectate or Follow Sno*Drift  - Friday, January 28, 2011
You can get all the info you need to spectate Sno*Drift or follow along from wherever you are by visiting the resources listed below.


News & Info: bit.ly/geclc9
Schedule: bit.ly/fk7P6y
Entry List: bit.ly/gbTpyI
@RallyCar_Series on Twitter: bit.ly/effdMc

Weather & Road Conditions  - Friday, January 28, 2011
Weather in Atlanta is currently cloudy and 20°F, but it feels like 10°F. Conditions are far better than last year’s glare ice-covered stages, with 2 to 4 inches of snow covering frozen gravel and some ice patches scattered throughout. Snow banks are minimal, leaving drivers with marginal room for error. More snowfall is expected in the evening.