COLCHESTER, VT — Officials with Rally America, Inc., the premier sanctioning body for Performance Rally competition in North America, announced today that HAWK Performance Brakes has joined a growing list of sponsors in the popular Rally America Contingency Program for the 2010 Rally America National Rally Championship.

Based in Solon, Ohio, Hawk Performance brand disk brake pad products are owned and manufactured by Wellman Products Group, the world’s leader in severe-duty friction products. For nearly a century the Wellman Products Group has engineered and manufactured severe-duty friction products for brakes, clutches, transmissions, and driveline components.

"We’re excited to welcome HAWK Performance Brakes and the Wellman Products Group to Rally America and our 2010 Contingency Program," stated J.B. Niday, Managing Director of Rally America. "The HAWK Performance brand of brake products has been a leader in the performance brake industry for many years and their decision to join Rally America and participate in the 2010 Rally America Contingency Program has been extremely well received by our competitors. We’re not only looking forward to working with HAWK Performance and the Wellman Products Group in 2010, but excited about growing our relationship and their involvement in the sport of Performance Rally in the years to come."

Following each round of this year’s six Rally America National Championship events, HAWK Performance will provide $700.00 in HAWK Performance gift certificates to a total of six lucky National and Regional competitors selected through random drawings totaling $4,200.00 in total prizes for the 2010 championship season. For more information regarding the 2010 Rally America Contingency Program or HAWK Performance’s involvement with the program to include competitor registration, please visit www.rally-america.com for complete details.

Rally car racing is considered the extreme sport of automobile racing and is often described simply as "real cars, real roads, real fast". This all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over courses that cover more than 100 miles of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads.

About Rally America:
Based in Golden Valley, Minn., Rally America sanctions the premier performance rally series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. In 2010, Rally America will conduct six National Championship events at venues across the country, from Olympia, Washington to Newry, Maine. Rally America competitors reach speeds of well over 100 mph in modified street cars on natural-terrain courses consisting of gravel, dirt or snow. Additionally, through a partnership with ESPN, qualifying Rally America drivers will be invited to compete in ESPN’s Summer X Games 16, the annual leading action-sports event that’s broadcast live on ESPN. For more information, be sure to visit www.rally-america.com.

About HAWK Performance and the Wellman Products Group:
Based in Solon, Ohio, the Wellman Products Group is renowned for providing engineered solutions to original equipment and aftermarket customers for products that perform in demanding aerospace, on-highway truck, agriculture, construction, mining, powersports, motorsports, automotive, military, industrial, and specialty applications. With their exceptional research and development programs, they can provide friction materials designed to improve power management for any friction application. Wellman Products Group introduced Hawk Performance high performance disc brake pads into the Motorsports arena more than 15 years ago and the brand has outperformed the competition and gained a loyal race and street following.

For More Information, contact:
Paul Giblin, Director
Business Development
Rally America, Inc. (Marketing office)
Office: 802-861-2277
E-mail: paul@rally-america.com
Website: www.rally-america.com