MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- There are still four spots left for drivers to compete at the first-ever X Games Rally this summer in Los Angeles, but getting in won't be easy.

Eight top drivers have been selected to compete, but the four others will have to qualify into the rally -- with two earning their spots this coming weekend at the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally in Pennsylvania.

Although Rally America had originally expected that only two drivers would qualify into the games, the selection committee opted this week to open two more spots to competition.

"There are so many talented drivers out there who want a shot at the X Games and we wanted to let as many as possible earn their way in," says Rally America spokesman J.B. Niday. "It's going to make for a thrilling next two rounds of the Rally America series as everybody vies for a chance to compete in the X Games."

That has certainly proven to be the case with the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally, where nearly 80 teams will square off on the forest roads near Wellsboro, Pa., this Saturday.

In addition to top series regulars, this 30th anniversary race will see entries by 2005 United States Rally Champion Tom Lawless, the return of former Mitsubishi USA driver Lauchlin O'Sullivan, veteran competitor Seamus Burke, and a handful of Canada's top drivers, including four-time North American champion Frank Sprongl, Canadian points leader Antoine L'Estage and Andrew Comrie-Picard.

This popular rally features the famous "Subaru Splash," spectator stage, which attracts thousands of cheering fans to the banks of the Stony Fork Creek Crossing to watch as competitors make the spectacular water crossing. But it is the area's dense forest roads that are this event's trademark. Competitors reach breakneck speeds on a sometimes slick course through trees that grow perilously close to the road edges.

The two final X Games spots will be earned by top finishers at the Maine Forest Rally next month.

Drifter and Stunt driver Rhys Millen is the last competitor named by the committee to compete in the high-profile X Games Rally. The at-large entry is a drifting pioneer who has been taking top North American honors in the sport since 2003. He earned the 2005 Formula Drift championship crown in a factory Pontiac GTO.

But Millen, the son of famed New Zealand rally and offroad racer Rod Millen, is no stranger to North American rally competition. The former rally driver for Mitsubishi USA has several speed records at the famed Pikes Peak International Hillclimb to his credit.

"Rhys is the perfect kind of crossover competitor for this rally," says Niday. "He is familiar with the sport and his demonstrated talent for drifting and stunt driving should make him a contender."

Millen will battle for X Games gold against a fiercely competitive field including WRC veteran Colin McRae, motocross superstar turned Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana, eight-time U.S. champ Paul Choiniere and 2005 Rally America champion, Pat Richard.

Also selected to compete are: D.C. Shoes founder and Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block, who is currently leading the Rally America Championship; 2005 Production GT champion and stunt driver Tanner Foust; and 2005 North American and Rally America Open class champion Matt Iorio.

STPR is the fourth round of the Rally America national championship and this year will be televised on ESPN.

The Rally America national championship is a challenging, all-season series comprised of nine events across the country, beginning with Sno*Drift in January and wrapping up 12 months later with the Reno Rally in Reno, Nevada.

The annual X Games is the premier action sports event in the world, featuring athletes from across the globe competing for medals and prize money in sports including BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, Surfing and Rally. X Games 12 will be telecast live on ESPN and ABC.

Rally America, a Minneapolis, MN, based corporation, holds the sanctioning and marketing rights to the Rally America Championship. The company was founded in 2002 by rally driver and CPD Rally Team owner Doug Havir.