The 2012 Rally America National Championship heats up in the second round when the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood commences on Feb. 22 in Salem, Mo., with 60 national and local teams slated to contest the hard-packed dirt roads surrounding the Ozark Forests.

 
The Rally America season already opened with many surprises at January's Sno*Drift Rally under wintery Michigan conditions. Now classic battles with Ford, Mitsubishi, Honda, Scion and Subaru's best drivers in a warmer Missouri climate promises faster racing speeds and more surprises.
 

Hoonigan Racing's Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino are back at the very event they have won six times before -- the most 100 Acre Wood Rally wins by a Rally America driver. The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood could not have come at a better time for the team as they attempt to bounce back from a disappointing Sno*Drift result. Block fell behind early with electrical problems before reentering Sno*Drift in 11th place overall. He drove furiously to a fifth-place finish to salvage valuable Championship points to stay relevant in his quest for his first Rally America title.

"Obviously I'm coming out to 100 Acre Wood looking for my seventh win at the event," said Block. "So far, every time I've entered, I've won, so I plan on trying to keep that streak going."
 

Standing in Block's way of a potential seventh Rally in the 100 Acre Wood title is a deep field of national contenders. Canada's Rockstar Energy Drink Rally Team of Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard, fresh off an amazing Sno*Drift victory, will push hard to build on their best season start since winning the 2010 Rally America National Championship.
 
David Higgins and Craig Drew of Subaru Rally Team USA, who lost Sno*Drift to L'Estage on the last stage, will settle for no less than victory at Missouri. Since joining Subaru in 2010, Higgins has not won the 100 Acre Wood Rally despite being Rally America Champion the last two seasons.

 
Fresh off a Two-Wheel Drive Class (2WD) victory, the Scion Racing Rally xD team announced that they will add turbocharged power to their Scion xD and give Andrew Comrie-Picard and Jeremy Wimpey the advantage they need to position Scion as the class ruler over the like-minded Ford Fiestas.

 
Rally fans will also pay close attention to Ford Racing's Dillon Van Way after his second-place 2WD finish at Sno*Drift with a new co-driver, Andrew Edwards, who brings significant international racing experience. Van Way is employing a new notes system with Edwards' guidance in hopes of giving Van Way the edge to overcome Comrie-Picard and place Ford in a tie with Scion on top of the 2WD Manufacturers' National Championship, and evening his chances in the 2WD standings.