Rand McNally and USA TODAY Announce Search for Rally Team Drivers for Best of the Road®

Calling All Road Warriors to Seek out America's Best Towns and Attractions in a Four-Week, Coast-to-Coast, Post-the-Most Adventure

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Rand McNally

Apr 23, 2012, 01:00 ET

SKOKIE, Ill., April 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Rand McNally and USA TODAY announce the search for five adventure seeking teams to participate in the Best of the Road coast-to-coast rally; teams have until May 15, 2012 to upload applications. Civic boosters and CVBs have already nominated nearly 300 towns to compete for a spot on the route exploring the 30 finalists in five categories, and voting continues until May 15.

THE BEST OF THE ROAD RALLY
Five teams of intrepid travelers will depart from Washington D.C. on June 15 en route to Seattle, Washington to seek out the Most Fun, Most Patriotic, Most Beautiful, Best for Food or Friendliest town in America before the big finish on July 15.

They will travel scenic routes and back roads to leave no landmark unturned and no local secrets undiscovered. Teams will be selected by Rand McNally and USA TODAY.

Previous road warriors, The McNavigators discovered the Most Beautiful town, Sandpoint, ID; Captain and Clark found the Most Patriotic stop along the way in Rapid City, SD; Gone with the Wynn's mingled with the Friendliest town in Walla Walla, WA; TravelingJules and TravelingJoan rustled up the Most Fun in Glenwood Springs, CO; and The Fun Finders sank their teeth into Lafayette, LA, Best for Food. You could be next to take the wheel.

This year, the teams will have a new roster of towns in their assigned categories, while fans can follow their progress through videos, photos, blogs and reviews on bestoftheroad.com, Facebook and Twitter. Additional coverage starting on May 25 will appear in USA TODAY and on travel.usatoday.com.

HOW TO ENTER
To apply for the Best of the Road, interested teams of two (minimum age of 25) are asked to upload a video one-minute in length or less showcasing their skills as a cross-country traveler to bestoftheroad.com between April 23 and May 15, 2012. Best of the Road Rally contestants will be announced on May 24, 2012.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES (D.C.), 25 YEARS AND OLDER WHO DID NOT PURCHASE ANY EQUIPMENT FOR PURPOSES OF ENTERING THE CONTEST. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Enter Contest by May 15, 2012. For Official Rules and prize descriptions, visit www.bestoftheroad.com. Sponsor: RM Acquisition, LLC. d/b/a Rand McNally, 9855 Woods Drive, Skokie, IL 60077.

About the Best of the Road® – Rand McNally has earned the reputation as a trusted source in maps, directions and travel content with its best-selling Road Atlas and annual Best of the Road online guide. Its celebration of the Great American Road Trip has given way to an online guide of the Best of the Road and features top attractions in more than 20 categories --- from the Best Beach to the Best BBQ. This year, Rand McNally is revving up, in collaboration with USA TODAY, for an all-new the Best of the Road search with content created by travelers online and published in the 2014 Rand McNally Road Atlas. For more information about the Best of the Road, visit www.bestoftheroad.com.

About Rand McNally – Rand McNally is the most trusted source for maps, directions, and travel content. Rand McNally's products and services include: Interactive travel referral service, Tripology; IntelliRoute® truck routing software and GPS devices; and the leading geography-based educational resources for the classroom. The 88^th edition of America's #1 Road Atlas by Rand McNally will be available shortly and it includes digital TAGs which connect smartphone users to special mobile web pages. Consumers, businesses, truckers, and educators depend upon Rand McNally to help navigate today's world. www.randmcnally.com

About USA TODAY – USA TODAY is a multi-platform news and information media company. Founded in 1982, USA TODAY's mission is to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation. Today, through its newspaper, website and mobile platforms, USA TODAY connects readers and engages the national conversation. USA TODAY, the nation's number one newspaper in print circulation with an average of nearly 1.8 million daily, and USATODAY.com, an award-winning newspaper website launched in 1995, reach a combined 5.4 million readers daily. USA TODAY is a leader in mobile applications with more than ten million downloads on mobile devices. The USA TODAY brand also includes USA TODAY Education and USA TODAY Sports Weekly. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).