After falling just short of the Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) Pro-Lite Manufacturers' Championship last season, Nissan Motorsports returns in 2006 with a new lineup of three factory-supported vehicles - a pair of Pro-Lite Class Nissan Frontiers driven by Chad Hord and Art Schmitt, and a new Pro-2 Class Nissan Titan piloted by Carl Renezeder.

In the extremely competitive CORR Pro-Lite Class in 2005, Nissan recorded 22 podium finishes in 16 races - including seven wins. Both the Drivers' and Manufacturers' titles came down to the very last race of the season, with Hord coming up just four points shy of the title, despite six individual race victories. Schmitt, a veteran driver with more than 100 career off-road victories, finished a strong sixth in the 2005 standings and had one Pro-Lite win.

"As the runner-up last year, Nissan is hungrier than ever to bring home the Pro-Lite Championship in 2006," said Ron Stukenberg, senior manager, Nissan Motorsports marketing and operations. "With Chad and Art carrying the Nissan team colors - each proven winners backed by great teams and crews - we're looking forward to seeing the CORR Frontier in Victory Circle a lot of times this year."

Both the HORD Off-Road Racing and Art Schmitt Racing CORR Frontier race trucks are powered by 2.5-liter, 16-valve, 4-cylinder Nissan racing engines pumping out 298 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. The bodies are based on the innovative, third generation Frontier pickup, introduced in 2005.

Nissan will also be teaming with Carl Renezeder for the Nissan Motorsports' first full season in CORR Pro-2 competition. Renezeder's American Flyer Racing will campaign a new Lucas Oil Nissan Titan racer, powered by a 715-horsepower/500 lb-ft torque race version of the Titan's stock 5.6-liter Endurance V8 engine. Renezeder was the 2005 Pro-2 Champion and brings a proven race team and a lot of momentum as he switches to Nissan for the new race season.

"What more can you ask for than starting the year with the returning champion and crew in an all-new CORR Titan race truck?" said Stukenberg. "As with our factory stock pickups, the CORR combination of Titan and Frontier race trucks is going to be hard to beat."

Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) combines close, fender-to-fender racing on challenging closed course dirt tracks in the Midwest and Southern California. Now in its 9th season, CORR is arguably the largest and most watched off-road racing series in North America. The season kicks off May 20, 2006 - 21 in Chula Vista, Calif. Races will be televised on the SPEED Channel again in 2006.

"With its high speed, demanding tracks, CORR remains the perfect proving ground for the Frontier and Titan," said Stukenberg.

Nissan has a long heritage of Motorsports success, both off-road and on the track. In 2006, Nissan's Contingency Awards Program offers more than $125,000 in available awards to qualifying Nissan drivers, including those competing in CORR.