I agree, the drivers that were chosen won, and they have a very large following throughout the US which is good for spreading the word on rally.
This result may have a bigger impact on the general publics exposer to the sport of rally than if regular US rally drivers were invited.
Dare I say, it may be worth more to us than the Speed chanels coverage of the SCCA events, which tend to make US rally look very lame to the average US motorsport enthusiast.
pete