SALEM, MO. — Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block overcame treacherous conditions to gain a decisive lead in Day 1 of the Rally of the 100 Acre Wood.

Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino have taken wins in the two previous years at this event and, early in the two-day contest, they were favored to make it three in a row.

“These are fast roads,” said Block early on Day 1. “You just have to commit on them.”

Travis Pastrana and his new co-driver Derek Ringer ended the day in second place, 30 seconds behind their Subaru Rally Team USA teammates.

The two teams were among the few series leaders having a clean run on Friday. A late-season winter storm in southern Missouri turned the course roads to ice and many contenders had trouble.

The Rockstar Energy crew of Tanner Foust and co-driver Chrissie Beavis pulled into the final control of the night with damage to the front-left corner of their Subaru after bumping a fence on an icy turn. With 10 stages remaining, they were in third place.

Their Rockstar Energy teammates Andrew Pinker and co-driver Robbie Durant were off the pace all day, and dropped back to eighth place in their Subaru after a pair of flat tires on Stage 4.

“We had some problems, to put it mildly,” said Pinker.

Andrew Comrie-Picard and co-driver Marc Goldfarb ended Day 1 in sixth place in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, pulling into the final stop of the night on a tow rope after puncturing their radiator in a spin on the icy course.

Both Pinker and Comrie-Picard were expected to return to the contest for Day 2, but both will have to battle hard in the 10 remaining stages to regain a shot at the podium.

Fourth at the end of the day were Matthew Johnson and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey, who were picking up speed as they became accustomed to their new Open class car.

“I’m having fun,” said Johnson. “I’m having a lot of fun.”

First-round podium finishers Kyle Sarasin and Mikael Johansson rounded out the top 5 at the end of the night.

Meanwhile, Canadian snow and ice veterans Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard were forced to retire early in their Hyundai Tiburon. The duo had started strong and were battling with Block for the early lead, but they were unable to continue past Stage 3.

While the first round of the Rally America Championship – Sno*Drift – typically takes place on ice and snow, the unusual nature of the weather in Missouri during Round 2 has added an extra element of risk for competitors. Winter events like Sno*Drift typically feature forgiving snow banks that keep cars from sliding off the road, but there is nothing but danger off the line at this event.

The rally, through the scenic Ozark foothills of southern Missouri, began under threatening skies on Friday, with more icy rain and cold weather expected on Day 2.

In addition to the 2008 championship title, teams are vying for a chance to complete at the high-profile X Games 14 this summer in Los Angeles. It is expected that the top teams after the first five championship rounds will receive an invitation to compete at the California contest.

Rally car racing is considered the extreme sport of automobile racing and is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” This all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over courses that cover more than 100 miles of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads.

The 2008 Rally America National Championship series consists of nine exciting events throughout the country in many different weather and road conditions. Throughout the year, teams take on everything from the forest logging roads in Minnesota, to the high-altitude Yampa River Valley in Northwest Colorado, and the Pacific Northwest forest and coast paths. The series moves west for the next round, the Olympus Rally in Olympia, Washington, April 19 to 20.