SALEM, MO. — Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block is still in the lead of the 100 Acre Wood Rally.

After starting strong on Day 1, Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino managed to hold on to their 30-second margin over teammates Travis Pastrana and co-driver Derek Ringer until late on Day 2.

While it appeared that the two leading Subaru crews were content to hold position heading into the final stages, the battle to watch was for third place.

Matthew Johnson and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey were making full use of their new Open class Subaru to hold off a charge by Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and co-driver Marc Goldfarb in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.

“We’re still just driving comfortably, but I found a little more in this car and I think I can go a little faster,” said Johnson after 12 stages

The two teams traded times all day, but a spin on Stage 12 cost Comrie-Picard and Goldfarb precious seconds as they struggled to make up a 30-second deficit to Johnson and Wimpey.

“We’re pushing as hard as we can without crashing badly,” said Comrie-Picard, who pulled into the final service break of Day 2, battling transmission trouble and with new damage to the front left corner of his car. “It’s now a fine line between wanting to be on the podium, and getting to the finish at all.”

In a show of the good-natured competition among these competitors, Johnson’s team towed the rival Mitsubishi across the Day 1 finish after they damaged the car in a spin.

The rally was tough for many top teams.

Rockstar Energy’s Tanner Foust and co-driver Chrissie Beavis were in third place early Saturday when mechanical trouble knocked them out of the contest. Their teammates Andy Pinker and co-driver Robbie Durant were off the pace from the start, and were struggling to climb into the top five.

Canadians Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard failed to finish on Day 1 while battling Block for the lead.

Meanwhile, 18-year-old driver Kyle Sarasin and Mikael Johansson were putting in a solid performance to sit in fifth-place overall after 12 stages. The duo finished third at the first round -- their first overall podium finish.

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.