POMEROY, WA — Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block is the competitor to beat at Round 3 of the Rally America championship, setting top times on every stage early in the contest to blaze away from the rest of the field. "On these fast stages, it’s about knowing where you can push and where you can’t," said Block, who is competing alongside regular co-driver Alex Gelsomino. The championship leader favors the high-speed conditions that make up the event.

The two-day event, which has shifted to a new location for this year, covers 117 miles of eastern Washington roads. The course crosses wheat and barley fields before dropping into gullies that drain into the Snake River and features long straights where drivers push the needle to 130 miles-per-hour. "You really have to love going that fast," said Block.

He is looking to extend his lead in the championship standings over drivers Andrew 'ACP' Comrie-Picard, and Matt Johnson - who are right behind him in the points.

In second place after six stages at Olympus were the Subaru Rally Team USA crew of Travis Pastrana and co-driver Derek Ringer. After tough luck at the first round, Pastrana entered this event in sixth-place overall.

Battling for third place after six stages are Comrie-Picard, in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, and Rockstar Energy driver Tanner Foust in his Subaru STi. Comrie-Picard had the podium position by six-seconds midway through Day 1.

Foust and co-driver Chrissie Beavis are again battling mechanical trouble early in the contest. A fuel-pump failure on the way out of the second service stop of the day cost them a 30-second penalty. The duo earned sixth-place at Round 1, and failed to finish Round 2.

His teammate Andy Pinker, meanwhile, was struggling with the pace. After six stages, he was in ninth-place overall.

It’s a change in fortune for the team in 2008. Foust scored X Games Gold in 2007, and Pinker was the championship runner-up last season.

Rounding out the top-5 was Matt Johnson, who said early in the day that he was aiming for a clean and consistent run in his new Hankook-Rallispec Subaru WRX STi. The 2007 Production GT champion has shown promise so far this season in the more aggressive Open class.

In addition to the championship title, drivers are vying for a chance to compete at the high-profile X Games this summer in Los Angeles. Top teams after the first five rounds of the championship are expected to receive an invitation to the contest, with a wild-card entry selected sometime in July.

The storied Olympus Rally, which once featured on the World Rally calendar, moved from its traditional location near Olympia, Wash., 300 miles east to Pomeroy, Wash., for 2008. It is expected to return to its traditional location in 2009.