PORTLAND, OR — Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana took the early lead on Day 1 of the Oregon Trail Rally in Portland, Oregon.

The opening day featured mixed tarmac and gravel demonstration stages in front of the grandstands on the tarmac track and through a motocross course at the Portland International Raceway.

Veteran two-wheeler Pastrana had a definite advantage on the tight dirt stages, while Rockstar Energy driver Tanner Foust’s experience in the track-based sport of drifting vaulted him into second place.

Pastrana’s teammate Ken Block finished Day 1 in third place after an off-course excursion on the final stage of the night. He cracked the front of his Subaru hard, but the damage appeared largely cosmetic. His service crew was expected to return the car to fighting form overnight.

The drivers in the fourth through seventh positions were locked in a virtual tie after Day 1 – only 13 seconds apart. Former PGT champion Matt Johnson was leading the group of X Games hopefuls, followed by Andy Pinker, Andrew Comrie-Picard, and Kyle Sarasin.

Among those drivers it is Pinker who is most eager to score some serious points this weekend. He has had a weak start to the season, and is currently four-way tie for 19th overall in the standings. The Rockstar Energy driver said early Friday he is cautiously confident he can turn his season around.

“These are the best roads in the country,” said Pinker, who has won this event the previous two years. “Their technical nature suits me.”

The contest makes the move to the challenging logging roads near Vernonia, and Hillsboro for Days 2 and 3. These roads are technical in nature, featuring what’s known as a crown – where the road is higher in the center and slopes down to the ditches – that can easily unbalance a competition vehicle if the driver strays off the ideal line.

Unpredictable weather in the area often means damp conditions, but drivers arrived at the Portland International Raceway on Friday to temperatures hovering in the 90s. Heat and dust are more likely to be a factor than the snow that threatened the region just weeks ago.

The 2008 Rally America National Championship series consists of nine exciting events throughout the country in many different weather and road conditions spanning the forest logging roads in Minnesota, the high-altitude Yampa River Valley in Northwest Colorado to the Pacific Northwest forest and coast paths.

Rally America drivers are competing for valuable points in the first six races in the 2008 season to qualify for spots to compete in X Games 14 as Rally Car Racing will make its third showing at this summer’s X Games in Los Angeles.

The Oregon Trail Rally also serves as Round 1 of the Max Attack! Triple Crown Rally Series, a three-event series is set up to reward drivers of two-wheel drive vehicles.

About Rally America
Based in Golden Valley, Minn., Rally America sanctions the premier rally racing series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. In 2008, Rally America will conduct nine National Championship events at venues across the country, from Pomeroy, Wash., to Bethel, Maine. Rally America competitors reach speeds well over 100mph in modified street cars on natural-terrain courses of gravel, dirt or snow. Additionally, through a partnership with ESPN, qualifying Rally America drivers will be invited to compete in the Summer X Games, the annual leading action-sport event that is broadcast live on ABC and ESPN. For more information, visit www.rally-america.com.