VERNONIA, OR — With one day of competition remaining, Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana was on track to take the win of the Oregon Trail Rally.

Heading into the contest’s final four stages, Pastrana had built a healthy lead over his closest challenger, 2007 X Games Rally gold medalist Tanner Foust.

Even so, he said Saturday he wasn’t planning to take it easy on the final day of the rally.

“I run one pace. If I slow up, I crash,” said Pastrana.

Despite mechanical trouble early on, Rockstar Energy's Foust and co-driver Chrissie Beavis had picked up the pace and were setting leading stage times by the end of Day 2.

“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster for everyone involved on the team,” said Foust. His teammate Andy Pinker was forced to retire due to mechanical trouble earlier in the day.

Andrew Comrie-Picard, meanwhile, overhauled young driver Kyle Sarasin to end Day 2 in third-place overall.

“We’re aiming for a clean run and a podium finish this weekend,” said Comrie-Picard. “We have an important race in Canada next weekend and we can’t afford to take any chances with the car.”

In addition to competing in the Rally America series, Comrie-Picard runs his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX in the Canadian Rally Championship.

A battle was also raging in the Production-GT class. After Day 2, it was Stephan Verdier and co-driver Scott Crouch who were in the class lead -- and in fifth-place overall. The duo overhauled Piotr Wiktorczyk and co-driver Benjamin Slocum on the final stage of the day.

The area 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.

Championship leader Ken Block and up-and-comer Matt Johnson both found themselves out of the contest early after off-road excursions. Johnson’s Hankook-Rallispec Subaru went off road on Stage 6, while Block retired his Monster Energy Subaru one stage later.

Block’s car was virtually unharmed after it was hauled back onto the road, and Johnson was in good spirits at the end of Day 2 as he surveyed the damage to his car. Even though Johnson and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey's Subaru tumbled off the road and rolled down an embankment, they were uninjured and the damage appeared largely cosmetic.

“That’s how we roll,” said the ever-positive Johnson.

In addition to championship points, teams are vying for an invitation to the X Games Rally this summer in Los Angeles. It is expected that the top teams after the first five championship rounds will receive an invitation to compete there.

The poor showing for Pinker and co-driver Robbie Durant make them a long shot for the high-profile Los Angeles contest this summer. The duo entered Round 4 of the Rally America championship in a four-way tie for 19th overall in the standings.

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. After Day 2, Andrew Havas and co-driver Pete Pollard were leading the two-wheel drive charge in their 1989 Honda Civic.

The three-day contest includes 14 competitive stages, with the action concluding near Vernonia and Hillsboro on Sunday.

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 a factor – even though snow 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.

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.