VERNONIA, OR — Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana continued to pull away from the pack on Saturday, during Day 2 of the Oregon Trail Rally in Portland, Oregon.

But the challenging course forced both his teammate – current championship leader Ken Block – and up-and-comer Matt Johnson out of the contest early.

Johnson’s Hankook-Rallispec Subaru suffered significant damage after he went off road on Stage 6, while Block retired his Monster Energy Subaru one stage later. There were no injuries in either crash.

Trailing Pastrana with just one stage remaining on Saturday was 2007 X Games Rally gold medalist Tanner Foust. But with another day of competition still to go, his rally was not going smoothly.

The mechanical trouble that has plagued the Rockstar Energy team all season looked set to spoil another rally for the talented driver. Engine trouble early in the day cost him and co-driver Chrissie Beavis 40 seconds as his crew thrashed to get them back into the contest.

“The engine seized after Stage 6,” said Foust. “We were taking our driving suits off and cracking Rockstars when the guys got it running again.”

Although he seemed on the pace late in the day, he said he was still fighting a lagging car. His Rockstar Energy teammate Andy Pinker retired due to mechanical trouble.

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

It is expected that the top teams after the first five championship rounds will receive an invitation to compete at the X Games.

Pastrana, a veteran two-wheeler, pulled into the lead on Day 1, during the tight spectator super special stages that wound through the motocross and race tracks at the Portland International Raceway.

With just one stage remaining on Day 2, young driver Kyle Sarasin was in third place, while Andrew Comrie-Picard’s Mitsubishi wasn’t far behind him.

“Our approach is to go out today and perform at 80 per cent of our top speed,” said Comrie-Picard on Saturday. “We’re exploring some new differential technology and our aim is to be smart, and be there at the finish.”

In addition to the overall standings, a battle was also raging in the Production-GT class. With one stage remaining on Day 2, Piotr Wiktorczyk and co-driver Benjamin Slocum were in fifth place overall, and leading the class in their Subaru Impreza. Stephan Verdier and co-driver Scott Crouch were just 14 seconds behind them in their Subaru WRX.

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.

Andrew Havas and co-driver Pete Pollard were leading the two-wheel drive charge in their 1989 Honda Civic, just six seconds ahead of Chris Duplessis and co-driver Karen Wanger in their Group 5 Dodge SRT 4.

The three-day contest includes 16 competitive stages, with the action taking place on the challenging logging roads near Vernonia, and Hillsboro on Saturday and Sunday.

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. Block, Johnson and BMX hero Dave Mirra all fell pray to the conditions.

“We repeated a stage today that was like a rally car graveyard, there were so many crashes,” said Foust.

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.