Wellsboro, PA — The early stages of the Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally are expected to be tough on cars and teams, with competitors all forced to walk the fine line between preserving their equipment and setting fast times.

Rockstar Energy driver Tanner Foust says the name of the game for his team on Friday afternoon is “survival.”

“We’ll give up half a second here, and half a second there to make sure we bring back a whole car at the end of the night,” says Foust.

But current series points leader Andrew Comrie-Picard says he plans to start strong on Friday in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX – and try to avoid any serious damage.

“We’re going to set a good pace and hopefully not be the ones who break,” he said. “We’re looking at the championship right now and Ken (Block) and Travis (Pastrana) aren’t going to give us any room for mistakes.”

For their part, Subaru Rally Team USA drivers Pastrana and Block are also expected to start strong in their brand-new competition cars. Pastrana’s experience on two wheels makes him a pro in difficult terrain, while Block’s typical event strategy is to build an early lead.

The team is debuting their new ’08 Subaru STi competition vehicles at this event and both drivers are enthusiastic.

“I feel really good about the new car,” said Pastrana. “I drove it yesterday in a test session and I’m really looking forward to seeing how it does.”

Monster Energy driver Dave Mirra – who is making the move from BMX to rally car racing this year – is also debuting a new car. He is stepping up from his naturally aspirated “starter” car into the top-spec Open class car that Block has used prior to this event.

Rally cars are taking on the notoriously challenging STPR for a 32nd year in 2008. Vehicles will thunder through the state forests near the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon on Friday and Saturday. This year, the event debuts a new event sponsor, North America’s largest recycler, Waste Management, and the new format that includes rallying for the first time on Friday as well as Saturday.

Based in Golden Valley, Minn., Rally America sanctions the premier rally racing series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. This event is the fifth round of the 2008 championship series.

In addition to championship points, drivers are vying for a starting position at the summer X Games this August in Los Angeles. Top scorers after this round of the championship are expected to secure an invitation to the high-profile contest. The Summer X Games is broadcast live on ABC and ESPN.

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.