BEMIDJI, MN -- X Games 12 superstar Travis Pastrana is leading early in the two-day Ojibwe Forests Rally this weekend in northern Minnesota.

After the first eight stages Friday, results put the motocrosser-turned-rally driver just two seconds ahead of challenger Matt Iorio. Italian driver Alfredo De Dominicis was in third, more than a minute and a half behind them.

“Our key is really to drive as smoothly as possible,” said Pastrana’s co-driver, Christian Edstrom. “We’re not taking any risks.”

Although widely expected to be a contender for the overall win at this rally, Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Ken Block crashed hard early in the first day and was out of the race.

Struggling for traction on the sandy surface, Block slid off the road and struck a tree head-on. Both he and co-driver Alex Gelsomino were unhurt, but the impact crumpled the front end of their Subaru WRX STi and it was not immediately clear whether the car – a very high-spec model built for the team’s recent X Games conquest - would drive again.

The crash puts Block’s second-place standing in the 2006 championship in jeopardy. If Iorio finishes well at this race, he is in a good position to move up.

Pastrana is the current championship leader and Edstrom said the driver is hoping to secure his position in the fight with a podium finish at this race. The pair are still hunting for their first overall win in the series.

The Ojibwe Forests Rally is a driver favorite in the nine-event series, offering technically challenging, flowing roads. Drivers say they can build a good rhythm on this course. Teams take on more than 100 miles of competition over the two-day course through the scenic 10,000 Lakes region of Minnesota, near the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Itasca State Park.

After eight stages Friday, the race resumes early Saturday afternoon with nine more competitive stages.

The Rally America Championship is the premier national rally series in the United States. Competitors vying for the title take on everything from snow and ice in northern Michigan in January, to the Nevada desert in December.

Rally car racing recently took the spotlight at X Games 12 in Los Angeles, where it debuted as a new action sport in the competition. Pastrana took the gold there after World Rally Championship veteran Colin McRae rolled just yards from the finish line.

Rally drivers are considered the best all-around drivers in motorsport due to their characteristic endurance and their ability to adapt to such a wide range of conditions and terrain.

Rally America, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, holds the sanctioning and marketing right to the Rally America Championship.

Competitors will next square off in Steamboat Springs, Co., for the Colorado Cog Rally.