STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO — Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana has got nothing to lose this weekend as teams take on the high desert stages of Rally Colorado, Round 8 of the Rally America Championship.

"I'm pretty excited," said Pastrana Saturday morning. "There's no pressure, it's just fun and going flat out."

The driver has already secured the 2009 title – with just two rounds remaining, nobody can catch him. But a tight pack of top drivers are still battling it out for the other spots in the top three.

But Pastrana's Subaru teammate Ken Block is going to have to work doubly hard if he wants to earn a podium this weekend. With his regular Open class rally car out of commission after a big wreck at Round 7, he has jumped into Dave Mirra's Super Production car for this event. Mirra is sitting his round out due to a conflict with his BMX competition schedule.

The lower-spec car is a big change for Block, whose aggressive style demands the high power available in his Open class car to pull him out of corners.

"It completely affects the way I'm driving," said Block, joking before the rally that with so little available horsepower to get the car up to speed, co-driver Alex Gelsomino "is going to have time for coffee and cigarettes between corners."

A very fast driver, Block has struggled this season to find a pace that earns him reliable finishes and he has DNF'd more rallies than he's finished. He's currently in third place in the championship, behind Polish newcomer Andi Mancin.

Mancin, who is running his first full Rally America Championship season this year in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, is still looking for his first overall U.S. win and is expected to mix it up at the front of the pack at this event. But early Saturday, he had doubts. The team was battling some technical issues with the car and Mancin said he was beginning to think his Mitsubishi was cursed.

Returning to the series after a two-round break is NOS Energy Drink's Andrew Comrie-Picard with his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. Just two points behind Ken Block in the overall standings, there is no doubt he will seriously challenge Block and Mancin for the runner-up position in the Championship point standings.

"It's tough having to miss rounds when the other guys are at every event," said Comrie-Picard. "We're playing catch-up, but we're going to make every round count this season and claw up the rankings."

Comrie-Picard is accompanied by guest co-driver Jeremy Wimpey at this event.

With the wildcard entry of Block in the Super Production class, regular contenders are planning their strategy. It is expected there will be a battle for points between Pat Moro and local driver Jimmy Keeney. Moro said Saturday he's not sure how hard he wants to push this weekend, but if he can secure second-place in the class, he'll enter the final round of the championship in a tie for the lead with Piotr Wiktorczyk, who is absent from this round.

In the two-wheel drive Class, expect another reliable performance by newcomer Dillon Van Way from Carencro, LA. The youngster has posted consistent results this season to take the class lead over Monument, Colorado's John Conley.

The Rally Colorado event poses unique challenges to rally teams. The high altitude and subsequent lack of oxygen at this event saps the rally cars' power. Despite this drain, the event has a reputation of being a one of the fastest in the Series featuring many high-speed sections on flowing roads. Expect variable weather and some dust if it is dry. The high altitude, coupled with fast straights places the high horsepower Open class cars at a distinct advantage.

The rally is headquartered in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, known as "Ski Town", USA. The small mountain community that’s home to numerous world-class ski and snowboarding events is also home to the largest ski jumping complex in America -- used for training by the US Olympic Ski Jumping Team.

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.

The 2009 Rally America National Championship series consists of nine exciting events that take place in a range of challenging weather and road conditions in a season that extends from February to October. Throughout the year, teams take on everything from the forest logging roads in Minnesota, to the Pacific Northwest forest and coast paths.

Top teams in the series are also invited to compete in the Summer X Games, the leading action sports event broadcast live on ABC and ESPN.

About Rally America, Inc.:
Based in Golden Valley, Minn., Rally America sanctions the premier rally racing series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. For 2009, Rally America conducts nine National Championship events at venues across the country.