ATLANTA, MI — Three teams were within striking distance of the lead early Friday evening at Sno*Drift as the competition began to heat up at the first round of the 2009 Rally America championship season.

Pastrana, who has partnered again with co-driver Christian Edstrom after his year-long hiatus from the sport, said he was looking forward to an exciting contest.

�The top three teams are very close, so this should be a good rally,� said Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana, the defending champion, who held a slim lead after four stages.

Ken Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino were close behind their Subaru Rally Team USA teammates and treading carefully in the slick conditions.

�Ice and snow rallies are lotteries,� said Gelsomino. �We don�t want to mess with this stuff anymore.�

It was a deliberate change of strategy for the duo, who typically start aggressively and then attempt to defend their leading position over the course of an event. But the crew has previously struggled in winter conditions -- often crashing off the road while pushing hard for an early lead.

In third place after the opening stages was Rockstar Energy driver Tanner Foust, who is expected to pick up the pace as he becomes accustomed to the Hyundai Tiburon he is running for the first time at this event.

The 2003 Tiburon, prepared by rally legend John Buffum, is considered very competitive � although it has recently begun to show its age. Canadian Antoine L�Estage piloted the car to the win at this event last year.

In fourth place, with four stages remaining, was NOS Energy driver Andrew �ACP� Comrie-Picard who said he was finding his legs in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX after the off-season break. Close behind him was series newcomer Andi Mancin, a polish rally and road race driver who is expected to contest the series for the first time this year in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.

Leading the charge in Super Production, a new class for 2009 that features lightly modified high performance vehicles, were Pitor Wiktorczyk and co-driver Robbie Durant. The duo were sitting in sixth place overall � less than 30 seconds behind Mancin.

Young driver Kyle Sarasin and co-driver Alex Kihurani were setting the pace in the new 2WD class, sitting in 13th overall -- 12 minutes ahead of the next-fastest two-wheel drive car. Sarasin ended the 2008 season in third-place overall after a successful Open class campaign. He has returned to his two-wheel drive roots for this event.

Sno*Drift is the first stop on the 2009 Rally America National Championship. The snow and ice event is headquartered in Atlanta, Michigan, and passes through the towns of Lewiston and Hillman.

Conditions are a combination of fresh snow and glazed ice � with increasingly heavy snow falling as the event progressed on Friday evening. Current rules restrict rally cars from using studded ice tires, which makes finding traction an art form for teams.

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 2009, Rally America will conduct nine National Championship events at venues across the country, from Olympia, Wash., to Bethel, Maine. Rally America competitors reach speeds well over 100 mph in modified street cars on natural-terrain courses of gravel, dirt or snow. Additionally, through a partnership with ESPN, qualifying Rally America drivers are invited to compete in the Summer X Games, the annual leading action sports event that is broadcast live on ABC and ESPN.