SALEM, MO -- Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block is leading a fast and competitive field at the Rally of the 100 Acre Wood this weekend in Missouri.

The driver, who took his first career win at this event last year, has been charging hard from the start. He and co-driver Alex Gelsomino won four of the opening five stages of the race.

"He really enjoys these roads," said Gelsomino after Friday's leg. "He absolutely loves them and it builds his confidence."

After Day 1, ex-factory Subaru driver Ramana Lagemann is in second -- 26 seconds behind Block. Lagemann said his confidence is growing with the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII he is campaigning at this race. "So far, it's going really well," said Lagemann. "I'm taking my time getting used to this car."

Another 10 seconds behind Lagemann is Andrew "ACP" Comrie-Picard in his new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.

"This is our first time on gravel with this car and we're pleased with where we're sitting right now," said Comrie-Picard at the end of Day 1. "But it's a very competitive field and anything can happen on the second day."

In order to win at this race, teams will have to drive aggressively through the area's winding gravel roads and uniquely challenging water crossings known as "low-water bridges." The contest started under sunny springtime skies, but forecasters are expecting rain on Saturday that will turn the roads to slick mud.

"There are at least nine guys here who could legitimately win this race," defending Rally America champion Travis Pastrana said Friday. "That's awesome."

Pastrana finished the day in fourth place.

Teams are vying for a chance to complete at the high profile X Games 13 this summer in Los Angeles. It is expected that the top six teams after the first five championship rounds will receive an invitation to compete at the contest.

Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana took the win at the first-ever X Games Rally in 2006 (barely edging out rally legend Colin McRae who rolled just seconds from the finish line).

Unusual in Rally America contests, competitors took the opportunity to review the roads at low speeds on Thursday in a practice known as reconnaissance. The added confidence of having seen the course could mean teams demonstrate even faster speeds than usual.

"Ken has a very good memory," observed Gelsomino. "He remembers the details of particular corners very well. For him to see the road, I think has been very good for him."

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 2007 Rally America National Championship series consists of ten exciting events throughout the country in many different weather and road conditions. The series takes on everything from the forest logging roads in Minnesota, to the high-altitude Yampa River Valley in Northwest Colorado, and the Pacific Northwest forest and coast paths.

The Rally America Championship airs on ESPN2 starting in May.