Pastrana Could Be Crowned Rally Champion This Weekend

(Oct 19, 2006) - X Games superstar turned rally driver Travis Pastrana is on the verge of being crowned the Overall Driver's Champion of the 2006 Rally America National Championship.  To mathematically secure the championship Pastrana needs only a 6th place or better finish on the penultimate round of the series, this weekend's Lake Superior Performance Rally. Pastrana and his co-driver Christian Edstrom have have dominated this season, having driven their BFGoodrich Tires shod 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI to either a 1st or 2nd overall finish on all but one Rally America event this year.  Most notably, the 23 year-old, in only his second full season of rallying, would become the youngest ever Overall champion in U.S. rallying history.

"The goal is to cruise to the finish, we only need to finish 6th or better, so we'll be going very slow, painfully slow probably!" explained Pastrana.  "Although, this rally is really difficult with crazy weather and always slick roads, so slowing down may be the right approach for everyone."

The Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR) is round 8 of 9 of the 2006 Rally America National Championship.  The classic event is based around the scenic Upper Peninsula of northern Michigan and includes 120 competitive stage miles including both gravel and tarmac roads.  Mother Nature is anything but predictable at LSPR, with rain, snow and muddy road conditions expected.

Pastrana's Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Ken Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino sit in 3rd overall in the Rally America National Championship and will be pushing hard at LSPR to close the gap to 2nd Overall.  "We still have a shot at getting 2nd Overall in the Championship and need a win here to do so, however we are also defending our 3rd overall position from several fast drivers at our heels, so we certainly have some pressure on us," said Ken Block.
LSPR kicks off at 2pm Friday, October 20th and will include two days of rallying, finishing at approximately 7pm Saturday evening. Follow the rally live at www.rally-america.com and check for daily Subaru Rally Team USA photo and news updates at www.rally.subaru.com.

Subaru Rally Team USA is proudly supported by DC Shoes, BFGoodrich Tires, STI (Subaru Tecnica International), SPT (Subaru Performance Tuning), Alpinestars, Motul, PIAA, Recaro, Meguiars and Vermont SportsCar.