Atlanta, Michigan -- Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana continued to widen his lead on Day 2 of the Sno*Drift rally in north-central Michigan.

By the middle of Day 2, he and co-driver Christian Edstrom were more than a minute ahead of the rest of the top field of X Games veterans and talented newcomers assembled for Round 1 of the 2008 Rally America Championship.

Pastrana said he had planned to adopt a conservative strategy for the day, in order to maintain his lead position and minimize the risk of mistakes. But after four of the days 11 stages, he said he was considering a change in plans.

"We probably backed off a little too much earlier today and we’re making more mistakes than we were yesterday," he said. "We’ll charge for the rest of it."

As expected, the remaining teams had already upped the pace on Day 2 in order to jostle for podium positions.

2007 Canadian champion Antoine L’Estage won three of four opening stages of the day to move into second place overall, while Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block spent 10 minutes in a ditch after overcooking a turn. The error dropped him back from second to eight-place overall.

"We’ll regroup and see where we are, and go from there," said Block’s co-driver Alex Gelsomino.

L’Estage, a winter driving veteran who is contesting the event for the first time in his Hyundai Tiburon, said he expected to have to fight for a top finish among a competitive field.

"We’re much happier with our performance today," L’Estage said at the midday service stop on Saturday. "It’s too bad we lost so much time yesterday; I think there’s too much time to make up on Travis."

The Canadian championship regular plans to contest select events in the Rally America series this year.

Trailing the leaders were Rockstar Energy driver Tanner Foust and Andrew Comrie-Picard, in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. Both drivers had been expected to challenge for the win at this contest, but were off the pace late on Day 1 and continued to struggle to make up time on Day 2.

"It’s going OK," said Foust, who was in third position overall at the midday service break. "But it’s a stiff suspension setup and we’re trying to drive around it."

Meanwhile, Foust’s teammates -- Rally America championship runner-up Andrew Pinker and co-driver Robbie Durant -- found themselves out of the contest before it really began. The duo retired early on Day 1 with a blown engine.

Pinker has returned to the championship alongside fellow Rockstar Energy driver Foust. Both are in 2006 Subaru WRX STi rally cars.

Conditions at this, the only winter-weather event in Rally America’s nine-event championship, are notoriously difficult, featuring a mixture of ice and snow conditions that award a smooth style of driving and strategic tire selection.

The day dawned cold and grey, and teams began the stages under a light dusting of snow.

More than 40 powerful rally cars took the start in Lewiston, Michigan, on Friday, for the two-day event covering100 stage miles of ice and snow. The event finishes late Saturday in Hillman.

Pastrana returns to the series this year as one of the two drivers of the Subaru Rally Team USA. Both he and driver Ken Block, who took third place overall in the 2007 championship, have returned in the Subaru WRX STi rally cars that earned them first and third-place in the 2007 championship.

The season opener also sees some exciting changes in the field. Matthew Johnson, who has long been a leader in the Production GT class, has moved up into the more powerful Open class of cars and is expected to quickly become a threat at the front of the pack. Former Production GT rival Kenny Bartram is also competing in the open class this season. Both are in Subaru rally cars.

Also, BMX superstar Dave Mirra is also making his US rally debut at this round. He is driving a Monster Energy-backed Subaru Impreza. Notably absent is series regular Matthew Iorio, who recently announced his official retirement from the sport.

The Sno and Drift Regional Rallies will run concurrently as part of the 2008 Rally America Central Regional Rally Championship.

The Rally America national championship is a challenging, all-season series comprised of nine events across the country, beginning with Sno*Drift in January and wrapping up in October with the Lake Superior Performance Rally.

In addition to the championship title, teams are vying for a chance to complete at the high-profile X Games 14 Rally Car Race this summer in Los Angeles. It is expected that the top performers at the early season championship rounds will receive an invitation to compete at the California contest.