In the last few years it seems more and more familiar faces from other action action sports keep showing up in rally car racing.  A few years back, freestyle motocross riders Travis Pastrana and Kenny Bartram made the transition, with success.  In fact, Pastrana has conquered the sport with the same intensity that made him a FMX superstar.

Pastrana won his third-straight Rally America Championship this season, edging teammate Ken Block (founder of DC Shoes) and cementing his place among the best of the sport.

Joining Pastrana and Block on the Rally America Championship series this season was BMX rider Dave Mirra, who juggled his rally racing with BMX contests.  Still, Mirra performed better than any other rookie driver this season and was honored as “Rookie of the Year” as a result.

The first of the 2009 season’s nine stops will kick off on January 30 with the SnoDrift Rally.  Visit the Rally America site for more.

There aren’t many dudes, or babes, out there who can transition from one sport to another with ease.  Not only that, but many that do make the transition have a difficult time accomplishing any kind of success for themselves.  The most notable I think is Michael Jordon.  During a long suspension given to him by the NBA, Michael took up baseball and for a couple of seasons, failed miserably at it. 

Another account of an athlete taking up another line of challenging work is Filipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao.  While already at the top of the boxing world, Manny decided to take up singing as well.  Not sure if his music generates sales, but I can assure you, he’s no Julio Iglesias.

Well the case isn’t the same for Moto superstar Travis Pastrana.  Since his introduction to the Rally Car scene, he’s had an unprecedented dominance over the sport making his transition not only smooth, but highly successful.  Check out the press release below featuring his success and what he he’s looking at in the near future.  

(Houghton, MI) – Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block took a decisive win in the final event of the 2008 Rally America season this weekend in Michigan’s upper peninsula to join teammate Travis Pastrana atop the championship standings.

“I’m glad to end the season with the win,” said Block. “Now I’ve got some momentum going into next year, so I’m happy.”

The victory this weekend at the Lake Superior Performance Rally brought Block into second place in the championship, while strong performances all-season long meant Pastrana had already secured the title before this final contest even began.

Motocross superstar Pastrana has made an incredible transition from two wheels to four over the past few years and was the season standout this year, taking podium finishes at all but two events. He also scored his second X Games Rally Car Racing gold medal this summer.

“Consistency was on my side this year,” said Pastrana. “There are a lot of great drivers in the series, but budgets run out for a lot of guys before the end of the season and that’s too bad.”

Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino had a strong start to the season, winning a pair of events early in the year. But a string of DNFs dropped the duo back in the standings and they entered the Lake Superior Performance Rally in third place in the series.

The early stages on Friday saw Kyle Sarasin and his co-driver Mikael Johansson in a tight fight with Block and Gelsomino for the rally lead, but electrical trouble and heavy dust late in the evening saw the team fall behind and they couldn’t make up for lost time. Sarasin and Johansson finished second place at this event to wind up third overall in the 2008 Rally America championship.

“It’s good to finish on the podium,” said Sarasin. “But it’s a little frustrating to have three second-place finishes in a row – it’s hard to catch those guys.”

With the driver’s title already sewn up before this event, Pastrana changed up his team. He asked legendary driver and longtime advisor John Buffum to join him this weekend in the co-driver’s seat. The duo were aiming for a strong finish, but said their objective was to enjoy a fun weekend together in the car. Mission accomplished: Pastrana and Buffum finished the event third overall with wide smiles on their faces.

“My biggest plan for next year is to come back and reclaim this championship,” said Pastrana. “I’m looking forward to an amazing battle next year.”

Andi Mancin and co-driver Maciej Wislawski earned fourth place in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. Mancin, who is a Polish championship contender, made his debut competition appearance in the Rally America championship at this event.

Fifth place in the event went to rally veteran Doug Shepherd and co-driver Karen Wagner in their Group 5 Dodge Neon SRT-4. The team were by far the fastest two-wheel drive competitors this weekend, finishing over five minutes ahead of their closest two-wheel drive rivals.

Patrick Moro and co-driver Mike Rossey took the Production GT class win in their Subaru WRX and secured the 2008 Production GT title.

The Group 2 class win went to Michel Hoche-Mong and co-driver Jimmy Brandt in their Volkswagen GTI. Their victory here also earned them the 2008 Group 2 title.

Tough luck put Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and co-driver Marc Goldfarb out of the contest early on Friday. The duo had been among the contenders for the championship runner-up position, but a spark plug failure left them down on power and they rolled their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX while trying to make up time. They finished the season fourth overall, ahead of Rockstar Energy’s Andy Pinker and Hankook-Rallispec driver Matt Johnson – who tied for fifth in the points.

The 2008 Rally America Production class championship went to brothers Jan and Jody Zedril, who were absent from competition this weekend due to a scheduling conflict with an event at home in Canada. The 2008 Group 5 driver’s title went to John Conley, while the top Group 5 co-driver was Karen Wagner. Chris Duplessis earned top driver’s points in the two-wheel drive category.

All results and titles are considered provisional pending official reviews.

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 2008 Rally America National Championship series consists of nine exciting events throughout the country in many different weather and road conditions. Throughout the year, teams take on everything from snow-covered trails of Michigan, forest-logging roads in Minnesota, coastal paths of the Pacific Northwest, fast but rocky challenges of New England, to the high-altitude roads of Northwest Colorado, and finally to its conclusion in the fall splendor of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The series returns to Michigan for the season-opener in January.

There’s no doubt in anybody’s mind that Danny Way went way beyond anyone’s expectations after the abuse his body received.  Especially that incredibly nasty leg decapitation.  And there’s no doubt that Danny Way is an outstanding athlete.  Well despite not winning gold and receiving the silver at X-Games 14, the people spoke and voted him the Subaru “Outstanding Athlete Award”.   And with that prestigious honor, Danny will receive a 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX.  I think the vehicle is good for Rally Car Racing. 

San Diego-area skateboarders and fans have a great opportunity to personally meet and greet Danny Way, X Games 14 Big Air competition silver medalist and the Subaru Most Outstanding Athlete of the Games. Danny will receive keys to an all new 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX Thursday and sign autographs for the first 50 fans.  Check out the details below. 

WHO:  Subaru of America, Inc. and pro Skateboarder, Danny Way
When: Thursday, October 16, 2008 – 4:30 pm
Where: Bob Baker Subaru
900 Arnele Avenue
El Cajon, CA  92020

Although I’m not really a big rally fan, I might join this photo contest.  I don’t even own a good photo camera but I just might just use my old Polaroid just to win the prize. And I definitely don’t own a rally car so I think ill just take my dad’s beat up Volvo and go drive it through some dirt.  I may possibly win.

The winner of the contest gets some of the dopest looking pair of DC’s ever.  The reason why they’re so cool is because Adidas put out a pair very reminiscent to these a few decades ago and they used be worn by Crips.  As in Bloods and Crips.  When I used to skate around LA as a youngster in these, gangstas used to give me props.  Those were good times.  Good thing I never ran into any Bloods.  Read the press release below on how you can compete with me for these Crip Boots.  Imagine having a year’s supply of them!

It may be the end of the 2008 Rally America season, but that does not mean the fun has to stop! Rally America has teamed up with DC Shoes to host a 6 week photo contest where rally fans vote for weekly winners to compete for the grand prize of a year’s supply of DC Shoes!

Voting begins on October 19th, fresh after the Lake Superior Performance Rally, you can submit your photos at http://rally-america.com/contests/ (starting October 10th) each week to compete for the grand prize round. Rally Fans will then be given the opportunity to vote for each week’s winner to advance to the grand prize round.

The grand prize winner will receive a year’s supply of DC Shoes and each weekly runner up will get a pair of DC Shoes. Thank you to DC Shoes for the generous prizes!

Any past or present Rally America event photographs of rally cars in action, lifestyle shots, or caught-in-the-moment pictures are welcome for submission. Creativity and artistry will be considered by a panel of photographers who will select the best shots based on relevancy and appeal to be displayed for voting.

Please see http://rally-america.com/contests/ for contest rules and photographic parameters.

As his career continued, Block’s speed and skill behind the wheel became apparent and he signed on with Subaru Rally Team USA in 2006. From there he went on to take Bronze at X Games 12 in Los Angeles, and 2nd overall in the Rally America National Championship in 2006. In 2007 he had another solid year, winning the Silver Medal at the X Games 13 Rally and finishing 3rd Overall in the Rally America National Championship.

Airing Wednesday, August 13, at 9:00 pm Eastern Time (6:00 pm Pacific Time) and telecast three additional times, Ken Block will appear on “The Daily Habit.” Daily Habit is towering over Los Angeles on the rooftop of the Standard Hotel for DC Week on The Daily Habit with special guest Ken Block also the co-founder and Chief Brand Manager of DC shoes.