The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team was fighting at the top during Round 5 of the Global RallyCross Championship held July 20th at Bristol Motor Speedway. Team driver Sverre Isachsen, a former three-time European RallyCross Champion, won his heat race advancing him to the front row of the Final. An impressive start by the Norwegian saw him run as high as 2nd Overall before race-contact crushed his exhaust, robbing his Subaru STI of power and dropping him back to 4th Overall, the team's best finish thus far in 2013 after competing in three earlier events. Teammates Dave Mirra and Bucky Lasek showed impressive pace but narrowly missed out on advancing to the Final. On the other side of the country, at the New England Forest Rally, Subaru Rally Team USA is preparing for a different task. With a lead in championship points, an outsider would suggest the team could coast to a championship. The reality within the team is entirely different. One bad result and their lead is erased. Progress and pace are only found in hard work and constant attention to detail. Their speed is a result of every piece of the puzzle clicking together with perfection. With two events remaining after the New England Forest Rally, you wouldn't call this the home stretch, but everyone's focus is starting to shift to the bigger picture. The loss and gain of seconds, stage by stage, shows how close the battle is with their rivals. Day one ends with the Subaru team conceding 16 seconds to Block... but the dust is far from settled.