One fan at a time

CONCORD, NC - JANUARY 24: Driver Travis Pastrana is introduced as teammates Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Carl Edwards and team owner Jack Roush watch on during the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour on January 24, 2013 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR)
CONCORD, NC - JANUARY 24:  Driver Travis Pastrana is introduced as teammates Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Carl Edwards and team owner Jack Roush watch on during the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour on January 24, 2013 in Concord, North Carolina.  (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR)
CONCORD, NC – JANUARY 24: Driver Travis Pastrana is introduced as teammates Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Carl Edwards and team owner Jack Roush watch on during the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour on January 24, 2013 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Charlotte, N.C. — Travis Pastrana has more than half a million Twitter followers, ranking him first — decisively — among full-time Nationwide Series drivers.

Pastrana’s fans, however, know him best for dangerous extreme-sports tricks that last two or three seconds. How does Pastrana convert those followers — many of whom fall into the 18-34-year-old age group NASCAR covets — to NASCAR fans, as he begins a full Nationwide Series season with Roush Fenway Racing.

He’s already started. Pastrana took some of his extreme-sports friends to a NASCAR race. They left with eyes wide open.

“It’s funny, because last year, a couple of my friends from the action sports were like, ‘Oh, come on — NASCAR?'” Pastrana told the NASCAR Wire Service on Thursday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. “So I brought ’em down to Daytona, and we saw the Shootout (now the Sprint Unlimited), and Jeff Gordon ended up on his roof sliding to within five feet of where we were sitting.

“Half of the guys that I brought went to other events — not even events that I was in, just other events that year. When they see the speed, when they see the intensity of NASCAR, no one can go to a race and not be a fan.”

Pastrana knows, however, that in order to retain fans for his racing efforts, he needs to perform.

“My goal is just simply to drive the best I can, because, even if I bring them over and they want to watch me, no one wants to watch someone at the end of a year, or at the end of two years still in 20th place,” he said.

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.