Is NASCAR ready for Travis Pastrana

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)
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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)

He was a star in his own right even before attempting to work his way up the ranks of America’s largest stock car auto racing sport. Nearly everyone under the age of 35 knows the name Travis Pastrana. He’s won medals at the X-Games, performed crazy and often dangerous stunts with the likes of the Nitro Circus and won titles in Rally Car and motocross racing.

All of that however wasn’t enough for the 29 year old Maryland native. A few years ago Pastrana headed to Florida  on a whim almost to compete in a Silver Crown race featuring NASCAR champion Tony Stewart.  Pastrana’s attitude towards NASCAR at the time can be evidenced by the t-shirt he wore that evening; emblazoned in a font and style similar to that used on the official NASCAR logo was the word ‘Boring’. Pastrana spent most the race towards the back of the field. But the sport of auto racing had started to get into his head.  He began to chart a course towards someday racing in NASCAR.

In 2011 Pastrana made his NASCAR debut at the Toyota All Start Showdown in California. He was scheduled to make his debut in the Nationwide series later that year, but injuries suffered at the X-Games delayed that first race. His debut finally came in April of 2012. He went on to compete in 8 races race in the K&N Pro Series for Michael Waltrip Racing and 8 races in the Nationwide Series for RAB Racing. His best finish a 13 at Indy. But it was his last Nationwide race in 2012 that showed Pastrana where his future may lie. Pastrana finished a respectable 17, racing for Roush-Fenway Racing’s number 60 Ford. MORE>>>

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.