Travis Pastrana
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Travis Alan Pastrana (born October 8, 1983) is an American professional
motorsports Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...
competitor and
stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...
who has won championships and
X Games The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, ...
gold medals in several disciplines, including
supercross The AMA Supercross Championship (commercially known as Monster Energy AMA Supercross) is an American motorcycle racing series. Founded by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1974, the AMA Supercross Championship races are held from ...
, motocross, freestyle motocross, and rally racing. He runs a show called '' Nitro Circus'' and the rallycross racing series
Nitro Rallycross Nitro Rallycross (Nitro RX, abbreviated to NRX) is an American rallycross racing series. Created by rallycross driver Travis Pastrana and the ''Nitro Circus'' production in 2018, its inaugural season began in 2021. The championship is sanctione ...
. Pastrana has also driven in
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
, most recently competing part-time in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, driving the No. 40 and the No. 45 for
Niece Motorsports Niece Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Owned by Al Niece, it currently fields No. 40 Chevrolet Silverado full-time for Dean Thompson, No. 42 Chevrolet Si ...
. He drove for two years in what is now the
NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
, running a part-time season in 2012 and a full season in
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
. He is a four-time
Rally America The Rally America National Championship was the national championship of rallying events in the United States. The inaugural season was in 2005. Rally America was also the name given to the organization that sanctioned the championship, was brie ...
champion and has also raced in the Global RallyCross Championship, Monster Jam, and Race of Champions.


Early life

Pastrana was born on October 8, 1983. He is of Puerto Rican descent by his grandparents from his father's family. His uncle,
Alan Pastrana Charles Alan Pastrana (November 20, 1944April 8, 2021) was an American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Maryland from 1965 to 1968. In 1966, he set the Atlantic Coast Conference record for single-season pa ...
, played as a quarterback from 1965 to 1968 at the
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...
, which Travis Pastrana also attended.Travis Pastrana: Biography
''TV Guide'', retrieved October 4, 2010.
On June 11, 2003, 19-year-old Pastrana was seriously injured when he crashed his Corvette into a tree in Davidsonville, Maryland.


Motocross

Pastrana has won three motocross racing championships: the 2000
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125cc National championship, the 2001 125cc East Coast Supercross Championship, and the 125cc Rose Creek Invitational. Pastrana also raced in the 2000 Motocross des Nations. He moved up to the 250cc class in 2002. His stand-up style, ability to spot jump combinations and great speed through the whoops make him easy to spot on the track. The Freestyle stunt riding started at a young age. At 13 years old Pastrana was already performing stunts during motocross racing, keeping the fans enthused and, later in life, leading to his career in freestyle motocross. Pastrana has always raced and competed on Suzuki motorcycles, and until recently remained fiercely loyal to the brand. He races with Team Cernic's Suzuki. All of his motorcycles and rally cars carry the number 199. He even sponsored a Monster Jam truck called Pastrana 199 and ''Nitro Circus'', after the show on MTV. On October 3, 2014, Pastrana competed in the first ever Red Bull Straight Rhythm competition, riding in the Open Class on a Suzuki RM-Z 450 with a Honda CR500 engine swap. He dubbed the bike the RM-Zilla. However, Pastrana was eliminated early on in the bracket and James Stewart Jr. took the win.


Freestyle motocross

At age 14, Pastrana competed in and won the World Freestyle Motocross Championship in
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, beginning a winning streak that lasted to 2003. After his gold medal performance at the 1999 X Games, Pastrana clinched the gold at the inaugural Gravity Games in
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
.


Team Puerto Rico

Robert Pastrana, Travis' father, is of Colombian descent, but born and raised in Puerto Rico. which made Travis directly eligible to represent
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
in international competition. The ''Puerto Rico Motorcycle Association'' provided him with a license to represent the Territory, which was accepted by the ''Unión Latinoamericana de Motociclismo'', the relevant sanctioning body in
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...
. His debut with the team took place on March 15, 2008. He qualified to the finals by winning the first heat, defeating Erick Vallejo of Mexico. In the finals he finished third, behind local Costa Rican racer Roberto Castro and Vallejo. In 2018, Pastrana took part in the Motocross of Nations event as part of Team Puerto Rico with teammates Kevin Windham and Ryan Sipes in an effort to raise money and awareness following Hurricane Maria in 2017. All three team members eventually made it to the main event, qualifying via the B-final.


X Games and Gravity Games


X Games

* 1999 – Pastrana won the first-ever MotoX Freestyle event at the X Games. He also scores the highest-ever Freestyle run score of 99.00 points. * 2000 – Pastrana won the gold medal for the second time, and attempted his first-ever backflip on a motorcycle but broke his foot. * 2001 – Pastrana won his third gold, still the only person to win the event. * 2002 – Pastrana was out with an injury. Mike Metzger became the first rider other than Pastrana to win Freestyle. * 2003 – Pastrana claimed his fourth gold and became the second rider ever to complete a 360 in competition. * 2004 – Pastrana crashed while trying a 50 ft (15m) 360, sustaining a concussion, but was able to compete the next day and won a silver medal. Nate Adams took the gold becoming the first rider to beat Pastrana. Before this event, he had won a bronze medal in Best Trick, performing a One-Handed 360, a Superman Seat Grab, and an Indian Air Back flip. * 2005 – Pastrana won his fifth gold medal in Freestyle and also attempted the first-ever Backflip Barspin on a motorcycle, however the bike failed and he resorted to a regular bike and performed a Backflip Saran Wrap to take a silver medal in Best Trick. * 2006 – Pastrana became the third athlete to win three gold medals at a single X Games event. He won golds in MotoX Best Trick, MotoX Freestyle, and Rally Car Racing. Pastrana also performed the first Double Backflip in competition, scoring a 98.60, the highest score in the Best Trick competition at X Games. * 2007 – Pastrana took bronze in Rally after sliding into the other driver's area while inside the Home Depot Center. He was disqualified but retained his medal. He also competed in the first MotoX Racing event at X Games, but did not achieve a medal after two false starts in the heat race and last-chance qualifier. * 2008 – Pastrana took gold in Rally and competed in the Speed & Style event, but did not place. * 2009 – Pastrana attempted a rodeo 720 at X Games 15 in the Moto X Best Trick Event. He crashed on his first attempt and withdrew from his second after experiencing blurred vision. He placed 4th for his efforts. He took silver in Rally after being defeated by rookie and former IndyCar/ Indy 500 champion Kenny Bräck. On November 8, Pastrana landed the famous Rodeo 720, and filmed it in his newest movie, ''Nitro Circus – Country Fried''. Once he landed the trick, he named it the TP7, due to the fact that he was 20 degrees short of 720. * 2010 – Pastrana won Moto X Freestyle, landing yet another Double Backflip, the first one done at an X Games Freestyle. Pastrana also won Moto X Speed & Style, beating silver medalist Nate Adams by a landslide. Pastrana had problems with his Rally Car during competition, costing him gold at Rally Car Racing and a chance to compete in the new event, Super Rally. * 2011 – Pastrana launched "Pastranathon"; which included Best Trick, a race at Lucas Oil Raceway in the
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
Nationwide Series, and RallyCross at
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in Los Angeles. However, Pastranathon seemed to be done when, in Best Trick, he attempted the TP7 and failed, landing on his right leg. He broke his foot and ankle, and was taken to a local hospital. The injury forced Pastrana to opt out of the NASCAR race, while his team worked to get Pastrana in the RallyCross event by installing a special hand-controlled device for the steering wheel, for which Pastrana had to relearn to drive the car. Pastrana won a qualifying event, then finished 4th in the final after a crash on the last lap. * 2012 – Pastrana participated in another RallyCross event. For this, he sent a challenge video to Sébastien Loeb, who was at that time the eight-time-consecutive World Rally Championship champion, asking him to race against him in the event. His invitation worked well; Loeb not only participated, but his team made a new vehicle specifically for the event. Pastrana's effort ended up only to be in vain when he was forced to retire by an accident caused by Andy Scott in the very first heat of the race. Pastrana could only watch Loeb – who dominated the whole race and got his first gold medal – in the sideways during the remainder of the event, and never actually raced against him as he had planned for. * 2015 – Pastrana made his Stadium Super Trucks debut at
X Games Austin 2015 X Games Austin 2015 was an action sporting event that took place June 4–7, 2015, at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. This Summer X Games is the second in a row to be held in Austin and the third full X Games event to be held in ...
. Pastrana finished last in his heat race, and was forced to run the last-chance qualifier, finishing second and advancing to the final race; he finished ninth in the final.


Gravity Games

Pastrana won five gold medals at the Gravity Games during its run from 1999 to 2006.


Rallying

In 2003, Pastrana opened a rallying career in the Race of Champions, and began driving for the
Subaru ( or ; ) is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the twenty-first largest automaker by production worldwide in 2017. Subaru cars are ...
-backed Vermont SportsCar rally team in 2004. Starting in 2006, Pastrana was signed by Subaru to lead their new Subaru Rally Team USA, being paired once again with veteran co-driver Christian Edstrom. On August 5, 2006 Pastrana won the gold medal in the first rally car competition at the X Games, edging out rally legend Colin McRae by 0.53 seconds after McRae rolled his car through the last jump. Pastrana and Edstrom clinched the 2006
Rally America The Rally America National Championship was the national championship of rallying events in the United States. The inaugural season was in 2005. Rally America was also the name given to the organization that sanctioned the championship, was brie ...
National Series overall and open class championship on October 22, 2006 during day one of the Lake Superior Performance Rally. The team finished out the 2006 series with another first-place victory at the Wild West Rally in Olympia, Washington on December 31, 2006. On December 16, 2006, Pastrana competed at the
2006 Race of Champions The 2006 Race of Champions took place on 16 December at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. The Nations' Cup was competed first and the event was won by Finland, with Heikki Kovalainen winning over United States' Travis Pastrana on the final ro ...
at the
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in Paris. He represented the United States in the Nations' Cup by himself, after injuries forced teammate
Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, t ...
and his replacement
Scott Speed Scott Andrew Speed (born January 24, 1983) is an American race car driver who has competed in numerous disciplines, including open-wheel, stock car, and rallycross racing. In , Speed became the first American driver to race in Formula One sin ...
to withdraw. February 19, 2007 brought news that Pastrana's longtime co-driver Edstrom had announced a sabbatical to concentrate on his career and family. Although former McRae co-driver Derek Ringer competed with Pastrana for the 100 Acre Wood Rally in Salem, Missouri and Rally America, he did not announce a permanent co-driver. In September 2008, Pastrana took part in the ''Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally'', a round of the Scottish Rally Championship centred in
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in Scotland. Derek Ringer was his co-driver and they entered in a historic Ford Escort RS1600. He was one of a number of celebrity drivers to take part in the event in memory of McRae, who died in 2007. On August 29, 2009, Pastrana claimed the overall victory at Ojibwe Forests Rally, his fifth of the 2009
Rally America The Rally America National Championship was the national championship of rallying events in the United States. The inaugural season was in 2005. Rally America was also the name given to the organization that sanctioned the championship, was brie ...
season. The victory sealed his fourth consecutive Rally America driver's title, the most in series history. In 2011, Pastrana began competing in the Global RallyCross Championship. The next year, he entered a Dodge Dart at five races, but finished only one, with a win at New Hampshire. He also ran part-time with a Dodge Dart in 2013, claiming third-place finish at Las Vegas. Pastrana entered round 2 of the 2018 Americas Rallycross Championship at Austin, finishing fourth. In 2020, Pastrana announced plans to construct Circuit 199, a multi-purpose racing facility, in Sudlersville, Maryland. However, the project was shelved due to lawsuits filed by local conservation organizations. Later in the year, he created the
Nitro Rallycross Nitro Rallycross (Nitro RX, abbreviated to NRX) is an American rallycross racing series. Created by rallycross driver Travis Pastrana and the ''Nitro Circus'' production in 2018, its inaugural season began in 2021. The championship is sanctione ...
series as an expansion of the discipline's participation in the Nitro World Games. Ahead of the inaugural season in late 2021, he built a test track on a 150-acre lot he purchased near his home. He won two races, which helped him become the 2021 champion as he claimed the tiebreaker over Scott Speed.


International competition

On December 13, 2006, Subaru Rally Team USA announced plans to enter Pastrana in certain World Rally Championship events in 2007, 2008, and 2009. In the 2007 season, he raced three P-WRC events in the Group N class, driving a Subaru Impreza WRX STI–based rally car. During March 9–11, 2007, Pastrana competed in his first world rally at the 21º Corona Rally México. He finished fifth in the P-WRC (Group N) class (the best in-class finish by an American in a WRC event since
John Buffum John Buffum (born October 4, 1943 in Wallingford, Connecticut) is the most successful U.S. rally driver ever, winning 11 national titles and 117 national championship events. From 1977 to 1980, when British Leyland dropped out of U.S. racing, he ...
finished third in the Acropolis Rally in 1988), followed by a tenth place in Rally Argentina and an eleventh in Rally GB. Pastrana described his season as having gone "horribly". Pastrana's 2008 season in the P-WRC was even less successful, with one retirement following a crash on stage one of Rally Argentina and one thirteenth place on the Acropolis Rally.


NASCAR

Pastrana made his debut in
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
competition by driving in the 2011 Toyota All-Star Showdown, finishing sixth. Later in the year, he competed in NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin's Short Track Showdown at Richmond International Raceway, finishing 31st after being involved in a crash on lap two. Pastrana later formed a partnership with Michael Waltrip Racing and Gary and Blake Betchel called Pastrana-Waltrip Racing, and in 2011, ran three K&N Pro Series East starts, with his debut at Richmond in the Blue Ox 100, finishing 33rd. Pastrana's plans to compete in 2011 in the Nationwide Series were cancelled as a result of his injuries at the X-Games in July of that year; as a result, his scheduled race at Indianapolis Raceway Park was officially written off as a withdrawal. In 2012, he planned to run a full season in the Pro Series East and select Nationwide Series races. On April 27, 2012, Pastrana made his Nationwide Series debut, finishing 22nd at the
Richmond 250 The Toyota Owners 400 is a 400 lap NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. From 2007 to 2011, former race title sponsor Crown Royal named the race after the winner of an essay contest during Daytona ...
. In his first seven races, driving the No. 99 Toyota Camry for
RAB Racing RAB Racing with Brack Maggard was an American professional stock car racing team that attempted NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Racing Series. The team was co-owned by Robert A. Benton Sr. and his ...
in an association with MWR, Pastrana posted a best finish of 13th in the inaugural Indiana 250; at Richmond in September, he drove for NASCAR powerhouse Roush Fenway Racing in the No. 60
Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...
. He also made one start in the Camping World Truck Series that year for ThorSport Racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, driving their No. 98 Toyota to a 15th-place finish despite a spin early in the race. In November 2012, Pastrana was revealed to have arranged a full-season ride for 2013 in the Nationwide Series with Roush Fenway Racing. He drove in the team's No. 60 Ford during the 2013 season, posting four top-ten finishes with a best finish of ninth at Richmond International Raceway. The next race, Pastrana won his first career
pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
at Talladega Superspeedway, with a lap speed of , but was involved in a late crash. Pastrana ended 2013 with four top tens, a pole and a 14th-place points finish, 429 points behind champion
Austin Dillon Austin Reed Dillon (born April 27, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver and reality TV show actor. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing. ...
. On November 11, 2013, Pastrana announced via
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that he would be leaving NASCAR at the end of the 2013 season, citing a lack of sponsorship, frustration regarding his performance and a desire to spend time with his family as the reasons for his decision; Pastrana wrote: However, he left open the possibility of running occasional Truck Series events, and has expressed a desire to compete in the
Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of thre ...
. On September 23, 2015, Pastrana announced he would make his comeback to NASCAR, signing a one-race deal with
NTS Motorsports NTS Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team was owned by Californian Bob Newberry, coming into its current form after Joe Denette Motorsports merged with New ...
to race the No. 31 Chevrolet in the Truck Series race at Las Vegas on October 3. After qualifying 17th, Pastrana finished 16th, two laps behind race winner John Wes Townley. He returned to the Truck Series in 2017, driving the No. 45 Chevrolet for
Niece Motorsports Niece Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Owned by Al Niece, it currently fields No. 40 Chevrolet Silverado full-time for Dean Thompson, No. 42 Chevrolet Si ...
at Las Vegas. In
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
, Pastrana returned to NASCAR for the first time in three years, competing for Niece Motorsports again. He drove their No. 40 truck in the second of two races of the doubleheader at
Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...
. This was also his first Truck Series start that was not at Las Vegas. On September 17, 2020, it was announced that Pastrana would run the Las Vegas race again with Niece. This was also the first time Pastrana made more than one Truck start in a season.


Other racing

Pastrana debuted in Monster Jam on October 16, 2006, driving the "Pastrana 199"
monster truck A monster truck is a specialized off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock p ...
. Mainly on the
United States Hot Rod Association The United States Hot Rod Association (USHRA) is an organization that sanctions various motorsports. These included the Monster Jam monster truck series as well as motocross, quad racing and others. Having passed through multiple owners, the right ...
(USHRA) circuit, the truck was owned by Live Nation/FELD Motorsports and sponsored by Pastrana. The truck was originally driven by Paul Cohen, then later driven by Chad Tingler, Courtney Jolly and Cam McQueen. McQueen, a friend of Pastrana, was invited to the 2009 World Finals for his second appearance. During the 2009 World Finals the "Pastrana 199" truck changed its name to ''Nitro Circus''. Pastrana himself competed in the freestyle competition of the event debuting the ''Nitro Circus'' truck, finishing in a three-way tie for 5th place in a field of 24 trucks. On an episode of ''Nitro Circus'', Pastrana attempted to backflip the ''Nitro Circus''-themed monster truck. Though unsuccessful, he walked away without injury. On February 27, 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida, McQueen successfully executed a backflip in the Nitro Circus monster truck during the freestyle competition, making ''Nitro Circus'' the first to do so in competition. The ''Nitro Circus'' monster truck made its final appearance and was retired after the 2011 Monster Jam season. On January 1, 2010, Pastrana officially set a new world record in a ramp-to-ramp car jump. He jumped his Subaru rally car off the Pine Street Pier onto a floating barge anchored in
Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporat ...
’s Rainbow Harbor, breaking the existing mark of and establishing a new world distance record of . To celebrate, after getting out of his car, he performed a gainer from the landing ramp into the harbor below. In June 2010, Pastrana entered the
Prelude to the Dream The Prelude to the Dream was a dirt late model race held at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio from 2005 to 2012. It was a pay-per-view event on HBO, and frequently attracted drivers from various disciplines such as NASCAR, IndyCar Series, NHRA, ...
charity dirt track race at
Eldora Speedway Eldora Speedway (nicknamed "The Big E", "Auto Racing's Showcase Since 1954," and "The World's Greatest Dirt Track") is a high-banked clay dirt oval. Located north of Rossburg, Ohio in the village of New Weston, Ohio, it features permanent and ...
in a No. 199 Subaru. After starting 15th, he finished 23rd. In September 2010, Pastrana set the world record for fastest ascent of
Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934 ...
in a car, using his
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: 6 minutes, 20.47 seconds. In June 2011, David Higgins set a new record for ascent of Mount Washington in a car, at 6 minutes, 11.54 seconds, using the same model vehicle.Lavrinc, Damon. (2010-09-14
Watch Travis Pastrana's run up Mt. Washington
Autoblog.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-04.
Pastrana retook the record in July 2017, driving his Subaru WRX STi up the mountain with a time of 5 minutes, 44.72 seconds. In August 2021 Pastrana surpassed his July 2017 record by more than 16 seconds with a time of 5 min. 28.67 sec. in his 862 hp “Airslayer” 2020 Subaru WRX STI. In
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
, Pastrana competed in the
24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layo ...
for AF Waltrip, with NASCAR driver
Michael Waltrip Michael Curtis Waltrip (born April 30, 1963) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, racing commentator, and published author. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing Experience. He is the younger brother ...
, Michael Waltrip Racing owner Rob Kauffman, and road racing veteran Rui Águas as codrivers. After starting 38th, the team's Ferrari 458 finished 35th overall, 22nd in the GT class. As part of Rally America, Pastrana raced at the 2004 and 2005
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA. The track measures and has over 156 turns, climbing from the sta ...
. He returned in 2018, in this case driving a
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GT4 Clubsport, claiming a class win with a 10'33.9 run.


Other activities

On September 26, 2007, Pastrana jumped out of an airplane over
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, without a parachute in a carefully choreographed stunt. He met up in midair with another jumper, then latched himself into a harness to make a safe tandem landing. He "got in a lot of trouble" due to its illegality. On Sunday, February 8, 2009 at 10 p.m.,
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
'' Nitro Circus'', his new television show of which he is an executive producer, premiered on MTV. A spinoff of MTV's '' Jackass'', the two shows shared producers,
Jeff Tremaine Jeffrey Tremaine (born September 4, 1966) is an American television director, television producer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for co-creating the reality stunt show '' Jackass'' with Spike Jonze and Johnny ...
and was partially created by ''Jackass'' frontman
Johnny Knoxville Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), best known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, writer, producer, and professional wrestler. He is best known as a co-creator and star of the MTV reality stunt show ...
. It features Jolene Van Vugt, Erik Roner (deceased), Streetbike Tommy, Andy Bell, Jim DeChamp, among others doing dangerous stunts. ''Jackass Johnny Knoxville,
Bam Margera Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera ( ; born September 28, 1979) is an American former professional skateboarder, stunt performer, television personality, and filmmaker. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s as one of the stars of the MTV reality ...
,
Chris Pontius Chris Pontius (born July 16, 1974) is an American stunt performer and television personality. He is best known as a cast member of the reality comedy show '' Jackass'' and co-host of its spinoff ''Wildboyz'' with fellow cast member Steve-O. ...
and
Steve-O Stephen Gilchrist Glover (born June 13, 1974), known professionally as Steve-O, is an American entertainer, television personality, stunt performer and YouTuber. His career is mostly centered on his performance stunts in the reality comedy tel ...
; BMX freestylers,
T. J. Lavin Thomas Joseph Lavin (born December 7, 1976) is an American BMX cyclist and the host of MTV's reality competition series ''The Challenge (TV series), The Challenge'' since its Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Gauntlet 2, eleventh season. Earl ...
and
Mat Hoffman Mat Hoffman (born January 9, 1972) is an American BMX rider who is considered one of the best vert ramp riders in the history of the sport. He is nicknamed "The Condor" and runs the BMX Freestyle brand Hoffman BMX Bikes based out of ...
; and actor,
Gary Coleman Gary Wayne Coleman (February 8, 1968 – May 28, 2010) was an American actor and comedian. Coleman was the highest-paid child actor on television throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. He was rated first on a list of VH1's "100 Greatest Kid ...
have guest starred on various episodes. ''Nitro Circus'' was also featured in an episode of MTV's Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory and vice versa. In August 2020, Pastrana organized the Pastranaland Pit Bike Championship, an 11-team event that took place in his backyard on a track designed by ''Nitro Circus'' mechanic Hubert Rowland. Held on August 15, riders competed on Kawasaki KLX110
pit bike A pit bike is a small recreation, stunt or motocross racing motorcycle. Usually defined as having a horizontal air cooled engine and an open cradle frame. Pit bike history The pit bike evolved from the use of custom-built motorized two wheeled m ...
s. Pastrana and the rest of ''Nitro Circus'' appeared in the music video for " Spaceship" by
Puddle of Mudd Puddle of Mudd is an American rock band formed in Kansas City, Missouri in 1992. To date, the band has sold over seven million albums and has had a string of No. 1 mainstream rock singles in the United States. Their major-label debut '' C ...
.


Vegas jumps

Pastrana paid tribute to his role model growing up, legendary daredevil/stuntman
Evel Knievel Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel (; October 17, 1938 – November 30, 2007) was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Over the course of his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps. Knievel was inducted into the Motor ...
, by breaking a few of his records. On July 8, 2018, in
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...
, Pastrana safely cleared three record-breaking big jumps, which consisted of 52 cars, 16 buses, and a fountain respectively, for a total of 484 feet of jumps in a single night. The first jump over the cars was at 143 feet, the second jump over the buses was at 192 feet, and the third jump over the Caesar's Palace Fountain — a jump that Knievel himself wasn't able to land in 1967, when he crushed his pelvis and his femur — was at 149 feet, performed with more elevation. These feats were televised live on
History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
.


Sponsors

Only Pastrana's personal sponsors are listed below. Sponsorships of his cars in NASCAR, which were provided through his teams and did not always overlap with his own endorsements, are not included.


Current

*
Alpinestars Alpinestars is a manufacturer of clothing and protective gear for motorsports and action sports founded in 1963, and located in Asolo, Italy. Its lines include specialized products for MotoGP, motocross, motorcycling, Formula One, WEC, V8 Sup ...
*
Black Rifle Coffee Company Black Rifle Coffee Company (BRCC) is a coffee company based in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It gained national attention in 2017, when it employed about 50 people, after pledging to hire 10,000 veterans to protest Starbucks's pledge to h ...
*
DC Shoes DC Shoes is an American company that specializes in footwear for action sports, including skateboarding and snowboarding. The company also manufactures apparel, bags, accessories, hats, tshirts, and posters. History The company was founded in ...
* Ethika * Kicker Car Audio *
KTM KTM AG (Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, formerly KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and the Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces ...
* Pit Viper *
Subaru ( or ; ) is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the twenty-first largest automaker by production worldwide in 2017. Subaru cars are ...
* Yokohama Rubber Company * Troy Lee Designs


Former

*
Acclaim Entertainment Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in Glen Cove, New York. Originally formed by Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes and Jim Scoroposki out of an Oyster Bay storefront in 1987, the company established a worldwide ...
(under the Acclaim Max Sports label) *
AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile ...
*
Discount Tire Discount Tire Company is an independent tire and wheel retailer. Discount Tire operates in most of the lower 48 states in the United States, and is the largest independent tire and wheel retailer in the world. The company is headquartered in ...
*
Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
*
Fox Racing Fox Racing is an American extreme sports (primarily motocross and mountainbiking), protective equipment and lifestyle clothing brand founded in 1974. Fox is owned by Vista Outdoor. History The early histories of Fox Racing and Fox Racing Shox w ...
* KMC Wheels * M2R Helmets *
No Fear No Fear is an American lifestyle clothing brand that was created in 1989 by Mark Simo, Brian Simo, Boris Said, and Marty Moates. No Fear Inc. products are sold at various retail stores ancompany owned stores It also offers No Fear energy dri ...
* Puma *
Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwide, inclu ...
*
SoBe SoBe (stylized as ) is an American brand of teas, fruit-juice blends and enhanced water beverages owned by PepsiCo. The name SoBe is an abbreviation of South Beach, named after the upscale area located in Miami Beach, Florida. In the past, the ...
* Spy Optics *
Suzuki is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal co ...
(from age 8 until December 2019) * Thor Racing *
Boost Mobile (United States) Boost Mobile is an American wireless service provider owned by Dish Wireless. It uses the merged T-Mobile network (Sprint + T-Mobile) and AT&T to deliver wireless services. As of Q4 2021, Boost Mobile, along with its sister brands Ting Mobile, ...


Injuries

''"I don't remember most of the injuries, there have been too many."'' – Travis Pastrana
Injuries have often taken Pastrana off the circuit for weeks or months at a time. His medical records include: a dislocated spine, he has torn his ACL, PCL, LCL, MCL and meniscus in his left knee, broken his
tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it conn ...
and
fibula The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity ...
, he has had surgery on his left wrist twice, left thumb once, two surgeries on his back, one on his right elbow, nine on his left knee, six on the right knee, one shoulder surgery which left him with the only piece of metal he has in his body. When Pastrana was 14 years old, he was severely injured while competing in an FMX competition. He came up short, landing on the top of the front side of the landing ramp and the motorcycle decelerated from 50 mph (80 km/h) to in less than one second. The bike was stuck into the dirt ramp with the front wheel just over the top and the crankcase smashed into the dirt deep enough to support the entire motorcycle upright. He was severely injured, his spine having been separated from his pelvis. It also left him in a
wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), ce ...
for three months. "I was in and out of consciousness for about three days and had six
blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but mo ...
s," said Pastrana. He also added that according to doctors, only three people in the U.S. have ever lived after such an injury. It was a long and difficult recovery, though Pastrana would routinely ride wheelies in his wheelchair around the hospital and therapy areas. While in the wheelchair recovering, he vowed to continue motorcycle jumping. He was also injured in July 2011 while competing at the X Games when his motorcycle did not rotate to the landing position, crushing his ankle and causing a fracture. However, Pastrana was back in his Subaru Impreza and competing in the Rally Cross final where he overshot the corner, forcing himself into the wall; on-board footage shows his leg in plaster being slammed against the wheel well, much to his discomfort. At the
2005 Race of Champions The 2005 Race of Champions took place on December 3 again at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. The individual event was won by Sébastien Loeb after Tom Kristensen crashed out of the final, and the Nations Cup event by Tom Kristensen and Matti ...
, he broke his leg while performing at a motocross exhibition but competed in ROC anyway. Conversely, a broken pelvis during a BASE jumping accident in Florida, where he crash-landed into a park, forced him to miss the 2022 ROC.


In the media

* Pastrana, along with fellow motocross racer
Jeremy McGrath Jeremy McGrath (born November 19, 1971) is one of the most popular American Motocross/Supercross champions in the history of the sport, racking up seven Supercross championships. He was most active in the 1990s earning the title the "King of S ...
, lent his name to the Acclaim-published game ''Freestyle Motocross: McGrath vs. Pastrana'', released in 2000. * Pastrana and McGrath starred in the 2001
Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...
movie ''
Motocrossed ''Motocrossed'' is a 2001 Disney Channel Original Movie about a girl named Andrea Carson who loves motocross, despite the fact that her father finds her unsuited for the sport, being that she is "just a girl". When her twin brother Andrew dislocat ...
''. * Pastrana is featured as a hidden surfer in the 2002 video game ''
Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer ''Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer'' is an extreme sports video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision under the Activision O2 label. The game was endorsed by veteran surfer Kelly Slater and released for Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Pla ...
''. * Pastrana appears as a playable character in the 2004 video game ''
MTX Mototrax ''MTX Mototrax'' is a racing video game developed by Left Field Productions and published by Activision for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2004. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X later that year developed by Beenox and published by As ...
'', as well as appearing on the game's box art. The game was originally titled ''Travis Pastrana's Pro MotoX'' and ''MTX: Mototrax featuring Travis Pastrana''. * Pastrana lent his voice to the 2007 game '' Colin McRae: DiRT'' as himself, and the in-menu voice. He also features as a driver in 2009's '' Colin McRae: DiRT 2'' for
Subaru Rally Team USA Subaru Motorsports USA (formerly known as Subaru Rally Team USA) is Subaru of America's motorsports arm that participates in events in the United States and its operations are managed by Vermont SportsCar, previously Prodrive. History The te ...
. * Pastrana co-authored a book about his life, ''The Big Jump: The Tao of Travis Pastrana'', with ''
ESPN The Magazine ''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year ...
'' senior writer Alyssa Roenigk, which was published by
ESPN Books ESPN Books is a publishing company operated by ESPN Started in 2004, ESPN Books has published almost 20 books. ESPN Books also is in charge of producing ESPN's yearly sports encyclopedia. It also controls its own book club and in addition it ranks ...
in 2007. * A documentary about Pastrana was filmed by
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
in 2008, titled '' 199 Lives: The Travis Pastrana Story''. * Pastrana is featured in '' X Games: The Movie''; his work with motocross and rally cars is shown. * Pastrana served as a judge on the ''
America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribu ...
'' spin-off '' AGT: Extreme'', which premiered February 21, 2022 on NBC.


Personal life

On June 4, 2011, during a live performance of '' Nitro Circus'', he proposed to
Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins Lyndsey "Lyn-Z" Adams Hawkins (born September 21, 1989) is an American professional skateboarder. History and family Born in San Diego, Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins was raised in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, and spent part of her childhood in Sayuli ...
, a professional skateboarder. On October 29, 2011, Hawkins and Pastrana were married in front of several family and friends in Southern California, near the home of Hawkins. On February 26, 2013, Hawkins and Pastrana announced on their personal Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages that they were expecting their first child due in September 2013. Hawkins gave birth to a girl named Addy Ruth on Labor Day, September 2, 2013. On August 5, 2014, Hawkins announced in her personal page that she and Pastrana were expecting their second child due in February 2015. She gave birth to a girl named Bristol Murphy on February 9, 2015. Pastrana lives with his family in Davidsonville, Maryland.


Injury and suicide of Colin Winkelmann

In July 2004, with a couple of friends, Pastrana held a BMX contest at his house. During the contest, a contestant Colin Winkelmann injured himself while attempting one of the challenges, in which a biker would try to make a jump off over a ramp that was situated on the front of a moving car. Winkelmann dislocated his ankles, broke a wrist and an ankle, and injured his vertebrae. He suffered severe pain afterwards, had to spend a year in rehabilitation, developed a permanent limp, and was unable to continue biking. Due to these factors, Winkelmann developed depression, and died by suicide on August 9, 2005, in Greenville, North Carolina.


Racing record


Complete Rally America results


NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)


Nationwide Series


Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series

Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points


Sports car racing


24 Hours of Daytona

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, Results are overall/class)


Rolex Sports Car Series results

Season still in progress.
Ineligible for series championship points.


Complete Global RallyCross Championship results


Supercar


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pastrana, Travis Living people 1983 births Sportspeople from Annapolis, Maryland Racing drivers from Maryland 24 Hours of Daytona drivers NASCAR drivers American rally drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers Porsche Supercup drivers AMA Motocross Championship National Champions American stunt performers American motocross riders Freestyle motocross riders Motorcycle stunt performers X Games athletes Stadium Super Trucks drivers NASCAR team owners University of Maryland, College Park alumni American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent Global RallyCross Championship drivers American sportspeople of Colombian descent World record setters in motorcycling RFK Racing drivers AF Corse drivers Michael Waltrip Racing drivers