DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As an extreme sports star and 11-time X Games champion, Travis Pastrana is fearless in his pursuit of pushing the limits and achieving stunts that include high-risk and danger.
But Pastrana was actually nervous when he was about to make his qualification attempt Wednesday night for Sunday’s 65th Daytona 500.
He was in a 23XI Racing Toyota, the first time he had been in NASCAR’s Next Gen car, and his mission was to drive it to its limit without any practice time. He needed to achieve a speed fast enough to get into the starting lineup, because his car does not have points from last season.
The top 36 charters are guaranteed starting positions in the Daytona 500. Pastrana was not one of them.
No problem.
The action sports star and professional stunt man recorded a lap at 179.254 miles per hour in his No. 67 Toyota. The 25th fastest speed was fast enough for Pastrana to lock into a starting position for Sunday’s big NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway.
“I don’t think I’ve ever gone to an event before where I haven’t been thinking about winning,” Pastrana said in response to a question from SPEED SPORT. “This is definitely the first time I went to an event really concerned I wouldn’t qualify.
“It definitely goes to show you just the level of everything. The level of the teams, the level of the competition, the excitement to strap in having never been out of second gear in a Cup car other than doing a pit practice, getting to fifth gear on the backstretch here going, ‘Here we go.’ It’s been pretty cool.”
By making the Daytona 500 starting lineup, it can resonate in the extreme sports community that racers in all forms of extreme competition can have a chance to compete in NASCAR’s biggest race.
Of course, they have to find the sponsor, team, and car to accomplish that goal, but Pastrana continues to be a trendsetter in that community.
“I’ve been driving go-karts since I was two like every other driver out there and competitive in rally for almost 20 years,” he said. “Racing and driving has been my passion.
“It’s interesting, a lot of the guys that follow NASCAR, just the fans, they know me as a TV personality or a stuntman. Really in my heart, racer, motocross racer, built the reputation as a race car driver as well.
“Having said that, it’s been really cool. When I announced, I was going to come over here, the action sports community jumped onboard 110 percent. So many people are, ‘Man, I’m watching the 500. I haven’t been excited since I was a kid for our industry to see this…’”
To hone his racing skills, Pastrana has competed on the dirt track at such venues as nearby Volusia Speedway in De Leon Springs, Florida.
“The dirt car crew, when we were able to go out there and get a win at Volusia was definitely not the quickest out there, but just to be able to pull that off, just have some fun with the grassroots fans I think went a long way,” Pastrana said. “Qualifying here is one thing. Definitely a lot to do with the car.
“If I can put together a good performance, maybe not even result-wise, but just prove that I can be a good teammate for the 23XI team, not cause any trouble, I think that will be a huge win for me.”
Pastrana is guaranteed he will compete in Sunday’s 65th Daytona 500. He hopes to learn the skill and art form in tonight’s Bluegreen Vacations Duels qualifying races at Daytona.
It’s time to go to work.
“It was funny because everyone was celebrating and excited,” the driver said. “Kurt Busch came right up to me at the end and said, ‘Okay, now we get to work.’
“It’s cool.
“When Denny Hamlin brought me on to the team, he was the first one that didn’t just say, ‘Oh, yeah, bring your money, we’ll try to get you a charter. You’re going to have to work your way in. We don’t have a charter for you. We can give you a car that I believe you can be capable of helping our team to win.’
“To have the opportunity now to try to start learning and try to figure out how to do the best that I can as a teammate to get up there.”
In many ways, Pastrana can’t believe what he accomplished. But he’s been accomplishing the unbelievable most of his extreme sports career.
“To be a part of The Great American Race, even looking at the little pass I got today that said, ‘Cup Driver’’, this is cool,” he said. “I’m a motorcrosser. I’ve done a lot of fun things. We’ve dabbled a little bit in NASCAR. I got chewed up and spit out by these guys really fast.
“At the end of the day they’re the best drivers I believe in the entire world. It’s an honor to be able to race with these guys. To be able to line up in the 500 on Sunday will be a dream come true no matter what the outcome is,” Pastrana continued. “I’m just going to try to be as smart as I possibly can, make as few mistakes as I possibly can.
“Honestly, Kurt Busch said it the best, Now the homework starts, let’s get to work.”