Travis Pastrana
Travis Alan Pastrana (born October 8, 1983) is an American professional motorsports competitor and stunt performer who has won championships and X Games gold medals in several disciplines, including supercross, motocross, freestyle motocross, and rally racing. He runs a show called "Nitro Circus" and the rallycross racing series Nitro Rallycross. Pastrana has also driven in NASCAR, most recently competing part-time in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, driving the No. 40 and the No. 45 for Niece Motorsports. He drove for two years in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series, running a part-time season in  2012 and a full season in 2013. He is a four-time Rally America 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 Colombian descent by his grandparents from his father's family. His uncle, Alan Pastrana, played as a quarterback from 1965 to 1968 at the University of Maryland, which Travis Pastrana also attended. On June 11, 2003, 19-year-old Pastrana was seriously injured when he crashed his Corvette into a tree in Davidsonville, Maryland. Motocross/Supercross. Pastrana has  won three motocross racing championships: the 2000 AMA 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 Las Vegas, Nevada, 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. 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 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. 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. Rallying. In 2003, Pastrana opened a rallying career in the Race of Champions, and began driving for the Subaru-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 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 at the Stade de France in Paris. He represented the United States in the Nations' Cup by himself, after injuries forced teammate Jimmie Johnson and his replacement Scott Speed 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 Perth 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 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 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  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 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. In his first seven races, driving the No. 99 Toyota Camry for RAB Racing 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. 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 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. On November 11, 2013, Pastrana announced via Facebook 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. On September 23, 2015, Pastrana announced he would make his comeback to NASCAR, signing a  one-race deal with NTS Motorsports 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 at Las Vegas. In 2020, 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. 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 activities. On September 26, 2007, Pastrana jumped out of an airplane over Arecibo, Puerto Rico, 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 "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 and was partially created by "Jackass" frontman Johnny Knoxville. It features Jolene Van Vugt, Erik Roner (deceased), Streetbike Tommy, Andy Bell, Jim DeChamp, among others doing dangerous stunts. "Jackass"' Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius and Steve-O; BMX freestylers, T. J. Lavin and Mat Hoffman; and actor, Gary Coleman 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 bikes. Pastrana and the rest of "Nitro Circus" appeared in the music video for "Spaceship" by Puddle of Mudd. Racing. 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’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 charity dirt track race at Eldora Speedway 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 in a car, using his Subaru WRX STi: 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. 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 Gymkhana built 862 hp “Airslayer” 2020 Subaru WRX STI. In 2012, Pastrana competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona for AF Waltrip, with NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip, 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. He returned in 2018, in this case driving a Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport, claiming a class win with a 10'33.9 run. Pastrana 199/Nitro Circus Monster Truck. "Pastrana 199" was a monster truck that raced on the United States Hot Rod Association (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. Pastrana made his monster truck debut on October 18, 2006 in the Pastrana 199 monster truck at the 2006 Monster Jam. Also, on an episode of "Nitro Circus", Pastrana attempted to backflip the "Nitro Circus"-themed monster truck. Though unsuccessful, he walked away without injury. In 2008–2009, the Pastrana 199 truck was driven by Pastrana's friend Cam McQueen. McQueen 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 February 27, 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida, Cam 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. Vegas jumps. Pastrana paid tribute to his role model growing up, legendary daredevil/stuntman Evel Knievel , by breaking a few of his records. On July 8, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada, 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. 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. 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 and  fibula, 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 for three months. "I was in and out of consciousness for about three days and had six blood transfusions," 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, 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. Personal life. On June 4, 2011, during a live performance of "Nitro Circus", he proposed to Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins, 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 vertabrae. 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. NASCAR. Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. Season still  in progress 24 Hours of Daytona. Rolex Sports Car Series results. Season still in progress.