Travis Pastrana Ready To Check NASCAR’s Daytona 500 Off His Bucket List

Travis Pastrana has accomplished a great deal in his near 40 years on the planet. The action sports superstar has won motocross racing championships, X Games titles, and Rally car titles. He’s also jumped out of airplanes (without a parachute on at least one occasion) and done all manner of wild stunts as part of his Nitro Circus. He also created the Nitro RallyCross series in 2018. Now in its fourth season, Pastrana is the series’ reigning champion.

He’s also raced in NASCAR, in both the Xfinity (42 starts) and Truck (5 starts) series on a mostly part time basis.

Next month, Pastrana will try to do something he’s never even attempted, racing in the NASCAR Cup series by attempting to race in the Daytona 500.

23XI Racing announced Tuesday they will field a third car for the Daytona 500 for Pastrana. The 39-year-old will team with 23XI’s fulltime drivers, Bubba Wallace, and Tyler Reddick. The team co-owned by Denny Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan, is supported by Toyota.

“This is an absolute dream come true just to, to be able to have an opportunity,” Pastrana said Tuesday after the announcement. “I thought it was, it’s really important for me, I wanted to come in and put my best foot forward with the best possible team. I think 23XI is absolutely perfect.”

However, just because he’s entered into the Daytona 500 doesn’t mean he will actually take the green flag on Sunday Feb. 19. That’s due in large part to his entry being an open one.

In all there are 40 spots available for the race. With 36 of the spots going to Chartered teams with guaranteed starting spots, that leaves just 4 spots for open entries, meaning those without Charters. Two of those open spots will be awarded to the two fastest open cars in qualifying, the final two will be earned by the top open entry car in one of the two “Duel” races held the Thursday prior to that Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Among other open cars already announced, is that of 7-time Cup champion, and two-time Daytona 500 winner, Jimmie Johnson who will be racing for the Legacy Motor Club the team he became a minority owner of late last season, along with IndyCar champion Helio Castroneves.

“To be able go to the event and you know, earn my spot, I think is really important,” Pastrana said. “Especially with, with the fans. I didn’t think you’re going to have you know, Jimmie Johnson, Helio Castroneves, and so many other amazing drivers trying to qualify for four spots. But you know, it’s going to be an amazing week.”

The Pastrana effort will have sponsorship from Black Rifle Coffee Company a veteran owned company and longtime supporter of Pastrana.

“With the sponsors like Black Rifle it’s really cool because their goal isn’t just the race or the exposure of the race,” Pastrana said. “They want to come down for all the Speed Week. We got all kinds of promotional stuff. We’re going to be engaging with all the fans. We’re signing autographs and we’re going to be out there every step of the way to try to make this whole experience amazing.

“All my friends, family, long lost relatives,” he added with a chuckle before turning serious. “And you know, a lot of veterans are coming down to kind of support and I think it’s going to be really cool.”

Away from all the stunts, the motocross, X Games, and racing in NASCAR, Travis Pastrana is still very much a businessperson and must juggle many things to keep the revenue streams flowing so he can do what he wants to do. Like many successful entrepreneurs, Pastrana says it comes down to who he has around him.

“Well, at the end of the day try to surround yourself with the best people in everything they do,” he said. “The best mechanics, the best teams, they try to figure out people that are like-minded with similar goals.

“My dad is more construction, more redneck side,” he added laughing. “He goes, ‘I look around the table and you’re definitely the dumbest person at the table, but it’s your table. Good job, son.’

“So at the end of the day all, all jokes aside, I’ve made all the decisions that I’ve made for, I feel like, the right reasons and surrounding myself with people that just want to have fun, that want to do good things.”

Also like many successful entrepreneurs, he’s had his share of failures.

“I’ve made a lot of really bad business decisions,” he said. “I could have definitely made a lot more money chasing that kind of stuff, but at the end of the day, I really want to be you know, I want to do the best that I can.”

Pastrana admits that some of those bad decisions came as he tried different motorsports disciplines eventually finding the ones that he can be successful at.

“For me it’s just trying to get seat time and understanding when to throw in the towel,” he said. “But also, I’m not very good at throwing in the towel and always think that I can make it.”

“This was always a bucket list,” Pastrana added. “And this is definitely not a profitable thing for me to race the Daytona 500 but it’s something I really want to do. And I’m not getting any younger, so I figure we got great sponsorship, we’ve had a great couple years of racing and let’s go have some fun.”

So, yes Travis Pastrana does indeed have a bucket list. And soon he hopes to check off the box that says Daytona 500.

“I’ve got a few things left on my bucket list,” he said. “But next to each of those has the word ‘win’, like Baja 1000, I’ve done it. Let’s go win that. Dakar I think that would be an amazing bucket list. But again, I believe that over time, like I could have a chance to win that event. Maybe I’m crazy, but I go into Daytona 500 wanting to be a part of the great American race. I want to go in, I want to represent my sponsors the best that I can. I want to have a chance to make the race. But above all, I want to be a part of this, and I want to add some value to it. I want to go and high five every fan that’s out there.”

While he wants to win at everything he does, Travis Pastrana seems very content just to be a part of the Great American Race.

“This is bigger than anything that I’ve done,” he said. “It’s the best drivers all over the world, but especially the best drivers in America. And to be able to line up alongside of them especially if I can qualify and get in for the actual 500, that’ll be something that I’ll be able to smile proudly about for the rest of my life.”