Background and career
Travis Alan Pastrana (born October 8, 1983) is an American professional athlete known for his success across multiple disciplines, including freestyle motocross, rally racing, NASCAR, and stunt performance. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s, becoming a multi-time X Games gold medalist and achieving numerous milestones in freestyle motocross, including being the first to land a double backflip in competition in 2006. Prior to his freestyle career, Pastrana was also a successful motorcycle racer, winning titles in the AMA Motocross and Supercross 125cc divisions in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Outside of motorcycles, Pastrana is a four-time Rally America champion and has competed in Global RallyCross. Pastrana has also made appearances in NASCAR, including stints in the Nationwide Series and the Truck Series. In 2022, he became a world champion in Class 1 World Powerboat Championship alongside British offshore powerboat racer Steve Curtis. In 2003, Pastrana co-founded Nitro Circus, an entertainment brand that produces live shows, television series, and films featuring extreme stunts and action sports performances. Separate from Nitro Circus, Pastrana has participated in several high-profile stunts, including successful recreations of stunts made famous by Evel Knievel.
Pastrana debuted in the AMA Motocross Championship in late 1999. He won the 125cc national title in 2000, making him the youngest to do so at 16 years old. While Pastrana competed in the AMA Supercross Championship 125cc East Coast class in 2000, he fell short in his pursuit of the title. After this, Pastrana moved in with Kevin Windham to train for the upcoming racing season. In their downtime, the two would often teach each other freestyle tricks. The training strategy proved successful for Pastrana, who would secure the 125cc East Coast title in 2001. Pastrana competed in the AMA Supercross Championship's 250cc class from 2001 to 2005, with his best season in 2002, where he ranked 16th. He also won the 125cc Rose Creek Invitational and raced at the 2000 Motocross des Nations. In 2023, Pastrana was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
Robert Pastrana, Travis' father, is of Puerto Rican descent, 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 for 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 returned to the Motocross of Nations 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.
At 13 years old, Pastrana was already performing stunts during motocross racing. At the age of 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. Pastrana would ultimately go on to win five gold medals at the Gravity Games during its run from 1999 to 2006.
1999 – Pastrana won the first-ever MotoX Freestyle event at the X Games, scoring the highest-ever Freestyle run score of 99.00 points. 2000 – Pastrana won the MotoX Freestyle 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 in MotoX Freestyle. 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 Rodeo 720 originally attempted during the games, named it the TP7, due to the fact that he was 20 degrees short of 720. 2010 – Pastrana won Moto X Freestyle, landing another double backflip, the first one done during the Freestyle contest. Pastrana also won Moto X Speed & Style, beating silver medalist Nate Adams. 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 Nationwide Series, and RallyCross at Staples Center 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. 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 would go on to clinch his first gold medal. 2015 – Pastrana made his Stadium Super Trucks debut at X Games Austin 2015. 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.
In 2003, Pastrana opened his rallying career at 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, paired 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, beating Colin McRae by 0.53 seconds after McRae rolled his car through the last jump. Later that month, Pastrana and Edstrom won their first victory in the Rally America National series at the Ojibwe Forests Rally in Northern Minnesota. The pair would go on to clinch the series overall and open class championship on October 22, 2006, during day one of the Lake Superior Performance Rally, making him the youngest ever American rally champion. That December, 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.
