Travis Pastrana’s next trick might be his toughest yet: The Daytona 500

Travis Pastrana has done just about everything there is to do on wheels. He has jumped over things, out of things and through things. He has performed stunts, navigated obstacles, made you wonder both “How in the world did he do that?” and “Why in the world would someone do that?”

Above all else, Pastrana goes fast, as he has shown on four wheels and two, dirt and pavement, racking up accolades and awws at every bone-chilling twist and death-defying turn.

But there’s one thing that has gnawed at him, one stage that has always seemed bigger than others: the Daytona 500. So, despite a dearth of experience in restrictor-plate racing, Pastrana attempted to qualify for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, a goal that sounded absurd on the surface but ended up attainable.

“I feel like most people, when they get to the top of a sport, they try to stay there,” he said in a recent interview. “Every time I’ve been able to make it to the top of something, I want a new challenge. I want to jump into the deep end and see what happens.”

He’s in Daytona Beach, Florida, this week alongside drivers who’ve dedicated their lives to stock car racing. He was one of six drivers that vied for four open spots in the race, a group that included Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time Cup Series champion. Pastrana and Johnson were able to qualify for Sunday’s race.

“The talent level that Travis has is second to none, but this is kind of an abnormal thing,” said Bobby Labonte, a NASCAR Hall of Fame driver and Fox racing analyst. “It’s not like he has the family background of stock car racing. But he knows how to race, and he’s not scared to be in there. If I had an ounce of the courage he has to do some of the things he’s done, I would’ve probably broken my back many times over the years.”

Pastrana is an action sports legend, having bounced among race disciplines including motocross, rally racing and, more recently, gymkhana, which features an obstacle course of sorts and plenty of drifting, spinning and technical work. But 200 laps at Daytona International Speedway has always felt like a bucket-list item.

“It’s our Super Bowl for motorsports – ‘the great American race.’ It’s something that we always used to go to our buddy’s house that had a little circle track in the front, and it was like our holiday,” he said. “I’ve just always wanted to be part of it. Never really thought I would have an opportunity.”

Pastrana, 39, first tried stock car racing about a dozen years ago, when he did a full season driving for Roush Fenway Racing on the tour’s second-tier circuit. He managed four top-10 finishes in 42 starts but also realized he would never be able to devote the same amount of time and energy as phenoms such as Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson and Joey Logano. Though he has done some Truck Series events, he hasn’t raced in a stock car since 2013.

In January 2022, when Pastrana left his longtime sponsor, Red Bull, and signed with Black Rifle Coffee Company, his new benefactors kept pushing him: What’s the biggest thing you want to do?

Pastrana didn’t have to think long. “Well, the Daytona 500,” he responded.

Months of planning and negotiating followed. He worked out a deal to race for 23XI Racing, owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, and will be the team’s third car at the starting line Sunday, joining Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick.

While Pastrana has been racing and competing his entire life – he has 17 X Games medals in a packed trophy case back home in Maryland – there’s little in the way of real-world preparation for a race like Daytona. Because of strict practice rules, Wednesday marked the first time Pastrana was able to navigate his No. 67 Toyota around the famed speedway – his first time taking the car above second gear, in fact.

“There’s just no practice for the 500,” Pastrana said.

Pastrana spent a bit of time in the car last week at 23XI’s North Carolina headquarters, but that amounted to slow turns around a parking lot. He also has spent some time in the simulator run by Toyota Racing Development outside of Charlotte, which aims to mimic race and car conditions.

The simulator is the most helpful tool available, Labonte said, “but it’s still simulation.”

“The biggest thing I see is the shifting. This is all different for him because he has not had to do it that much,” Labonte said. “So spinning the wheel, shifting at the right time and just being smooth – it’s a tough challenge.”

Despite the deficits, Pastrana has confidence in his skill set. While he’s most comfortable racing on dirt with an all-wheel-drive vehicle, the Daytona 500 will be markedly different, requiring patience, communication and a full support team. But inside the car, Pastrana can make quick decisions and spot opportunities in front of him. He doesn’t know fear and thrives in chaos, prized traits at Daytona.

“When everything hits the fan, that’s my happy place,” Pastrana said. “That’s where I enjoy it the most. Supercross was 15, 20 minutes, and motocross was 30 minutes. This is 500 miles where every millisecond matters and you can make a mistake at any point. But where I do think I’m as good as anyone is my ability to control a car that’s out of control. And in this race, especially pushing to that finish line, that’s definitely something that’s going to be huge.”

Pastrana knows time is not necessarily on his side. He has two daughters now. He has lost friends, including Ken Block, the rally driver who died in a snowmobile crash last month. He has had big accidents – including a near-fatal BASE jumping attempt in January 2022 that resulted in multiple hip fractures and a broken vertebra in his back. The risky stunts – jumping a Caesars Palace fountain on a motorcycle, for example, or leaping out of an airplane without a parachute – will become fewer and far between.

“Having two little girls that I want to spend the rest of my life with and walking, you know, the risk-reward has changed,” he said, “but this is an event that’s worth it.”

Pastrana knows there’s no room for error. He’s not racing the entire season for 23XI Racing. It’s the Daytona 500 or nothing.

“This is my one shot. One shot at the bucket list,” he said. “But even if we don’t qualify, for me to not even attempt to be part of ‘the great American race,’ it would’ve just gnawed at me for the rest of my life.”