“Most exciting thing I’ve ever done,” Travis Pastrana, elated after his impressive Daytona 500 debut
Travis Pastrana, the Daytona 500 rookie put on a good show for the NASCAR fans, he even led two laps & might have been in top-5 if not for the crash.
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Travis Pastrana Image via Tampa Bay Times
Travis Pastrana has tried his hand at various things in his life but debuting in NASCAR Cup Series, Daytona 500 was undoubtedly a new adventure for him. Pastrana’s week began quite well, with the qualifying and reaching the Daytona 500 though he was locked into the field and took it cautiously. He then started 40th on the grid for “The Great American Race”.
Pastrana was careful throughout the event. He laid low apart from leading two laps during the green flag pit stops. Despite this being his debut and starting 40th, he made it to the checkered flag and finished 11th quite impressively. Amidst the chaos, Pastrana had a real chance to finish in the top 5. But, unfortunately, a small nudge from Aric Almirola from that back spun him, resulting in the final caution. Ricky Steakhouse Jr., who led the race while the yellow flag was waved, was declared the winner.
Though Pastrana went sideways down the track, he got back to the line and finished 11th. Riley Herbst, another rookie, finished just before Pastrana in 10th place. During his post-race interview, Pastrana said, “This was one of the greatest if not the greatest weeks or a couple of weeks of my life. Just coming here and even to go down to Volusia and camping with (Matt) Crafton and all the fans that came down there”.
Travis Pastrana is excited and exhausted after his spectacular drive
“Then realizing there were three guys that did the Clash and flew the red eye. These guys just love to drive. The Blocks came here just to watch me qualify and I’ve got all my friends and family here.” However, with all the buzzing and extreme racing, Pastrana revealed he was exhausted. Apart from Daytona 500, he also participated in dirt racing and Truck races, where he finished 13th after the event was cut short by rain.
“As excited as I am right now, I might sleep for the next week, I am mentally and physically completely drained. Even in the Truck race, my heart rate was 170 in a three-wide pack. 182 was my high. That’s just on adrenaline. So, anyone that says NASCAR is boring, they’re full of crap. They’ve definitely never been in a car because this was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done.” Pastrana did not expect this result before starting, he was elated after the race, especially with the adrenaline rush.
The action sports star added that his competitors were the best in the world. He was delighted with the 23XI Toyota team and mentioned it was an honor to share the track with them. Pastrana was disappointed that he could not help his teammate Bubba Wallace. He further went on to declare that this was a one-time thing.
With his skill set, he stated that he was not good enough to be here. Pastrana revealed that he just wanted to experience the Daytona Speedweeeks mainly because he had already been winning championships on the dirt track. However, though he said this is “one and done,” we might see him back with Niece Motorsports for the Truck Series.
In case you missed it:
“Unbelievable,” Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wins the longest Daytona 500 in history
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