“I would be disappointed if I didn’t qualify,” Action Sports legend Travis Pastrana set his priorities for Daytona 500 debut with 23XI Racing
Travis Pastrana will have to fight the likes of Jimmie Johnson and Zane Smith in Daytona 500 qualifiers.
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Travis Pastrana (Credits: 23XI Rcaing)
Motocross and Rally cross legend Travis Pastrana will make his NASCAR Cup debut in 2023 in Daytona 500 with 23XI Racing. The Michael Jordan–Denny Hamlin-owned team decided to give Travis a shot in their third part-time entry that they are working on for Kurt Busch’s part-time schedule this year. Pastrana will have to qualify as one of the top 3 cars in the open charter to race in Sunday’s final event.
The Nitro cross Series owner is no stranger to NASCAR. He raced full-time in the Xfinity series for RF Racing in 2013 and has entered a handful of races in the Truck series. His latest NASCAR outing came in 20202 in Niece Motorsports Truck. He also has run for regional NASCAR series such as K&N Pro Series.
Pastrana’s priority right now is to qualify for the final race, and he has big competition from 7 times champion Jimmie Johnson, Zane Smith, and more. He is ready to give his absolute best and understands the only way he could mess his debut up is by prompting a big crash.
“I would be disappointed if I didn’t qualify. I believe that I can. There’s a one-in-a-million shot, so you’re saying there’s a chance! We’re not going to not go for something. If the win is a possibility, and it’s a very slim chance, then I’ll go for it. But I’m just going to do the absolute best that I can,” Travis Pastrana told HOTCARS.
“The only way I can really mess this up is by making a move that takes somebody else out of the chance [to win]. If I’m the one that starts the crash, this will be my last,” Travis Pastrana added.
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Travis Pastrana is looking forward to racing against Jimmie johnson
The Rally America champion pointed out that Jimmie Johnson is the driver he is most excited to face. He said, “I’d have to say Jimmie Johnson’s definitely the driver that I’m most excited to be on the racetrack with, especially after seven championships, two Daytona 500s,”.
Pastrana was a big JJ fan growing up due to his off-road background, and he influenced his Daytona dream. He said, “I always was a big Jimmie Johnson fan growing up because he came from the motocross and off-road world a little bit. And back in 2008 or 2009 I was talking to him and started this whole thing of wanting to do Daytona,”.
The opportunity becomes more special as Jimmie returns to Cup after two years. Pastrana said, “Now that he’s coming out of retirement basically to race this, and now I’ve got to race against him, even qualify against him to even have a chance to race the great American race, I have to say Jimmie Johnson,”.
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