Pastrana doubles up on racing

Updated: September 27, 2012, 12:44 AM ET
ESPN.com Action Sports

Travis PastranaCharlotte Motor SpeedwayTravis Pastrana will drive in the second-to-last GRC stop a couple of hours after his truck racing debut.

Global RallyCross driver Travis Pastrana will make his NASCAR Camping World series debut Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, driving ThorSport Racing's No. 98 Toyota truck.

Pastrana's new ride means he will be pulling double duty by following up the truck race with the fifth round of the GRC season slated to start at 11:30 p.m. ET (live on ESPN3).

"I'm really excited," Pastrana said at a news conference Wednesday, according to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "The GRC program has been awesome. I'm really looking forward to great racing. I'm trying to get my future more into NASCAR and I always wanted to race here. I watched last year's Smith's 350 race here from the grandstands."

Pastrana drove an abbreviated NASCAR Nationwide Series with seven races this year, including double-duty racing in GRC on May 26 in Charlotte, N.C., and July 14 in New Hampshire. His best Nationwide result was a 13th-place finish July 28 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and he won Round 4 of the GRC at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

"Camping World Truck Series driver Matt Craffton has been a huge help to me," Pastrana said, according to LVMS. "He said the 98 truck -- which is a team truck on their team -- had become available, and I said, 'Put me in, Coach!'"

The final round of the GRC will be Oct. 30 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Pastrana also has been competing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East series, in which he ranks 16th with one top-5 finish (May 19 in Iowa) and four top-10 finishes in eight races. He finished seventh Saturday in New Hampshire and is scheduled to race once more, Nov. 3 in Rockingham, N.C.

SPONSORED HEADLINES

MOST SENT STORIES ON ESPN.COM

ESPN Conversations

comments