Travis Pastrana to SST?

Travis Pastrana announced today he is leaving NASCAR, and is "looking forward to driving more rally and racing more off-road trucks and there will be some announcements on those fronts shortly!" Could a Stadium Super Truck ride in 2014 be in the future? Nothing but conjecture at this point, but he would obviously be a huge name to get in the series moving forward.

Pastrana statement: This past season of NASCAR has been an awesome experience. I have made a lot of great friends, had a lot of fun and gained a new appreciation for all aspects of this sport. Jack Roush and everyone at Roush Fenway Racing have gone above and beyond to try and help me succeed and I am truly grateful for their support. I would like to thank them and all of the other people who stuck behind me during the last two years as I tried to learn how to make a successful career in NASCAR. Its tough to step back now and prove the critics were right, but unfortunately my results were not good enough to get the sponsors I needed to appropriately fund next season.

My wife Lyn-z has been more then supportive of my foray into NASCAR, often times being my biggest source of encouragement and support. But as my wife had to take a step back from being a professional skater to let me chase my goals in racing, I too need to take a step back and look at my situation as a father and husband. The NASCAR schedule is grueling and takes enormous sacrifices from those you love to make work. With a lack of funding next year, now is my opportunity to sit back and offer support as she chases her goals.

I hate to quit and I hate to fail, but sometimes things work out as they should. I've never been able to figure out the finesse required in pavement racing and that is disappointing, but I'm looking forward to driving more rally and racing more off-road trucks and there will be some announcements on those fronts shortly!

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Permalink Reply by Mike Kenyon on November 11, 2013 at 7:12pm

Called it the first time he drove a Late Model.Travis isn't patient enough to learn stock cars.
God gifted him to be a natural talent on a off road motorcycle and he couldn't find the dedication to be a successful racer.One 125 Championship is not dedication.

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Permalink Reply by pdxracefan on November 11, 2013 at 7:21pm

That pretty much sums up my opinion of him as well. I do wish him well.

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Permalink Reply by mj on November 11, 2013 at 7:44pm

He's more popular than talented but still wouldn't mind seeing him in SST .

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Permalink Reply by Bricoop on November 11, 2013 at 10:07pm

I guess...If you don't count his 4 consecutive Rally America championships.

Dude can wheel a Rally car. Might be a good fit for SST.

I believe Ceasars was the first race with a truck branded by another energy sponsor. Hopefully a sign of things to come as those guys show up with Big $.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Kenyon on November 11, 2013 at 10:24pm

@Bri, first I was amazing he gave it that much effort,but.RA is the sister kissing series of Rally.(sorry if you run the series) Take Ken Block(RA front runner), who did go to the WRC.Average finish 100th,yes ,sarcasm,but well down the finishing order.TTBOMK Travis never ran WRC (I only really one driver,Robby,I could be wrong) we can't compare him to anyone from the WRC.

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Permalink Reply by Bricoop on November 12, 2013 at 2:53pm

I agree whole heartedly. But we are also comparing life long car racers to a couple guys (TP & KB) who took up rally racing as a second career.

Now lets compare it to SST, there's Mike Jenkins who started racing only 7 years ago, theres also JB & SC who haven't been racing for very long but managed to pull out some wins. Has Arie even been in an off-road truck before SST? Yes, It'd be badass to have a field filled with McMillins, Baldwin, Menzies, Gordon, Rob Mac, Steele etc. But for now, lets encourage anyone with any racing experience to fill a spot in a SST race.

I guess my point is exposure is most important and getting a name like TP would be huge for the series. I disagree with saying that he doesn't have talent because he hasn't won at the top level. Especially with all the "no names" who have been able to compete and win in SST. This series requires some talent, cash and big huevos....Of course this is all a pipe dream right now.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Kenyon on November 12, 2013 at 4:34pm

@Bri, I don't recall posting that Travis is a talentless hack,I do recall posting 'Travis isn't patient enough to learn stock cars'.I also posted that he has a God-given ability to ride a off road motorcycle. Why did I qualify off road, becouse he tried MC Road racing and was off the pace of AMA Pro 600 guys, he quickly lost interest.Travis's first job was racing motorcycles,much like every pro moto-cross/super-cross rider at like age 12.