Travis Pastrana may not run in another Daytona 500 but his 2023 appearance will always be memorable. The motocross star had a blast running in his first, and potentially last, Daytona 500, finishing 11th.
“This exceeded all my expectations as far as result,” said Pastrana, who finished ahead of six NASCAR Cup champions as well as his two 23XI Racing teammates.
“These are the best drivers in the world. I’m not a great rear-wheel driver. I’m not a great pavement driver. … It was an honor to be on the track with these guys. It was amazing that we were able to put it in the top 20. I’m proud of everyone involved and so thankful to be here.”
Pastrana finished ahead of six NASCAR champions, not bad for a first-timer. He also tried to help teammate Bubba Wallace but it didn’t quite work out.
“I really wanted to give my teammate (Wallace) more help, but once he locked on the bumper of whoever was in front of him and I wasn’t on his bumper, I kind of left him so that was disappointing, but still made a pretty good run coming across the white flag,” he said. “When that top started going, I thought, we might be top five here.”
Despite some of the drama that took place throughout the race, Pastrana had a strong showing at the race and had fun doing so.
“As excited as I am right now, I might sleep for the next week,” he said. “I am mentally and physically completely drained. Even 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.”
About Stacey Mickles
Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.