Travis Pastrana: The FSX Interview!

FreestyleXtreme: a little bit excited about meeting Travis Pastrana. Yup - playing it reeeeal cool....

Travis Pastrana recently visited us in the UK in order to promote the forthcoming Nitro Circus European Tour. So, when we were asked if we wanted to interview the FreestyleXtreme office hero we very calmly agreed to ask him a few questions. Then we did an awesome little dance. Here's the interview...

Hi Travis! What have you been up to recently?

Honestly, I’ve just been bouncing backwards and forwards getting the rally car program set up and getting as many NASCAR races in as I possibly can. I’ve been healing up my ankle and only had the one concussion! I had my first proper time back on a motorcycle and doing some freestyle BMX in the skate park and then I had shoulder surgery the next day…

Is that where you attempted the ‘American Roll’?

Yeah, yeah. Everyone’s trying to give me shit about it but I’m just putting it out there for someone to try and do it. It’s a pretty cool trick, I think. I nearly landed it but I didn’t have the balls to take it to a hard packed landing!

How long until your shoulder will be healed properly? Did it hurt each time it dislocated?

I’ve got three months left to go. [Before the surgery] it was getting to the point where it didn’t really hurt that bad coming in and out – it was just so loose. The problem was, when it comes out for that split second you can loose control of the wheel. Or, you’re in mid-air, it pops out and you’ve got to get back on the bike!

We’re really looking forward to the European Nitro Circus Tour. Have there been any challenges setting it up?

Everybody really wanted to tour Europe. It was a new environment and something that we really needed. As for challenges… our show is choreographed for the first half but in the second half, everybody likes to try something they haven’t attempted before in every show. So, when you go out with the best in the world show after show, and you do it night after night, it’s normally a trick that hasn’t even been named, done on the spur of the moment. So, that can be really hard to translate to an audience that doesn’t speak the same language. However, I think all the excitement is something that doesn’t need translating!

Speaking of Nitro Circus. Is the 3D movie going to be coming to Europe?

Yeah, the 3D movie will be getting a release and I think that it’s coming to England. It’ll be coming out in Australia in the next month or so.

Which stop of the tour are you looking forward to the most?

I always think that the most exciting show is the last stop of the tour. Which happens to be here in England. The first show is always exciting because you’ve got a lot of new guys doing stuff that they’ve never tried. They’ll all throw down big in every show but if you get to the last one, that means that you’re the best of the best. Not only does it mean that you are tougher than all the rest, almost most guys will be riding with something that is broken or fractured, it’s the camaraderie. Guys have been talking smack back and forth to each other during the course of the tour and it’s the last show where people have to prove it!

We love On Pace With Pastrana but how come the series is so far behind with time?

Erm.... because we got real excited and blew our entire budget within three weeks of filming. It was Andy Bell’s first production as a production company and because we’re all really good friends we end up doing all the really cool stuff and then someone asks “Did somebody get that on film?” But we can’t re-enact stuff. We’re horrible actors. We’ll get better. The second season will be better. If we get a second season…

What’s it like having to race in Global Rallycross and NASCAR on the same day?

It’s a lot more challenging than you might think. Not just driving the cars but the attention that it takes to win a race means you’re mentally drained by the end of the day. Last GRC I though the course was really good and I had a good chance of winning but I didn’t do my job on the GRC. I got straight out of the NASCAR into the GRC car and I wasn’t quite as focused as I should have been. If you don’t come off the start perfect, the layout of the courses doesn’t leave much room for overtaking.

The GRC courses are still a long way from the European courses…

Oh god, yeah – they suck. The thing is, using NASCAR courses mean you have a built-in audience of about 80,000 people. There’s no way a start-up new series can attract that sort of crowd otherwise – not enough people would have known about it. So, it was a bit of a catch 22 – yeah, you won’t be able to have much of a course but, you will get the audience and the press and so on. It was a necessary evil.

So... Chad Reed’s Kart Track. Have you tried it and do you want one of your own?

I’ve wanted a go-kart track for the longest time and I’ve been saving up for so long… The trouble is I keep crashing cars that aren’t insured. I had nearly a quarter of a million dollars saved up to build a track. I’d put away a percentage of my winnings towards it and then I get close to doing it and I’d go and burn down a car… Chad Reeds kart is the best track bar none. He has off cambers, he has berms, banked corners. It’s awesome!

You race a Ferrari at Daytona earlier in the year. Are there any other forms of motorsport you would like to compete in?

Definitely before I die I would love to race Le Mans 24 hour and take part in the Dakar Rally.

The Dakar? On a bike or in a car?

I definitely respect my life enough to want to do it on four wheels. Although… I’d love to try it on a bike too.

Are you going to be competing in the Race of Champions in Thailand this year?

Sadly, I’m not going to make it this year – it’s on at the same time as the [Nitro Circus Live] tour. Plus, my shoulder still won’t be ready [after the shoulder surgery]

How come Lyn-Z is winning all these races in cars and trucks? Are you giving her too many tips?

What really is awesome and I’m so proud of her is that she’s watching all these races going “just pass him, what are you doing? I don’t get what the hard part is.” And then I’ll say “You’ll see”. Then she gets in a NASCAR and wins her race. And I’m like “Oh. Great.”

Take a look at our range of Travis Pastrana gear at FreestyleXtreme!