DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Travis Pastrana will not be coming back to contest another Daytona 500 or Cup race after finishing 11th and leading one lap Sunday night, and said his memorable race was a once-in-a-lifetime experience .
“It surpassed all my expectations for the result,” said Pastrana, the action sports star who finished ahead of six cup champions and his two 23XI Racing teammates.
“These are the best drivers in the world. I’m not a big rear cyclist. I’m not a big sidewalk rider. … It was an honor to be on the track with these guys. It was great that we made it into the top 20. I am proud of everyone involved and so grateful to be here.”
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Pastrana admitted he was contemplating a possible top-five finish as he finished 12th in the last restart.
“I really wanted to help my teammate (Bubba Wallace) more but when he caught the bumper of someone in front of him and I wasn’t on his bumper I kind of left him behind which was disappointing but still made a pretty good run, when he came over the white flag,” Pastrana said. “When that peak started to go, I thought we could be the top five here.”
But then Pastrana was caught in the last lap crash.
“It’s difficult just because you can’t really see what’s happening in front of you. So when the two cars collide in front of you they take off really fast but when you push them you worry that you might have happened which happened to me where you kinda spin the guy in front of you”, said Pastrana.
“My car was pretty tight even out of (Turn) 4 so I was super surprised it got so loose.”
Pastrana was as excited about his finish as he was about leading the Daytona 500.
“I led a lap!” said Pastrana. “It was an accident.”
Pastrana was credited with leading two rounds, Rounds 39-40, which came during a green flag pit cycle.
“I should come in,” Pastrana said, telling his team before being told to stay out. “(Then) they’re like, ‘Come in.’ I’m already out (behind the pit entrance). I led a lap at the Daytona 500 and finished in the top 20 and the car is not a total loss.”
It was just part of a special week at Daytona, with Pastrana competing in the Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday and the Daytona 500 on Sunday.
“As excited as I am right now, maybe I’ll sleep for the next week,” Pastrana said. “I am completely drained mentally and physically. Even in the truck race, my heart rate was 170 in a triple pack. 182 was my high. This is just on adrenaline.
“Anyone who says NASCAR is boring is full of crap. They’ve definitely never been in a car because that was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done.”
And that from someone who jumped out of a plane without a parachute.
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