LAKE ELSINORE, California – Travis Pastrana knows a lot about going fast and jumping into, onto and over things. He’s been an extreme sports icon since he was 15 and celebrated winning a gold medal at the 1999 X Games by soaring about 100 feet in the air off the end of Pier 30 and landing in San Francisco Bay.
Pastrana also welcomed the new year in 2010 by driving a Subaru rally car off the end of the Pine Street Pier in Long Beach, California, and sailing a record 269 feet onto a barge floating in the harbor. He’s spent most of his life doing things that definitely aren’t for the faint-of-heart, on two wheels and four. Now he’s ready to test himself on the biggest, gnarliest jump at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Parks, the one near the end of the high-speed back straightaway that some of the drivers in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by GEICO call the Matterhorn.
Pastrana and MAVTV personality and race car driver Tanner Foust are joining the series regulars for the Rockstar Energy Drink Southern California Shootout presented by E3 Spark Plugs on Friday and Saturday nights (April 25-26).
Pastrana will be driving a new Pro 2 truck built and prepared by Menzies Motorsports and Foust will be in a Pro 2 formerly driven by Rob MacCachren, whose team is handling the preparation for the “Top Gear” host’s debut.
“Rockstar has been pushing it for a while,” said Foust, who spent the early part of the week in Indianapolis, Indiana, testing a Global Rallycross car for Andretti Autosport and on Thursday was scheduled to go up Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles to do some drifting in a Rolls Royce for his TV show.
“I do other motorsports things for them. I did Super Lites one time and that was fun. Then the opportunity came about with Rob MacCachren’s team. It’s a truck from a few years ago, it’s definitely not the latest iteration, but it’s a chance to get my feet wet. The Lucas Oil series is a great show and they have a great TV package. I thought it would be a cool thing be a part of and learn more about and experience.
“It looks like a fun form of racing. I think it (the audience) is a demographic that I’m not usually racing in front of, but there’s a big crossover with Top Gear. From that standpoint it connects to a lot of business stuff. And I can bring a different demographic of my own to off road racing.
“It’s something we’ve tried to do for three or four years, but we could never put it together until this year.”
Foust has won championships in Rallycross and Drifting, teamed with Pastrana to represent the U.S. in the 2009 Race of Champions, and set a record by making a ramp-to-ramp jump of 332 feet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He’s had limited time in the Pro 2 truck, however, and said “the hardest part if getting it to jump correctly.”
Pastrana shouldn’t have that problem. He’s competed in all the major motorcycle series, driven stock cars, rally cars and sports cars, and is as comfortable on jumps as he is on level ground. He’s also raced two other short course events with Red Bull teammate Bryce Menzies, recently finished fourth overall in the General Tire Mint 400 desert race and may join Menzies for the SCORE Baja 1000 this fall.
“I’m really excited to be back in the Menzies Motorsports Pro 2,” said Pastrana, who has spent much of this weekend filming features for his “Nitro Circus” tour and television show.
“After the fun I had at the Mint 400 I can’t wait to go back and race some more off road. I’d like to thank BFGoodrich, Discount Tires, Red Bull, Menzies Motorsports and KMC Wheels for the chance to do this again.”
The Shootout, the first of two events this season on the fast, challenging Lake Elsinore track, will be the first of the six weekends of night racing on the schedule and also introduces the Friday-Saturday format that will be in place for all those weekends.
The teams began arriving at the track on Thursday (April 24), but only to set up their pit areas and go through tech inspection. All of the on-track activity occurs on Friday and Saturday.
Spectator gates will open at noon each day. Racing will begin at 6 p.m. Friday and 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $50 for the weekend or $25 per day, with children 12 and under free, and all tickets are general admission and available only at the track. Coupons good for $5 off the ticket price may be obtained at participating NAPA Auto Parts and Circle K convenience stores.
The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by GEICO also is sponsored by Rockstar Energy Drink, General Tire, E3 Spark Plugs, Toyota, Optima Batteries, LoanMart, Ole Smoky Moonshine, MAVTV American Real, iON Cameras, Protect the Harvest, Loctite, Superclean, KMC Wheels, Fram, K&N Filters, Mickey Thompson Tires, BFGoodrich, Maxxis Tires, Team Associated, Tonka and BILSTEIN Shocks.
ABOUT THE LUCAS OIL OFF ROAD RACING SERIES:
The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series is the evolution of the long-standing support of short course racing by Forrest Lucas and Lucas Oil Products. Steeped in the Midwest tradition of short course off-road racing infused with a West Coast influence, Lucas Oil Off Road Racing brings intense four wheel door to door action to challenging, fan-friendly tracks. Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series: This is Short Course. For more information please visit www.LucasOilOffRoad.com.