REPORT: Travis Pastrana to attempt entry in Daytona 500 for 23XI Racing
According to a report from Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, Travis Pastrana will attempt to qualify for the upcoming Daytona 500 in a third car fielded by 23XI Racing. Bianchi first broke the story on Friday evening.
Just a couple of hours before Bianchi's report was released, the Twitter handles of 23XI Racing and Daytona International Speedway sent out a joint tweet with a 14 second video and a caption that read, "Three is the magic number," seemingly hinting at a possible third car for 500.
Pastrana, a veteran of a multitude of racing disciplines, has never run in a NASCAR Cup Series race despite running a full Xfinity Series season in 2013, finishing 14th in points. Most recently, Pastrana made two starts during the 2020 Gander RV and Truck Series season, finishing 22nd at Kansas and 21st at Las Vegas for Niece Motorsports.
The 39-year old has won championships in rally racing, supercross and motocross, is a 16-time, X-Games gold medalist and an accomplished stunt driver. He made his NASCAR debut in a Super Late Model at the 2011 Toyota All-Star Showdown and after a part-time Xfinity schedule in 2012, ran a full-time season in 2013. His ninth-place finish at Richmond in the spring of that season stands as his career best.
LONG LIVE THE KING!The Petty name is leaving NASCAR as team rebrands to LEGACY M.C.
HARVICK TO RETIRE: 'It's just time,' NASCAR's Kevin Harvick says 2023 is final season as a driver
BUSSSCCCHHH: Kevin Harvick, Busch Light want to make you a rich race fan at Daytona 500
With Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick piloting 23XI Racing's two full-time Toyota Camrys, Pastrana would drive an entry without a charter and would have to earn his way into the 500 field via qualifying or in the Duels at Daytona races, set for Thursday, Feb. 16.
Bianchi added that an official announcement from the team is expected next week. No details including car number or potential team members were included in the report.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR: Travis Pastrana to attempt to qualify for Daytona 500 for 23XI Racing
