hat more can be said about Travis Pastrana that hasn’t already been discussed, blogged, chat-roomed and editorialized? Travis has been the subject of heated debates everywhere from the local MX tracks and shops to the heights of power in the Japanese factories. The questions are always the same: talent vs. commitment; image vs. cost; longevity vs. performance; Supercross vs. Freestyle; money vs. payback. And there is always “What’s he thinking? He could’ve been the greatest ever!”

This year’s X Games should have been called “Travis Games 12.” Pastrana absolutely dominated the field, winning X Games Gold in Moto X Best Trick, Moto X Freestyle and Rally Car. Photo by Hoppenworld.com/PERLAS

Travis Pastrana is probably the most widely recognized two-wheeled star in the world today, and he’s making his mark on the four-wheeled world as well. Travis seems to easily conquer whatever he puts his mind to. Photo by Hoppenworld.com/PERLAS

     Some of the questions are easy to answer. For example, there is no question that Travis is probably the most famous motorcycle racer in the world today, and that he has a great image, a huge fan-base and generates a lot of magazine ink and television pixels. Some of the others aren’t so easy to answer, such as why doesn’t he focus on winning another Motocross or Supercross title?
     Actually, that question is easy to answer. Simply put, Travis doesn’t do what he does for money or fame or titles or records or to be the greatest ever. Travis does what he does for grins, laughs, thrills, and most of all, for the next challenge. Travis is extremely intelligent, a lot more so than the average fan or industry executive realizes. And if Travis isn’t looking down the road imagining and planning something new on a motorcycle, in a car, out of a plane, off a cliff, whatever, then Travis gets bored. And a bored Travis is having no fun living his own life, so Travis simply makes sure that he never gets bored.
     Rally car racing, base jumping, X Games Gold medals and the Nitro-Circus all help to occupy Travis’s high intellect as well as his amazing athletic skills. Most people think he just goes out on a freestyle course or shows up at the Daytona Supercross and goes for it without thinking. In reality, sometimes in the dark of night, Travis has been out walking around the course with a tape measure and a track map. He knows, to the inch, the distance between each ramp and landing, the pitch of the take-off, the height of each peak. Then he maps out and plans his routine (for Freestyle) and mentally executes each trick over and over again. He’ll do the same thing preparing for a race, whether it’s on a bike or in a Rally car–by the time the gate drops, Travis has already figured out how he’s going to win, from the holeshot to the first turn and every jump and whoops section along the way until the checkered flag.
     Sometimes his more then battered body and incredible skills can’t keep up with his mental plans, but nobody can ever claim that Travis is bored or boring to watch in whatever he’s trying next. He is arguably the greatest there has ever been at being good at everything he tries.
Travis has signed on to race in the upcoming Jeremy McGrath Invitational. Here’s what he had to say about the event:

     Parts Magazine: So Travis, you just conquered the X Games–what’s next for you?
Travis: “I just won triple gold at X Games 12 [he won the Freestyle, the Best Trick with the double back flip, and the Rally Car event] and now I’m getting ready for the Jeremy McGrath Invitational! I’m really honored that Jeremy invited me.”

     PM: Why this event?
Travis: “The Jeremy McGrath Invitational gives me an opportunity to get back to my roots of racing Supercross! The head-to-head racing format sounds like a lot of fun, my kind of racing. Me going head-to-head against the best guys in the world…game on! And I can’t wait to see what Jeremy and [track designer and builder] Randy Manenga come up with for a track–I hear it’s going to be insane. Metal ramps, 80 foot gaps, plus I’m allowed to do whatever I want. There’s no racing format like it anywhere else, the one-on one battles are going to be intense. That’s just my kind of racing. I’m training hard and really looking forward to it. Plus, I get to do a freestyle show too.”

     PM: So, it’s true that you are not only racing the Invitational but also headlining the freestyle portion of the event?
Travis: “It’s true–I’m actually racing the Jeremy McGrath Invitational and then jumping into the freestyle demo. And you’ve got to remember that not only are the top Supercross riders going to race, but the best Freestylers in the world are going to be part of the Freestyle demo. So I get to race with the greatest and also do Freestyle with the best. It’s going to be one fun weekend for me.”

     PM: Anything “special” planned for the Freestyle part?
Travis: “Freestyle is always evolving. What was impossible just last year is mundane, “old school” today. So, any time you get the top guys together you’re going to see something special happen. With guys like Nate Adams and Brian Deegan in the program you already know that everybody’s going to bring their ‘A’ game. It will be a great show.”

     PM: How are you preparing for the Invitational?
Travis: “Training for Supercross is a lot of work because you have to build your cardio to such a high level and that translates to a lot of 100 mile days on a road bike. Then you have to hone your timing and technique on your race bike. So I’m riding as much as I can and doing some testing and training with the Suzuki guys. I’m honored that Jeremy invited me so I want to be up front and try to win this thing!”

     Travis Pastrana’s bio qualifies him for the greatest crossover athlete in history. In addition to countless X Games and Gravity Games Gold medals for Freestyle Motocross, Travis regularly competes in and wins Rally Car events worldwide. He is also an accomplished skydiver and BASE jumper. Additionally he enters the toughest off-road motorcycle races on the planet and regularly makes the podium. He’s the first rider in history to complete the double back flip in competition (at X Games 12) and he is one of only two athletes to ever win three Gold Medals in one X Games.
     In 2001, Travis won the 125 (Now Lites) East Supercross Series Championship and was named 2001 ESPN Action Sports & Music Awards Motocross Rider of the Year. In 2000 he won the 125 (now Lites) National Motocross Championship in his rookie year, was named AMA Rookie of the Year, and was the youngest rider ever to represent Team USA for the Motocross de Nations, which Team USA won with a strong performance from Travis.
     What will Travis be up to next? We’ll all just have to wait and see, but whatever it is, you can bet that he’ll be having as much fun doing it as we will watching him!

      Check back for our full report on the Jeremy McGrath Invitational in our December issue!