Travis is and will always be a born and bred racer. His #1 goal was to win a 250cc (Now the Pro/450cc class) AMA Supercross Championship. He was always a favourite to win, showing a lot of promise with his 125cc AMA Motocross and Supercross Championships in 2000 and 2001 respectively. Through injuries such as broken ankles and wrists Travis was able to get these titles to the amusement of his team manager Roger DeCoster. DeCoster had his doubts about Travis as he dislocated his shoulder and tore his rotator cuff days before his debut 125cc AMA Motocross race whilst performing a simple NacNac on the David Letterman Show; Travis won the race convincingly.

Travis became known for his aggressive racing style and never give up attitude which was key in the success he had until he entered the Pro class. Travis became a whole different person when he put on the helmet, he gave it everything he had and put everything on the line when he had to, which may have been his undoing.  When the helmet came off however, he returned to the lovable Travis whom his fans went crazy for.

Upon entering the 250cc Pro class in 2002 everybody had high expectations. Travis was the Suzuki star and he had shown he can race up against the best such as Ricky Carmichael. Travis from here on had more than his fair share of injuries, often leading to him missing most of the seasons, skipping seasons and races to get healthy and to the surprise of many, not winning a single race – not a Supercross Main Event or Motocross National. DeCoster became increasingly frustrated with Pastrana as he continued to compete in Freestyle competition (See the ‘FMX Phenom’ part of this Bio for more) which had added more injuries to the already long list but DeCoster never lost faith.

During 2003 Travis tried again and again to get the good start to the season he needed. After only 3 rounds he would be out, sometimes racing with casts on his wrists just to earn some points. This of course was not enough to beat the likes of Carmicahel, Reed and Stewart and Travis. He brought in Ironman, Todd Jacobs to help him train to his best and recover and this lifted Travis’ chance greatly. Travis’ was in the best shape of his life, 100% healthy, with Anaheim 1, the firt race of the 2004 season one week away when his Supercross career derailed.

As quoted by Travis’ father, Robert Pastrana, the “Million Dollar Jump” lost it all. The story goes that Travis and Gary Baily had built a 200ft jump over a fence, onto a hill. Robert Pastrana of course had told Travis not to jump it, with everything he had worked for on the line however once Robert was gone Travis couldn’t help himself. Travis essentially blew the months of training and rehabilitation he had worked for, doing damage to his knees which still linger to this day.

Travis raced a few rounds of the 2004 and 2005 season but with limited success. He also raced Daytona 2006, his only race of that year and with hardly any training he was up in the top 10, showing Travis still had game yet, during his heat race he crashed over the whoops section. He returned to the LCQ but elected not to race the main. That was the closer of the ‘Travis Pastrana Supercross Career’.

In 2009 Travis raced a once-off AMA Supercross Race at St Louis and it was making headlines everywhere. No one had big expectations from the former 125cc Champion but he had set goals for himself which included, 1) win his heat race and 2) lead a lap of the main event. Travis made it to the LCQ with a smashed radiator; a result of his agressive racing style from bumping other riders, his last resort.