Travis Pastrana has convinced multiple guest drivers to join Nitrocross, the racing series he created. Yet there is one driver he really wants to see behind the wheel of the all-electric FC1-X.
“Kyle Larson,” Pastrana said in a video for his racing series. “I think if I could get one driver — everyone in America believes that he is the best all-around driver, at least the best all-around American driver that’s ever existed.
“Man, would it be cool to have him out to Nitrocross.”
Larson is no stranger to hopping in a variety of racing vehicles. He regularly competes in sprint car races while simultaneously pursuing a championship in the NASCAR Cup Series. Larson also raced for the team that won the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2015.
Most recently, Larson competed in the Indy 500 and won Rookie of the Year.
One thing Larson has not done just yet is compete in Pastrana’s racing series. Though the action sports star has previously pitched Larson on the idea.
Back in 2021, Pastrana headed to Martinsville Speedway to take in a Cup Series playoff race. He also spent time trying to convince some of NASCAR’s biggest names to compete in Nitrocross — it was called Nitro Rallycross at the time.
Pastrana achieved success with Chase Elliott. They worked out a deal where Pastrana would jump out of Elliott’s airplane and then Elliott would compete in the Nitrocross races at Florida International Rally & Motorsport Park.
Pastrana also pitched Joey Logano, who said that he wanted to compete. There was a handshake agreement to put Logano in one of the Nitrocross cars but Logano never ultimately got behind the wheel.
One of the pitches went to Larson.
“I didn’t even think of it as being an option until I saw Kyle (Busch) was running,” Larson told Pastrana in 2021. “So I gotta look at the dates a little bit more. We’ll see. I’d like to.”
Larson noted at the time that his wife had said “absolutely not” to the idea of him racing in Nitrocross. He also acknowledged that this hadn’t stopped him in the past.
A two-time champion first made the crossover happen
Pastrana has pitched the idea of racing in Nitrocross to multiple NASCAR Cup Series champions and a Daytona 500 champion. Only three drivers have made the leap to the racing series “where cars fly.”
Two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch was the first driver to take on Nitrocross. He joined the lineup in 2021 for the race weekend at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Arizona. He made it to the final round and finished fourth in his debut.
Chase Elliott was the second driver to compete in Nitrocross. He raced at The Firm in 2021 after Pastrana honored his end of the airplane agreement. Elliott won his head-to-head race against Tanner Foust but later received a penalty for contact in the race. The stewards awarded the win to Foust.
Elliott returned to Nitrocross in 2022 at Wild Horse Pass, the same weekend that Austin Cindric made his debut. Both drivers took their first laps in the FC1-X electric car and embraced the opportunities to hit the purpose-built jumps.
Cindric and Elliott faced a steep learning curve as they adjusted to the FC1-X. They both missed the final round of racing after finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, in Last Chance Qualifying.