Eleven-time X Games Gold medal winner Travis Pastrana will drive the No. 99 Boost Mobile Toyota in Thursday’s K&N Pro Series West race at Phoenix International Raceway. Pastrana finished sixth in his Jan. 29 NASCAR debut in the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway. The Maryland native plans to make several appearances in K&N East and West Series before his July 30 Nationwide Series debut in Indianapolis. Longtime NASCAR truck series driver Matt Crafton has served as a tutor for Pastrana since beginning the NASCAR program. Pastrana on Matt Crafton: “Matt Crafton has been a tremendous amount of help. He is kind of like my security blanket. He educates me on the best way to get around the race track. In Irwindale he was also my spotter and that was so much help. He told me when I was over driving the corners or when a lap looked pretty good. He also helped me stay out of a bunch of wrecks. Matt and I just clicked from the time we meet at New Smyrna Speedway.”(Pastrana-Waltrip Racing PR)(2-22-2011)
UPDATE: Crafton on being ‘coach’ — “Wow, that just sounds strange hearing it! I don’t think I’m actually called ‘coach’ anywhere…at least not by Travis! I’m the driver coach for Travis Pastrana in his K&N Pro Series races, so I’ll be helping him this week. They race on Thursday afternoon, and I think he’s really ready. It has been a lot of fun to help him get comfortable in the stock cars. We have a lot of practical jokes happening at the tests and the tracks, but he’s a serious racer. He’s getting this down pretty quickly, so look for him to be a serious competitor in the Nationwide Series this year. Hopefully, I’ve helped teach him some things!” Crafton returns to his favorite racetrack – Phoenix International Raceway – this week with the Menards/Ideal Door team. It’s his favorite for a reason – his 11th visit in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series comes with a lot of street credibility. In his ten appearances, he’s had three top 5 finishes and four top 10s. In 2010, he started second and finished fourth.(ThorSport Racing PR)(2-23-2011)
