Still walking on crutches and still at least three months from getting back in a race car, Travis Pastrana says he hopes to make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut next March at Phoenix. The action sports star was scheduled to make his series debut in July in Indianapolis, but shattered his right ankle while trying to perform a maneuver in X Games competition two days before his scheduled Nationwide effort as part of major marketing “Pastranathon” effort by ESPN. Doctors put eight screws, a plate, five pins and wire in his right ankle during surgery following his injury. Asked about his progress Friday at Chicagoland Speedway, Pastrana said he still needs additional surgery and hopes to be able to get in a car near the end of December. If he heals by the end of December, Pastrana will have time to test a Nationwide car, but Pastrana will not have enough NASCAR experience to compete at Daytona. He has no restrictor-plate experience but has run some K&N Pro Series races, including one at Phoenix. So the co-owner of Pastrana Waltrip Racing expects to make his debut in the second race of the season on the 1-mile oval.(Scene Daily)(9-16-2011)
