Travis Pastrana has been confirmed as the latest driver to sign up for Race Of Champions 2017 to be held in Miami for the very first time. Previously confirmed drivers include Sebastian Vettel, Kurt Busch and Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Pastrana has been in the motoring spotlight for most of his life after becoming freestyle motorcross world champion at just 14 years old. He has 11 X Games gold medals in his trophy cabinet and in more recent years, has proven successful on four wheels, claiming four Rally America championships, driving in NASCAR and racing at the Daytona 24 Hours.
The American is also a Race Of Champions veteran, having competed seven previous times and, in 2005, reaching the semi-finals only to be knocked out by WRC god Sebastien Loeb.
“The greatest part about the Race Of Champions is that you take all these legends and the best in the world from Formula 1, IndyCar and NASCAR and put them all together, but not necessarily in their specialty”, said Pastrana. “Anybody can win at any time. I took two wins against Sebastian Vettel, who was the Formula 1 champion at the time – in his home country Germany – in a Porsche and an Aston Martin. Then he beats me in Beijing in a rally car, which should have been my speciality. Everyone always has a shot because there are so many vehicles that no one’s ever driven or had experience in, so everyone makes a lot of mistakes.”
Next year’s event will mark the first time Race Of Champions has hit North American soil and will take place Miami’s Marlins Park baseball stadium.
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