Earlier this week it was announced Travis Pastrana would miss Nitrocross Calgary next month.
Why?
Travis Pastrana’s reasoning for missing round eight of the 2023-24 Nitrocross season is due to him requiring knee surgery. Pastrana who has broken basically every bone in his body, is getting his knee replaced after it gave out. Pastrana has confirmed he plans on contesting rounds nine and ten of the 2023-24 Nitrocross season in Las Vegas in March. It’s also believed Pastrana’s knee surgery won’t force him to miss the Sno*Drift Rally next month. The Sno*Drift Rally will kick off the 2024 American Rally Association series on February 9-10.
Pastrana’s 2023-24 Season
Missing round eight of the 2023-24 season won’t end Travis Pastrana’s championship chances. As those were ended last time out in Glen Helen. As Pastrana gave up his seat for round seven to Lia Block. This made Block the first female competitor in Group E history. She would finish eighth overall at the event. The other six rounds Pastrana has contested this season haven’t gone terribly. He won in the second round of the season in Utah. Then he finished third in round four in Phoenix. Other than those two podiums Pastrana has been pretty middle of the pack. Finishing fifth in both rounds one and five. Seventh at six and tenth in round three. Pastrana wasn’t necessarily a championship favorite before he gave up his seat for round seven.
Who Could Replace Pastrana?
Travis Pastrana’s replacement for round eight hasn’t been announced. There is also no guarantee there will be one either. However, it’s unlikely Vermont Sportscar chooses to run just one car. Two names come to mind that could take Pastrana’s seat for the round. Those names are three-time American Rallycross champion Scott Speed and two-time American Rallycross champion Tanner Foust. Speed hasn’t contested a Nitrocross event since the end of the 2021 season. Foust made an appearance earlier this season at rounds two and three in Utah. Foust’s name has been mentioned in rumors about a Nitrocross return after he and McLaren parted ways in Extreme-E. Lia Block isn’t an option for the event. As she is off in Europe attending a motorsport university.