Pastrana blows a turbo in Vegas – falls from championship contention

Travis Pastrana took his #199 Red Bull Racing Dodge Dart
rally car into this past weekend’s Global RallyCross race at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway (LVMS) with a narrow chance of staging a dramatic come-from-behind
charge to win the 2012 Global RallyCross title. 
Unfortunately, a blown turbo during the final race at LVMS sent Travis
to the rear of the field – effectively ending his run at the 2012 GRC
championship.

Travis Pastrana took to the track for the third heat race of
the fifth event in the 2012 Global RallyCross season, having claimed his first
win of the season at the previous race in New Hampshire.  Unfortunately, things got off to a rocky
start when Pastrana struggled in his heat race, finishing last in the 5 car
field behind Brian Deegan, Toomas Heikkinen, Stephan Verdier and (former
Dodge/SRT drift racer) Samuel Hubinette.

Pastrana’s team went to work on the #199 Dodge Dart and had
the car set up well for the Last Chance Qualifier and in the 8 car field,
Travis’ Dart performed much better as he spent the event battling with Andreas
Eriksson for the lead.  Unfortunately, Eriksson
held off Pastrana for the LCQ win but the 2^nd place win was enough
to send the lone Dodge Dart in the field into the final race of the night.

Early on in the Global RallyCross final race at Las Vegas
Motor Speedway, Travis Pastrana found himself fighting at the front of the
field with series frontrunners Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan who were both racing
their familiar Ford Fiesta rally cars. 
Unfortunately, this third place position didn’t last long as Pastrana
blew a turbo midway through the race and he was forced to settle for a 10^th
place finish.

While Travis Pastrana and the #199 Red Bull Racing Dodge
Dart rally team had only a slim chance of claiming the 2012 Global RallyCross
title, there was a chance that he could win the last two events of the year and
bring home the first GRC championship for the Dodge Dart rally team.  However, with his balmy 10^th place
finish at LVMS – Pastrana can realistically only shoot for a top five finish in
the season championship run.  Travis
currently sits in 9^th place with 39 points so a heat win and final
round win at the 2012 GRC finale at the SEMA Show would give him a total of 60
points on the year which would be good enough to move into the 3^rd
spot based on the current points.  That
is, of course, dependant on those drivers standing between Pastrana and 3^rd
place including Ken Block, Samuel Hubinette, Rhys Millen, and Stephan Verdier.  Pastrana also trails Marcus Gronholm but
considering that he has not raced since being injured at the X Games earlier
this year, he may not run in the final race and that would insure that Pastrana
would jump over him.  David Binks is also
currently ahead of the #199 Dart but Binks has struggled in his Ford rally car
over the last two events so Pastrana should be able to best the British
teammate of Brian Deegan.

The last race of the 2012 Global RallyCross season is set to
take place on October 30^th at 8pm in front of the Las Vegas
Convention Center along with the opening of the 2012 SEMA Show.

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

Facebook   Twitter