Action sports icon Travis Pastrana joins an all-star team for the longest off-road race in America. He is set to compete in the Vegas to Reno off-road race alongside Jolene Van Vugt and Jim Beaver in the Polaris RZR Star Car.
"I can't wait to race the Polaris RZR Star Car in Vegas to Reno. The event is legendary! I've always wanted to compete and couldn't be more excited to get this opportunity in a race-modified side-by-side," said Pastrana, who has been practicing (Watch here). "It's going to be a lot of fun!"
Pastrana is the latest celebrity guest drivers to join Van Vugt and Beaver for a run in the Polaris RZR Star Car, a race-modified 2017 Polaris RZR XP 4 Turbo EPS.
The August 18 Vegas to Reno race is known as one of the most challenging on the international off-road calendar. It starts in dusty terrain just outside of Las Vegas and concludes some 550 miles later in Reno, Nevada. It is one of four stops on the 2017 Polaris RZR Star Car schedule.
Perhaps best known for his accomplishments on two-wheels, including becoming the first person ever to double-backflip a motorcycle, Pastrana is also an accomplished car racer. A four-time Rally America champion, he recently set the speed record in the Mt. Washington Hillclimb with Subaru Rally Team USA.
In March, champion racer and television personality Tanner Foust joined the team as its first celebrity guest of 2017 and set a top 10 pace in the Mint 400. For the team's second race of the year, journalists Alyssa Roenigk and Shaun Ochsner joined Van Vugt and Beaver to race the UTV World Championships in April.
Pastrana will compete on the team alongside team regulars: longtime friend and fellow action sport icon Van Vugt, as well as Beaver, the radio host and veteran off-road racer who leads the team. Co-driver Bryant Shontz will also sit in for the Vegas to Reno event.
The team will wrap up its season this winter at the Pahrump Nugget 250, November 30 - December 3, in Pahrump, Nevada. The final 2017 guest star drivers will be announced in the weeks leading up to the race.
The team's participation in select Best in the Desert races is documented in a series of online videos released throughout the season. Follow the Polaris RZR Star Car this season on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @PolarisRZR, and by using the hashtag #RZRStarCar and #RZRLife. Find Jim Beaver's Down & Dirty Radio Show online at www.downanddirtyshow.com ; and through all podcasting channels.
ABOUT THE DRIVERS:
Travis Pastrana is an action sport legend, Nitro Circus founder, and rally champion who began his career in motocross racing and soon became one of the pioneers of freestyle. In 2006, he became the first person in the world to land a double backflip on a motorcycle. He has earned wins in every major action sport venue including X Games, Gravity Games, Dew Tour and Red Bull X-Fighters. A four-time U.S. rally champion who races for Subaru Rally Team USA, Pastrana has also tried his hand at NASCAR and short course off-road competition.
Jolene Van Vugt is one of the most accomplished female athletes in action sports today. The first female to backflip a full-sized dirt bike, she holds multiple Guinness World Records. A Canadian originally from London, Ont., Canada, Van Vugt has earned multiple championship titles, including becoming the first-ever Women's Canadian Motocross National Champion. She also has a starring role in many motocross and stunt videos, including the Nitro Circus series of videos and shows. Recently, she has shifted focus to racing side-by-sides in the Terracross Championship, and working in the television and film industry as a stunt performer.
Jim Beaver is an accomplished off-road racer and the host of the No. 1 action motorsport radio show in the world, the Down & Dirty Radio Show Powered by Polaris RZR, as well as its action sports spin-off, Project Action. Both popular programs are available as podcasts and via online streaming. The Down & Dirty Radio Show Powered by Polaris RZR also is in national syndication on radio networks across the United States as well as 500 networks in 177 countries on the American Forces Network. The Down & Dirty Radio Show Powered by Polaris RZR is available each Tuesday morning, while Project Action releases on Thursdays.
