By B.J. Smith
EXPN.com
Nov. 20, 2002
43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38... days until 2003. Could this year drag on any longer? What's today's date again? You know how stressed people say, "I need a vacation?" Well, Travis Pastrana doesn't; he just wants to go back to work. Pastrana's 2002 Journal has a lot of blank pages and even though he logged a few hundred insane backflips this summer and won a gold medal at the Gravity Games, that's not the highlight he was looking for.
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| Before accepting his gold medal Travis gives the crowd a thumbs up after his final freestyle run at 2001's X Games VII. |
Then again, a blown tire in Supercross round one, a mis-shift, a few crashes, several bizarre illnesses, blackout at Daytona, a couple more crashes, broken wrist and a blown knee will put you in that frame of mind. And as far as TravisPastrana.com goes, well, it's hard keep it up to speed when its namesake's only priority in mid-season is to get fresh ice for the knee before the commercial break is over. 2003, different story. A well-healed and focused Travis Pastrana will line up at Anaheim with one goal - win. After August's knee surgery Pastrana is back to a regular schedule of riding, and testing is set to begin in December.
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| Travis bails out of his step-up attempt at the 2002 Gravity Games. |
The worst part about seeing Pastrana on the sidelines is knowing what he can do on two wheels. Travis Pastrana is an enigma on a motorcycle. Anyone that can double onto a cliff top and land stopped on the front wheel while looking back defies physics. Unfortunately for Travis, his body doesn't defy anatomy.
Come January fourth though, the heat is on. Most fans have a hard time swallowing the fact that Pastrana couldn't finish races but he had the time and energy to learn how to pull no-footed backflips, win the Gravity Games and then wreck his knee in a step-up contest. And in the return, Travis has a hard time selling the notion that racing is his #1 priority. The only way he will be able to prove priorities in the new season is by winning races. He came dangerously close in Supercross this year, but close won't put you on top of the podium.
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| An injured Pastrana enjoying his gig as ESPN Moto X commentator during X Games VIII. |
Fans do have this to look forward to - when Travis does win his first Supercross, he's promised something big over the finish line. What could that be? Knowing him, anything is possible.
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