After three years, Travis Pastrana is returning to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as he looks to qualify the No. 41 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet at Daytona.
Niece Motorsports announced, Tuesday, that the 39-year-old action sports star will drive the No. 41 Chevrolet in the season-opening NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway. Should he qualify, it’ll be his first Truck Series start since he finished 21st at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September of 2020. Pastrana said:
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Al [Niece], Cody [Efaw] and the Niece Motorsports crew quite a bit since the team was formed. I was looking to be part of as much racing as possible during Daytona Speedweeks this year and couldn’t be happier to have the opportunity to drive their 41 truck with support from WWEX Racing in my first Daytona start in the Truck Series.”
Joining Travis Pastrana
Niece has paired Pastrana with crew chief, Cody Efaw. Efaw was also Pastrana’s crew chief in his first XFINITY Series start in 2012. Pastrana qualified third and finished 10th in that race, but was caught up in the final-lap wreck in the tri-oval. He said:
“We have an amazing team with amazing sponsors like Worldwide Express/WWEX Racing, Black Rifle, Dixxon and Wienerschnitzel. As always, we are approaching the race with optimism that we have the package to put in a great result, while having the most fun of anyone at the track!”
Pastrana won’t drive the truck the whole season, however. Niece plans to rotate among Ross Chastain, Chad Chastain, Bayley Curry, and other to-be-announced drivers. Niece hasn’t confirmed how many races Pastrana will run. At press time, Amanda Efaw, Niece’s primary public relations contact, didn’t return a phone message request for clarification.
In four career Truck Series starts, Pastrana finished no better than 15th. His career average finish is 19.2, he’s never led a lap in a Truck Series race and he’s finished on the lead lap once.
In addition to the Truck Series race, he’ll attempt to qualify the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota for the Daytona 500, which would be his first Cup Series start. He’s among six drivers vying for the last four spots, which includes seven-time Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson and Conor Daly, who’s a close friend of Pastrana.
