Travis Pastrana led a race for the first time in his NASCAR Nationwide Series career Saturday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway before finishing 26th in his eighth and final race of his abbreviated rookie season.
Pastrana took the lead midway through the race when he stayed on the track under a yellow caution flag while most other drivers decided to take pit stops.
"Thanks guys for putting us here even though it's kind of a misprint if you think of it. But I'll take it," Pastrana said over the radio during the broadcast on ESPN2. "That's a first."
Pastrana led for six laps, but on the Lap 127 restart Kevin Harvick and others blew past him with the benefit of fresh tires from their pit stops. The 11-time X Games gold medalist learned another lesson about managing his tires when he brushed the wall on Turn 4 of that lap before heading to the pits for repairs. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the race.
Pastrana's best finish in the Nationwide Series was a 13th-place finish July 28 at Indianapolis. After Atlanta, Pastrana ranks 29th in the season standings with 177 points and he earned $143,876.
Although his Nationwide season is over, Pastrana still has four races remaining in the NASCAR K&N Series and the Global RallyCross season finale Sept. 29 in Las Vegas. He won the previous GRC stop July 14 at New Hampshire.
