Rally – Pastrana/Subaru Part ways

Travis Pastrana will no longer be a part of the Subaru USA team that participates in the Rally America Championship. An announcement was made today that stated the two would part ways effective immediately. There had been some rumor that this was going to come about with extreme speculation indicating his Red Bull money may take him to the Citroen Junior squad. Take that bit for what it is as there is absolutely no facts at the moment to support that. We talked to Travis this summer at the 100 Acre Wood Rally and he indicated that the WRC was not in the cards. However, money talks and Red Bull may want to take their money and Travis to the WRC as they have not been happy with their investment on Kimi Raikkonen. Other sources have indicated Travis may be going to NASCAR and will race for Michael Waltrip in the Nationwide series. We will wait and see what happens as Travis has not said anything in response to his move. Be sure to keep it at the Paddock for all the latest on any potential moves.

This does however put a huge dent in the Rally Car Rally America championship. The series has made their money in having both Ken Block and Travis Pastrana in the series and they are now going to deal with life after their two mega stars. While Dave Mirra will remain with the team, it will be interesting to see what crop of young talent will come about to replace Block and Pastrana. Regardless of the series future plans, not having Travis Pastrana (4x times champion by the way) will deal a massive blow to the series.

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4 Thoughts to “Rally – Pastrana/Subaru Part ways

  1. I don’t think its as devastating of a blow as some may think. Travis was certainly a draw for some, but Faust and especially Lestage are making a real name for themselves and as you say Mirra will still be in the series. There are some great personalities in Rally America that are very marketable, and there’s a great villian personality as well in the form of that line-cutter ACP.

    From what I’ve been hearing, Travis will likely follow Carmichael into obscurity and irrelevance in a NASCAR feeder series. …yeah, good luck with that, Travis.

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  3. For Rally America’s sake they hope you are right…I am less than optimistic.

  4. I have to agree with Shaun. Unless somebody else is signed, the Rally America series is going to slip further into obscurity. Block and Pastrana brought their celebrity to Rally America and their logo was prominently displayed on games like Dirt and Dirt 2, as well as on Xgames and mtv. Xgames will continue, but Mira doesn’t have anywhere the draw that Block and Pastrana had. ACP, Lestage and the others are hardly recognizable.

    That leaves Faust. Is he going to be full time in Rally America this year, or is he just going to come in and compete in the Rally Cross events? Rally Cross is the part of the series that has real growth potential. As much as I want to see the traditional stage rallies do well, Rally America is going to have to leverage their Rally Cross events to bring greater success to the stage rallies.

    That said, I am patiently waiting to see the 2011 Rally Cross schedule when it comes out. I am hopeful that they will have an event closer to me than New Jersey….. Putnam Park would be excellent, or Mid Ohio….. 😉

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