Take drifting, put it on a dirt course with a 70-foot jump, time it, add a co-driver to each vehicle and some of the greatest action sports athletes, and you have X Games Rally: one of the greatest motorsports spectacles to be televised in the U.S. And making some of the biggest noise in the rally front is Team Subaru. Besides being the dominant manufacturer on the X Games' podium, it's their drivers who have brought notoriety to American rally, namely Travis Pastrana, Ken Block and Dave Mirra. All action sports super stars, these three X-men--spearheaded by Pastrana--helped to introduce motorsports to the X Games. And going on its fourth year, it's about time we introduce them to the 2NR audience.
2NR: For the uninitiated, what are your backgrounds?
Travis Pastrana: I started out racing motocross, but I've always had a passion for cars. I had a go-kart at two and basically loved anything that had wheels. When I was 16, I had the opportunity to get in a WRC car. From then on, I was trying to get into rally racing.
2NR: How did you manage to finagle your way into a WRC car at 16?
Travis: I had a deal with my sponsor, Alpinestars. They knew I was really into rally, and said if I won the Outdoor National Championship, they'd get me in a WRC car. I was down 40 points at the time, so it was the perfect motivation. After I won, I didn't think they'd really do it, but they followed through and that was the beginning.
Ken Block: I grew up skateboarding, riding motocross and snowboarding. As I got older, I realized I could never make a living out of doing it--I truly enjoyed the sports, but was never good enough to compete as a top-level pro. Since I loved the industry so much, I decided to get in the business of making skateboarding and snowboarding apparel. That eventually turned into DC Shoes, which I've been doing for the past 15 years.
 Name : Ken Block Hometown...  Name: Ken Block
Hometown: rancho santa fe, CA
Vehicle: '08 Subaru Impreza WRX STI
Claim to fame: Co-founder of this little brand you might have heard of: DC Shoes; making cars fly; ripping Subies around vacant industrial lots; terrorizing Segway riders
Class: Open
Co-driver: Alex Gelsomino
Website: www.kenblockracing.com |  Name : Dave Mirra Hometown...  Name: Dave Mirra
Hometown: chittenango, NY
Vehicle: '08 Subaru Impreza WRX STI
Class: Super Production
Co-driver: Derek Ringer
Claim to fame: Winningest X Games athlete; took Einstein's quote "Life is like riding a bicycle" and ran--scratch that--pedaled with it; went digital with Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX game
Website: www.davemirra.com |  Name : Travis Pastrana Hometown...  Name: Travis Pastrana
Hometown: Annapolis, MD
Claim to fame: Six-time X Games Freestyle Moto X gold winner; landed first double backflip in competition; what crack is to a base-head, adrenaline is to Pastrana
Vehicle: '08 Subaru Impreza WRX STI
Class: Open
Co-driver: Christian Edstrom
Website: www.travispastrana.com |
Dave Mirra: [laughs] It was my first one and I loved it. I started racing when I was 10 and I wasn't really into it. I started reading magazines about these guys out in California who were freestyle riding during the '80s. They would go to local bike shops for demos, and when I was ten, I saw a Haro demo at a dealership and was amazed. I started trying the tricks I saw, and by the time I was 13, a pro team sponsored me. By 14, I started winning national events and turned pro when I was 17. Through the success of BMX, I was exposed to different things throughout my career. As far as rally, it was a weird combination of how I got into it. I won the Long Beach Grand Prix Celebrity Race in 2007 and my agent suggested I try rally school. Ken brought out the Monster/Vermont SportsCar Subaru and once I drove it, I was hooked.
I was never a big fan of American motorsports, which are typically cars that go in circles or go straight, but I've been a fan of rally since I was young. It looked like a lot of fun--cars were sliding, jumping and it seemed like an aggressive form of motorsport. As I grew up and got a hold of my parents' car keys, I was out sliding and jumping their car--it was so bad that I got arrested for jumping a car when I was 16 or 17. [laughs] That influence has always been with me, and in 2004, when I saw press releases of Vermont SportsCar taking Travis to rallies, it blew me away. I had no idea that there was a rally championship here in the States. Soon after, we at DC ended up hiring Travis as an athlete in the middle of 2004 . . .
Travis: . . . Under the stipulation that Ken had to come out and do a rally school with me. [laughter]
Ken: So as soon as the contracts were signed, I called Vermont SportsCar to try rally--just to go out and have fun with Travis. I went to a rally school and found that I was pretty good at it, and I've been into rally ever since.
Dave: I grew up riding BMX. As soon as I learned how to ride a bike, I pretty much never got off one. From a small beginner's bike to a Sears Roebuck one with a banana seat that I modified into a BMX bike.
2NR: Banana seat? I think I had one of those.