IndyCar driver and multi-discipline stunt racer Travis Pastrana are teaming up at Niece Motorsports for the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on September 25 for the Strat 200.
It’s an interesting partnership in that it was developed via a shared iRacing league, the LCQ League, that took the place of in-person racing for many professional drivers this spring. The league has also included drivers like Alexander Rossi, James Hinchcliffe, Landon Cassill, Parker Kligerman, and Scott Speed. The duo will be sponsored by iRacing, Fatheadz, Wienerschnitzel, Pit Viper, and Elliott’s Custom Trailers.
In a post on iRacing.com, Daly had a lot to say about the partnership:
To think this whole LCQ League friendship between Travis and I, along with drivers and riders from all over the motorsport spectrum, all started on iRacing is pretty incredible. We have a tremendous group of partners allowing us to turn this wild idea into a reality and I can’t thank them enough. The only goal I have in my mind is to beat the legendary Travis Pastrana. He made me look like an absolute novice on everything with a motor while at his house a few months ago, but that was on dirt… It’s time to throw down on the high banked pavement of Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Pastrana was equally excited:
Conor came over my house a few months back and put my Can-Am on its roof the first lap. I told him I’ve seen Street Bike Tommy drive faster on the dirt! Conor immediately came back with ‘let’s race pavement and I’ll whoop you!’ Since then we’ve continued to talk crap and stayed in touch with our friends at Niece Motorsports. When this opportunity of running a real-world race together with the support of an amazing group of partners came about, we decided to make it happen.
The duo will drive the Nos. 42 and 45.
Pastrana has a fairly storied career in NASCAR, having made 46 starts between the Xfinity and Trucks Series. He has already raced with Niece earlier this year, and he has a full-time Xfinity Series season under his belt. His best finish in the Trucks Series was a 15th place in 2012; his best finish in Xfinity was a ninth place.
Daly has far less experience, with only a single NASCAR Xfinity Series start under his belt—a weekend that turned out to be disastrous for him in a lot of ways. He lost his sponsorship just before the event after an interview from the 1980s surfaced that included his father, Derek Daly, using a racial slur. He was scored in 31st.
Whatever the case, this may be one of the first times that an iRacing rivalry has made it to the real world. The Strat 200 will air on Fox Sports 1 at 9pm EST on Friday, September 25.