SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Travis Pastrana roared to his second-straight Supercar victory in Nitro Rallycross competition Sunday at Glen Helen Raceway, leading a sweep of the podium for Subaru Motorsports USA.
Scott Speed chased him across the line in second, with Andreas Bakkerud finishing third.
Pastrana’s win shakes up the Nitro RX Championship standings, with Speed and Timmy Hansen now aiming to catch him with one more round left.
Pastrana and Speed wasted no time getting down to business, winning their first heats of the day to secure their slots in the final. Bakkerud then punched his ticket in the semifinal round, beating out Tanner Foust and Kevin Hansen to advance.
In the final, Pastrana quickly shot off the starting line to take the inside line and grab the lead. Pastrana, Speed and Bakkerud then held off strong challenges from Kevin Eriksson, Timmy Hansen and Steve Arpin to score the Subaru podium lockout.
For Pastrana, not only was taking the win at Glen Helen special given his motocross history, it was also crucial for his Nitro RX Championship hopes.
“This was a must-win for me. With so much tarmac in the last round, I had to win here. I’m just so proud of the team,” Pastrana said. “This may have been a pretty simple track for what we have planned for Nitro Rallycross, but it made for some awesome racing. I’m just so pumped to have won this.”
After high-fiving the throng of fans that had gathered at the track fence to celebrate his victory, Pastrana noted the bigger goals he has for Nitro RX.
“At the end of the day, I want the best racing, I want the best drivers and I want the most competitive field. I appreciate all of the drivers for joining this. Aside from wanting to win, everyone’s been having a lot of fun and that has been awesome,” Pastrana said.
In the final of the NRX Next developmental class, Casper Jansson doubled down as well, taking the checkered flag in back-to-back finals. It also marks his third win, overall. Sage Karam finished in second place, reaching the top three for the sixth time, while Martin Enlund returned to the podium for the first time since round two in Minneapolis.
Jansson’s big weekend now puts him in first place in the NRX Next Championship standings, with Enlund and Karam currently in second and third.