By: Roy Mantle
Earlier this year, Travis Pastrana, Nitro Circus and Powerboat P1 partnered to stage the Travis Pastrana P1 Offshore Invitational in St. Petersburg on the west coast of Florida.
A natural daredevil, Travis has become an action sports icon - achieving outstanding success in motocross racing and in a variety of disciplines at the X Games – and his new-found passion for powerboat racing saw him invite a competitive group of motorsport racers and stars from the entertainment world to experience offshore racing for themselves.
The guest list included Official Monster Energy Nascar driver Kurt Busch, Indy Car racer Conor Daly, rapper Vanilla Ice, and former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, among others.
Competitors faced off in Stock V class boats powered by 525hp Mercury Racing engines. Each round involved one driver from each team racing head-to-head against the clock on a 1.7 mile course, with the faster boat advancing to the next stage. Stock V racers who participated as Traxxas throttlemen were Kevin Smith from LSB Offshore Racing throttling for Monster Energy, Steve Miklos from Sunprint Racing throttling for Black Rifle Coffee, Stan Perkoski from Fast Boys Racing throttling for Pit Viper and Nick Smith throttling for Power Plus.
Travis explained: “I got my first taste of this sport in 2019 racing my good friend Britt Lilly’s powerboat. Then last year I had the opportunity to join the Miss GEICO team and compete in the top class of the APBA Offshore Championship. Now I’m hooked! My aim with the two-day, downtown St. Pete challenge was to get everyone outside of their comfort zone by trading pavement and dirt for the water.”
Joe Carr, CEO of Thrill One Sports & Entertainment, parent company of Nitro Circus, said: “We are always looking for new ways to push the limits and create the most unique, exciting contentment for our adrenaline-loving audience. We also enjoy working with great partners, so collaborating with Powerboat P1 to deliver Travis’ idea for a full-throttle ocean battle felt like a no-brainer.” Powerboat P1 CEO, Azam Rangoonwala added: “Travis first raced with P1 at Cocoa Beach in 2019 and it will be great to see him return there at the end of May to drive the Miss GEICO boat in the opening round of the 2021 P1 Offshore race season. We are delighted to have him involved with our sport and were excited to partner with Thrill One. The winner of the invitational event will race in the Miss GEICO boat at one of our events this season.”
Sponsored by Traxxas, the world renowned manufacturer of remote control vehicles, the event was broadcast on Fox Sports 1 last month and also included as part of the P1 Offshore season preview show screened on CBS Sports Network and across the Bally Sports Regional Networks.
You can go behind the scenes from the race with freestyle motocross rider and Monster Energy team member Brian Deegan in the video below:
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