Boost Mobile to sponsor Travis Pastrana in 2011 Nationwide races

Travis Pastrana and the No. 99 Boost Mobile Toyota at the racecar's
debut in Los Angeles. (Courtesy of Pastrana-Waltrip Racing)

X Games star to make Nationwide debut at Lucas Oil Raceway in July

CORNELIUS, N.C., and IRVINE, Calif. – Boost Mobile, an industry leader in no-contract wireless service, and Samsung Mobile, the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S.1, will sponsor Travis Pastrana when the action sports icon embarks on his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in 2011.

Pastrana will drive the No. 99 Boost Mobile Toyota for Pastrana-Waltrip Racing in seven Nationwide Series races this season, including a mid-summer debut at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis designed to bridge NASCAR with the ESPN X Games. Pastrana plans to compete in at least 20 races in 2012.

The Boost Mobile announcement came Friday night at L.A. Live – the sports and entertainment district in downtown Los Angeles. Boost Mobile and longtime Pastrana sponsors Red Bull, DC Shoes and Nixon staged the launch party for 500 fans and members of the media. To celebrate the partnership, Pastrana received a Samsung Mobile handset from Boost Mobile to use as his official phone for the race season.

Pastrana, who owns 11 X Games gold medals, multiple supercross and motocross championships, and four  Rally America championships, entertained the crowd with a freestyle motocross show and unveiled his race car. He is also known for his Nitro Circus empire, which includes a TV show, live tours and a soon-to-be-released 3D feature film.

“To announce this partnership in November and have a sponsor this soon is really gratifying, and we certainly appreciate Boost’s support,” Pastrana said. “Having worked with Boost in the past and knowing what an innovative brand it is, I am excited to see what we can do together this year. To see this many people here tonight is quite a testament to the interest everyone has in what we plan to do in NASCAR. I’m ready to get started. We’ve tested, but nothing compares to racing and I’m really looking forward to that!”

“Boost has aligned with Travis’ previous racing endeavors on the rally circuit and we are thrilled to be working with him again as he makes his debut on the NASCAR Nationwide Series,” said Ron Faris, director of brand experience, Boost Mobile. “He brings a level of energy and fun that is a perfect match for the Boost brand. With our handset partner Samsung, we look forward to bringing the sponsorship to life and giving his fans and our customers an experience to remember this race season.”

Pastrana’s debut weekend will be a sports first. Pastrana will compete at the X Games in Los Angeles July 28 and July 29, fly to Indianapolis for his Nationwide Series debut on Saturday, then return to Los Angeles to finish his X Games competition. “That is going to be a phenomenal weekend,” Pastrana said. “We’re going big that weekend. Our vision for this team is to expose NASCAR and action sports to each other’s world, and this is a perfect way to accomplish that. We have a lot of work to do before then, but that weekend has already been marked on my calendar.” In addition to Indianapolis, Pastrana plans to race in the following Nationwide Series races:

Sept. 9 – Richmond, Va.
Oct. 1 – Dover, Del.
Oct. 8 – Kansas
Nov. 5 – Fort Worth, Texas
Nov. 12 – Phoenix
Nov. 19 – Homestead-Miami

In November, Michael Waltrip Racing, Gary and Blake Bechtel and Pastrana announced the creation of Pastrana-Waltrip Racing, which will field cars in the NASCAR Nationwide Series beginning this year. The team will focus on creating programs that expose the action sports world’s fans and participants to NASCAR and develop youth marketing initiatives designed to create greater awareness of both sports.

“I think this shows you the power of Pastrana with both fans and sponsors,” said Blake Bechtel, who initiated conversations with Pastrana about coming to NASCAR after attending the 2010 New Year’s Eve event where Pastrana shattered the world record for the longest jump in a rally car.

“He has such an amazing following and to see him team up with a brand like Boost Mobile is really awesome. Both Boost and Travis think outside of the box and have really done some unique programs, so I think we’re going to have a lot of fun this year.”

The team also signed an associate sponsorship agreement with KMC Wheels for all of Pastrana’s races.

To prepare for the 2011 Nationwide season, Pastrana will race in Saturday’s Toyota All-Star Showdown in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway. 

Check out the official Travis Pastrana NASCAR announcement and several behind-the scenes videos at http://pastranawaltrip.com/. Also follow team updates and announcements at www.facebook.com/pastranawaltrip and on Twitter at @pwr99.

Release courtesy of Pastrana-Waltrip Racing