Travis Pastrana Will Cover for Jimmie Johnson at Extreme-E Opener During Daytona 500 Weekend

We have new legends entering the Extreme-E paddock this year as Legacy Motor Club, with owner Jimmie Johnson and team ambassador Richard Petty. Legacy Motor Club has committed to running a team in the final season of the international electric off-road series.

The only problem is, the season takes off this weekend with the Desert X Prix in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Johnson has a date with Daytona.

The two-time Daytona 500 winner will be replaced by 16-time X Games gold medalist Travis Pastrana. After a knee replacement this winter, Pastrana is dedicated to car racing and will be off the bike for the foreseeable future. This means the multi-discipline racer will compete with Extreme-E, American Rally Association, and Nitrocross in 2024.

In an Instagram reel and TikTok put out jointly on Johnson’s and Pastrana’s social channels on Tuesday, the duo recreated the phone call of Johnson asking Pastrana to drive in his place for the first race of the Extreme-E season. Johnson can be seen in front of his Carvana No. 84 Toyota while Pastrana is still in the snow after finishing second this weekend in the Sno* Drift Rally. While the actual conversation might’ve been a second or two longer, Pastrana stressed that the decision was made easily.

Pastrana will be joined by 19-year-old co-driver Gray Leadbetter in the LEGACY M.C. ODYSSEY 21 for the first two rounds of the Extreme-E season. In an Instagram comment under the reel, the young racer also recreated her conversation with Pastrana, where she just as spontaneously decides to join him despite limited practice time before Desert X Prix. With Lia Block not returning to the grid this year, Leadbetter will be the youngest driver in Extreme-E.

Pastrana’s 2023 Daytona 500