Travis Pastrana breaks foot, ankle; will delay Nationwide debut

Travis Pastrana's much-anticipated NASCAR Nationwide debut is on hold after he fractured his right foot and ankle during the X Games on Thursday, according to a report by ESPN.com.

UPDATE: Team confirms Friday morning that it's hauler is back in the shop, a sign that the team will withdraw from Saturday night's race.

Pastrana was competing in the best trick event where he attempted a 720 on his motorcycle. The trick, which had never been landed in competition, features two backflips and one spin. Pastrana attempted the trick twice and failed both times. He landed on his right foot and ankle on the second attempt and immedately grabbed it and then started pounding the ground.

Last week, Pastrana explained the details of the trick to me and what made it so difficult. He concluded by saying that "if you miss any one of those steps anytime, you will be broken.''

ESPN.com reported that Pastrana will require surgery for his injuries. There was no immediate word from Pastrana-Waltrip Racing on what the team would do for Saturday night's Nationwide race at Lucas Oil Raceway. When I asked co-owner Michael Waltrip last week about what would happen if Pastrana got hurt, Waltrip quipped that he would be brining his driving suit here to Indianapolis. He then said they had a plan. Saturday was to be the first of seven Nationwide races Pastrana was scheduled to run this season. Pastrana's other Nationwide races are scheduled to be Richmond (Sept. 9), Dover (Oct. 1), Kansas (Oct. 8), Texas (Nov. 5), Phoenix (Nov. 12) and Homestead (Nov. 19).

Pastrana's injury is a blow to NASCAR and ESPN. It was no coincidence he was making his Nationwide debut in the middle of the X Games. Pastrana, one fo the most popular action sports star who has many young fans, was looked upon to give NASCAR a spark among the younger crowd. With his Nationwide debut coming during the X Games, it allowed ESPN to promote NASCAR to the action sports crowd, which is a much younger audience. Now that golden opportunity is lost. Still, when he makes his debut, Pastrana's fans likely will see how he does but it might not be as many that would have been watchign this week with so much publicity on him between the X Games and NASCAR.

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