Trying to 'fire up' Pastrana ??

[rwhitlock]

I was reading over on Racer X. Found a statement by Roger DeCoster about Travis Pastrana racing in Vegas this weekend. He praises his practice session but the last sentence made me wonder a bit...

"I don't think he has the speed to beat Reed, but he could get on the podium"

Just what Pastrana needs now.. his team manager telling the world that he does not have the speed to beat someone. I smell TP (pun intended) trying to show up DeCoster. In his attempt, he will crash out again. That sucks!

I would love to see him do well. Each time he rides it looks like he has a ton of potential, just a bit misguided sometimes.

Just my opinion... (i hope i am wrong)

-- Rod

 

[marcusgunby]

Im not so sure he does have the speed to beat reed-he can hang with KW ive seen that, but ive seen reed beat KW by 15 seconds.

 

[jboomer]

We've seen KW beat Reed by 15 seconds as well. If ToiletPaper can get the holeshot (and we've seen that too) he may be able to beat both of them, although the question is whether or not he can sustain that pace for the full main.

 

[marcusgunby]

In sx this year?? did reed come from last that time?

 

[jboomer]

No! The latest was SLC.

 

[dirt bike dave]

Roger is right. Pastrana has never won a 250SX or 250 National. Coming off yet another injury, it would be a huge shock if TP won the main. The only thing going in Travis' favor is Reed has no reason to fight for the win.

BTW, If TP crashes out again, it will not be because DeCoster gave his opinion to an interviewer.

 

[TheGrinch]

I bet TP DNF's the main.

 

[Okiewan]

I'll gladly eat some crow if Pastrana doesn't stand on the box at Vegas.

It's oh so easy to go with the obvious, sheez, you forecasters should take a chance once in a while, lol. Go for the upset! Live large! Do I think Reed will win in Vegas. Yup (and I'm not even an Aussie or GP diehard !!!!).

 

[Vic]

I bet TP DNF's the main.

He'll have to make it to the main, first. ;)

 

[Reesknight]

I can see it now, TP takes out Reed with a broken femur :ohmy: Reed gets a DNF and Windham takes the win and the title. :eek: Personally, I could care less if TP ever swings another leg over a motorcycle.

 

[jboomer]

Don't forget Reed's on the cover of RacerX as well.....we know bad things happen when they do that!

 

[Okiewan]

Travis riding sure won't effect my life one way or another, but he sure does bring some suspence to the sport :)

 

[nephron]

Just what Pastrana needs now.. his team manager telling the world that he does not have the speed to beat someone.

I think it's awesome...it's just Roger. He's honest. He's poignant, reserved, does not boast and just tells the truth. He's also the same guy Hannah hails as not only the greatest rider of all time, but the toughest son of a biotch he's ever met. Including up until the time that "he was just an old man that I was taking advantage of."

RC's the closest thing out there to DeCoster, and the only reason I bring that up is because there are NO DeCoster's out there anymore. Everyone's gotta be full of s**t, make a scene, make a PC statement, posture themselves like they're a bigger deal than they are, etc.

He said it because he doesn't think TP can beat Reed (which is true). That's why. ;)

 

[jboomer]

RC's the closest thing out there to DeCoster, and the only reason I bring that up is because there are NO DeCoster's out there anymore.

On top of the podium anyway.....can't forget about The Rock!

 

[Okiewan]

I beg to differ... TP CAN beat Reed. Whether he ever does is the issue :)

 

[marcusgunby]

Nope doesnt have it in him IMO, hes fast sure, but cant make a good decision on the track.

 

[SpectraSVT]

Its all about the start this year...at least in the 250's. If Kdub gets a good start and reed don't then Kdub wins and vice versa. BUT if Kdub and reed start 2gether, Reed will win!! I'm not putting too much hope on TP, i just like watching him ride so I'll be happy if he finishes the main.

 

[zcookie49]

I would just like to see TP finish the main, regardless what position, box would be great obviously. Just be smart, finish the race; I think that would be a positive mental building block for him. If he crashes and gets injured again, I would think that to be very damaging to his psyche.
Heres to a great race tonight!!!

 

[rickyd]

I can't blame Decoster for saying that, so far TP has flopped on a 250 for Suzuki..
I hope he does make it exciting in Vegas.. I smell an upset, perhaps The Rock finishing on top, follwed by K-Dub, then CR..
Rick

 

[CJG]

If he crashes and gets injured again, I would think that to be very damaging to his psyche.

If crashing and getting hurt damages psyches, then his has been REALLY screwed up for a long time now. :ohmy:

I have to admit that I was pretty impressed with TP at Daytona, easily handling Windham in the heat race. But in the main he did what everyone knew he would, he ran out of metaphorical gas, went down, and got left. Apparently driving around in rally cars and doing backflips isn't good training for supercross. Roger D. knows that too.

TP seems like a decent kid, but he doesn't have any focus and he doesn't seem to have any desire to be competitive in MX/SX. I think if he wanted to, he could be as good as CR, RC, K-Dub, and JBS. And I agree with Okiewan, TP CAN beat Reed- but he won't. I just don't see him having the focus to make that happen. I hope he eventually proves me wrong though.

To quote a line from one of my all-time favorite movies, Gladiator(the boxing one): "Talent is a common thing. People waste it everyday." :|

 

[mxer842]

How old is TP now, he's only got a few top caliber years left in him. My opinion is he is just a trigger happy 125 rider that can't control a 250. Alos, TP is a racer, he wants to win, he has spent 15+ years living for that 1st place trophy, sorry, but if you don't race you will not understand, he wants to win just as bad as anyone else, but is so disheartened by the fact that his body can't keep up that i think he has given up hope and lost all confidence.

 

[CJG]

Mxer842,
What I meant was that I think if he was really serious about winning he wouldn't be driving rally cars and occassionally showing up at an SX. Take RC. He is 100% focused on winning in MX/SX, not rally cars or XGames. Travis just seems to have too many things going on to be able to focus on only one.

I know what you mean about his body not being able to keep up anymore. He may never be competitive week-in, week-out again. Maybe that's why he's getting involved with the rally cars, and it might be a good move. By the way, I never said he didn't want to win. Of course he wants to win, every competitor does. But wanting to win, and working to win are two different things. He may simply not be able to practice as hard as he used to due to his laundry list of medical problems.

Again, I hope he proves me wrong because I believe he is one of the most talented riders out there right now, possibly ever. And I love to watch him ride. But I'm afraid his bad luck, and first or ambulance riding style, may have caught up with him.

To answer your question, TP is 20.

CJ