Pastrana gets the 2021 Nitro RX title

Everything was left to be decided at The FIRM, in Florida, which was the spice that Nitro Rallycross needed for its first multi-event season, and in a tight decision, Travis Pastrana needed a tie-break to beat Subaru team mate Scott Speed to lift the trophy, while third placed Timmy Hansen won the final event of the season.

Revisions to the event format brought an extra heat, with only the winner advancing in each of the three races of this phase, while the other slots for the Final get filled as normal. Along with this, the ZipRecruiter-sponsored GoNitro machine had the 2020 NASCAR Cup champion Chase Elliott transforming his desire to join Nitro RX in reality.

In the first heat, Travis Pastrana saw the troublesome start he had with Kevin Hansen side by side and took the Joker early to get clean air and pace. Joker loss was estimated in six seconds, and Pastrana barely did the mathematics right in the speedometer and on the clock, as Hansen slotted his Peugeot 208 WRX right behind Pastrana, but the Swede didn’t count with a solid defense from Mr. Nitro, which handed the win and the first spot in the Final for him and Subaru.

The second heat had a Swedish front row but Steve Arpin was eager to join the European party of Timmy Hansen and Oliver Eriksson. Hansen and Arpin set for staying in the standard route to not get caught in the pack, and this worked well for the older Hansen, keeping Eriksson out of reach in second place.

The third and final heat had Subaru in front too, with the Audis of Liam Doran and Tanner Foust finding each other alongside Scott Speed, and while Fraser McConnell was behind Speed, the pace wasn’t there to mount an attack. Speed used wisely that long period of clean air, and could enjoy the win without any threats or issues.

The Semifinals could give more chances to get the Final ticket than the heats, and in the first one, Kevin Hansen guarded the first place from a hungry Robin Larsson right in his rear bumper, with both keeping the pace to keep Kevin Eriksson at bay in third. Hansen actually was clear to go thanks to his initial push, but Larsson had to deal with a charging Olsbergs Civic right in his back, barely getting second place at the line.

Semifinal 2 started with Arpin and Oliver Eriksson going elbows out until Arpin’s Hyundai shut down before the gap jump, which forced the race to be red flagged. Once the race got restarted, Oliver Eriksson stalled and Liam Doran slammed into his back, losing the rear right wheel of his Audi in the process, sending the race into a red flag again.

The third restart was with Arpin blasting off to the lead while Oliver Eriksson quickly caught up with the Leonbro Hyundai, bringing Fraser McConnell to the party. A deflated rear left tire for Eriksson put his Olsbergs Fiesta out of contention, leaving McConnell as prey for Chase Elliott in second place while Arpin was enjoying the lead, and this is how things stayed until the finish line. After the stewards review, McConnell’s return to track after passing Oliver Bennett wasn’t that welcome, and he was punished with extra 5 seconds, promoting Elliott to the Final.

The LCQ had McConnell leading from the first corner but relinquishing it to Kevin Eriksson in favor of an early Joker. McConnell ruined his chances going off on Lap 2, so the mission for Olsbergs was in the hands of both Erikssons, but Tanner Foust took first place on the Olsbergs duo’s late Joker, and not even Kevin Eriksson’s pressure could take Foust out of the top and the Final ticket.

The Final had the title contenders departing from the front of the field, so an open fight was totally expected, with Kevin Hansen just behind to give the support for Timmy Hansen, and Kevin moved Pastrana off the line, which made Subaru team mates meet each other and Timmy Hansen got the opening for the lead.

Most cars did the Joker before halfway, so Pastrana’s hopes relied on pushing while in clean air and Joker late, but Timmy Hansen was pushing harder, and this was enough to outpace Pastrana, bring Kevin Hansen along and win the Final, but it wasn’t enough for Red Bull Hansen as Pastrana’s third place got him the title.

Pastrana and Speed ended with 219 points in the table, but with Pastrana having more wins than his team mate, leaving the last winner Timmy Hansen on third place. The 2022 calendar will still be announced, but NitroCircus plans have Europe and Middle East in mind, so a schedule will take time to materialize.

PHOTO: Subaru Motorsport USA