Travis Pastrana headlines Red Bull Straight Rhythm participants

Travis Pastrana, Ryan Dungey and James Stewart headline the first of eight riders announced to participate in the Red Bull Straight Rhythm motocross competition on Oct. 4.

SI Wire | Sep 12, 2014

Travis Pastrana headlines Red Bull Straight Rhythm participants /

Travis Pastrana, Ryan Dungey and James Stewart headline the first of eight riders announced to participate in the Red Bull Straight Rhythm motocross competition on Oct. 4.

The event is a head-to-head motocross competition featuring 32 riders facing off in a bracketed best-of-three single-elimination format, racing head-to-head on a 1/2 mile-long, “unwound” track.

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Confirmed participants so far also include Josh Hansen, Josh Hill, Brett Metcalf, Cole Seely and Dean Wilson.

The event is the first of its kind and includes a $100,000 prize. It will be held at the Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California.

“I think I can safely speak for the entire group of riders, in saying how excited I am about the opportunity to compete in this man-against-man, win-or-go-home situation,” said Stewart, in a press release.

“Straight Rhythm is a fresh take on the traditional format, and the fact that it’s bringing out guys like Travis (Pastrana) says it all about what a truly unique opportunity it is.”

Pastrana is a 10-time X Games gold medalist. Dungey was the 2012 AMA 450 Class Motocross Champion and Stewart was the 2009 FIM World Supercross Champion.

Classic Photos of Travis Pastrana

Travis Pastrana astonished the action and motorsports worlds when he burst on to the scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By the time he was 16, he had already scored a $175,000 deal with Suzuki. Here Pastrana competes at the AMA/Chevy Trucks National Motocross Series in San Bernardino, Calif.

Pastrana watches the action during the AMA/EA Sports Supercross Series race at Edison International Field in Anaheim, Calif.

Pastrana had started to already become a household name when he posed for this SI for Kids shoot in 2003.

Nineteen-year-old Pastrana proudly holds up his fourth X Games gold medal after beating out Nate Adams and Brian Deegan in the Moto X Freestyle contest.

His death-defying tricks have long made Pastrana an X Games favorite, though he's shied away from FMX is recent years.

Pastrana clutches the handles of his bike as he performs a trick, just moments before he crashed during a 360 attempt.

Pastrana has balanced careers in both FMX and supercross. Here he is racing in the 2006 Amp'd Mobile/AMA Supercross Series.

At the 2006 X Games, Pastrana competed in an impressive four events. He not only walked away with the gold in MotoX Freestyle, but with two more first-place prizes in MotoX Best Trick and Rally Car racing.

During those same X Games, Pastrana became the first person to ever land a double-backflip in competition.

A step-by-step guide to double-backflipping, courtesy of Travis Pastrana.

Travis Pastrana and celebutante Paris Hilton pose at the inaugural Arby's Action Sports Awards.

Pastrana poses with French driver and 2006 World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb before the annual Race of Champions event.

Snowboarder Shaun White, actress Carmen Electra and Pastrana present the award for Best Championship Performance at the 2007 ESPYs.

Pastrana has shown both his two-wheel and four-wheel dominance by transitioning from FMX to rally car racing in recent years. Here he competes at the FIA Wales Rally GB.

Beating out Tanner Foust, Dave Mirra and Ken Block, Pastrana rebounded at X Games 14, winning the gold medal in rally.

Since his rally debut in 2006, Pastrana has yet to lose a championship.

Ryan Sheckler, James Stewart and castmates from Nitro Circus turned out for Red Bull Gets Toasted with Travis Pastrana to honor the legend's career.

Garth Milan/Red Bull Photofiles via Getty Images

Thousands of spectators, fellow athletes and celebrities turned out to watch Pastrana's New Year's Eve barge jump.

Strapped into his Red Bull Subaru Impreza rally car, Pastrana crushed Ken Block's 171-foot jump by launching his car 274 feet from Long Beach, Calif.'s Pine Street Pier onto a barge.

Pastrana throws the thumbs-ups as he stands near fellow Red Bull racer Brian Vickers stock car.

Pastrana took home his seventh X Games gold medal in the Moto X Freestyle at the Los Angeles Coliseum in July. After clinching victory in just two runs, Pastrana used his final go to perform a double backflip.

- Molly Geary

Published Sep 12, 2014

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