NASCAR Nationwide Series at Talladega Superspeedway lineup: Travis Pastrana sits in pole position

Travis Pastrana sits on the pole for the first time in his racing career, as the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega features some of the brightest young names in the sport towards the top of the pack.

Pastrana wanted to take the car racing world by storm when he decided to switch from his highly successful career as an extreme sports motorcyclist, but it hasn’t really worked out thus far. Injuries kept him from starting his career as he planned, and when racing, he has been mediocre. In 2012, he ran eight races and didn’t finish higher than 13th in any of them.

But Pastrana appears to be hitting a groove, as he’s finished in the top ten of three of his races in 2013, and now, he’s registered the best qualifying time in Talladega. He finished tenth in the superspeedway event at Daytona, so we’ll see how he performs on the huge track in Alabama known for thrilling races and pileups.

He’s followed by Austin Dillon, still looking for his first win of the year in the No. 3 car, 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne and Danica Patrick, all of whom you could call rising stars in the sport. Here’s a full list of the starters: