Pastrana and Menzies tackle X Games

KMC drivers Travis Pastrana and Bryce Menzies joined a 15-car field of international racing stars for the first round of the 2013 Global Rallycross Championship in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil. The duo tackled the slick and dusty course in a pair 600-horsepower Dodge Dart Rallycross cars. Neither made the podium, but the KMC-backed team is looking forward to their next shot in May.

In rallycross, drivers progress through a series of heats to a last-chance-qualifier and then to the winner-take-all final. Unfortunately Pastrana and Menzies both qualified into the same opening heat and while Pastrana moved directly to the Final, Menzies had to battle it out in the Last Chance Qualifier.

Menzies suffered bad luck when the car that was gridded in front of him stalled just a few feet from the starting line and Menzies crashed into his bumper, unable to continue. In the Final, Pastrana also got caught in a crash when all 10 cars dove into the first corner and four tangled. When a red flag stopped the race, medal favorites Pastrana, Ken Block, and Tanner Foust, along with IndyCar veteran Buddy Rice, had all suffered too much damage to restart.

Pastrana won his first Global Rallycross contest for Dodge in 2012 at the fourth round held at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He returns to rallycross this season while also contesting a full NASCAR Nationwide schedule. He scored his third top-10 finish of the season this past weekend in Richmond. Menzies also competes for KMC Wheels in off-road and desert racing. He ran his first two rallycross events in 2012 and will take on a full 2013 schedule.

The next round for the team is in Barcelona, Spain, on May 19 at X Games. Coverage will be shown live on ESPN. For more info on their wheels sponsor, KMC, visit KMCwheels.com