From bike kid with a dream to certified motocross god, Travis Pastrana has always pushed the envelope. He has personally led the evolution of freestyle motorbiking and has a pile of X Games gold medals and racing trophies to show for it. His home in Maryland, known as “Pastranaland,” has grown over the years to become a personal adventure park and training compound for many of the world’s up-and-coming motocross athletes. It’s a place where Pastrana and friends can prepare for the high-profile stunts they’re known for. A modern-day Evel Knievel, he brings excitement with a dash of danger to an ever-growing global audience of fans and hopeful young athletes.
From Nitro Circus To Pastralanad
When Pastrana launched Nitro Circus in 2003, fans described it as an “action sport collective.” Eventually, a Nitro Circus DVD would feature Travis and his buddies traveling around the world riding dirtbikes, BASE jumping, and performing a variety of exciting stunts. The popularity of the DVDs ultimately led to the creation of a TV show. While the show no longer has regular episodes, some Nitro Circus events still make it on air. Recently, Team Ignition sponsored one of these events: the 2025 Pastranaland Pit Bike Championship, held at Travis’ backyard playground.
The 2025 Pit Bike Championship, Live from Pastranaland
A “pit bike” is a small, motorized bike that usually features a 50 or 100cc engine. In comparison, dirt bikes are larger bikes that readers will probably recognize from mainstream motocross racing. Pit bikes offer the same motorized fun in a smaller format.
Back in 2003, Travis and longtime friend and competitor Kevin Windham went head-to-head in a pit bike race for fun. In 2008, Dusty Wygle went full send on a pit bike for Nitro Circus and crashed spectacularly. But the modern pit bike race series really began in 2019. After three races, the event went on the road in 2021, hitting Kevin Windham’s Farm 14 for big bumps and showcasing rhythm and endurocross races at Ryan Sipes’s compound as well. The last event was in 2023, and now pit bike racing is back and better than ever.
The Teams and Riders
| Team | Riders |
| Channel 199 | Troy “Smallz” Neault + Olivia Reynolds |
| Busch Light | Tyler Roberts + Caleb “Joe Dirt” Carter |
| TBParts.com | Tyler Vacala + Robert Wheymouth |
| Gorilla Elixir | Todd Stitch + CJ Caruso |
| Faster Minis (Champs from 2023) | Banks Hovey + Mark Brown |
| Power Plus | Kody Kamm (the vet) + Eli Steria (the newcomer) |
| Dios Azul (from Idaho) | Anthony Johnson + Raven Hudson |
| Team Ignition | Wade Valitchka + Scott Manchester |
Event #1 – Turf Eliminator
The first event held was the Turf Eliminator, which takes place on a turf track in the woods. It features turns, banks, and jumps, as well as the figure-eight “viper pit.”
Round 1
Heat 1: Tyler Roberts, CJ Caruso, Kody Kamm, Wade Valitchka.
Kody Kamm jumped out to an early lead. Valitchka hit a slowdown along the way and fell back. Few competitors could find the recommended pass line at the Dios Azul double, and the starting lineup stayed more or less in order. The viper pit proved too much for Tyler Roberts, who went off the edge at one point. At the end of this heat, Kamm took first, and Valitchka took second, allowing both to advance to the next round of the Turf Eliminator.
Heat 2: Raven Hudson, Troy “Smallz” Neault, Mark Brown, and Tyler Vacala.
In heat 2, Mark Brown got the jump on the group and never gave up his lead spot. Smallz is a champion from previous years and was able to challenge for much of the race, but ultimately took second to Brown, who earned the first-place finish.
Heat 3: Robbie Wheymouth (the youngest man in the competition), Banks Hovey, Olivia Reynolds, Anthony Johnson.
In heat 3, Banks Hovey edged out Reynolds in the first lap and rode aggressively from there, taking the win. Reynolds finished second to qualify to move on.
Heat 4: Scotty Manchester, Eli Steria, Todd Stith, and Caleb “Joe Dirt” Carter.
In the final heat, Joe Dirt and our own Team Ignition rider, Scotty Manchester, battled for the lead for the majority of the race. Manchester fended off all of Dirt’s attacks to finish first after an intense couple of laps. There was contact at points as the riders went at it, but Manchester had a winning approach he shared with the cameras: “Don’t let off.”
Round 2
Heat 1: Kamm, Valitchka, Brown, Neault
Mark Brown took the hole shot in the first heat of round 2 and grabbed an early lead. Troy “Smallz” Neault refused to take second, though. Battling hard, he made a great pass and shot into first, enabling him to take a hard-fought win.
Heat 2: Hovey, Reynolds, Manchester, Carter
In the second heat, Manchester jumped out to a quick lead. Hovey contested for much of the race, but was unable to edge him out. Both Reynolds and Hovey had minor wrecks and finished in the final two places. This brought up the event’s final race.
Final: Brown, Carter, Neault, Manchester
While there was much battling in second through fourth, Mark Brown took first and blazed to an impressive victory to become champion of the 2025 Turf Eliminator event.
Event #2 – Hubertcross
“Hubertcross” involves a race on a downhill track designed by Hubert Roland for RedNek Racing. It has plenty of big jumps for side-by-side racing combat with epic stakes. The task was to create a “nasty, gnarly, scary track,” and Roland succeeded. It features a serious freestyle ramp spot, thanks to the installation of twin Power Plus Pro Jumps. Reynolds even put tombstones at one jump to drive home the message that mistakes could carry consequences. It’s a “hell track” for pit bikes.
Heat 1: Brown, Crosby, Carter, Manchester, Reynolds, Johnson, Kamm, Wheymouth
Reynolds, one of the lighter racers, sped out to take the first lead. The 15-year-old girl from Northampton, England, kept her lead for the entire first lap. During the second lap, Manchester, Carter, and Brown gunned past her. Carter then trailed Manchester closely, looking for an opportunity, and eventually found one on the final lap. He passed Manchester with an excellent inside-outside move, ultimately winning the heat. The final result: Carter, Manchester, Brown, then Kamm in fourth.
Heat 2: Roberts, Neault, Vacala, Hudson, Valitchka, Hovey, Steria, Stith
In the second heat, Todd Stith of Team Elixir took the lead after the initial wheelies were down. Unfortunately for Team Ignition, Wade Valitchka hit the dirt in an early stretch. After the power ramps, Banks Hovey managed to gun his way to first place. He stayed on the throttle hard, opening up a big gap in lap 2. By the final lap, Stith was the only one contesting Hovey’s path to the finish. Hovey was even comfortable enough to rip a backflip off the power ramp before taking the checkered flag in style.
Last Chance Qualifier: Hudson, Roberts, Johnson, Valitchka, Reynolds, Vacala, Crosby, Wheymouth
Much like her first try, Reynolds got out to an early lead in the last chance qualifier. Valitchka was contesting her for first, but faltered at a berm and dropped away. This left the final qualifying spots to Reynolds and Crosby.
Hubertcross Final: Steria, Neault, Manchester, Hovey, Carter, Stith, Brown, Kamm, Reynolds, Crosby
As with the other races, the “Holeshot Queen,” Reynolds, jumped out to a lead at the beginning of the race. However, Stith and Hovey took her spot as they hit the power ramps. Stith then led for much of the race, fending off pass attempts from Hovey, who eventually went sideways. Hovey nearly left the track for a brief moment, but kept his composure to hold on to second place. No matter what he tried, he couldn’t get the pass, leaving Todd Stith to blaze through the finish line as the Hubertcross champ. Stith joined the competition as a local replacement rider, so this win was quite a way to make his mark and introduce himself to the Nitro Circus fandom. Hovey took second, followed by Olivia Reynolds.
Event #3 – Freestyle
For the freestyle event, a huge airbag helped inspire riders to go big with their tricks. This meant lots of flips – back and front – as well as riders attempting elusive tricks they’ve been trying to land for years. The top spot went to Banks Hovey, who did a double backflip. He was followed by the Tylers (Roberts and Vacala), who had the skill to at least land and ride away from their attempts.
At the end of this event, the team standings had Faster Minis on top with 52 points, followed by Power Plus with 38 and Channel 199 with 37.
Overall Winners – Banks Hovey and Team Faster Minis
Thanks to a strong performance in all events, the overall winner was Banks Hovey of Team Faster Minis. Hovey took home a nice $2,500 check and bragging rights at any pit bike event to be held in the coming year. Team Faster Minis also won the team award and went home with some slick Busch Light jackets. Of course, everyone went home with fun memories and a layer of dirt on them that you can only get when you ride motocross with the best in the business at Pastranaland.
No one is the biz brings the action harder than Travis Pastrana (this is just his latest in his series of insane Gymkhana stunts).
And Team Ignition couldn’t be prouder to be affiliated with this legend of motorsports, both as an official partner of Nitro Circus, and now, the Pastranaland Pit Bike Championship.
