Travis Pastrana has been named the Grand Marshal of this year’s Yamaha Budds Creek National Presented by Carter CAT, the penultimate round of the 2026 Pro Motocross Championship. The Maryland native, former Pro Motocross champion, and AMA Hall of Famer returns to his home race as the ceremonial ambassador along with a special autograph session on race day, and followed up by a Nitro Circus live show the following day at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
“The sport of motocross, action sports, and motorsports as a whole have never seen an athlete more gifted and dynamic than Travis Pastrana,” said Ezra Beasley, Organizer, Budds Creek Motocross Park. “No one transcended into the mainstream quite like this happy-go-lucky young kid from Annapolis, who simply loved going fast and pushing the limits of what’s possible. It’s incredible to think that 26 years after his first ever professional gate drop Travis remains as popular as ever and continues to break new barriers, be it two wheels or four. We’re honored to have him as our Grand Marshal and know our fans will be thrilled to see him make a return to Budds Creek.”
Pastrana boasts arguably the most prolific career aboard two wheels than anyone else in history. He became a household name as a teenage freestyle motocross phenom and single handedly made X Games the ultimate spectacle for action sports. Under the mentorship and guidance of Roger DeCoster at Suzuki, Pastrana made an incredibly seamless transition into SMX competition, winning the 2000 AMA Motocross 125cc Championship and the 2001 AMA Supercross East 125cc Championship. He also helped lead Team USA to victory at the 2000 FIM Motocross of Nations in France. In the midst of his success, Pastrana’s freestyle roots kept calling and he eventually cut his racing career short and stepped away from full-time competition following the 2005 season. He remained an FMX fixture, winning countless X Games Gold Medals and breaking barriers with tricks that once never seemed possible. For all his contributions to motorcycling, Pastrana was inducted in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame as a member of the “Class of 2023.”
