MPEG logo

MPEG Format is used on several media. This picture relates some of the most known media to the MPEG Format version and container format (TS and PS) used.

The Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) is a working group of experts that was formed by ISO and IEC to set standards for audio and video compression and transmission.^[1] It was established in 1988 by the initiative of Hiroshi Yasuda (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) and Leonardo Chiariglione^[2], who has been from the beginning the Chairman of the group. The first MPEG meeting was in May 1988 in Ottawa, Canada.^[3][4][5] As of late 2005, MPEG has grown to include approximately 350 members per meeting from various industries, universities, and research institutions. MPEG's official designation is ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29 WG11 - Coding of moving pictures and audio (ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1, Subcommittee 29, Working Group 11).^[6][7][8][9]

Overview[link]

Compression methodology

The MPEG compression methodology is considered asymmetric as the encoder is more complex than the decoder.^[1] The encoder needs to be algorithmic or adaptive whereas the decoder is 'dumb' and carries out fixed actions.^[1] This is considered advantageous in applications such as broadcasting where the number of expensive complex encoders is small but the number of simple inexpensive decoders is large. The MPEG's (ISO's) approach to standardization is novel, because it is not the encoder that is standardized, but the way a decoder interprets the bitstream. A decoder that can successfully interpret the bitstream is said to be compliant.^[1] The advantage of standardizing the decoder is that over time encoding algorithms can improve, yet compliant decoders continue to function with them.^[1] The MPEG standards give very little information regarding structure and operation of the encoder and implementers can supply encoders using proprietary algorithms.^[10] This gives scope for competition between different encoder designs, which means better designs can evolve and users have greater choice, because encoders of different levels of cost and complexity can exist, yet a compliant decoder operates with all of them.^[10]

MPEG also standardizes the protocol and syntax under which it is possible to combine or multiplex audio data with video data to produce a digital equivalent of a television program. Many such programs can be multiplexed and MPEG defines the way such multiplexes can be created and transported. The definitions include the metadata used by decoders to demultiplex correctly.^[11]

Sub Groups[link]

ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11 - Coding of moving pictures and audio has following Sub Groups (SG):^[6]

• Requirements
• Systems
• Video
• Audio
• 3D Graphics Compression
• Test
• Communication

Cooperation with other groups[link]

Joint Video Team[link]

Joint Video Team (JVT) is joint project between ITU-T SG16/Q.6 (Study Group 16 / Question 6) - VCEG (Video Coding Experts Group) and ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11 - MPEG for the development of new video coding recommendation and international standard.^[6][12] It was formed in 2001 and its main result has been H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (MPEG-4 Part 10).^[13]

Joint Collaborative Team on Video Coding[link]

Joint Collaborative Team on Video Coding (JCT-VC) is a group of video coding experts from ITU-T Study Group 16 (VCEG) and ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 11 (MPEG). It was created in 2010 to develop High Efficiency Video Coding, a new generation video coding standard that further reduces (by 50%) the data rate required for high quality video coding, as compared to the current ITU-T H.264 / ISO/IEC 14496-10 standard.^[14][15] JCT-VC is co-chaired by Jens-Rainer Ohm and Gary Sullivan.

Standards[link]

The MPEG standards consist of different Parts. Each part covers a certain aspect of the whole specification.^[16] The standards also specify Profiles and Levels. Profiles are intended to define a set of tools that are available, and Levels define the range of appropriate values for the properties associated with them.^[17] Some of the approved MPEG standards were revised by later amendments and/or new editions. MPEG has standardized the following compression formats and ancillary standards:

• MPEG-1 (1993): Coding of moving pictures and associated audio for digital storage media at up to about 1.5 Mbit/s (ISO/IEC 11172). The first MPEG compression standard for audio and video. It is commonly limited to about 1.5 Mbit/s although the specification is capable of much higher bit rates. It was basically designed to allow moving pictures and sound to be encoded into the bitrate of a Compact Disc. It is used on Video CD and can be used for low-quality video on DVD Video. It was used in digital satellite/cable TV services before MPEG-2 became widespread. To meet the low bit requirement, MPEG-1 downsamples the images, as well as uses picture rates of only 24–30 Hz, resulting in a moderate quality.^[18] It includes the popular MPEG-1 Audio Layer III (MP3) audio compression format.

• MPEG-2 (1995): Generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information (ISO/IEC 13818). Transport, video and audio standards for broadcast-quality television. MPEG-2 standard was considerably broader in scope and of wider appeal – supporting interlacing and high definition. MPEG-2 is considered important because it has been chosen as the compression scheme for over-the-air digital television ATSC, DVB and ISDB, digital satellite TV services like Dish Network, digital cable television signals, SVCD and DVD Video.^[18] It is also used on Blu-ray Discs, but these normally use MPEG-4 Part 10 or SMPTE VC-1 for high-definition content.

• MPEG-3: MPEG-3 dealt with standardizing scalable and multi-resolution compression^[18] and was intended for HDTV compression but was found to be redundant and was merged with MPEG-2, as a result there is no MPEG-3 standard.^[18][19] MPEG-3 is not to be confused with MP3, which is MPEG-1 Audio Layer III.

• MPEG-4 (1998): Coding of audio-visual objects. (ISO/IEC 14496) MPEG-4 uses further coding tools with additional complexity to achieve higher compression factors than MPEG-2.^[20] In addition to more efficient coding of video, MPEG-4 moves closer to computer graphics applications. In more complex profiles, the MPEG-4 decoder effectively becomes a rendering processor and the compressed bitstream describes three-dimensional shapes and surface texture.^[20] MPEG-4 supports Intellectual Property Management and Protection (IPMP), which provides the facility to use proprietary technologies to manage and protect content like digital rights management.^[21] It also supports MPEG-J, a fully programmatic solution for creation of custom interactive multimedia applications (Java application environment with a Java API) and many other features.^[22][23][24] Several new higher-efficiency video standards (newer than MPEG-2 Video) are included, notably:
  • MPEG-4 Part 2 (or Simple and Advanced Simple Profile) and
  • MPEG-4 AVC (or MPEG-4 Part 10 or H.264). MPEG-4 AVC may be used on HD DVD and Blu-ray Discs, along with VC-1 and MPEG-2.

In addition, the following standards, while not sequential advances to the video encoding standard as with MPEG-1 through MPEG-4, are referred to by similar notation:

• MPEG-7 (2002): Multimedia content description interface. (ISO/IEC 15938)

• MPEG-21 (2001): Multimedia framework (MPEG-21). (ISO/IEC 21000) MPEG describes this standard as a multimedia framework and provides for intellectual property management and protection.

Moreover, more recently than other standards above, MPEG has started following international standards; each of the standards holds multiple MPEG technologies for a way of application.^{[25][26][27][28][29]} (For example, MPEG-A includes a number of technologies on multimedia application format.)

• MPEG-A (2007): Multimedia application format (MPEG-A). (ISO/IEC 23000) (e.g., Purpose for multimedia application formats,^[30] MPEG music player application format, MPEG photo player application format and others)

• MPEG-B (2006): MPEG systems technologies. (ISO/IEC 23001) (e.g., Binary MPEG format for XML,^[31] Fragment Request Units, Bitstream Syntax Description Language (BSDL) and others)

• MPEG-C (2006): MPEG video technologies. (ISO/IEC 23002) (e.g., Accuracy requirements for implementation of integer-output 8x8 inverse discrete cosine transform^[32] and others)

• MPEG-D (2007): MPEG audio technologies. (ISO/IEC 23003) (e.g., MPEG Surround^[33], SAOC-Spatial Audio Object Coding and USAC-Unified Speech and Audio Coding)

• MPEG-E (2007): Multimedia Middleware. (ISO/IEC 23004) (a.k.a. M3W) (e.g., Architecture,^[34] Multimedia application programming interface (API), Component model and others)

• Supplemental media technologies (2008). (ISO/IEC 29116) Part 1: Media streaming application format protocols will be revised in MPEG-M; Part 4 - MPEG extensible middleware (MXM) protocols.^[35]

• MPEG-V (2011): Media context and control. (ISO/IEC 23005) (a.k.a. Information exchange with Virtual Worlds) ^[36][37] (e.g., Avatar characteristics, Sensor information, Architecture^[38][39] and others)

• MPEG-M (2010): MPEG eXtensible Middleware (MXM). (ISO/IEC 23006) ^[40][41][42] (e.g., MXM architecture and technologies,^[43] API, MPEG extensible middleware (MXM) protocols^[44])

• MPEG-U (2010): Rich media user interfaces. (ISO/IEC 23007)^[45][46] (e.g., Widgets)

• MPEG-H (2013): High Efficiency Coding and Media Delivery in Heterogeneous Environments. (ISO/IEC 23008) Part 1 - MPEG Media Transport; Part 2 - High Efficiency Video Coding; Part 3 - 3D Audio.

• MPEG-DA (2012): Information technology -- Dynamic adaptive streaming over HTTP (DASH). (ISO/IEC 23009) Part 1 - Media presentation description and segment formats

Standardization process[link]

A standard published by ISO/IEC is the last stage of a long process that starts with the proposal of new work within a committee. Here are some abbreviations used for marking a standard with its status:^{[3][49][50][51][52][53]}

• PWI - Preliminary Work Item
• NP or NWIP - New Proposal / New Work Item Proposal (e.g., ISO/IEC NP 23007)
• AWI - Approved new Work Item (e.g., ISO/IEC AWI 15444-14)
• WD - Working Draft
• CD - Committee Draft (e.g., ISO/IEC CD 23000-5)
• FCD - Final Committee Draft (e.g., ISO/IEC FCD 23000-12)
• DIS - Draft International Standard
• FDIS - Final Draft International Standard
• PRF - Proof of a new International Standard
• IS - International Standard (e.g., ISO/IEC 13818-1:2007)

• CD Amd / PDAmd (PDAM) - Committee Draft Amendment / Proposed Draft Amendment (e.g., ISO/IEC 13818-1:2007/CD Amd 6)
• FPDAmd / DAM (DAmd) - Final Proposed Draft Amendment / Draft Amendment (e.g., ISO/IEC 14496-14:2003/FPDAmd 1)
• FDAM (FDAmd) - Final Draft Amendment (e.g., ISO/IEC 13818-1:2007/FDAmd 4)
• Amd - Amendment (e.g., ISO/IEC 13818-1:2007/Amd 1:2007)

Other abbreviations:

• TR - Technical Report (e.g., ISO/IEC TR 13818-5:2005)
• TS - Technical Specification
• IWA - International Workshop Agreement
• Cor - Technical Corrigendum (e.g., ISO/IEC 13818-1:2007/Cor 1:2008)

A proposal of work (New Proposal) is approved at Subcommittee and then at the Technical Committee level (SC29 and JTC1 respectively - in the case of MPEG). When the scope of new work is sufficiently clarified, MPEG usually makes open requests for proposals - known as "Call for proposals". The first document that is produced for audio and video coding standards is called a Verification Model (VM). In the case of MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 this was called Simulation and Test Model, respectively. When a sufficient confidence in the stability of the standard under development is reached, a Working Draft (WD) is produced. This is in the form of a standard but is kept internal to MPEG for revision. When a WD is sufficiently solid, becomes Committee Draft (CD) (usually at the planned time). It is then sent to National Bodies (NB) for ballot. The CD becomes Final Committee Draft (FCD) if the number of positive votes is above the quorum. After a review and comments issued by NBs, FCD is again submitted to NBs for the second ballot. If the FCD is approved, it becomes Final Draft International Standard (FDIS). ISO then holds a ballot with National Bodies, where no technical changes are allowed (yes/no ballot). If approved, the document becomes International Standard (IS).^[3]

ISO/IEC Directives allow also the so-called "Fast-track procedure". In this procedure a document is submitted directly for approval as a draft International Standard (DIS) to the ISO member bodies or as a final draft International Standard (FDIS) if the document was developed by an international standardizing body recognized by the ISO Council.^[50]

See also[link]

• Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG)
• Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG)
• Joint Bi-level Image Experts Group (JBIG)
• Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group (MHEG)
• Audio codec
• Video codec
• Video quality
• Video compression
• Pro-MPEG
• MP3
• Leonardo Chiariglione

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Official MPEG web site
• MPEG.ORG
• MPEG Industry Forum (MPEGIF)
• MPEG Books

Robin Hughes Harris (August 30, 1953 – March 18, 1990) was an American comedian and actor, known for his recurring comic sketch about Bébé's Kids.^[1]

Childhood[link]

Robin Harris was born in Chicago, Illinois. His father, Earl, was a welder, and his mother, Mattie, was a factory seamstress.^[2] In 1961, the family moved to Los Angeles where he attended Manual Arts High School. A track star, Harris received a scholarship and attended Ottawa University in Kansas. During this time, he began to hone his craft of comedy. He worked for Hughes Aircraft, a rental car company, and Security Pacific Bank to pay his bills. In 1980, he debuted at Los Angeles’ Comedy Store with little response.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

During the mid 80's Robin worked as the master of ceremonies at the Comedy Act Theater. His “old school” brand of humor began to gain him a mainstream following. A large-eyed stand-up churlish brand of humor and quick put-downs were his trademark. Harris made a promising feature debut playing a no-nonsense bartender in the feature film I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988). Harris performed in director Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing (1989). As "Sweet Dick Willie," Harris served as part of the neighborhood "Greek chorus" that commented on the events of an increasingly tense day. Harris was Pop, the no-nonsense, quick-witted father of Kid in House Party (1990). He followed up later that year with a small turn as a jazz club MC in Mo' Better Blues. He also had a role in Eddie Murphy's Harlem Nights (1989). Fellow comedian and actor Raymond "The RayVolution" Baxter credits Harris with him becoming a stand up, "I saw Mr. Harris at home in Chicago at a club my aunt worked for and he was nice enough to see me after a set and joke around with me. He said I was funny enough to get on the circuit at 11! So that day I went to work on my material..."^{[cite this quote]}

Bébé's Kids[link]

In Harris' "Bébé's Kids" routines, Harris' girlfriend Jamika would insist that he take her friend Bébé's four bad ass children with them on a date, as she continually agreed to babysit them. The children would regularly make a fool out of and/or annoy Harris. "We Bébé's kids," they would proclaim, "we don't die...we multiply."

The Hudlin Brothers had intended to make a feature film based upon the "Bébé's Kids" sketches, but Harris died while the film was in pre-production. Bébé's Kids instead became an animated feature—the first ever to feature an all-black main cast—directed by Bruce W. Smith and featuring the voices of Faizon Love (as Harris), Vanessa Bell Calloway, Marques Houston, Nell Carter, and Tone Lōc.^[3][4]

Death[link]

In the early hours of March 18, 1990, Harris died in his sleep of a heart attack in his Chicago hotel room after performing for a sold out crowd at the Regal Theater following opening act, Chicago native and 20-year old comedian Chris Rabb.^[5] Harris was transported back to California, and interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery, near Los Angeles. House Party 2 was dedicated to his memory. Through archive footage, he makes a brief cameo appearance as a photo of him comes to life and tells Kid "Keep your mind on them books and off them 'gals!", which was actually taken from a scene in the original House Party.

At the time of Harris' death, his wife was pregnant with their son, Robin Harris, Jr .^[5]

In 2006, a posthumous DVD entitled We Don't Die, We Multiply: The Robin Harris Story (2006), was released. The film features never seen before performances by Harris and accolades from his contemporaries Martin Lawrence, Bernie Mac, Cedric the Entertainer, D.L. Hughley, Robert Townsend, and Joe Torry.^[6] The film also features a rap performed and dedicated to Harris by his son, Robin Harris, Jr.^[7]

Award nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Robin Harris at the Internet Movie Database
• Robin Harris at AllRovi
• Robin Harris at Find a Grave

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2010)

Travis Alan Pastrana Pastrana at the 2009 Lake Superior Performance Rally Born (1983-10-08) October 8, 1983 (age 28) Annapolis, United States Achievements 2000 AMA Motocross 125cc Champion 2001 AMA Supercross 125cc Champion Awards 10-time X Games gold medalist NASCAR Nationwide Series career 4 race(s) run over 1 year(s) Car no., team No. 99 (RAB Racing / Michael Waltrip Racing) First race 2012 Virginia 529 College Savings 250 (Richmond) Last race 2012 History 300 (Charlotte) Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0 Statistics current as of May 26, 2012. Sport Sport Rally, Motocross, Supercross, Freestyle Motocross, Base Jumping, NASCAR, monster truck freestyle Event(s) X Games, Red Bull X-Fighters, Dew Tour, Rally America

Travis Pastrana (born October 8, 1983) is an American motorsports competitor and stunt performer who has won championships and X Games gold medals in several events, including supercross, motocross, freestyle motocross, and rally racing. He runs a show called Nitro Circus with some of his friends. For 2011, Pastrana has partnered with NASCAR team owner Michael Waltrip to form Pastrana-Waltrip Racing. He planned to drive the #99 Boost Mobile Toyota Camry for 7 races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series,^[1] but after an accident, his Nationwide Series debut was delayed until 2012.

Early life[link]

He was born on October 8, 1983 at 12:20 p.m. in Annapolis, Maryland to parents Robert and Debby Pastrana.^[2] His uncle, Alan, played as a quarterback from 1965 to 1968 at the University of Maryland,^[3] which Travis Pastrana also attended.^[2] On June 11, 2003, 19-year old Pastrana was seriously injured when he crashed his Corvette into a tree in Davidsonville, Maryland.^[4]

Motocross/Supercross[link]

Pastrana has won two motocross racing championships: the 2000 A.M.A. 125cc National championship, the 2001 125cc East Coast Supercross Championship, and the 125cc Rose Creek Invitational. Pastrana also raced in the 2000 Motocross des Nations. He moved up to the 250cc class in 2002. His stand-up style, ability to spot jump combinations and great speed through the whoops make him easy to spot on the track. Although Pastrana has never won a 250cc race, his kindness to the fans and love of the sport still makes him one of the most popular riders of all time. Pastrana has always raced and competed on Suzuki motorcycles, and remains fiercely loyal to the brand. He races with Team Cernic's Suzuki. All of his motorcycles and rally cars carry the number 199. He even sponsors a Monster Jam truck called Pastrana 199, and Nitro Circus after the TV show on MTV.

Team Puerto Rico[link]

Robert Pastrana, Travis' father, is a native Puerto Rican, which made Travis directly eligible to represent Puerto Rico in international competition.^[5] On February 27, 2008, the Asociación de Motociclismo de Puerto Rico (Motorcycling Association of Puerto Rico) provided him with a license to represent the island, which was accepted by the Unión Latinoamericana de Motociclismo, the relevant sanctioning body in Latin America.^[5][6] His debut with the team took place on March 15, 2008. Here he qualified to the finals by defeating Erick Vallejo of Mexico. In the finals he finished third, behind local Costa Rican racer Roberto Castro and Vallejo.^[6]

X Games[link]

• 1999 – Pastrana wins the first ever MotoX Freestyle event at the X-Games. He also scores the highest ever run of 99.00 points.

• 2000 – Pastrana wins the gold medal for the second time, and attempts the first ever backflip on a motorcycle.

• 2001 – Pastrana wins his third gold, still the only person to win the event.

• 2003 – Pastrana claims his fourth gold and becomes the second rider ever to complete a 360 in competition.

• 2004 – Pastrana crashes while trying a 50 ft (15m) 360, sustaining a concussion, but is able to compete the next day and wins a silver medal. Nate Adams becomes the only rider to beat Pastrana at that time. Before this event, he had won Bronze in Best Trick, performing a One-Handed 360 and a Superman Seat Grab-Indian Air Back flip.

• 2005 – Pastrana wins his fifth gold in Freestyle and also attempts the first ever Backflip Barspin on a motorcycle, however the bike fails and he resorts to a regular bike and performs a Backflip Saran Wrap to take Silver in Best Trick.

• 2006 – Pastrana becomes the third athlete to win three Gold medals at a single X Games Event. He wins Gold in MotoX Best Trick, MotoX Freestyle, and Rally Car Racing. Pastrana also performs the first Double Backflip in competition, scoring a 98.60, the highest score in the Best Trick competition at X Games.

• 2007 – Pastrana takes bronze in Rally after sliding into the other drivers area while inside the Home Depot Center. He is disqualified but retains his medal. He also competes in the first MotoX Racing event at X Games, but does not achieve a medal after two false starts in the heat race and last chance qualifier.

• 2008 – Pastrana takes gold in Rally and competes in the Speed & Style event but does not place.

• 2009 – Pastrana attempts a rodeo 720 at X Games 15 in the Moto X Best Trick Event. He crashes on his first attempt and withdraws from his second after experiencing blurred vision. He places 4th for his efforts. He takes silver in Rally after being defeated by rookie and former Indy Car/Indy 500 champion Kenny Bräck. On November 8, Pastrana landed the famous Rodeo 720, and filmed it in his newest movie, Nitro Circus – Country Fried. Once he landed the trick, he named it the TP7, due to the fact that he was 20 degrees short of 720.

• 2010 – Pastrana wins Moto X Freestyle, landing yet another Double Backflip, the first one done at an X Games Freestyle. Travis also wins Moto X Speed & Style, beating silver medalist Nate Adams by a landslide. Travis had problems with his Rally Car during competition, costing him gold at Rally Car Racing and a chance to compete in the new event, Super Rally.

• 2011 – Pastrana launches "Pastranathon" which included Best Trick, a race at Lucas Oil Raceway in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and then flying back to Staples Center in Los Angeles for RallyCross. However, Pastranathon seemed to be done when, in XGames Best Trick, Travis attempted the Rodeo 720, also known as the TP7, and failed, landing on his right leg. He had broken his foot and ankle, and was taken to a local hospital. Travis was thought to be done, and backed out of the NASCAR race. His team worked diligently to get Travis in the RallyCross event. A special hand-controlled device was made for the steering wheel, and Travis had to relearn to drive the car using the new controls. Travis won a qualifying event, then finished 4th in the final after a crash on the last lap.

Rallying[link]

Pastrana's Subaru Impreza WRX STI.

In 2003, Pastrana opened a rallying career in the Race of Champions, and began driving for the Subaru-backed Vermont SportsCar rally team in 2004. Starting in 2006, Pastrana was signed by Subaru to lead their new Subaru Rally Team USA, being paired once again with veteran co-driver Christian Edstrom. On August 5, 2006 Pastrana won the gold medal in the first rally car competition at the X Games, edging out rally legend Colin McRae by 0.53 seconds after McRae rolled his car through the last jump.

Pastrana and Edstrom clinched the 2006 Rally America National Series overall and open class championship on October 22, 2006 during day one of the Lake Superior Performance Rally. The team finished out the 2006 series with another first-place victory at the Wild West Rally in Olympia, Washington on December 31, 2006.

On December 16, 2006 Pastrana competed at the 2006 Race of Champions at the Stade de France in Paris. He represented the United States in the Nations' Cup by himself, after injuries forced teammate Jimmie Johnson and his replacement Scott Speed to withdraw.

February 19, 2007 brought news that Pastrana's longtime co-driver Edstrom had announced a sabbatical to concentrate on his career and family. Although former McRae co-driver Derek Ringer is set to compete with Pastrana for the 100 Acre Wood Rally in Salem, Missouri and Rally America, he has not announced a permanent replacement co-driver.

Pastrana driving a classic Ford Escort Mk1 at the 2008 Colin McRae Forest Stages.

In September 2008, Pastrana took part in the Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally, a round of the Scottish Rally Championship centred in Perth in Scotland. Derek Ringer was his co-driver and they entered in a historic Ford Escort RS1600. He was one of a number of celebrity drivers to take part in the event in memory of McRae, who died in 2007.

On August 29, 2009 Pastrana claimed the overall victory at Ojibwe Forests Rally, his fifth of the 2009 Rally America season. The victory sealed his fourth consecutive Rally America driver's title, the most in series history.^[7]

Complete Rally America results[link]

International competition[link]

Pastrana, Colin McRae and Ken Block at the X Games XIII.

On December 13, 2006, Subaru Rally Team USA announced plans to enter Pastrana in certain World Rally Championship events in 2007, 2008, and 2009.

In the 2007 season, he raced three P-WRC events in the Group N class, driving a Subaru Impreza WRX STI–based rally car. During March 9–11 2007, Pastrana competed in his first world rally at the 21º Corona Rally México. He finished fifth in the P-WRC (Group N) class (the best in-class finish by an American in a WRC event since John Buffum finished third in the Acropolis Rally in 1988), followed by a tenth place in Rally Argentina and an eleventh in Rally GB. Pastrana described his season as having gone "horribly".^[14]

Pastrana's 2008 season in the P-WRC was even less successful, with one retirement following a crash on stage one of Rally Argentina^[15] and one thirteenth place on the Acropolis Rally.

NASCAR and sports car racing[link]

Pastrana's 2012 Nationwide Series car

Pastrana made his debut in NASCAR competition by driving in the 2011 Toyota All-Star Showdown, finishing sixth. Plans to compete in 2011 in the Nationwide Series were cancelled as a result of his injuries at the X-Games in July of that year; currently, he plans to compete in the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race, as well as running a full season in the K&N Pro Series East and selected Nationwide Series races.^[16] On April 27th, 2012, Travis made his Nationwide series debut, finishing 22nd at the Richmond 250.^[17]

NASCAR Nationwide Series[link]

* Season in progress

Injuries[link]

“I don’t remember most of the injuries, there have been too many.” – Travis Pastrana

Injuries have often taken Travis Pastrana off the circuit for weeks or months at a time. His medical records include: a dislocated spine, he has torn his ACL, PCL, LCL, and MCL in his left knee, his bucket handle meniscus, broken his tibia and fibula, he’s had surgery on his left wrist twice, left thumb once, two surgeries on his back, one on his right elbow, nine on his left knee, six on the right knee, one shoulder surgery which left him with the only piece of metal he has in his body.^[18]

When Travis was 14-years-old, he was severely injured while competing in an FMX competition. He came up short landing on the top of the front side of the landing ramp and the motorcycle went from 50 mph (80 km/h) to 0 mph (0 km/h) in less than one second. The bike was stuck into the dirt ramp with the front wheel just over the top and the crank case smashed into the dirt deep enough to support the entire bike upright. Upon impact Travis froze in the upright riding position and his feet went straight out to the sides like he was trying to straddle a bull. As soon as his legs went outward he fell off the motorcycle and his father took off across the dirt course in fear of what everyone just witnessed. He was seriously injured; he separated his spine from his pelvis. It also left him in a wheel chair for three months.^[19]

“I was in and out of consciousness for about three days and had six blood transfusions,” says Pastrana. He also adds that according to doctors, only three people in the U.S. have ever lived after such an injury. It was a long and difficult recovery. Pastrana would routinely ride wheelies in his wheel chair, around the hospital and therapy areas. While in the wheel chair recovering he vowed to continue motorcycle jumping. He was also injured in July 2011 while competing at the X Games when his bike did not rotate to the landing position, crushing his ankle and causing a fracture. However, Travis was back in his Subaru Impreza and competing in the Rally Cross final where he overshot the corner, forcing himself into the wall, on board footage shows his leg in plaster being slammed against the wheel well, much to his discomfort. He will need an operation to repair his ankle in the near future.^[20]

Other activities[link]

• A documentary story about Travis was filmed by ESPN in 2008, titled 199 Lives: The Travis Pastrana Story
• is featured as a hidden surfer in the 2002 video game Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer.
• Travis lent his voice to the game Colin McRae: DiRT as himself, and the in-menu voice.
• Travis also has part ownership in Ethika, an underwear company specializing in products for athletes.
• Travis features as a driver in Colin McRae: DiRT 2 for Subaru Rally Team USA.

On September 26, 2007, Pastrana jumped out of an airplane over Arecibo, Puerto Rico, without a parachute in a carefully choreographed stunt. He met up in midair with another jumper, then latched himself into a harness to make a safe tandem landing.

On Sunday, February 8, 2009 at 10:00 PM, MTV Nitro Circus, his new television show that he is an executive producer, premiered on MTV. A spinoff of MTV's Jackass, the two shows shared producers, Jeff Tremaine and was partially created by Jackass frontman, Johnny Knoxville. It features Jolene Van Vugt, Erik Roner, Streetbike Tommy, Andy Bell, JD Larson, Jim DeChamp, among others doing dangerous stunts. Jackass' Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius and Steve-O; BMX freestylers, T. J. Lavin and Mat Hoffman; and actor, Gary Coleman have guest starred on various episodes. Nitro Circus was also featured on an episode of MTV's Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory and vice-versa.

Travis and the rest of Nitro Circus appeared in the music video for Spaceship by Puddle of Mudd.

On Friday, January 1, 2010, Travis officially set a new world record in a ramp-to-ramp car jump. He jumped his rally car off the Pine Street Pier onto a floating barge anchored in Long Beach’s Rainbow Harbor, shattering the existing mark of 171 feet (52 m) and establishing a new world distance record of 269 feet (82 m). To celebrate, after getting out of his car, he performed a gainer from the landing ramp into the harbor below.^[21]

In September 2010, Travis set the world record for fastest ascent of Mount Washington in a car, using his Subaru WRX STi: 6min 20.47sec. In June 2011, David Higgins set a new record for ascent of Mt. Washington in a car, at 6:11.54, using the same model vehicle.^[22][23] Travis is featured in "X Games: The Movie"; Travis' work with motocross and rally cars is shown.

Pastrana 199/Nitro Circus Monster Truck[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2010)

Pastrana' 199 is a monster truck that races on the USHRA circuit. The truck is owned by Live Nation/FELD Motorsports and sponsored by Travis Pastrana. It was originally driven by Paul Cohen^{[disambiguation needed ]}, then driven by Chad Tingler, then driven by Courtney Jolly and now driven by Cam McQueen. Travis made his monster truck debut on October 18, 2006 in the Pastrana 199 monster truck at the 2006 Monster Jam. Also, on an episode of Nitro Circus, Travis attempts to backflip the Nitro circus themed monster truck. Though unsuccessful, he walked away without injury. In 2008–2009, the Pastrana 199 truck was driven by Pastrana's good friend Cam McQueen. McQueen was invited to the 2009 World Finals for his second appearance. Pastrana himself competed in the freestyle competition of the event, finishing in a three-way tie for 5th place in a field of 24 trucks. On February 27, 2010 in Jacksonville, FL Cam McQueen nailed successfully a backflip in the Nitro Circus monster truck during the freestyle competition, making Nitro Circus the first to do a backflip in competition.

Personal Life[link]

In June 4, 2011, during a live performance of Nitro Circus, he asked professional skateboarder Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins to marry him. On October 29, 2011 Hawkins and Pastrana were married.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

• 199 Lives: The Travis Pastrana Story

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Travis Pastrana

• Official website
• Travis Pastrana at Racing Reference
• Travis Pastrana Fan Site
• Pastrana at EXPN (X Games) site
• Pastrana at WRC.com
• Nitro Circus
• Pastrana Waltrip Racing