All he was looking to do was make himself feel "a little less pathetic."

In front of a national television audience on ABC-TV, Travis Pastrana recently earned his ninth X Games gold medal, as he and co-driver Carolyn Bosley dispatched defending champion Tanner Foust and co-driver Chrissie Beavis in the final rally car run at L.A.'s Home Depot Center.

It didn't all go according to plan though, as Pastrana explains.

"X Games as a whole was very laid back for me. I had knee surgery less than a month before the event so I didn't have time to get ready for my typical 'do everything' approach. However, I still decided to do the X Games motorcycle 'Speed & Style' event that turned out to be a disaster for me. I qualified first then crashed out while leading the first heat. I felt as bad as Niall McShea would the following day in rally when he crashed out of the first round. This was good though in a way because I really had some time that night to think about how much a rally gold medal would feel. In fact, I thought it would be the only thing to make me feel a little less pathetic."

Pastrana, who drove his way back to the top of the podium this year after earning a rally bronze in the 2007 X Games felt worse however for his friend and scheduled X Games rally co-driver Jim DeChamp. He was injured doing a front flip in the Moto X Best Trick competition just days before the rally competition.

"The most stressful part of the week for me was watching Jim try the front flip," recounts Pastrana.  "As it turned out he broke his back and we had to do a last second switch for co-drivers."

And not just any co-driver as it turned out of course. Sharing Pastrana's  2008 Subaru WRX STi ride for X Games was Carolyn Bosley. who served as co-driver for the late Colin McRae. The rally car racing legend, personal friend and professional mentor to Pastrana died in a helicopter crash not too long after last year's X Games. Pastrana remembered McRae with a couple of moving tributes, and his performance on the course.

"It worked out great because with Colin on everyone's hearts, it was an honor to be paired with his co-driver from last year," Pastrana said. "Caroline was great and the rally was a lot of fun. However, I was super bummed for both McShae and my Subaru teammate Ken Block. They were the fastest all week and I really wanted to race them head to head. Dave Mirra did an amazing job with a level head under pressure though and his bronze medal performance really stands out. All in all it was a lot of fun."

Now, with the next Rally America event looming as close as the end of this week, Pastrana is looking to have some more fun in the north woods of Minnesota.

"I have been getting my butt kicked by Ken Block all year long and I want to get another win in the Rally America season, says Pastrana decidedly. "I felt great at Sno-Drift but haven't been able to find that top pace again since."

Is Ojibwe the place to find that form?

"I like this rally a lot. I struggled with it my first year because it is sandy and doesn't favor a sideways driving style.  My style has changed a lot since then tough and I think it suits how I drive now.  The long stage at the end is always fun and exciting. I like long stages."

The long Rally America season is winding down, with only Colorado and Lake Superior on the schedule after the Ojibwe Forests Rally goes into the books. Pastrana sits on top of the championship standings with a 10 point lead over Andrew Comrie-Picard and 15 points on Ken Block.

"I am sitting pretty in the championship but it hasn't been because of blazing speed. Everyone else just seems to be having a lot of problems. I'll take it however I can get it but I want to step it up and prove that I deserve this championship. It would suck to have an asterisk next to my name in this championship! On second thought, I would rather have my name on the championship with an asterisk than not at all. Anyway, Ojibwe is very important and it would be nice to leave that event with a good result."

FOR MORE VISIT: www.Subrau.com/Rally