Associated Press

Travis Pastrana crashes while competing in the Moto X best trick event at the X Games on Thursday. Pastrana was to compete in his first Nationwide race today.

SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- The crash broke Travis Pastrana's right foot and ankle. And shattered a dream for NASCAR.

Pastrana's acrobatic aerial ended with a thud, his fist pounding the ground and medics helping him keep off his limp right foot Thursday night at the X Games.

In an instant, planning by Pastrana, his team, ESPN and NASCAR for this weekendlong extravaganza -- ESPN called it Pastranathon -- ended as the hype escalated.

This was to have been Pastrana's moment -- when he conquered the X Games with a motorcycle trick that had not been successfully performed in competition -- and this was to have been NASCAR's chance to introduce itself to a young fan base it so covets.

"When you say the name Travis Pastrana, what's the first thing you think?" co-owner Michael Waltrip said. "Risk. That's how he lives. It was a chance to do something beneficial ... for our sport, to have so many people tuned in to what Travis was doing, coming from the X Games to NASCAR and all the eyeballs that was going to cast upon our sport. It was too good to pass up."

ESPN adjusted the X Games schedule so Pastrana could compete every day but today when, in the midst of the network's high-octane publicity, it would showcase his NASCAR Nationwide debut.

Instead, Pastrana's team withdrew from the race as plans were made for him to return to Maryland for surgery. His next Nationwide race is set for Sept. 9 at Richmond, provided doctors approve him to run.

"Hey guys," Pastrana wrote on his Facebook page, "just wanted to let you know that I'm okay! I'm sorry how this whole thing turned out, but I'll be back in action as soon as I can!"

What hurts the sport nearly as much as Pastrana's broken bone is the lost opportunity to reach the young fan base that follows Pastrana. With his debut deliberately set during the X Games, the point was to tap into as much of the X Games crowd as possible.

NASCAR has stated that the three demographics it wants to better reach are youth, 18-34 and multicultural. Pastrana reaches that crowd.

So, as Pastrana's crumpled body could not get up, Rich Feinberg, ESPN vice president motorsports production, admits his "heart sort of skipped a beat.

"Then I remembered that's part of what the X Games is all about, those athletes put themselves out there in the spirit of progression. Every year it's taking it to the next level, trick-wise, and Travis Pastrana has always defined progression in the X Games. It was not a surprise to me that he was going to try something that is very difficult. That's part of why I think he has the respect of so many fans. With that comes risk to the rest of the weekend's plans."

Jeff Burton says his 10-year-old is a "huge fan because of the things he's done. Without all of that, he wouldn't know who [Pastrana] was."

That's the type of person NASCAR hopes to reach. Last year, Fox Sports Chairman David Hill worried about the declining ratings for the 18-to-34 audience. Those numbers are increasing. What NASCAR has found with younger crowds, could take more time to reach.

When the sport started to offend its older fans a few years ago as it attempted to reach a young crowd, it discovered that it was, in a way, hurting itself. A recent NASCAR study shows that the sport often is passed down to younger fans. With older fans disgruntled at where the sport was headed, they did not introduce the sport as often to the next generation. As NASCAR bridges that gap, someone such as Pastrana can quicken that pace and help shape the sport's future.

"This is a huge initiative," said Ty Norris, executive vice president of business development at Michael Waltrip Racing, about Pastrana's entrance to the sport. "The youth market is something so important to us moving forward."

Now, it has to move on without Pastrana -- at least for a few more weeks.