Travis Pastrana Raves About Dana White's Involvement In Nitrocross

Travis Pastrana says Dana White wants to take "the best, most chaotic, craziest, short-attention span racing in the world" to new heights ... telling TMZ Sports the UFC honcho's vision for Nitrocross is like music to his ears!!

We spoke with the action sports legend ahead of Nitrocross' upcoming season -- which kicks off in Richmond, VA this weekend -- and he said it's gonna be a party the whole family can enjoy.

Nitrocross is pretty intense -- as Pastrana explains, the vehicles have more than 1,000 horsepower (more than any form of rallycross in the world), the courses have massive jumps and cars are flying all over the place.

Last year, White bought Nitro Circus and Nitrocross ... and it was a pretty perfect pairing, 'cause Pastrana considers his organization the UFC of motorsports -- it's equal parts entertaining and professional.

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"Yes, it's a little bit dangerous," Pastrana said. "Yes, it's a little bit scary. But at the end of the day, that's what the crowd wants to see. They want to see the excitement, they want to see the fear and the drivers overcome the fear and be the best they can be."

The weekend will be extra special for Pastana ... as his X Games champ wife, Lyn-Z , is getting in on the fun and racing alongside him.

Pastrana said it's going to be a cool moment, but it also has an even greater meaning ... as it'll be inspirational for his young daughters to see their mom compete -- especially with it being at the national level.

"Here's to hoping that we can both finish the race without being upside down and have some fun while we do it," he added.

For Nitrocross as a whole, Pastrana said there's no limit to its growth ... and with White on board, it's safe to say it'll trend in the right direction. After all, UFC is now one of the biggest organizations in sports.