Short course off road racing

Not to be confused with Short track motor racing.
Crandon International Off-Road Raceway

Short course off road racing is a form of auto racing involving the racing of modified vehicles on a dirt road closed course of a short length (tens of kilometers / miles or less). It is distinct from long course desert racing such as the Baja 1000, which consists of racing at least hundreds of kilometers / miles over a quasi linear (non-closed) course from one point to another.[1]

Stadium Super Trucks demonstration at Crandon in 2012.

Forms

There are two forms of short course off-road racing. One form involves the race vehicles on an outdoor dirt road course. The short course off-road racing world championships are held at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway. TORC: The Off Road Championship and Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series are current examples of a short course off road racing series. Another form stadium racing, where the racing vehicles race a much shorter course inside an arena. The Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG) held stadium racing and it was revived in 2013 by Robby Gordon in his Stadium Super Trucks series.[2] However, after the 2013 season, the series began racing predominantly on street circuits, though the series competed at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Dirt Track in 2016.[3]

History

Short course off road racing became popular during the 1970s, when Mickey Thompson founded the SCORE series.[1] He shortened long course desert racing, condensing it to a short course for easier spectator viewing and to allow competitors much easier access to the pits for mechanical problems.[1] Thompson developed the idea into a separate series as MTEG and concentrated on stadiums / arenas.[1] At around the same time, outdoor road course racing developed in the Midwestern United States from two laps around a 50-mile course in the woods near Crandon, Wisconsin to its purpose-built track. SODA became the sanctioning body in this region.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Morr, Tom, 2007 .The Joy of Jeep. St. Paul, MN: Motorbooks International. ISBN 978-0760330616. p.132.
  2. ↑ "Stadium Super Trucks on NBC and NBC Sports Network in 2013". NBC. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Stadium Super Trucks Added to TORC Charlotte Race". Off-Road. August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
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