Nitro Rallycross (Nitro RX, abbreviated to NRX) is an American
rallycross racing series. Created by rallycross driver
Travis Pastrana
Travis Alan Pastrana (born October 8, 1983) is an American professional motorsports competitor and stunt performer who has won championships and X Games gold medals in several disciplines, including supercross, motocross, freestyle motocross, a ...
and the ''
Nitro Circus
''Nitro Circus'' is an "action sport collective" led by Travis Pastrana, featuring his friends and him traveling around the world riding dirtbikes, BASE jumping, and performing stunts. Co-founded in 2003 by Pastrana, Nitro Circus has become a m ...
'' production in 2018, its inaugural season began in 2021. The championship is sanctioned by the
United States Auto Club
The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapol ...
.
History
From 2018 to 2019, rallycross was a sport in the
Nitro World Games
The Nitro World Games is an annual extreme sports event organized by ''Nitro Circus''. The event was originally held in 2016 at Rice–Eccles Stadium, and moved to the Utah Motorsports Campus in 2018.
History
In December 2015, ''Nitro Circus'' CEO ...
at
Utah Motorsports Campus
Utah Motorsports Campus is a race track facility located in Grantsville near Tooele, Utah, United States. It operated under the name of Miller Motorsports Park from 2006 until October 2015. The course has hosted auto, motorcycle, bicycle and kar ...
. In late 2020, it expanded into its own series with plans of running the inaugural season in 2021 and debuting an electric class in 2022.
Although American rallycross leagues like the
Global Rallycross Championship
The TitansRX International Series (formerly known as Red Bull Global Rallycross or Global Rallycross) is a group of rallycross series, currently organised by racing driver Max Pucher and businessman Chip Pankow. The initial series was series ru ...
and
Americas Rallycross Championship
The Americas Rallycross Championship, also known as ARX Rallycross, was an American rallycross series organized by IMG Motorsport. Formed in 2018, it was a feeder series to the FIA World Rallycross Championship. After two seasons, ARX shut down ...
had failed, NRX founder Pastrana envisioned the series as an inexpensive discipline that did not need to rely on heavy manufacturer support.
NRX cars raced with exclusively
internal combustion engine
An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal c ...
s in 2021 while the electric Group E class was introduced in 2022.
Group E's electric vehicles are built using a battery-powered SUV platform called the FC1-X, which is developed by First Corner – a joint venture between QEV Technologies and
Olsbergs MSE
Olsbergs MSE, which also competes under the title OMSE, is an auto racing team founded by Swedish former rally champion Andréas Eriksson as Motorsport Evolution (MSE) in 2005. In 2008 it ran under the name ''Ford Team RS Europe'', while in 2009 ...
, the project received manufacturer support such as
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
,
Subaru, and
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...
. The FC1-X began testing in February 2021 and made its racing debut at the
2022 Race of Champions.
Tracks
NRX tracks are purpose built with mixed surfaces and jumps. Speaking with ''DirtFish'' in March 2020, Pastrana stressed the construction of such courses with an emphasis on dirt, high-banked corners, and large jumps, comparing his plans to
motocross
Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom.
History
Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...
courses as "every track was unique." As part of the series' development, Pastrana built a test circuit near his house.
The series also races on
short course
In swimming, the term short course (abbreviated SC) is used to identify a pool that is in length. The term is also often included in meet names when conducted in a short course pool. "Short course" is the second type of pool configuration current ...
dirt tracks used in the defunct
Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series
The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, also known as LOORRS, was a short course off-road racing series in the United States and also in Mexico beginning in 2015. The series featured events in Arizona, California, Nevada, Missouri and hosted a weeken ...
such as
Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Arizona.
For the second season in 2022–23, the series expanded to include races in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, and
Lydden Hill Race Circuit
Lydden Hill Race Circuit (formerly known as Lydden Circuit) is a motorsport venue in Denton with Wootton, about half-way between Canterbury and Dover in Kent, England. The mile-long circuit is mainly used for Rallycross, Drift, Saloon and Spo ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Race format
Race weekends feature the main Supercar class, the NEXT developmental division, and the electric Group E class.
While the Supercars have one race per weekend, NEXT runs two. A weekend is split into two days, with the first consisting of qualifying while racing takes place on the second.
After single-lap qualifying is conducted, drivers are paired up into a
bracket tournament called battles, with the winner of each battle receiving a point in the championship. The winner of the bracket is rewarded with
pole position for the next day's races.
The second day features a series of qualifying races to reach the final, with the top two in each race advancing. The first pair of
heat races have eight cars and last five laps apiece, and those remaining are placed into two semi-final races. Drivers who fail to qualify for the final via the heats and semi-finals enter a Last Chance Qualifier.
The final consists of ten cars and points are allocated in five-point intervals beginning with 50 for the winner.
Champions
References
External links
*
{{USAC
Rallycross racing series
2021 establishments in the United States
Auto racing series in the United States
United States Auto Club