Stadium Super Trucks Robby Gordon leads exhibition at Crandon 2012

Short course off-road racing is a form of

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

involving the racing of modified vehicles on a

dirt road A dirt road or track is a type of unpaved road not paved with asphalt, concrete, brick, or stone; made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes, known to highway engineers as subgrade material. Dirt roads are suitable ...

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.

History

Short course off-road racing became popular during the 1970s, when

Mickey Thompson Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s.

founded the SCORE series.Morr, Tom, 2007
The Joy of Jeep
'. St. Paul, MN: Motorbooks International. . p.132. 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. Thompson developed the idea into a separate series as MTEG and concentrated on stadiums / arenas. At around the same time, outdoor road course racing developed in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

from two laps around a 50-mile course in the woods near

Crandon, Wisconsin Crandon is a city in Forest County, Wisconsin, United States; it is in the northeastern part of the state, about north of Green Bay. The population was 1,713 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Forest County and is the only inco ...

to its purpose-built track.

SODA Soda or SODA may refer to: Chemistry * Some chemical compounds containing sodium ** Sodium carbonate, washing soda or soda ash ** Sodium bicarbonate, baking soda ** Sodium hydroxide, caustic soda ** Sodium oxide, an alkali metal oxide * Sod ...

became the sanctioning body in this region; much of SODA's success was tied to the increasing support of manufacturers and it became the predominant short course series after Thompson's death. SODA fell out of favor with the creation of Championship Off Road Racing (CORR) in 1997 by announcer Marty Reid, though CORR folded in 2008 due to bankruptcy. Differences in rules and regulations resulted in a schism between the West Coast and

, though series like CORR hoped to bridge the gap by racing in the other region. Both sides grew leagues of their own with the West Coast-based

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 ...

and Midwestern TORC: The Off-Road Championship both debuting in 2009, the latter replacing the

World Series of Off-Road Racing The Lucas Oil World Series of Off-Road Racing (WSORR) was an American off-road racing series. The series began in 2007 and it ended after the 2008 season. Classes WSORR sanctioned classes from Trophy Trucks down to grassroots racers. Feature cl ...

which had also gone defunct the previous year. LOORRS and TORC thrived with financial support from

Lucas Oil Lucas Oil Products, Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of automotive oil, additives, and lubricants. It was founded by trucker Forrest Lucas and his wife Charlotte in 1989. The company is a medium size manufacturer of lubrican ...

and strong drivers, respectively, for over a decade. However, financial troubles and the loss of title sponsor Amsoil caused TORC to shut down after 2017, while the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

led to LOORRS being folded in 2020. Thompson's concept of stadium racing was revived by former MTEG racer

Robby Gordon Robert Wesley Gordon (born January 2, 1969) is an American auto racing driver. He has raced in NASCAR, CART, the IndyCar Series, the Trans-Am Series, IMSA, IROC and the Dakar Rally. He is active in top-tier off road motorsports such as BITD, N ...

and his

Stadium Super Trucks The Stadium Super Trucks (SST), formerly known as Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, is an American short course off-road racing series created by off-road racer and former IndyCar and NASCAR driver Robby Gordon in 2013. Sanctioned by the United State ...

in 2013. However, after the 2013 season, the series began racing predominantly on street circuits, though it has occasionally returned to off-road courses and stadiums such as the

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing includin ...

dirt track and

Lake Elsinore Diamond Lake Elsinore Diamond, also referred to as Storm Stadium, is a baseball park in Lake Elsinore, California. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home field of the Lake Elsinore Storm minor league baseball team in the California League. Th ...

. In 2020, the Midwest's Championship Off-Road began its inaugural season. A Western series,

Great American Shortcourse Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

, was founded a year later by LOORRS executive Lee Perfect and

King of the Hammers King of the Hammers is an off-road race that combines desert racing and rock crawling. This race is held in February on Means Dry Lake at Johnson Valley, California, United States. The race is broadcast live on Ultra 4 Racing's website. King of ...

organizer Dave Cole.

Concept

There are two forms of short course off-road racing. One type involves the race vehicles on an outdoor dirt

road course Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

. The short course off-road racing world championships are held at

Crandon International Off-Road Raceway The Crandon International Off-Road Raceway is a short course off-road racing racetrack, located near Crandon, Wisconsin, United States on U.S. Route 8. The course hosts the World Championship Off-Road Races, Red Bull World Cup, Forest County P ...

. Another type is stadium racing, where the vehicles race a much shorter course inside an arena. The Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group previously used the concept followed by the Stadium Super Trucks.

References

{{Off-road racing Auto racing by type Off-road racing