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CAPTURED SINGLE SEAT KING: Sam Berri trades his single-seater buggy for a four-seat Polaris Turbo RZR. We did learn he later removed the extra seats.

WIDE OPEN: Jett Lawrence holds the throttle wide open at Red Bull Day in the Dirt in South Dade City, Florida. Photo: Chad Chomlack/Red Bull

THE STATE OF SHORT COURSE

STORY BY: SHAUN OCHSNER PHOTOS: SHAUN OCHSNER & ERIC MINKS

Where does it stand today?

Short course racing has been mostly healthy on the west coast since 2009, that is until now. November 2020, Lucas Oil Products abruptly announced it was shutting down both the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing National and Regional Series. This surprise announcement shocked many. Just weeks earlier, the series had put out a 2021 schedule with plans to race at its normal venues. Twenty-Twenty was a rough year for the series as the COVID-19 pandemic put racing on hold for several months. The series would eventually get going in mid-July with a season opener at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino. Fans would not be allowed in the stands and strict COVID safety protocols had to be followed. As the series moved across the country in August to Wheatland,

COVER STORY Missouri at Lucas Oil Speedway (a track owned by Lucas Oil), a limited number of fans were allowed to watch the race inperson. Missouri COVID protocols were less restrictive than those in California. The series also had restrictions in Arizona during the September race as the series raced on the native American owned property of Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. Masking requirements were strictly enforced, and fans were not allowed to attend the event. The Wheatland and Arizona events were both run as tripleheaders. Lucas Oil was simply trying to finish out the racing season with ten promised rounds. All rounds were televised on CBS Sports, MavTV or Lucas Oil Racing TV.

Lucas Oil took over short course racing on the west coast in 2009 after Championship Off Road Racing (CORR) went bankrupt and eventually closed its doors. The shutdown of CORR left several unemployed, vendors and contractors unpaid. Unable to pay its bills, liens were placed on CORR equipment. 2008 was a rough time on the economy. Construction and real-estate projects dried up and there was a major downturn on the economy. Many race teams faced economic hardships as service businesses lost money. It was the extra money that funded their racing programs. Sponsorships were hard to come by. Without a solid race series and guaranteed television package, many sponsors were reluctant to invest money in short course racing.

To see where it all came from, you have to go back to the beginning. In the 1980’s, Mickey Thompson’s Stadium series was selling out venues across the country. OEM’s were supporting the series with factory vehicle sponsorships. Many say these were the heydays. After Mickey Thompson’s death in 1988, the SODA series became the premiere

short-course racing sanction in the United States. Most races were held in the Midwest at famed tracks like Crandon International Raceway in Wisconsin and venues in Michigan. ESPN Sportscaster Marty Reid, who covered motorsports for the network, saw an opportunity in 1997 and founded Championship Off Road Racing. Drivers soon left SODA to race CORR. Reid sold CORR to real-estate developer Jim Baldwin in 2005. Baldwin had major plans for the series including moving it to the west coast and bringing live television coverage from NBC.

Baldwin invested big money into CORR. One of the most notable west coast tracks was the “quarry.” The “quarry” was a rock mining property Baldwin had connections to in Chula Vista. It featured elevation changes and some of the most exciting racing the west coast has ever seen. Racing continued in the Midwest

ABOVE: Pro-Lite racers at the “Quarry” in Chula Vista, California in 2007.

under the World Series of Off-Road Racing banner. Venues included Bark River and Crandon. The best drivers would continue to come together and race at Crandon for the Cup race during Labor Day weekend. West coast, Midwest, it didn’t matter, the drivers were unified with one goal in mind. To race and win. Once CORR went bankrupt the drivers became split. Tony Vanillo and his team approached Lucas Oil to help save short course racing on the west coast. Meantime in the Midwest, a professional drivers group known as the PDG was forming. Motocross turned short course racer Ricky Johnson was drumming up support from sponsors to create a new series to race in the Midwest.

COVER STORY Lucas Oil took ownership of Vanillo’s new series and named it the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. Vanillo and his team were hired to run operations. At the same time, the TORC series was formed. Simply called: The Off-Road Championships. The PDG board of drivers voted to support Ricky Johnson and TORC. TORC secured races at Bark River,Crandon, Texas Motor speedway, and Perris Auto Speedway.

The economy was still in a huge downturn and truck counts were low for both series. The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series held its first race in Primm in April of 2009. As both series continued to promote race events, the split grew more intense. Sponsors and drivers were torn. Big names such as Scott Douglas, Rick Huseman, Johnny Greaves and Rob MacCachren were all racing the TORC series. Lucas Oil had Bryce Menzies, Carl Renezeder, Brian Deegan and Rob Naughton along with a growing list of up and coming off-road racers. TORC had TV contracts, but nothing the size of Lucas Oil which came with a full-time production team and several TV networks. The United States Auto Club was selected as the sanctioning body and management for the TORC races. continued to grow, drivers shifted around. Menzies left to race TORC under a Red Bull sponsorship. The Husemans opted to stay on the west coast and race Lucas Oil. The split continued. TORC silently assumed new ownership under deals with Monster Energy and later BJ Birtwell’s Armory Group.

Racing was strong once again on the west coast as Lucas Oil invested money into new race tracks, sponsorship deals, television and growing a healthy series. TORC continued to race in the Midwest with flagship race tracks at Crandon and Bark River along with Red Bud, a track famously known for motocross.

Soon questions about the TORC series survivability began to surface in the offseasons. Birtwell’s Armory Group was having difficulty in paying out racer winnings. Sponsors had hushed conversations about the future of TORC. The series was sold to Utah based MSI in 2015. Things looked promising, although MSI was unable to secure large network television deals. Races were streamed via several internet outlets. TORC had lost its title sponsor, Amsoil at the end of the 2017 season. A secret meeting was held in Crandon in February 2018 and the decision was made by both Bark River and Crandon stakeholders to part ways from the MSI group. At the same time, Lucas Oil stepped in to form the Midwest Short course Series, bringing in its large amount of resources and television commitments to the Midwest. Lucas Oil’s Midwest Short course Series lasted two years before the company pulled the plug, once again leaving the Midwest without a solid series.

Fast forward to 2020. No one knew how difficult the year would be. A group known for promoting Snocross events formed Championship Off Road. A new series would once again step in to save racing in the Midwest. In March of 2020, the world ground to a halt amid the Corona virus pandemic. Race programs would be idled everywhere. Championship Off Road’s first event scheduled for Crandon in June would be canceled. Things did not appear to be off to a great start. As the country began to reopen weeks later, the lifting of COVID restrictions allowed ISOC’s Championship Off Road to

COVER STORY hold their first event at ERX Motor Park in Elk River, Minnesota. While crowd estimates were not officially released, the inaugural event was well attended. The series went on to run their full schedule, only having to move the Bark River event back to ERX due to restrictions in Michigan. The canceled spring Crandon race was moved to the end of September. With all of the restrictions and growing pains of starting a new series, Championship Off Road stuck to their guns, running a successful and viable series. Championship Off Road has 12 rounds of racing planned this year. The first weekend of racing will kick off at the Langlade County Fairgrounds in Antigo, Wisconsin on June 5th. Amsoil was also just named the title sponsor of the series.

So, what about the west coast? Lee Perfect and King of the Hammers promoter Dave Cole have come together to form the Great American Shortcourse. GAS will hold its first event at Victorville Fairgrounds in Victorville, California. GAS will fill the void with classes that were supported at the regional and national series. GAS has races planned at Glen Helen and Reno. The final event in November will see the addition of Robby Gordon’s Stadium Super Trucks.

Where does this leave the drivers? Pro-buggy champion Eliott Watson will sit out and watch GAS from the sidelines. A number of other west coast racers will also sit on the sidelines, unable to secure sponsorship for the 2021 season. Ryan Beat will race full time in the Midwest with Championship Off Road. Previously he was racing both series. Many west coast racers can’t afford to make the trek to Midwest. Kyle Leduc also remains in the Midwest with Championship Off Road as there isn’t a Pro-4 class on the west coast for him to run. Lucas Oil dropped Pro-4 in 2020. Championship Off Road will see its usual drivers like CJ Greaves, Andrew Carlson and defending Pro-Lite champion Johnny Holtger return to the race the series.

For now, racing has been saved on both the west coast and Midwest. Neither Champ Off Road or GAS are looking to break the bank, just promote successful race events. Neither series has a huge television package. Races are streamed on the internet which is fast becoming a larger platform than cable and broadcast television. There are plenty of upcoming talented drivers who need a venue to race at and these are the series that could fill that void.

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