Short course off-road racing facts for kids
Short course off-road racing is a super exciting type of car racing! It involves special vehicles racing on a closed dirt track. These tracks are usually not very long, just a few miles or less. This kind of racing is different from long desert races, like the Baja 1000. Desert races cover hundreds of miles from one point to another. Short course racing keeps all the action close, making it easy for fans to watch!
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How Short Course Racing Started
Short course off-road racing became very popular in the 1970s. A famous racer named Mickey Thompson helped make it big. He took the idea of long desert races and made them shorter. This made it easier for people to watch the races. It also helped teams get to their vehicles quickly if they had problems.
Early Days and Growth
Mickey Thompson created his own racing series called MTEG. He focused on racing inside stadiums and arenas. Around the same time, outdoor dirt track racing grew in the Midwestern United States. It started with races in the woods near Crandon, Wisconsin. Later, a special track was built just for these races.
The SODA series became the main group for racing in the Midwest. Car companies started supporting SODA more and more. After Mickey Thompson's death, SODA became the biggest short course racing series.
New Series and Changes
Later, a new series called Championship Off Road Racing (CORR) started in 1997. It was created by an announcer named Marty Reid. CORR became very popular but later closed down in 2008 because of money problems.
There were different rules for racing on the West Coast and in the Midwest. This caused some differences between the two regions. However, series like CORR tried to have races in both areas.
In 2009, two new big series started. The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) began on the West Coast. The TORC: The Off-Road Championship started in the Midwest. TORC replaced an older series that had also closed.
Both LOORRS and TORC did well for over ten years. Lucas Oil gave LOORRS a lot of money to help it grow. TORC had many strong drivers. But TORC closed after 2017 due to money issues. The COVID-19 pandemic caused LOORRS to close in 2020.
Stadium Racing Returns
Mickey Thompson's idea of stadium racing came back in 2013. A former racer named Robby Gordon started the Stadium Super Trucks series. After its first year, this series mostly raced on city streets. But sometimes, they still race on dirt tracks and in stadiums.
Newer Racing Leagues
In 2020, a new series called Championship Off-Road began in the Midwest. A year later, a new Western series started. It's called Great American Shortcourse. It was founded by people who used to work with LOORRS and other off-road events.
What is Short Course Racing Like?
There are two main ways short course off-road racing happens.
Outdoor Dirt Tracks
One type of racing takes place on an outdoor dirt track. These tracks are designed with turns, jumps, and bumps. They make the races exciting to watch. The world championships for short course off-road racing are held at the Crandon International Off-Road Raceway.
Indoor Stadium Racing
The other type is stadium racing. These races happen on a much shorter track built inside a sports arena. It's like a mini off-road course indoors! The Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group used to do this. Now, the Stadium Super Trucks series continues this exciting tradition.
