If you are like so many, the seasonโs most powerful elixir besides time with family and friends is the ability to bring out the yearโs most intense period of reflection and optimism. For the racing community at large, the shops are quiet, the dyno rooms are still, and we enjoy a bit of respite before it all starts again in January.
Thankfully racing has seasons, and for some, wiping mental remnants of 2024 will be a welcome exercise. Off-road racing is no exception.
For me, the memories of this year from an overall perspective are a mixed bag of some sparkling triumphs, several setbacks and another year where the sport continues to disregard the obvious steps it can take to help itself prosper.
With the return of off-road racing coverage to the RACER platforms, it seemed time to also bring back my annual tradition of celebrating the yearโs best and worst with candy canes and lumps of coal.
CANDY CANES
Factory Polaris team
Back in 2019 I wrote: โEven the most ardent doubters have now been silenced. The takeover of the off-road universe by todayโs side-by-side (aka UTV) phenomenon has become completely realized.โ
Man, was I wrong.
In the five years that have passed since penning those shortsighted words progress, permanence and participation has been the cornerstone of todayโs side-by-side revolution. From desert to short course to rock racing to the Dakar Rally, they are now a backbone to the sport.
Officially launched in March 2023, the Polaris factory team is the strongest compass to where this is all headed. Housed in SCI Motorsportsโ southern California facility, the effort has the full funding and technical support of Polaris, along with a strong group of aftermarket suppliers. Their line-up of drivers is equally impressive, led by the youthful talents of Brock Heger and Cayden MacCachren. In 2024 the Polaris factory team swept all four SCORE desert races with first place overall UTV performances. Most eye-opening, however, was Hegerโs Baja 1000 victory, with a finishing time good enough for seventh place overall including Trophy Trucks and Class 1 unlimited cars.
The future is now.
The Big Blue M
While times are changing, for a large chunk of the mainstream motorsports world, the only off-road race that really counts is the BFGoodrich SCORE Baja 1000. Considering its provenance and history of being one of racingโs greatest challenges, that is no surprise. In 2024 McMillin Racing (nicknamed the Big Blue M) returned to the top of the Baja 1000 podium with its fourth overall victory in five years. Third-generation driver Luke McMillin combined with legendary Rob MacCachren to pilot their Mason Motorsports-built Trophy Truck to the win, supported by another ironman effort of navigator Jason Duncan.
To borrow a phrase from Roger Penske, effort equal results and the McMillin Racing team has worked hard and tested harder to get to the very top of todayโs unlimited desert racing landscape.
Class 11 explosion
Thanks in large measure to a huge uptick in participation of social media stars like Blake Wilkey and the Isenhour brothers, the sportโs most humble category has become what the cool kids are doing. Class 11 is a backyard builders dream come true, with a foundation based on vintage Volkswagen Beetles. From Crandon to Baja, these nearly stock machines are an instant fan favorite as well, with close racing and an undeniable down-grown attraction. At the recent Speed Rage at the River event in Laughlin, Nevada nearly 60 of these colorful stock-bodied VWs took the green flag.
The Class 11 candy canes come with some coal as well. To continue expanding participation from drivers, teams and promoters the splintering effect of various rules and safety packages needs to be addressed once and for all. Building specialized versions of the same vehicle is a momentum killer, while inconsistent technical inspections only open the door for exploitation. Thankfully USAC is working on a national rules program to make safety the priority for drivers and insurance underwriters if nothing else.
Broadcast
As last weekโs feature on the use of Starlink/Star Stream satellite system explained, livestreaming coverage of the BFGoodrich SCORE Baja 1000 is the latest twist in a long path toward a wider and larger audience. Event promoter and series organizers have spent countless hours and financial investments toward becoming self-sufficient production companies and content generators. From live tracking to high-speed drones to Starlink, we stand today on the pioneering work of King of the Hammers, the Mint 400, SCORE International, Crandon โ and a long list of tech-savvy brainiacs.
The challenge, of course, is to have that great content find a large enough home to make these expensive endeavors worth the cost. There is growth on the horizon here too, with the reworked MAVTV network committed to as much top-level off-road content as possible. The Daker Rally, the Progressive King of the Hammers and the Polaris Crandon World Championship Off-Road Races will all be highlighted in 2025. The Mint 400 will be hosted on the Speed Sport platform, with the AMSOIL Champ Off-Road series broadcast on FS1. Great news for all.
Champ Off-Road Series
Speaking of the AMSOIL Champ Off-Road series, short-course racers around the country owe a debt of gratitude to the management and ownership group at ISOC (the group behind the Snocross snowmobile series). The most dynamic form of off-road racing has a long history of turbulence and unfulfilled potential, despite having solid Pro and Sportsman racer support โ not to mention an enthusiastic fanbase.
Overcoming a short-lived but damaging threat from the MidAmerica off-road group (see below), the Champ Off-Road series provided a conservative, but stable, event schedule in 2024. Top level production seen on FS1 and Flo Racing has helped, as has a stabilized rule package. Next year will see much needed expansion for Pro classes to Missouri and California. We all need to be thankful.
The only wish is for the overwhelming number of UTV and youth classes to be condensed to allow more track time, less confusion for fans and shorter schedules on race weekends.
LUMPS OF COAL
Fighting warlords
As it has for decades, off-road racingโs arch nemesis lies with a wholly myopic view of its own progress โ or lack of it. Tunnel vision and the unrelenting hindrance of human ego remain the backdrop of a healthy sport reaching the next level.
Desert racing now has four major sanctioning bodies, all fighting a participant and sponsor base that is finite in number. Instead of finally locking themselves in room to hammer out a progressive truce that helps all and minimizes damage, the days of mutual cooperation seem impossibly distant. Instead of polarizing the off-road nation, letโs start with some simple ideas. How about one single rules package for all desert, short-course and rock racing classes under a non-promoter umbrella Or a yearly event calendar that respects the time and resources of your customers โ the racers?
Here is one that will help us all. SCORE International, itโs time to provide all racing promoters the ability to license category naming like โTrophy Truckโ and โClass 1โ for an affordable cost. Ultra4 and King of the Hammers, the same for your rock racing classes. Same for the short-course world.
Itโs simple really. How can you expect to grow a fan base when an identical race car must be named three or four different things? You canโt.
Collapse of MidAmerica
The collapse of the MidAmerica facility and its related racing series in late 2023 was catastrophic on so many levels. In todayโs world, being a ‘disruptor’ is considered a compliment. In this case, the disruption to related businesses, sanctioning groups, racers, sponsors and staff has remained a festering open wound. As my friend Casey Mears shared in the aftermath, โthe sport of off-road racing on a top-tier level has been set back five to 10 years.โ
He wasnโt kidding. For a moment, a true consolidation of the sport at many levels was within our collective grasp. It was real until it wasnโt, all without any warning. Suffice it to say that even the best and brightest were convinced the MidAmerica concept and its ownership group was the real deal, with the funding and very best motorsports talent to make it all happen. Instead, it was all a devastating mirage.
A stocking of coal isnโt good enough in this case. Make it a dump truck instead.
