Speed Energy Formula Off-Road

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Speed Energy Formula Off-Road
File:Formula Off-Road logo.png
Category Offroad racing
Country United States
Canada
Australia
Region North America
Australia
Inaugural season 2013
Classes Stadium Super Truck
Tire suppliers Toyo Tires
Drivers' champion Sheldon Creed
Official website http://www.stadiumsupertrucks.com
Motorsport current event.svg Current season

The Speed Energy Formula Off-Road Presented By Traxxas (formerly Stadium Super Trucks) is an American off-road racing series. The series was formed by former IndyCar and NASCAR driver Robby Gordon in 2013. The Trucks formerly competed primarily in American football stadiums, but began racing mostly on street circuits starting in 2014.

History

File:Stadium Super Trucks Robby Gordon leads exhibition at Crandon 2012.jpg
2012 exhibition at Crandon

By 2011, there was speculation that after his NASCAR career was over, Robby Gordon would bring back the concept of stadium off-road racing that Mickey Thompson had invented.[1] Gordon announced the formation of the Stadium Super Trucks (SST) in 2012, modeling the series after Thompson's MTEG stadium series;[2] early in his career, Gordon had won the 1989 MTEG championship as a 20-year-old.[1] The Stadium Super Trucks held an exhibition race at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway after the conclusion of the World Championship races on September 2, 2012.[3]

The Stadium Super Trucks began with a twelve-race season in 2013.[4] The series held their first official race at the University of Phoenix Stadium on April 6, 2013.[5][6] The race was won by Rob MacCachren,[5] Justin Matney finished second, and Gordon passed the flipped-over truck of P. J. Jones on the final lap for third.[7] Gordon and MacCachren battled throughout the 2013 season, and Gordon won the championship by seven points.[8] As support events, the series scheduled monster trucks, quad bikes and Side by Side UTVs.[9]

File:Stadium Super Trucks Crandon 2013 Round 10.jpg
Race at Crandon in 2013

On December 11, 2013, Gordon announced that the series will be among the events held at the X Games Austin in 2014.[10] On March 4, 2014, the series was rebranded as the "Speed Energy Formula Off-Road Presented By Traxxas".[11] The series' X Games final was held at Circuit of the Americas on June 8.[12] Apdaly Lopez won the gold medal; Creed and Gordon earned silver and bronze, respectively.[13]

On September 23, 2014, sponsorship marketing company Elevation Group purchased a 40% stake in the series.[14] In 2015, the series entered a partnership with all-terrain vehicle manufacturer Arctic Cat, which led to the creation of the Arctic Cat Stadium Side-by-Side (SXS) Racing Series as a support series to the SST.[15]

Drivers

The series typically featured racers who have competed in off-road events; in the inaugural race, off-road racers included Robby Gordon, Championship Off-Road Racing driver Rob MacCachren, TORC driver Sheldon Creed and motocross rider Jeff Ward. The 2013 season also featured drivers from other disciplines, like Arie Luyendyk, Jr. and Paul Tracy (IndyCar), Nick Baumgartner (Olympic snowboarding) and Traxxas owner Mike Jenkins.[5] Other off-road drivers who have competed in the series included Moto X biker Jeremy Stenberg.[16]

Like Gordon, other NASCAR drivers have competed in the series. At X Games Austin 2015, among the NASCAR competitors were 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace,[17] road course ringer Boris Said[18] and former Nationwide Series driver and eleven-time X Games medalist Travis Pastrana.[19] P. J. Jones also made starts for Gordon's Robby Gordon Motorsports team in NASCAR,[20][21] while Justin Lofton raced in NASCAR with Speed Energy sponsorship.[22]

Tracks

During its inaugural season, the series raced predominantly in stadiums filled with dirt like the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, while also running on street circuits as a supporting event for the IndyCar Series. On the street courses, aluminum ramps are placed on the track;[9] the ramps are 17 feet, 6 inches long and 2'8" high, and trucks enter them at speeds of 70 miles per hour (110 km/h).[23]

In late 2014 and into 2015, the series expanded outside the United States and Canada, starting with the Race of Champions in Barbados.[24] On October 16, Gordon announced the series would race at the Adelaide Street Circuit in Australia for 2015 as a support event for the Adelaide 500.[25] Further Australian events were held at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit as a support race for the Gold Coast 600,[26] at the Valvoline Raceway for the Ultimate Sprintcar Championship[27] and at the Homebush Street Circuit for the Sydney 500.[28] On May 13, the series was invited to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England.[29]

Trucks

File:Stadium Super Truck of Robby Gordon.JPG
The Stadium Super Truck of Robby Gordon at the 2015 Clipsal 500 Adelaide

Powered by a 600-hp Chevrolet LS V8 engine,[30] the trucks weigh 2,900 pounds (1,300 kg) and are built with a steel-tube frame and fiberglass body. The trucks are 13'5" long and 5'2" high, feature a three-speed transmission and can reach speeds as high as 140 mph (230 km/h).[23] A portion of the frame protects the driver from rolls. The truck's high center of mass and soft suspension makes the vehicle prone to rolling. Next to the driver is a 5-US-gallon (19 L) jug that contains fluids which are spilled whenever the truck sustains damage.[31] Each truck has Department of Transportation-approved Toyo Tires.[32]

In 2012, Gordon ended his NASCAR career, believing the top teams had a large advantage over the smaller teams due to the amount of money spent. As a result, Gordon wanted the Stadium Super Trucks to be a "drivers' series"; with this philosophy, all trucks are identical to each other,[33] though drivers are allowed to change some aspects of their trucks, such as the spring rates, ride heights and camber.[34]

Media coverage

The 2013 SST events were televised tape-delayed on NBC and NBC Sports Network;[35] seven were televised on NBC and five on NBC Sports Network.[4] Most of the twelve races in 2013 were televised on Sunday afternoons.[36] In 2014, NBCSN returned to broadcast the season's races, but was later replaced by CBS Sports Network.[37] The X Games events were aired nationally on ABC.[19][38]

Points system

Source: [39]

Heat race

Pos. Points
1st 12
2nd 10
3rd 8
4th 7
5th 5
6th 4
7th 3
8th 2
9th 1
Bonuses
Most laps led 3
Inversion 1
Qualifying 1

Main event

Pos. Points
1st 25
2nd 22
3rd 20
4th 18
5th 16
6th 15
7th 14
8th 13
9th 12
10th 11
11th 10
12th 9
13th 8
14th 7
15th 6
Bonuses
Most laps led 3
Inversion 1

Champions

By season

Season Driver No.(s) Races FQ W Top
3s		 Pts. Margin
2013 Robby Gordon 7 14 of 14 3 3 12 407 7
2014 Robby Gordon 7 16 of 16 5 6 14 492 75
2015 Sheldon Creed 74 22 of 22 6 9 13 617 33

By driver

Total Driver Seasons
2 Robby Gordon 2013, 2014
1 Sheldon Creed 2015

References

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External links

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