Dodge will be the first manufacturer to enter Nitrocross’ all-electric Group E competition, partnering with defending two-time champions Dreyer & Reinbold Racing to field a fleet of four Dodge Hornet R/T-branded FC1-Xs. The team’s regular drivers …
Dodge will be the first manufacturer to enter Nitrocross’ all-electric Group E competition, partnering with defending two-time champions Dreyer & Reinbold Racing to field a fleet of four Dodge Hornet R/T-branded FC1-Xs.
The team’s regular drivers Robin Larsson, Andreas Bakkerud and Fraser McConnell will be joined by Lia Block at Richmond Raceway this weekend for the brand’s debut in the first round of the 2024-25 season.
“Dodge is well known as America’s performance brand, and to carry the Dodge brand’s banner and compete in Dodge Hornet R/T FC1-X cars is the perfect fit for our group,” said team owner Dennis Reinbold. “Like Dodge, we love to go fast, so it’s like we share the same DNA. It’s such a great alignment for us to compete in Nitrocross as it continues to grow at a record-breaking pace.
“The level of excitement is growing throughout this series and Dodge has just cranked it up even more. Fans have to come out to see the power of these cars battling as they literally fly around the track.”
While there has been speculation of a return to NASCAR, or a move into IMSA for Dodge in recent years, the brand’s CEO Matt McAlear said that Nitrocross’ younger target demographic made it an ideal place to go and race as it looks to market its new electric vehicles to a new audience.
“Nearly 75 percent of Nitrocross race fans are between the ages of 18-34, making the series the perfect venue for Dodge to expand its motorsports presence and to showcase the Dodge Hornet to a youthful, enthusiastic new audience,” he said. “We’re looking forward to a great inaugural Nitrocross season for the Dodge brand, with a championship-winning organization like the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team carrying the Dodge banner.”
Dodge’s move into Nitrocross adds to an already strong presence in electric motorsport for parent company Stellantis, with sister brands DS and Maserati both already participating in Formula E. The announcement also marks the first move for a carmaker into Nitrocross’ top category since it went electric in 2022, and is likely to be followed by others before too long, with RACER aware of at least three other manufacturers signaling an interest in the series.
“Nitrocross is thrilled to welcome Dodge to the series as our first official manufacturer entry,” said Nitrocross general manager Chip Pankow. “Dodge is about performance and so are we, and we can’t wait to see them prove it on the track.”
The move also marks a return to rallycross for Dodge, which last participated over a decade ago when it ran a pair of Dodge Darts during the 2012 and 2013 Global Rallycross seasons. Travis Pastrana, who’s since founded Nitrocross, took the brand’s only event win in the discipline in New Hampshire in 2013.
Tanner Foust will return to Nitrocross for his first full season in the rallycross-like championship since 2021 when the series’s 2024-25 season kicks-off at Richmond Raceway next weekend. The American will race for Olsbergs MSE in the top-level …
Tanner Foust will return to Nitrocross for his first full season in the rallycross-like championship since 2021 when the series’s 2024-25 season kicks-off at Richmond Raceway next weekend.
The American will race for Olsbergs MSE in the top-level Group E class, reuniting with the team that gave him the first three of his four US rallycross titles. His teammates will be brothers Kevin and Oliver Eriksson, who have both won races in the series – the two are sons of the team’s founder Andreas Eriksson, a former teammate of Foust’s.
“The Group E championship, to date, is the only professional rallycross events I’ve ever missed in the U.S. since the sport came here, and I was involved in bringing the sport to the U.S. with Andreas Eriksson,” Foust told RACER. “I’ve worked with him, I’ve known his kids since they were snotty little kids covered in mud running through the Swedish forests. Now I’m going to be racing alongside them, which is very cool.”
Foust competed in the first two standalone Nitrocross events (then known at Nitro Rallycross) for Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross at Utah Motorsports Campus in 2018 and ‘19, finishing third in the former. He then ran the full 2021 season – the last contested with combustion-engined cars in the premier class – with JC Raceteknik in an Audi S1. Aside from appearances at the two Utah races last season for XITE Energy Racing, Foust has been absent in the championship’s single make electric Group E era, but the fleeting appearance left a strong impression.
A little taste is leading to some big things for Foust, let alone some major potential developments for Nitrocross itself. QNIGAN/Nitrocross
“I did an event last year in Utah where I drove for XITE Racing, and was impressed with how the schedule unfolded, the quality of the racing and the quality of the car that OMSE built,” he said. “Then I went to Vegas to give rides for the series in the Happy Dad car. I gave rides to a lot of execs from NASCAR, from car manufacturers, and the interest in the series from some of the big players in U.S. motorsport is awesome.
“The series is at a point in its life where it has the potential to grow exponentially over the next few years.”
Since Foust’s last full season in Nitrocross, the Travis Pastrana-led series has undergone massive changes behind the scenes, with UFC magnate Dana White among the investors, and Foust now believes the discipline is in a strong place after a tumultuous decade with previous series.
“I’ve certainly watched what Travis has done with the series, what new ownership with Dana White and Thrill One has done with the series, and I think it’s a turning point where it really can be a series that helps keep motorsport moving forward as we enter the alternate fuel era of transport,” said Foust. “I’m excited to be a part of that as an advocate for motorsport in general.
“They have a great management group. I think they’ve found their legs. They’ve got a better understanding of what tracks work, what tracks don’t. They’ve got a great schedule – it is a challenging schedule in that it crosses over the calendar year, but it is a fully U.S.-based schedule, which does make it a little bit simpler to raise sponsorship money for the championship.”
Foust will race with backing from Optima Batteries, a long-time backer of his, in a deal that goes beyond signing checks and wrapping the car. Its parent company Clarios is the world’s largest battery manufacturer, with one in three cars – of any kind or manufacturer – coming off the production line with on of its batteries fitted as standard.
Longtime partner for one, potential longtime partner for all. Photo courtesy of Clarios
“Optima batteries was my first racing sponsor in 1997. A marketing exec at Optima batteries gave me $500 to go buy a set of tires for a spec Ford racer,” he recalled. “That same marketing exec is now head of marketing, and is the same guy who I’ve partnered with [from] Optima batteries and now their parent company, Clarios, in a pretty exciting relationship that has endless potential.
“It is rare to find large corporations that are excited about motorsport these days, so I’m pretty thrilled to be working with Clarios and with Optima to prove some of their new technologies and batteries, but also to keep motorsport alive.”
Foust’s partnership with Optima is set to have wider benefits for the rest of the Nitrocross field, with technology set to be trialled in the near future that could be implemented for everyone, which could eventually see lithium battery technology fall by the wayside.
“I’m about long term relationship,” said the former-McLaren Extreme E racer. “I was with Rockstar for 18 years, so if you’re going to make a long term relationship, that has to make sense over time.
“They (Optima) have new tech coming out, which we’re hoping to use in the FC1-X,” Foust said. “They have a sodium ion battery – it fits somewhere between an AGM battery and a lithium battery in weight, so it’s lighter than a normal AGM battery, but it’s more powerful also, and it’s made of wood, salt, iron and water. It’s incredibly easy to make from a resource standpoint and it’s the next step beyond lithium.
“We’re planning on proving that tech by running them in these cars in these harsh environments … [to] get people comfortable with the technology and understand how it works.”
Foust returns to Nitrocross as the holder of almost every record there is to have in U.S. rallycross, among them — four titles (across Rally America, Global Rallycross, and Americas Rallycross) and 24 event wins. He insists maintaining those records in the face of Robin Larsson’s current series dominance isn’t a driving factor in his return.
“I think I had 25 heat wins in a row, so I don’t think he’s going to get that one,” Foust said. “Records are made to be broken. I’ve been fortunate enough to have some world records and different records in different series, and it’s never that much of a disappointment when they’re broken. It’s just great that the sport stays healthy and keeps moving forward.
“[The progress is] inspiring, and it drives you to maybe push a little bit harder. You know, coming in after these guys have had two or three years under their belts in the cars, it would be aggressive to think that you’re going to take the championship in the first year, but we’re going to push to win it.”
Conner Martell will once again race for Vermont SportsCar in Nitrocross’ upcoming 2024-25 season. Martell has raced for the team since the all-electric Group E class’ inception in 2022, finishing the last two seasons sixth and seventh in the points. …
Conner Martell will once again race for Vermont SportsCar in Nitrocross’ upcoming 2024-25 season.
Martell has raced for the team since the all-electric Group E class’ inception in 2022, finishing the last two seasons sixth and seventh in the points.
“I’m super-stoked to be back at Nitro this year in Group E again with VSC,” he told RACER. “I’m happy to get back to the track, see everybody, and be with the team.
“I think it’s going to be an awesome year, I’m going to put my head down and do the best that I possibly can outside the race car to be fully prepared for the season. It’s been a long off-season but I’ve been doing some rallies, I’ve been staying in a car as much as I can, so hopefully that pays off this year and we can get some good results. Time to kick some butt.”
While Martell has been a long-term member of the Vermont SportsCar operation, also serving as the company’s test driver, he admitted that it wasn’t a certainty that he would be back this year.
“What I was going to do was kind of up in the air for the whole off-season, if I was going to run it again or not,” he said. “Thanks to VSC, they’re putting their trust in me again this year and I’ve got to really get my head down and do a bit better. The last two years have been very tough.”
Martell, the 2018 ARX2 champion, has taken two podiums in Nitrocross so far, claiming second behind teammate Travis Pastrana – who is not confirmed, but expected to race with Vermont Sports Car again this year – at Firebird Motorsports Park in 2022, and second again at Glen Helen Raceway last season. Martell wants to add to that podium haul this season, and said finding consistency will be key to that.
“My goals for the season are to be more consistent,” he said. “I think last year we had some decent finishes but both of the last two years I’ve only got one podium so I’m not super-happy with that.
“I just need to try and be consistent in the car and try to stay out of trouble. Some of it’s bad luck – and that’s just rallycross – and some of it’s mistakes that cost me big. So I’m really just trying to plan ahead for each race and make a game plan with the team before every time we go out on the track to minimize those mistakes and minimize putting myself in bad positions on the track.
“I’m going into it with a positive attitude, and I’m just going to send it like I always do.”
Nitrocross has unveiled the track layout for its 2024-25 season opener, which will take place at Richmond Raceway on Sept. 7-8. The venue is the first NASCAR track to be featured on the Nitrocross schedule, and first to be used for a U.S. rallycross …
Nitrocross has unveiled the track layout for its 2024-25 season opener, which will take place at Richmond Raceway on Sept. 7-8.
The venue is the first NASCAR track to be featured on the Nitrocross schedule, and first to be used for a U.S. rallycross race since Gateway Motorsports Park hosted the second and third rounds of the 2019 Americas Rallycross championship. The likes of Charlotte Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway also previously featured during the days of Global Rallycross in the mid-to-late 2010s.
The course encompasses all four turns of the oval, with the lap beginning on the pit lane before Turn 1. Turn 2 then tightens into the infield where the first dirt section, complete with a tabletop jump, is featured. The third corner on the Nitrocross layout is a 90-degree asphalt right-hander, leading to the next dirt patch, which encompasses turns four through six.
Turns 3 and 4 on the oval are considered one big sweeping left –Turn 7 — with Turn 8 (on the exit of the oval’s Turn 4) being a subtle left kink leading onto a gap jump and the finish straight. A Joker lap — an alternative route, in this case a longer one, that must be taken once per race — forgoes the oval’s final bank, cutting onto the first half of the pit lane, then right, though the gap jump, before making a hard left to rejoin the start straight.
Richmond will be one of five venues on the upcoming Nitrocross schedule, with Utah Motorsports Campus near Salt Lake City, Utah (Oct.5-6), Firebird Motorsports Park near Phoenix, Ariz. (Nov. 15-16), the streets of Biscayne Bay in Miami (Jan. 11-12), and the Las Vegas strip (March 1-2). Each event will be a doubleheader, making a total of 10 championship rounds.
Nitrocross is launching a new scheme aimed at making its top development class more accessible. From the coming season, which begins in Richmond, VA in September, the NEXT class will be known as NEXT evo following the introduction of the new FC2 …
Nitrocross is launching a new scheme aimed at making its top development class more accessible.
From the coming season, which begins in Richmond, VA in September, the NEXT class will be known as NEXT evo following the introduction of the new FC2 single-make platform, developed by First Corner – a branch of Sweden’s ultrasuccessful Olsbergs MSE rallycross outfit.
Evolved from the class’ previous SuperCar Lites machine which has been in service since 2013 (when the U.S. premier rallycross series was Global Rallycross), the new FC2 promises a jump in horsepower from around 320 to 480 horsepower – plus an additional 70 bhp with the use of a limited-use ‘Nitro Boost’ function – and on-track performance comparable to the old 600 bhp Supercars that have been phased out in recent seasons.
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Now, the series is offering a unique scheme, dubbed the Cost Contained Racing Plan, to not only contain costs but allow drivers to focus entirely on driving.
Contained at a base cost of $40,000 per weekend – each of which will be a doubleheader comprising two full championship rounds – the plan includes access to a fully-prepared car, a new set of Yokohama racing tires, a drum of P1 Bio 100 fuel – the category’s control fuel which is 100 percent fossil-free – and two team members to run the car. Driver registration and entry fees are also included as are the racing car’s logistics to and from events.
“The idea was $40,000 is everything you need to put it on the podium,” Nitrocross general manager Chip Pankow told RACER. “What it’s doing is leveling the market a little bit.
“Our whole ethos in Nitrocross, whether it be in Group E, or particularly NEXT evo, is we want to control costs, and this is a way to provide a fair market for drivers coming into NEXT evo.”
While a lot of the talk around the new FC2 has centered around its performance putting it almost on-par with the old premier class Supercar vehicles, weekend running costs are comparable to the outgoing Lites car, but considerably lower than Supercars.
The first batch of FC2s raced at Arvika in Sweden last month. Qnigan/Nitrocross
“It’s a little lower horsepower than an old Supercar but they’re lighter, they put power down better than an old Supercar,” said Pankow. “So it’s a Supercar experience for $40,000 a weekend. If we were still running Supercars, they’d cost more than Group E (understood to be little under double the cost of running an FC2 for a doubleheader weekend). Those engines were tearing themselves apart and they were crashing so expensively.”
NEXT evo, however, is still effectively a developmental class for emerging drivers, and Group E driver Conner Martell – a Lites veteran who sampled the FC2 recently in Sweden – insists it’ll still be an accessible platform despite the notable rise in performance.
“The nice thing is that it’s very easy to drive,” he said. “It kind of throttle-steered itself which is nice because the Lites car always had a lot of understeer so you’re always trying to fight setup, and the Lites car always felt like you could never get the power you wanted, you could never slide the car around.
“This car allows you to play around with that and feel it, but it is at a very high horsepower with anti-lag.”
“With the power you can get the car rotated and have the power through the turn whereas the Lites car, you never had that, ” he added, also noting the car’s new shocks and bigger suspension. “You were always much slower when you had a slide, whereas now you can position the car and not lose as much time and it will help you in the turns.”
Martell also feels that it’ll be manageable for those making the leap up from Side-by-Sides and the new Sierra Car class, which will also debut in September, even if the speed might take a bit of adjustment at first.
“It’s definitely a big jump, I think the hardest thing will be the speed difference and the anti-lag,” he said. “I think the hardest thing will be the speed and being timid with how much speed you’re going to have now. With anti-lag you get a little more push from the car, the throttle is much touchier, but the car drives easy.
“The chassis is very well done, you can get it to do whatever you want, and it’s small and nimble, so if you do make a mistake, it’s pretty easy to fix it.”
A minimum of 12 cars are already set to run in NEXT evo come September, but teams are said to already be planning to expand their orders with driver interest for U.S. rallycross’ second-tier competition at an all-time high.
Dana White set tongues wagging earlier this week when he let spill on the Flagrant podcast that plans were afoot to partner Nitrocross – Travis Pastrana’s rallycross-like series which White is a major investor in, and is headlined by the …
Dana White set tongues wagging earlier this week when he let spill on the Flagrant podcast that plans were afoot to partner Nitrocross – Travis Pastrana’s rallycross-like series which White is a major investor in, and is headlined by the all-electric “Group E” category – with NASCAR.
“I’m flying to NASCAR and we’re doing a deal with NASCAR,” White stated. “We’re going to be the electric series for NASCAR. We’re working on that deal right now.”
Interesting comments from Dana White on the Flagrant podcast:
“I’m flying to NASCAR and we’re doing a deal with NASCAR. We’re going to be the electric series for NASCAR. Yeah, we’re working on that deal right now.” pic.twitter.com/2TyEUGEykO
RACER can confirm that talks between both sides have been ongoing for several months, but while initial reactions immediately assumed Nitrocross would be a NASCAR-branded electric series, or that the team behind Nitrocross would be about to put together an all-new series, it turns out neither will be the case.
Speaking to RACER on Friday, the championship’s general manager Chip Pankow confirmed the talks by saying, “Is Nitrocross talking to NASCAR? yes. We’re absolutely talking to NASCAR,” but stressed that it would be an “alliance” between both sides, which will remain standing alone in their own right.
“A friendly alliance is what we’re looking to do,” he said. “We’ll always stand on our own.
“We’d like to have a relationship with them. What that looks like, we don’t know, but we’re having a lot of talks and trying to understand what that could look like.”
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The move will allow NASCAR to dip its toes in the electric space, without having its own standalone all-electric series, much like how it has involvement in sports car racing through its IMSA ownership, although conversely, the partnership with Nitrocross would not involve any ownership or rebranding.
Speaking to RACER before Friday evening’s super special stage at the Southern Ohio Forest Rally in Chillicothe, Ohio Pastrana added his take on how much is going into the alliance.
“A lot,” he said, not giving away much. “[White] wasn’t supposed to [talk about it] either, but he likes to talk before anything’s out there.”
He did open up a bit when pressed about when we might hear more.
“Hopefully really soon,” Pastrana said. “Ben Kennedy (NASCAR’s director of Racing Development and Strategy), all the guys…they’re definitely looking into seeing how they can bring in a younger audience, make electric cool, and what they can do with the manufacturers, and Dana’s got some answers for them.”
While a prospective alliance between both parties has been long in the making, the first fruits of it will be seen later this year when Nitrocross’ 2024-25 season begins at the NASCAR-owned Richmond Raceway on September 7-8.
A number of NASCAR drivers have sampled Nitrocross already, too. Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott raced in the 2021 season when its top class still ran to an internal combustion “Supercar” format. Elliott returned for a guest appearance in Group E in 2022, along with Austin Cindric, while Joey Logano has also sampled the FC1-X raced in Group E in a brief test.
Three-time Truck series champion Matt Crafton also raced in the championship’s side-by-side category at the 2023-24 season finale in Las Vegas – an event that was attended by multiple NASCAR drivers as onlookers, including reigning Cup series champion Ryan Blaney.
Loenbro Motorsports is set to return to U.S. rallycross in a new partnership with European outfit SET Promotion, joining Team Faren in confirming plans to run cars in Nitrocross’ NEXT EVO category. Loenbro, founded by brothers Paul and Jon Leach …
Loenbro Motorsports is set to return to U.S. rallycross in a new partnership with European outfit SET Promotion, joining Team Faren in confirming plans to run cars in Nitrocross’ NEXT EVO category.
Loenbro, founded by brothers Paul and Jon Leach previously competed in Global Rallycross – where it was a two-time event winner with driver/team manager Steve Arpin – and Americas Rallycross.
It then partnered with SET Promotion for the first full Nitrocross season in 2021, with Arpin running a Hyundai i20 Supercar to a best finish of second at the Utah Motorsports Campus, but didn’t return for the 2022-23 season following Nitrocross’ switch to the new FC1-X electric car in its premiere class and Arpin’s decision to focus on his Longhorn CHassis Dirt Late Model business.
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“We had a great collaboration with GRX and SET when Steve Arpin raced in Nitrocross Supercar in 2021, so this relationship is something we feel very happy with moving forward,” said Paul Leach. “SET Promotion has so much history and experience, and I hope we can bring plenty to the party too. We can’t wait to get started.”
The renewed partnership will see the team compete in select events on the RallyX Nordic schedule ahead of anticipated move to Nitrocross when the season begins in September.
NEXT EVO will utilize the FC2, an upgraded version of the current SuperCar Lites platform raced in NEXT (test mule pictured). Qnigan/Nitrocross
“This is an exciting new adventure for SET Promotion and the SET-Loenbro partnership,” said SET Promotion team manager Aleksi Koskinen. “We have had an amazing recent couple of years in the European Championship and it was important to keep the motivation high – for sure this project does exactly that.
“We have good experience of extracting what we can from single-specification cars in the past, and we are ready to work with some talented drivers who I think will fit perfectly into this team with these fast new-look cars.”
SET-Loenbro is the second team to signal an interest in Nitrocross’ new-for-2024 NEXT EVO class, which replaces NEXT as the main development class. Following the conclusion of the 2023-24 season in March, Sweden’s Team Faren confirmed it would be upgrading its existing SuperCar Lites car to FC2 spec for NEXT Evo.
“We are committed to the FC2 project – it’s very exciting to have this new machine in our fleet going forward,” said team boss Eric Faren. “Our plan includes a full program in the NEXT EVO category next season. We can see the growth of Nitrocross and the huge interest going forward, so it feels good to secure a place to be a part of it.
“There’s a big buzz around the new category coming and we are working to put together a good package for interested drivers and partners. We’re looking at multiple options at the moment.”
Robin Larsson wrapped up his second Nitrocross title with a clean sweep on the second day of the season-ending Las Vegas doubleheader. The DRR JC RX Cartel driver won every one of his preliminary races en route to the final, but it was after the …
Robin Larsson wrapped up his second Nitrocross title with a clean sweep on the second day of the season-ending Las Vegas doubleheader.
The DRR JC RX Cartel driver won every one of his preliminary races en route to the final, but it was after the second heat race — which he merely needed to start after winning his first race of the day — that he wrapped up the title.
That didn’t lead to him taking it easy in the six-lap final though, and he duly launchedd into an early lead from pole position, as Timmy Hansen, the 2018 Nitrocross champion returning to the series for the first time since 2021, settled in behind him from second on the grid.
Behind the lead pair, Larsson’s RX Cartel teammate Andreas Bakkerud hit trouble early on, being sent into the wall at Turn 1 after a door-to-door brush with Guillaume de Ridder. The race continued though, with Hansen making life difficult for Larsson up front as de Ridder shadowed him.
Hansen came closest to taking the lead in lap 3 off the gap jump, when he looked up the inside of the hard left hander which immediately followed it, but Larsson remained resolute up front. He tried again in the same place a lap later, but the result was the same.
Larsson’s win ended up being secured on lap 5 when, on the approach to the gap jump, de Ridder tapped Hansen as he attempted to take second and join the lead battle. The move cost both time, allowing Larsson to pull away. Hansen was able to recover some of the lost ground, but not enough by the race end.
Larsson eventually won by 1.444s from Hansen, with de Ridder locking in third in his second round in the series.
Fraser McConnell finished fourth after a quiet final, the position solidifying second in the points for him. Conner Martell was fifth, but his final will be remembered for what happened post race, when he performed a burnout against the concrete wall in front of the fans which resulted in his front tires bursting into flames.
Viktor Vranckx was sixth in his team’s third car, which sported an Evel Kneivel-inspired, livery. He was driving the alternate car after crashing heavily on Saturday which necessitated a hospital visit.
Oliver Eriksson was classified seventh after he joined Bakkerud in retiring early on.
McConnell and Kevin Eriksson were unable to stop Larsson from winning another championship. Qnigan/Nitrocross
After winning on Friday, McConnell entered Saturday’s season finale still with a shot at the title, but his failure to win his first race of Sunday effectively ended his hopes.
McConnell finished second to Hansen in his first heat, with the others being won by Bakkerud and de Ridder. McConnell was then able to win in the next round, along with Oliver Eiksson, but his absence from the Top Qualifier race, as a result of missing out on a heat win, proved vital.
Later in the day, finishes outside the top-two in the Last Chance Qualifiers prevented Kevin Eriksson, Oliver Bennett, Patrick O’Donovan, and Travis Pastrana from advancing to the main event.
With drivers’ lowest scores dropped – not including Calgary where everyone scored zero points by default after the weather affected the event — Larsson took the title by 82 points over McConnell, with Kevin Eriksson, who led the standings in the first part of the season, third, 101 points adrift of Larsson. Bakkerud finished the season fourth, ahead of Oliver Eriksson in fifth, with Pastrana sixth despite sitting out the second round at Glen Helen Raceway in December.
Saturday’s NEXT final was the last-ever race for the SuperCar Lites pltform. It was introduced in Global Rallycross back in 2013. Qnigan/Nitrocross
The Nitrocross NEXT season ended with Casper Jansson taking an eighth consecutive win. The streak is a record for any U.S.-based rallycross series in any class.
The final was subject to a lengthy red flag delay after a roll for Ellis Spezia on lap 3 while taking the joker.
Once it restarted, Elias Svensson capped off a fine debut weekend by finishing second behind Jansson, while Lane Vacala finished third.
In Side-by-Sides, Branden Sorensen won on home turf ahead of Banks Hovey, Gray Leadbetter, and his sister Amanda Sorensen, with three-time NASCAR Truck Series champion Matt Crafton completing the top-five. After crashing out of the SxS Open final, season champion Kainan Baker won the PRO invitational class final.
The Baja Bugs final victory went to Blake Wilkey, ahead of UFC star Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, who took his first podium finish of the season. Jim York completed the podium.
Championship outsider Fraser McConnell kept himself in the hunt for the Nitrocross title with a dominant victory in the penultimate round of the season in Las Vegas. With overtaking difficult on the tight track constructed at Planet Hollywood on the …
Championship outsider Fraser McConnell kept himself in the hunt for the Nitrocross title with a dominant victory in the penultimate round of the season in Las Vegas.
With overtaking difficult on the tight track constructed at Planet Hollywood on the Strip, the Dreyer & Reinbold JC driver needed to make his start in the six-lap final count – and he duly did, launching into an early lead.
Polesitter Oliver Eriksson retaliated in the first heavy braking zone however, retaking the lead up the inside of the banked dirt turn, but his time at the front would be a short-lived as he got tagged by McConnell just after the joker merge two turns later, contact that would send him into the wall and leave him at the mercy of Robin Larsson.
Larsson, though, had his own issue to deal with, brewing hounded by Timmy Hansen, who was making his first Nitrocross appearance since 2021. Hansen was faster than the points leader, but couldn’t find a way past, and couldn’t dive into the joker for clean air either as that would have left him open to attack from Andreas Bakkerud who had taken the alternate route on his first pass through.
That battle allowed McConnell to take off in front, while Hansen and Larsson took their respective jokers on lap three and four, the alternating strategies not changing the order, however.
McConnell – who signed a contract extension with DRR this week, keeping him with the team for the 2024-25 season – ultimately crossed the line 3.76s ahead of Larsson who held off Hansen right to the line, both crossing it alongside one another.
Guillaume de Ridder finished fourth on his Nitrocross debut, six seconds off McConnell, with Travis Pastrana and Bakkerud the remaining finishers.
Kevin Eriksson was classified seventh after retiring at the halfway point following a first lap spin, while his brother and OMSE teammate Oliver Eriksson also retired following his own lap 1 incident.
Four drivers failed to make the final, with series debutant Patrick O’Donovan and Viktor Vranckx being eliminated from the first Last Chance Qualifier, while Conner Martell and Oliver Bennett failed to advance from the second.
O’Donovan and Vranckx came together at the Joker split on the opening lap of their LCQ, with the latter ending up in the wall, necessitating a red flag and a trip to a local hospital for checks. When that race restarted, O’Donovan was off the pace as a result of damage sustained in the clash.
In the other LCQ, Martell had a tense fight with Vermont SportsCar teammate Pastrana throughout the contest, with the 2021 champion ultimately prevailing.
Before nightfall, Oliver Eriksson had been quickest in the opening practice session, and won both his heat race, the Top Qualifier race, and his semifinal, with McConnell won the other semi, having started his day with a seeding heat win as well, but fourth in the Top Qualifier race.
Casper Jansson extended is record winning run in NItrocross NEXT. Qnigan/Nitrocross
In Nitrocross NEXT, Casper Jansson won a record-extending seventh race in a row, beating Lane Vacala and series newcomers Elias Sevenson and Ellis Spiezia.
Pastrana took his third win in the last four races in Side-by-Sides, leading home Tyler Remmereid and Gray Leadbetter, whom he recently shared the Legacy Motor Club car in Extreme E with.Teenager Kainan Baker dominated in the open SxS PRO invitational class, winning ahead of Kory Willis and Remmereid, who like Baker was pulling double duty in both SxS class.
Ryan Rodriguez won in the Baja Bugs category, leading home Blake Wilkey and Jim York.
Nitrocross has announced an additional class for its season finale next weekend, with Side-by-Side PRO joining the bill at the double-header event at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. Running as well as the championship’s usual Side-by-Side class …
Nitrocross has announced an additional class for its season finale next weekend, with Side-by-Side PRO joining the bill at the double-header event at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.
Running as well as the championship’s usual Side-by-Side class (pictured) – which features identical Can-Am Maverick X3s – SxS PRO will feature a field of vehicles from Polaris and Yamaha as well as Can-Am.
The vehicles in the class feature a high flow exhaust system and suspension alterations, with 250 horsepower coming from their modified engines fueled by Boostane UTV96 race gas.
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The top two drivers in the standings of Nitrocross’ regular SxS category, Kainan Baker and Tyler Remmereid, will contest the class along with two-time Baja 100 winner, double Crandon and LOORRS Pro Lite champion, UTV world champion and Extreme E race winner RJ Anderson and his brother, 2020 UTV World and 2021 SXS Pro NA champion Ronnie Anderson.
They will be joined by Pro Turbo UTV race winner Jeb Bootle, motocross convert Damon Bradshaw, 2020 Championship Off-Road Pro Lite champion John Holtger, UTV racing champion Cash LeCroy, father-son duo Rodney and Owen Van Eperen, and UTV race winner and vehicle tuner Kory Willis.
Nitrocross’ usual SxS class will also have its biggest field of the season, with 12 drivers entered in the single-make Can-Am category. Regulars Baker, Remmeried, Leticia Bufoni, Donald “Cowbow” Cerrone, Gray Leadbetter, and Travis Pastrana will be joined by Alyanna Baker, Banks Hovey, Zach Lumsden, Amanda and Branden Sorensen, and Adam Thomelius.
Both SxS classes will feature on Nitrocross’ biggest racing bill ever, which will be headlined by the all-electric Group E category, as well as Nitrocross NEXT – racing with the venerable SuperCar Lites cars for the final time – and Class 11 Baja Bugs.
While there has been speculation of a return to NASCAR, or a move into IMSA for Dodge in recent years, the brand’s CEO Matt McAlear said that Nitrocross’ younger target demographic made it an ideal place to go and race as it looks to market its new electric vehicles to a new audience.
Dodge’s move into Nitrocross adds to an already strong presence in electric motorsport for parent company Stellantis, with sister brands DS and Maserati both already participating in Formula E. The announcement also marks the first move for a carmaker into Nitrocross’ top category since it went electric in 2022, and is likely to be followed by others before too long, with RACER aware of at least three other manufacturers signaling an interest in the series.
