Speed Energy Formula Off Road

History

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. Gordon announced the formation of the Stadium Super Trucks (SST) in 2012, modeling the series after Thompson's MTEG stadium series; early in his career, Gordon had won the 1989 MTEG championship as a 20-year-old. 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.

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

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

On September 23, 2014, sponsorship marketing company Elevation Group purchased a 40 percent stake in the series. 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.

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. Other off-road drivers who have competed in the series included Moto X biker Jeremy Stenberg.

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, road course ringer Boris Said and former Nationwide Series driver and eleven-time X Games medalist Travis Pastrana. P. J. Jones also made starts for Gordon's Robby Gordon Motorsports team in NASCAR, while Justin Lofton raced in NASCAR with Speed Energy sponsorship.

In 2016, Sara Price became the first female driver in series history when she made her debut at Toronto.

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. Eventually, the series focused almost exclusively on street courses. "Before you know it, we're doing 10 street races instead of stadiums and dirt races, which brings it to a completely different fan audience," Gordon stated. On the street courses, aluminum ramps are placed on the track; 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).

In late 2014 and into 2015, the series expanded outside the United States and Canada, starting with the Race of Champions in Barbados. 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. Further Australian events were held at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit as a support race for the Gold Coast 600, at the Valvoline Raceway for the Ultimate Sprintcar Championship and at the Homebush Street Circuit for the Sydney 500. On May 13, the series was invited to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England. The 2016 schedule featureds four races in the United States, one in Canada, four in Australia, one in New Zealand, and one to be confirmed. In 2017, the series will make its debut on an oval track at the Texas Motor Speedway, running as a support event for IndyCar's Firestone 600.

Trucks

Powered by a 600-hp Chevrolet LS V8 engine, 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). 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 catches fluids which may have spilled from damage that the truck sustains. Each truck has Department of Transportation-approved Toyo Tires.

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, though drivers are allowed to change some aspects of their trucks, such as the spring rates, ride heights and camber.

Media coverage

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

Points system

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