There is much to be said for consistency in a race series, and the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series schedule for 2013 will look much the same as 2012, with one significant exception: The finale moves from Firebird Raceway in Chandler, Ariz., to Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park in Southern California. As a result, the Lake Elsinore facility, reborn from the old track that hosted the first Lucas Oil Challenge Cup in 2009, will also host the season-ending, big money race in October.
The series also announced a new series director, Richie Lewis, who has served as the director of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. He's replacing Tony Vanillo, who left the series late in the 2012 season. Greg Foutz will serve as race director and Greg Sheidecker and Gary Lane retain their positions as operations manager and technical director, respectively. Series veterans Lee and Poppy Perfect have been named assistant race director and administration manager.
“Bringing the excitement of off-road short course racing to a greater level remains a fundamental cornerstone to the Lucas Oil's commitment to American motorsports,” says Lucas Oil founder Forrest Lucas. “We feel confident that Richie Lewis and his new management team have the passion, enthusiasm and expertise to make that happen. 2013 is shaping up to be very, very good year for our off-road series.”
The 2013 season opens on March 15-17 at Firebird, which faces an uncertain future as the current track operator's lease expires in April, although it appears the off-road track may be unaffected. The series' second stop of two in Arizona comes a month later at Speedworld Off Road Park in Surprise.
In May the series will make its first of two visits to Lake Elsinore before its usual June visit to Miller Motorsports Park. Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino retains its July date, which will once again be a night race. The spectacular Wild West Motorsport Park in Sparks, Nev., a successful newcomer to the series in 2012, will host the August round. The Las Vegas event in September will be a night race as well, and the finale at Lake Elsinore will be Oct. 25-27.
As they have been since the series' beginnings, each weekend features two full points races for every class with the exception of the finale, which is a single points race on Saturday followed by the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup on Sunday.
While the 2013 schedule is very similar to last season's, the series is set to expand eastward the following year. While details are still not nailed down, Lucas is planning new tracks in San Angelo, Texas, which hosts a popular round of the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series and at the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., which already features the drag boats and several dirt oval racing series.
2013 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series schedule:
March 15-17 Firebird International Raceway Chandler, Ariz.
April 19-21 Speedworld Off Road Park Surprise, Ariz.
May 17-19 Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park Lake Elsinore, Calif.
June 21-23 Miller Motorsports Park Tooele, Utah
July 26-28* Glen Helen Raceway San Bernardino, Calif.
August 23-25 Wild West Motorsports Park Sparks, Nev.
September 19-21* Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, Nev.
October 25-27 Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park Lake Elsinore, Calif.
* Night races