Crandon World Championship Off-Road Races(R) Part of New 2018 ULTRA4 Triple Crown Series
Jan. 11, 2018
UTVUG Staff
Crandon International Adds ULTRA4 Series To 2018 Off-Road World Championships
New Triple Crown of Off-Road Also Includes King Of The Hammers and Mint 400
Crandon, Wisc. (January 10, 2017) -- Adding even more world-class competition to its iconic World Championship Off-Road Race® event, Crandon International Raceway today announced a new alliance with Hammerking Productions to bring the hugely popular ULTRA4 class to its massive Labor Day weekend gathering of fans and short-course racers.
Hammerking Productions not only promotes and executes the iconic King of the Hammers event in Johnson Valley, California, but also the Nitto ULTRA4 National Championship series.
Representing the ultimate rock racing vehicles in the world, ULTRA4's return to Crandon is part of the newly created "Nitto Triple Crown of Off-Road, " a special three event series that includes February's Nitto King of the Hammers, March's 50th anniversary Polaris RZR Mint 400 presented by BFGoodrich and Crandon's 49th annual Crandon World Championship Off-Road Races®, held this year on August 30th - September 2nd.
The ULTRA4 series last visited Crandon International Raceway in 2012, part of the track's traditional Forest County Potawatomi Brush Run race weekend taking place each June.
INTERACTIVE PARK: Crandon's 100-acre Off-Road Park will be the site of the 2018 Crandon "ULTRA Cross" race Friday night, August 31st as part of Forest County Potawatomi's "Friday Night Thunder" races. In addition, the facility will be open to Jeep, truck and 4x4 fans all weekend for interactive off-roading and other attractions.
Today's announcement comes only weeks after Crandon International announced its new partnership with the BFGoodrich Unlimited Off-Road Show series to bring Jeep, 4x4 and truck fans and industry suppliers to Crandon's World Championship weekend.
"We are very pleased to be taking another step in bringing our fans -- both old and new -- a truly world-class off-road experience," explained Crandon President Cliff Flannery. "Beyond that, we are also very proud to help unite all three of the biggest off-road races in America under one series like the Nitto Triple Crown of Off-Road. Combining the ULTRA4 series with short course off-road racing and the interactive BFGoodrich Unlimited Off-Road Show activities in the Crandon Off-Road Park is a perfect marriage."
The unlimited 4-wheel drive ULTRA4 cars will take part in two special races at the Crandon World Championships. On August 31st the ULTRA4 class will be the finale of Crandon's Forest County Potawatomi-sponsored "Friday Night Thunder" under the lights in a specially created ULTRA Cross hybrid course using both Crandon's Off-Road Park and sections of the famed 1.75-mile short course track. On Sunday, September 2nd, the top 30 racers from Friday night will move on to the ULTRA4 World Cup short-course race, a day that also features the world finest PRO 4, PRO 2, PRO Light, PRO UTV, PRO Buggy and PRO Modified Kart classes.
In addition to winning Nitto's $15,000 cash prize and bragging rights, ULTRA4 racers will also be competing for a portion of Crandon's $200,000 cash and World Cup prize purse -- along with earning coveted Crandon World Championship rings and Olympic-style medals.
THE KING IS COMING: 2017 King of the Hammer's champion and Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame (ORMHOF) inductee Shannon Campbell (top) has confirmed his appearance at the Crandon World Championships as part of the Nitto Triple Crown of Off-Road. Campbell's potent race cars combine impressive straight line speed with the ability to overcome almost any type of off-road obstacle. (photos: Nicole Dreon/Kathy Durrett)
To receive an invitation to the Nitto Triple Crown, drivers must either finish the 2018 King of the Hammers 4400 class or have finished in the top 20 during the 2017 ULTRA4 Nitto National Championship Series. All drivers invited to race at the Mint 400 as part of the Triple Crown will have a chance to race Friday night at Crandon's ULTRA Cross race. All drivers must commit to an ULTRA4 Regional Series to participate in the Nitto Triple Crown. These are additional races and cannot be raced in lieu of regional races.
In 2017 Crandon International Raceway attracted 54,400 fans over two days at the World Championship weekend, a record expected to be broken in 2018.
Along with a full slate of The Off Road Championship (TORC) PRO and Sportsman racing, Crandon's World Championship weekend will feature the annual Crandon World Cup. Hosted and sanctioned by Crandon International Raceway on Sunday, September 2nd, the special day has been created to attract the world’s best off-road racers and teams to compete for Crandon World Championships in a variety of PRO-level classes. For just the third time in the sport’s nearly 50-year history, short course competitors from sanctioning bodies around the country can race on a completely level playing field with the biggest single day payout in the sport.
