The 2022 California 300 off-road race debuts in Barstow, CA, October 13th-15th
Oct. 11, 2022
UTVUG Staff
The California 300 takes over Southern California's Off-Road Mecca
The California 300 Off-Road Race takes over to Barstow, CA this week for the inaugural event, October 13th - 15th bringing major desert racing back to Southern California. The field of competitors and fans will descend upon the high desert for three days of off-road racing action, camping, and fun. The off-road festival at the Official Start / Finish Midway will be the center of all the race action and will feature tons of off-road brands vending and displaying their products as well as food and beer vendors. The main stage will not only showcase the race finishers, but will be the central hub for racing information and updates. The off-road festival at the Start / Finish Midway is located just east of the intersection of Lenwood Ave and Arbuckle St. just off the 15 freeway. Exit Lenwood Ave and head south and look to your left.Click here to purchase tickets for the Start / Finish Midway!
[gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="84671,84670"] Pre-race festivities began last Saturday with the California 300 Desert Clean-Up presented by Clean-Dezert followed by The California 300 Poker Run. Hundreds of off-road enthusiasts turned out and removed over ten tons of illegally dumped trash from the beautiful Stoddard Valley OHV area, while Poker Run participants got a chance to see the brutal 68 mile racecourse up close. Pre-running for the 300-mile race starts Tuesday, October 11th through Wednesday, October 12th for registered racers. The California 300 will officially open to the public on Thursday October 13th at 8am with the opening of the Midway and Start /Finish area, located off Lenwood Road. An action-packed qualifying session will start at 10:30am and feature over 60 racers attempting to earn top starting positions on an 8-mile qualifying course. Racing begins on Friday, October 14th at 7 am beginning with Short Course UTV’s, followed by a stacked field of Limited Class racers. Saturday kicks off at 7 am with multiple rounds of youth UTV racing including 170, 250, 570, and 1000, then culminates with the ultra-competitive fire breathing Unlimited Truck classes! Racing on both days will conclude at 7pm sharp.
With a massive field of over 200 race teams including car, truck, UTV and youth classes. The California 300 has attracted some of the top off-road racers including, Steve Olliges, Dale Dondel, Mitch Guthrie Jr., Branden Sims, Kristen and Wayne Matlock, Ryan Piplic, Doug Mittag, Ronnie Anderson, Justin Lambert, Bruce Binnquist, Mike Cafro and Carson Wernimont to name a few. UTV racers will be competing throughout the weekend for extra fame and glory as the eighth annual UTV World Championship was folded into the inaugural CA 300 this year.
“We’re thrilled with the projected turnout of this inaugural event!”, said CA 300 CEO and co-owner Matt Martelli. “The City of Barstow, San Bernardino County, the local business community and the people who live in this area have all reached out to us offering support and that has really made a difference in our planning. The BLM office here has been incredibly supportive as well. We’re asking all of our off-road spectators this weekend to please observe the 150 foot spectating rule and help us pick up trash. If we do that we can keep racing here annually and grow this event even bigger than The Mint 400!”
Barstow, California has a rich tradition of off-road racing dating back to 1971 with the first “Fireworks 250” race which ran for fifty-one years. It has always been a vital and important location for testing, recreation, and racing. After promoting the Mint 400 successfully for more than a decade, The Martelli Brothers and their team are thrilled to be bringing a major desert off-road race back to Southern California, the mecca of off-road racing for the first time in 22 years!