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For a second day the staff at Off Road Xtreme canvassed the Pomona Fairplex, in Pomona, California, to check out The 2013 Lucas Oil Off-Road Expo powered by General Tire, held the weekend of Saturday, October 5 through Sunday, October 6, 2013, in order to bring you the latest and greatest in everything off-road.
Our first day’s report there discovered a plethora of new parts and accessories; vendors of all description, racing demos from the King of the Hammers and Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series; show, trail and race vehicles on display; and plenty more for the crowds of attendees to enjoy.
However, this second day of the weekend confirmed that the Expo had grown exponentially. Hammer Town was brand-new for this year and one of our favorites; and although it was set off to the rear of the show and in a corner off by itself, it did help tremendously to show off this fast-growing rock-racing sport.
There were also opportunities to get autographs from star King of the Hammers racers in locations throughout the Fairplex, and watch expert rock-racing drivers on the MAV TV Proving Grounds on Saturday and Sunday. However, we feel the Ultra4 rock-racing cars deserved to be front and center, considering the dramatic rise in popularity of this off-road sport.
Ultra4 rock racers were represented in force for the first time. This is a fast-growing and incredibly popular off-road sport.
The MAV TV Proving Grounds were also the site for some of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing trucks to show off at this year’s Expo. A few professional drivers demonstrated the capabilities of these high-flying 800-plus horsepower machines.
The special SCOREville display area inside one of the large halls and was an overwhelming tribute to the SCORE Baja Legends, including about a dozen vintage and current desert race trucks and cars. A number of autograph sessions with off-road racing legends were held on Saturday and Sunday.
SCOREville also hosted the live draw and unveiling of the official course map for the 46th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, on Saturday, and that was quite popular and hugely attended.
Driver autograph sessions with stars such as BJ Baldwin (upper left) and Shannon Campbell (upper right) were popular, with show attendees lined up. Modern as well as historic off-road vehicles, like this original Myers Manx (lower left) that competed in the inaugural Mexican 1000 Rally, and the 1975 BFGoodrich Blazer (lower right) built by Parnelli Jones and driven by Frank Vessels to a number of wins in the late 70s and early 80s were on display.
Of the new goodies on display for off-road enthusiasts, there were a few that stood out and are worth mentioning here. Many were still under wraps, and will be announced at the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association (SEMA) Show; we’ll have those for you in a few weeks.
One of our favorites was a new triangulated, rear trailing-arm rear suspension kit for Jeeps from Rebel Off Road. Set up with King coil-over, remote-reservoir shocks, it looked amazing’ you have to see it believe it.
Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels also had its brand-new Classic Baja Lock wheel on display. Street legal with a machined simulated bead lock, it comes in 15-, 16- and 17-inch sizes, and there are trailer applications, too.
Addictive Desert Designs took the new Shelby Raptor and figured out a way to kick it a few more notches with a bunch of body parts, bumpers, electronics and a suspension upgrade. It was badass!
Rebel Off Road's new rear suspension kit; the new Classic Baja Lock wheel from Mickey Thompson; and Addictive Desert Design's Raptor upgrade.
Hellwig Products is now making replacement anti-sway bars for some of the Polaris UTVs, and there are more model-applications in development. The Hellwig bars are solid, heat treated Chromoly steel, not tube like the factory bars; and are a direct replacement, have adjustability for tuning and come with poly bushings.
Bestop had it’s cool saddle-bag style storage unit that fits over the top of a rear-carrier mounted tire on display. It fits snugly over a tire and features two medium-sized side bags, a long rear bag, and two small top bags; all that can carry gear, tools or just about anything inside, and can be easily detached.
The Dirt Theater screened movies, showcasing some great off-road films from talented off-road filmmakers ranging from off-road racing action to rally cars to bikes to rock-racing– everything on dirt.
Movies such as the The General Tire Mint 400, Vindication: 2013 Griffin King of The Hammers, and Dezert People were are among those seen by attendees during the weekend. And live music on the Bud Light Entertainment Stage also kept everyone rocking throughout the weekend.
The 2013 Lucas Oil Off-Road Expo powered by General Tire was another smashing success, as witnessed by the crush of attendees both days during the weekend of Saturday, October 5 and Sunday, October 6, 2013, at the Pomona Fairplex, in Pomona, California.
For information about the 2014 Off Road Expo, visit www.OffRoadExpo.com or follow the Expo at www.facebook.com/OffRoadExpo and at www.twitter.com/OffRoadExpo.
