On this next episode of Off Road Xtreme’s recurring feature;  Off-Roading With Christopher Polvoorde we get a behind the scenes tour of a short course race weekend. Christopher and his family were gracious enough to invite us out to Glen Helen Raceway for Rounds 3 and 4 of the Great American Short Course (GAS) series. It was enlightening to see their massive effort getting these impressive off-road machines on the track and competing in the wild door-to-door racing action.

Christopher Polvoorde happened to have pretty good weekend results, taking a 2nd place finish on Saturday and backing it up with a dominating victory on Sunday. Currently, Polvoorde is now first in points after four rounds of racing. For now, the GAS series is on a little bit of a hiatus with the next races scheduled for October 9 & 10. I will wager the teams will enjoy the break because from what we witnessed, a short course race weekend looks like a lot of work.

Polvoorde’s 1st Place Highlight Video

By the numbers, Off Road Xtreme breaks down what it takes to put up this temporary compound at the race track. Polvoorde’s effort includes a large pit operation, significant personnel investment, hours and hours of labor, dozens of vehicles, tons of tools, spares for days, loads of equipment, and hundreds of home cooked meals.

The primary race effort is the #94 Ford Ranger ProLite. Under the GAS rules, these are two-wheel-drive mid-size trucks built on a standardized chassis and limited to OEM platform V8 engines rated at 450-500 horsepower. Other specifications include limiting the front wheel travel to twelve inches, and the rear to fourteen inches. Maximum wheelbase measures one hundred six inches long whereas the track width is as wide as seventy four inches. Minimum vehicle weight must hit the scales at 3,400 pounds or more.

Race Support Includes A Fleet Of Vehicles

Serving as Polvoorde Racing’s main home away from home is a typical race car hauler and 48 foot transport trailer. The rig’s awning encloses the pit perimeter which also features removable barriers. Everything is decked out with graphics and sponsor logos that matches the current livery.  Underneath the tent, and stretching beyond, is 75 feet by 30 feet of Swiss Trax interlocking tiles. It can take as much as six to eight hours to assemble everything, set up, and put everything in its place for the race weekend. This is not a low budget outfit, and besides serving as the race pits, the setup doubles as a VIP area and activation zone.

Besides the transporter, a fleet of support and pit vehicles make up the rest of the race compound. This includes two RVs that serve as sleeping quarters, and a Ford F-550 that hauls a 53 foot enclosed trailer which hauls the race trucks. We also counted one Ford Raptor, one Ford Transit Van, one Tesla, and one Ford Ranger which doubles as the series pace vehicle. You might recognize a pattern here as Christopher receives generous support from Ford Performance as his title sponsor. You might also recognize the Ford Ranger which was featured in the recent episode; Off-Roading With Christopher Polvoorde: Moab Trails In A Ford Ranger. No team is complete without the choice rides that you can quickly hop in and out of to zip around the race track facilities. The Polvoorde’s utilize three pit bikes, two Polaris Rangers, and Christopher never goes anywhere without his Intense Primer Mountain Bike and his Onewheel.

A Race Shop On Wheels

The race trailer is fully decked out with solar panels and a suite of large capacity batteries. There is no shortage of power in this camp. Like your home garage, having ample power keeps the workflow going. Depending on how a race weekend goes, the type of work varies.

If it is a clean race ending up in the winners circle, the truck would be stripped down, and scrape clean. If making no changes or adjustments, that process alone would require a minimum of three hours of meticulous labor. This is the ideal situation, obviously, and better than the alternative. If there is a lot of door banging, bumper smashing, or you end up towed back on the hook, the crash cart might have to get pulled out. No worries though, Polvoorde racing is fully equipped to handle serious repairs, extensive metal fabrication, and replacement of components.

The team’s tools and equipment include welders, grinders, torches, tube benders, and anything else needed for total rebuilds of a thrashed race truck. The spares list offers transmissions, torque converters, gear sets, shocks & springs, fans & coolers, brakes & rotors, and a fully prepped race engine. All of this is stored in the transporter which the team works out of including back home at the shop. With the thorough preparation prescribed before each race and Christopher’s accomplished driving record, hopefully none of that will be needed. We have all heard the saying “races are won at the shop.” A basic truck preparation before heading to the race weekend consists of forty to sixty man hours. To handle all of this action, the team employs four professional off-road mechanical specialists, two full time and two part time. During a race weekend, the crew swells to as many as fifteen dedicated personnel.

All of the performance strategy is headed by Polvoorde Racing’s crew chief Jimmy Davidson who knows all the ins and outs of the entire program. He is a very experienced off-road racing specialist and if there is a mile per hour to be squeezed out here or there, Jimmy knows how to find it. The GAS ProLite rules are somewhat limited. Any adjustments to be had are usually found by messing with the gear ratio, drive train, shocks, and/or suspension. It’s all about trying to find the balance between speed and handling. Of course, the entire truck setup is relative to the track and track conditions. No matter what, everything is logged into the computer for notes and documentation. For example, every part on the truck will have a competition shelf life, which is all noted, and eventually retired.

For 2021, Polvoorde welcomes all new tire & wheel partners to the program. The #94 Ford Ranger ProLite is equipped with DOT LT265/75R16 Toyo Open Country A/T Tires. For a single race weekend, they will bring 14 tires mated to race series beadlock Vision Wheels. With the all new tire and wheel setup, this involves a lot of discovery and trials to see what works, what does not, what the tires like and what does not perform. The front and rear tire receive different groove patterns.

Polvoorde’s Race Weekend Recap Full Video

Much of this cannot happen without support from vital partnerships. The days of running a sponsor logo on the race car, suit, and helmet are pretty much long gone. In today’s world of motorsports, there are sophisticated branding strategies, attached media campaigns, activation programs, consumer data collection mechanism, and experiential activities. Polvoorde’s camp has a carefully curated rollout and prescribes each of his partners a package that aligns with their individual goals.   

Besides racing and tending to the needs of sponsors, there are many other activities involved with the Polvoorde Racing program. We mentioned some of it already. The activation area is placed in the pits front corner where it will receive the most traffic. This is a concentrated effort that highlights the team’s partners and their products. Think of it like a retail store with multiple product displays carefully arranged. Here, event attendees can pick up some swag, get hands on the goods, and meet Christopher for an autographed poster. On a big weekend like at the Crandon World Championships, 4,000 to 5,000 attendees may stop by for activation. It is also set up to electronically capture personalized data voluntarily submitted through a QR code. This is all highly valued by Polvoorde’s partners.

The Racing Program Includes Various Promotional Aspects

One unique asset at the team’s disposal is a race legal two-seater ProLite used to give ride-alongs to special guests. Besides featuring two seats, it is not much different than the primary truck. This truck is decked out in identical trim and livery designed to mimic the real race truck. With race officials’ pre-approved authorization and slots built into the schedule, Christopher will give thrill rides to VIPs, company executives, and other special guests. The passengers are suited up in nomex head to toe, fitted with a helmet, strapped into a full-containment seat with a five point harness, and plugged into the radio. Polvoorde can gauge the riders reactions and go as fast as they can handle. On a typical two round race weekend, there are usually up to four ride-alongs, two each day.

The entire pit compound is designed to double as a hospitality tent in addition to facilitating the race operations. This means accommodating lots of guests, friends, and family. Christopher stated that they typically handle at least fifty individuals, besides the dedicated crew, underneath the tent throughout the weekend. Beyond that, there is an open-door policy for known media personnel & photographers.

With all of these people, keeping them fed is a massive operation. With breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the entire crew and many guests, there are approximately two hundred meals prepared. On average it will look like twenty five for breakfast, twenty five for lunch, and fifty for dinner per day. As you can tell, the Polvoorde’s do it right and to high standards. Gale, Christopher’s own mother, manages it all and you can expect mostly home cooked meals like French Toast, Sweet Pork Tacos, Chicken Tacos, and Spaghetti with Meatballs.

Running On Schedule

Every part of the weekend is pre-planned and based on the event schedule that was hopefully released weeks in advance. If everything goes according to plan, Polvoorde might get to hit the track with his truck seven different times during a two race weekend. There are typically three practice sessions, two rounds of qualifying, and two races. This does not include the daily track walks, and Polvoorde’s ride-alongs. Every time the truck is on course, it is usually revved to the limiter and burning race fuel. Christopher explained that they will consume about 30 gallons of VP Racing Fuel in a weekend.

We hope you enjoyed seeing what it takes to go professional short course racing as much as we liked going to the races. For the next installment of  Off Road Xtreme’s recurring feature; Off-Roading With Christopher Polvoorde, we will dive into what powers this program and keeps it running on all cylinders. Perhaps, there will be a few Optima Batteries involved!

Photography provided Bink Designs & Polvoorde Racing.
Watermarked images shot by Off Road Xtreme.
Video provided Polvoorde Racing.