Once the sun set on the Sand Sports Super Show, the lights came up and the roar of horsepower rang through the Costa Mesa Fairground in Southern California. The Stadium Super Trucks (SST) series was in town and was about to put on a show for the fans.
Saturday’s round of SST held plenty of action including the debut of the Arctic Cat Racing Series. This series would contain factory, off the showroom floor 2016 Arctic Cat Wildcats.
The Arctic Cat Wildcats put on a show, allowing the fans to see what these new side-by-sides are capable right out of the box. The appealing part of this series is its affordability, allowing almost anyone to come out and race. You do not need to have a large budget to race this series.
This round of SST racing also contained Modified Karts, and the 1400 Class desert trucks which is always a fan favorite. The 1400 Class trucks are desert race trucks that give it their all on the short course track. They are used to racing alone in the desert and sometimes rarely see another vehicle on the course.
The 1400 Class desert trucks do not have major sponsors like the SST trucks, that run later in the night. This class held drivers that work out of their garage, prepping the truck for racing usually in their own home.
The crowd loves the desert trucks and it was heard as soon as they rolled onto the track. One of the fan favorites was the Ford Bronco driven by Michael Cox. The Bronco would soar into the night and land further than any other vehicle.
This year there was a new vehicle that entered the race and immediately took over everyone’s attention, an old classic Cadillac. The Cadillac came out with off-road suspension. The car was seen keeping up with the desert trucks and hitting the jumps like no one would believe.
The vehicle did not make it out of the heat rounds, as it took too much damage. The car would end the heat race with the trunk stuck open, and one of the front headlights missing.
Once the desert trucks finished putting on the show it was time for the main event, the SST trucks. Plenty of top drivers lined the field including Robby Gordon, PJ Jones, Burt Jenner, and Aaron Kaufman from Gas Monkey Garage.
Kaufman would be driving the Toyo Tires truck and would have problems controlling the truck all night. The track had two crossover jumps where trucks could be in the air and on the ground at the same time.
This left for plenty of excitement all night as trucks would literally be flying over the competition. All the trucks made the jumps with no major crashes; Kaufman did complete a 50/50 grind on the k-rail.
After the race finished while Robby Gordon was being interviewed he said, “That has to be some of the best, worst driving I have ever seen from the Toyo Tires driver. I think he needs to stick to show business.”
The crowd laughed, but knew it was true. Kaufman put a clinic on how not to drive a Stadium Super Truck. He continued to have trouble all night in the CBS Sports crossover 360 turn. Going from dirt to pavement was not his friend that night, smoking the tires every time around.
Overall the races held up to the hype and put on a great show. Who would you like to see drive a Stadium Super Truck? Tell us in the comments below!