The short-course off-road racing series TORC (The Off Road Championship) was recently acquired by The Armory, a Southern California-based advertising agency and production company, from United States Automobile Club (USAC). The Armory has been working with TORC since 2010. It was announced that changes in series management will begin prior to the 2014 racing season.

It was made clear by BJ Birtwell, owner of The Armory, that USAC would remain the sanctioning body, but that The Armory would handle all other duties such as strategy, marketing, promotion, media, television production and athlete/sponsor relations. Birtwell said that some changes will happen immediately, while others may come as the new partnership matures.

Kevin Miller, president and CEO of USAC, was excited about what the new partnership means for TORC’s future. “USAC’s role with TORC has expanded significantly in recent years after the series was initially founded by Ricky Johnson,” Miller said. “Early discussions with BJ and his team have left me thrilled we are handing the keys to people with vision and the capabilities to execute successfully. In fact, changes are already happening.”

One of those changes includes a strategic alliance between TORC and the FIA. Birtwell said, “The FIA alliance will become increasingly important in our five-year strategic plan, and we are proud to be a partner with the United States Auto Club, member of ACCUS-FIA, one of six leading sanctioning organizations in the U.S.” He added that future schedules may take on a different look as the series begins to realize the benefits of the hard work put in by everyone involved.

Off Road Xtreme spoke with some people in the industry and drivers involved in the series and all were positive about the change. The general feeling about the acquisition by The Armory was that if all that has been said comes to fruition, it should strengthen TORC, making it a much more viable and competitive short-course off-road racing series, and that more healthy and independent racing schedules with completely different rosters of drivers can only benefit racing fans.