USAC Sanctioning Off Road Racing?

The United States Auto Club hasn't always sanctioned just open wheel racing. Back in the early days of USAC they sanctioned sports car racing and had a stock car division.

You can now add off road racing to the list of motorsports under the USAC sanctioning title, according to the Daily Press newspaper in Escanaba, Michigan.

BARK RIVER - The organization sanctioning off-road races at Bark River International Raceway has merged with a West Coast series to form a new organization.

The World Series of Off-Road Racing (WSORR), which has operated races for two years at Bark River, has joined with off-road racer and Supercross legend Ricky Johnson to form the Off-Road Grand Prix (ORGP).

The Bark River International Raceway is operated by the Bark River Lions Club.

Roger Charbonneau, raceway marketing chair, said the consolidation will bring more professional racers to Bark River.

"We're going to see a huge resurgence of Pro 2 and Pro 4 drivers coming back to Bark River and Crandon, Wis., with this new series being formed," he said.

Races at Bark River are scheduled for July 11-12 and Aug. 8-9. The new series will include eight races in Bark River; Crandon; Phoenix, Ariz.; Oshkosh, Wis.; and Perris, Calif.

"We have a schedule of races that brings five weekends to the Midwest's best facilities in addition to several West Coast racing dates," said Johnson. "It's truly a nation-wide, unified series with driver support and that's what the sport needed."

The series will also be sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC).

Charbonneau said part of the reason for the consolidation has to do with the economy.

"As everybody knows, the economy is going through a very difficult time and like many other sports we're seeing consolidation in various areas whether it be NASCAR or other venues. Off-road racing is going through the same thing," he said.

CORR held races at Bark River before moving its series out west two years ago. WSORR was formed to continue races in the Midwest.

I don't think there's anything wrong with looking at other ventures, but USAC has a long history of screwing up series including their own bread-and-butter open wheel classes. We're not too far removed from their new generation silver crown debacle, and currently they're still trying to create a Gold Crown class with a less-ugly version of their big track pavement cars.

If everything USAC touched turned to gold, I could see them taking on new projects. However until they prove they can run a series without any serious flaws, perhaps they should stick to what they know.