CRANDON, WISC. — With all of its 2000-plus camping spots already reserved and ticket sales going strong, the upcoming TORC Off-Road World Championship weekend presented by Amsoil at Crandon International Raceway has all the earmarks of being another Labor Day weekend record breaker. The legendary track, located on 400 acres in the picturesque Northwoods of Wisconsin, is celebrating the 45th annual running of this annual end of summer racing classic in a big way – including posting the largest purse in the sport’s history.
Track officials are bracing for a three-day crowd expected to exceed 45,000 fans, many of whom arrive several days early to set-up camp in preparation of action-packed racing by day and the event’s highly popular concerts and colorful parties by night. The weekend officially kicks off on Friday, August 29th at 9:30 a.m. with the Pit Crew Competition and 45th Anniversary World Championship Labor Day Parade in downtown Crandon before 13 different classes take to the track for practice, qualifying and racing as part of The Off Road Championship (TORC) series.
Saturday will see a full slate of competition as driver’s from across the country and Canada vie to become one of Crandon’s World Champions – an official title bestowed on each of the day’s class winners. Wisconsin own seven-member Vic Ferrari Band will again entertain the crowd that evening – a highly popular Crandon Labor Day weekend tradition.
On Sunday, the weekend will culminate with more competition and series’ championships in the Sportsman and PRO Light truck categories. The finale will see TORC’s PRO 2WD and PRO 4×4 classes let loose on the track at the same time after receiving staggered starts in the 5th Annual Amsoil Cup Challenge race. In a new off-road motorsports record, the winner will take home $45,000 in cash plus additional prizes from MasterCraft Safety and Lincoln Welders from a total purse of just over $56,000.
Top racers expected at Crandon include 2013 Amsoil Cup winner CJ Greaves, who also made TORC history recently as the only driver to win all three PRO classes in a single day of racing. Also on tap is father and multiple World Champion Johnny Greaves, 2014 Crandon Brush Run Forest County Potawatomi Community Cup winner Chad Hord and 2010 Amsoil Cup winner Scott Douglas.
The best short course drivers in the Midwest Off-Road Racers (MORR/TORC Series Sportsman Truck and Buggy Divisions) will also be racing their hearts out in search of 2014 class championships. There will even be a showcase for the sport’s youngest talent as both the MORR Short Course Karts and a group of west coast-based Modified Karts hit Crandon’s famed dirt track during all three days of competition.
“In many ways, we have been building toward next weekend for almost half a decade,” explained Crandon President Cliff Flannery. “From all indications, this year’s 45th Anniversary Crandon World Championships will the biggest and best in history. Our staff and volunteers work hard to make the “Crandon Experience” memorable and fun. It must be working as more fans show up for Labor Day weekend every year.”
With racers and trucks/buggies, crews and off-road fans converging from all points on the U.S. map, the small logging town of Crandon, Wisc., (population: 1,920), will be buzzing with activity. Since 1970 the off-road phenomenon has played out in Crandon, this year celebrating 45 years and making it the nation’s longest-running short course off-road competition. It is also be said that the two major Crandon races bring an influx of more than $10 million into the local economy.