Crandon International Joins Red Bull Signature Series To Create First-Ever Off-Road Racing “World Cup”

— Non-Denominational Crandon-Hosted Event To Air On Red Bull TV And NBC —
— Labor Day Weekend to Include TORC Championship Races —
— 7th Annual AMSOIL Cup Race to Provide Spectacular Finale —

CRANDON, Wisconsin (July 8, 2016) – Providing the dynamic motorsport of short-course off-road racing the most impactful news in years, legendary Crandon International Raceway has announced a new, long-term association with Red Bull Media House. The partnership will create an independent motorsports event that will be part of the internationally renowned Red Bull Signature Series, a collection of the most progressive and innovative events in action sports. Set for Sun., September 4 at Crandon’s legendary “Big House,” the new Crandon World Cup® will be part of a 47th annual Labor Day race weekend that attracts more than 45,000 fans to the 400-acre facility over four days of racing.

Hosted and sanctioned by Crandon International Raceway, the event has been created to attract the world’s best off-road racers and teams to compete for coveted Crandon World Championships® in a variety of PRO-level classes. For the first time in the sport’s nearly 50-year history, short course competitors from all sanctioning bodies around the country can race at Crandon on a completely level playing field with no concerns about points, season championships or other hindrances out of their control. The event will be brought to an international audience via the Red Bull Signature Series live on Red Bull TV and as a highlight program on NBC.

The intense, door-to-door combat of short-course off-road racing expected at the new Crandon World Cup® will be broadcast to millions of households as part of the Red Bull Signature Series – both via a live broadcast on Red Bull TV and as a special 90-minute highlight program scheduled for airing on Sat., Oct. 8 at 2pm EST on NBC. Produced by MSI Live, a division of MSI, the show promises viewers a captivating mix of high-energy motorsports and the downhome American narrative only an organically unique place like Crandon can provide.

Today’s news is the culmination of nearly a year of negotiation, cooperation and goodwill between Crandon track officials, Red Bull Media House, Mountain Sports International (MSI), various corporate partners and the Rennsport Group. MSI is a Utah-based corporation that recently purchased The Off-Road Championship (TORC) short-course series that has two race weekends at Crandon International Raceway in 2016 including the recently concluded Brush Run weekend and the Labor Day weekend Crandon International Off-Road World Championships®.

American off-road racing phenom Bryce Menzies (top) is expected to return to Crandon International this Labor Day for the first annual World Cup races with both his unlimited PRO-4WD and PRO-2WD trucks. Current running near the top of the West-Coast based Lucas Oil Off Road Series, Menzies also won the 2016 Red Bull Frozen Rush (HighRev Photography images)

The Crandon World Cup® is an event our sport has needed for decades,” explained Crandon President Cliff Flannery. “Every form of racing – and every major sport — has its form of a ‘Super Bowl’ that decides who is the best in the world. After 46 years of our small Wisconsin town building-up the Labor Day weekend races, we have hosted the biggest short-course races anywhere. Now our fans and enthusiasts around the world can watch the ultimate competition with all the best drivers and teams, on the same track on the same day.”

While exact event format details and schedules are still being finalized, current plans call for “World Cup Sunday” to include Crandon World Championship® races in the PRO-4WD, PRO-2WD, PRO-Light, PRO Buggy and PRO Modified Kart divisions. The weekend will culminate in the 7th Annual AMSOIL Cup, a spectacular competition that pits the fastest 24 unlimited PRO-4WD and PRO-2WD trucks together on the track at the same time after a staggered start. This year’s intense annual race offers a first place cash payout of $47,000, plus a specially engraved gold plated “Crandon Top Gun” Henry rifle and valuable prize packages from Lincoln Electric and Impact Safety.

For the first time in the track’s history, all PRO division racers will have the opportunity for substantial open track testing onThursday, September 1st. Racing will kick-off Friday night after the traditional Labor Day parade in downtown Crandon at the Forest County Potawatomi Community “Night of Thunder.” The 2016 TORC champions–including PRO 4WD, PRO 2WD and Atturo Tire PRO-Light classes–will be decided on Sat., Sept. 3, as well as season championships and Crandon World Champions® crowned in the MORR (Midwest Off-Road Racing) TORC Sportsman divisions.

Both the PRO Buggy (top) and PRO Light classes will be centerstage at the 2016 Crandon World Cup races. Each of the popular classes will compete for coveted Crandon World Championship trophies, rings and additional prize packages onSunday, September 4, 2016. Photo credits: Mike Roth (top) and Kenton Knutson (above).Fans from around the country are expected to invade Crandon’s immense facility, which is set to grow by 100 acres (for a total of 500) and another 500 camping sites (for a total of 2,500) in 2017. The on-site camping is part of the true “Crandon Experience,” with family and friends coming back year after year. While many campsites are already reserved, fans can still enjoy Crandon camping on a first-come, first-served basis or by reserving sites and tickets via www.crandonoffroad.com. “The opportunity to finally create a wide-open, top level event like this for the first time in off-road history is exciting and gratifying,” concluded Flannery. “Crandon International is a very special place and is the only appropriate venue to showcase a true off-road World Cup. We thank everyone at the Red Bull Signature Series for making this event a reality, and those who helped bring all of the pieces together. Everyone shared a high level of cooperation and a passion to elevate this dynamic form of motorsports via our new Crandon World Cup.” About Crandon International Raceway: Every athletic form of competition has its iconic “holy grail” location; magic places that organically merge time, place and history in locations often imitated — but certainly not duplicated. For off-road racing, that unlikely theater of speed is found deep within Wisconsin’s Northwoods at a place better known as the “Big House.” Located just 100 miles northwest of Green Bay and just outside of the tiny hamlet of Crandon (population: 1,386), Crandon International Raceway has provided three generations of fans with dirt throwing, high-intensity action and history-making performances. Crandon’s purpose-built, 400-acre facility is the finest on earth and has long hosted the largest crowds in short-course off-road racing history. Featuring 2,000 grass camping sites, in 2016 fans  will enjoy two big weekends of racing each year including June’s Brush Run event and Labor Day weekend’s Crandon International Off-Road World Championships®. Both events feature The Off Road Racing Championship (TORC) series and the MORR Sportsman divisions. The facility will also be open for summer camping so adventure enthusiasts can enjoy “the Crandon Experience.”  For more information please visit www.crandonoffroad.com. About The Red Bull Signature Series: The Red Bull Signature Series is the most progressive action sports property in the world, featuring best-in-class events such as Frozen Rush, Joyride, Straight Rhythm, Hare Scramble, Volcom Pipe Pro and Rampage. These events represent a collection of the most innovative surfing, mountain biking, skateboarding, and motorsports events on custom courses inspired by the athletes themselves. Red Bull Media House and the NBC Sports Group showcase this world-class property of action sports events all year long on Red Bull TV and NBC through state-of-the-art production and storytelling.  For more information, please visit www.redbullsignatureseries.com. About Red Bull TV: Red Bull TV is a digital video service that features inspirational programming from the world of Red Bull, including live global events and an extensive selection of sports, music and lifestyle entertainment.  Red Bull TV is available on the web, connected TVs, gaming consoles, mobile devices, and more. Accessible via the web at www.redbull.tv and its Android, iOS and Windows Phone applications, Red Bull TV is also available as a pre-installed channel on Apple TV and Samsung Smart TVs and as a free, downloadable app on Amazon Fire TV, Kindle Fire, Chromecast, Nexus Player, Roku Players, Roku TV models and Xbox 360. About Mountain Sports International: Mountain Sports International (MSI) is a private company, founded in 1997, to develop and produce action/adventure sports events and programming in North America. MSI has managed events including Red Bull Frozen Rush, Ultimate Fighting Championships Octagon Nation Tour, Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Across America, The North Face Park and Pipe Open Series and the SCOTT Enduro Cup presented by Vittoria in addition to several other properties and concepts. MSI launched MSI Live in 2009, to provide live HD digital broadcast production, content management, encoding, and satellite uplink & delivery. MSI provides event management services, marketing, infrastructure and expertise for high-end brands, including Red Bull, Lexus, Burton, Mini, Toyota, The North Face, Clif Bar and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. For more information, visit mtsports.com. About Race-Dezert.com Race-Dezert.com was created by off-road enthusiasts, giving off-roaders a place online to share information about the sport and culture of off-road racing.  Based in Southern California, Race-Dezert.com highlights the off-road disciplines of desert racing, short course off-road, stadium truck racing, rally raid, rally racing and rock crawling. Our goal is to connect the world of off-road racing globally, bringing people together through the common denominator of off-road culture.  Whether you are a racer, a promoter, a chase team member, a casual fan, or just interested in learning about off-road, Race-Dezert.com is a place where you can learn about the sport and culture of off-road racing.