Meritor Sponsors Truck Racing's Return to U.S.
Big-rig truck racing is returning to the U.S. for the first time since 1993 with the Meritor ChampTruck World Series for the 2015 season.
A ChampTruck racing truck on display at the Mid-America Trucking Show. Photo: Deborah Lockridge
Big-rig truck racing is returning to the U.S. for the first time since 1993 with the Meritor ChampTruck World Series for the 2015 season.
Meritor is the executive title sponsor of the series, which the company announced at the Mid-America Trucking Show.
The Meritor ChampTruck World Series debuts April 24 at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J., with professional and amateur teams competing in two-axle Class 8 trucks that reach speeds of up to 100 mph.
Any single-axle conventional or cabover truck that’s at least five years old can race in the ChampTruck World Series. It must have a commercially available diesel engine between 10-15 liters in size and a manual transmission. The trucks are not allowed to be highly modified but must have a full roll cage, racing seat, fire suppression and other safety systems.
“Our partnership with ChampTruck is an opportunity to bring this great sports entertainment back home again,” said Krista Sohm, vice president, marketing & communications for Meritor.
Meritor has sponsored truck racing in Europe and South America since 2010. Truck racing has been popular in Europe for more than 25 years, but the U.S. has not seen professional big-rig truck racing since the Great American Truck Racing Series ended in the early 90s.
In addition to the debut at New Jersey Motorsports Park, the Meritor ChampTruck World Series will take place at the following tracks:
Thunderhill Raceway, Willows, Calif., May 22-24
Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain, Colo., May 29-31
Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C., July 2-4
Gateway Motorsports Park, Madison, Ill., July 17-19
Virginia International Raceway, Alton, Va., Aug. 6-9
Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas, Aug. 28-29
Motorsports Park Hastings, Hastings, Neb., Sept. 11-13
Portland International Raceway, Portland, Ore., Oct. 2-4
The 2015 Meritor ChampTruck Series National Championship race will be held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Oct. 30 through Nov. 1.
For more information on the Meritor ChampTruck World Series, click here.
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