First Nitro Rallycross series schedule revealed

Nitro Rallycross has announced further details of its inaugural season, with confirmation of its first full calendar as well as broadcast and commercial partners.

The 2021 NRX season will commence on September 24-25 at the competition’s spiritual home, Utah Motorsports Campus near Salt Lake City. The Utah event kicks-off not just the season, but a three-week stint of back-to-back races that will include stops at Wild West Motorsports Park (October 2-3) and ERX Motor Park in Minneapolis (October 9-10).

After a break of just over a month, the season will resume at former GRC venue Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Phoenix on November 13-14, before concluding at The FIRM (Florida International Rally & Motorsports Park) in north east Florida on December 4-5.

The anticipated snow and ice round in Canada will now feature in the 2022 season schedule, which will also include visits to Europe and the Middle East as part of a 10-round international series.

“It is so awesome to see the momentum building for Nitro Rallycross,” said NRX pioneer Travis Pastrana. “The reaction from teams has been fantastic.

“We’ve already confirmed more Supercar entrants than ever before in an NRX event. Building four all-new, unique and crazy tracks for this year to go along with Utah Motorsports Campus is something all of us have been working toward for years.

“It’s going to be round after round of new challenges and excitement.”

Like the Utah track which debuted in 2018, each NRX track will be a permanent course constructed at an existing established venue, allowing for a definitive long-term future for the series, with unique appeal and the potential for grassroots growth.

“With Nitro Rallycross, we are looking to redefine what’s possible and to do it as safely as we can,” said Pastrana. “Pushing the envelope on such unique and high-flying courses requires time and practice.

“Now, having access to these tracks gives teams the chance to test the new jumps, learn more about the different surfaces and find new lines, ultimately giving drivers the confidence to open it up on race day.”

For this first season, each event will include both Supercar races, plus support action in the form of the NRX Next series – the latest iteration of US rallycross’ main development category using the SuperCar Lites platform, as previously utilized in GRC Lites and ARX2.

Each event will be broadcast live in the US on NBC’s Peacock streaming service, with eight hours of live action being broadcast free of charge on the service. As well as the live broadcasts, a one-hour highlight show will air after each race weekend on NBCSN.

“We truly believe that NRX is the future of motorsport and our 2021 series will usher in a new era of rallycross in North America and beyond,” said Joe Carr, CEO of NRX parent company Thrill One Sports & Entertainment.

“With our fans being predominantly young and digitally-savvy, a streaming leader like Peacock is the perfect home for us.

“We are excited to partner with NBCU across both their streaming and linear platforms for our 2021 season.”

NRX will also be shown in 140 countries worldwide, with Tencent, beIN SPORTS, and SuperSport among the first confirmed international broadcast partners.

Long-time sponsors Red Bull and Yokohama will also continue their involvement as NRX grows to a full championship for the first time.

O’Reilly Auto Parts has similarly confirmed a ‘significantly increased commitment’ to NRX, and frontrunning team Subaru Motorsports USA has also stepped up to be a series sponsor.