 |
Robby Gordon’s Stadium Super Trucks – Round 3 at LA Coliseum
When I was a very young kid visiting my grandparents’ house I would sometimes get to see off road mini-pickups racing in a very small and tight course inside a stadium. I wasn’t quite old enough to realize what I was watching; I just remember thinking that it was cool to watch those trucks jump, bump, and bang into each other. Growing up I would realize that was a type of off road racing known as Stadium Truck Racing. By the time I realized what type of racing it was that I had seen in my youth the series had already stopped racing for several years and I always wondered why it did. I remember it being intense, fun, and rooting for the Nissan D21 Hardbody trucks. Why didn’t the series last?
 |
| Stadium Truck Racing, how have I missed you? Let me count the ways! Fast trucks, tight courses, intense racing, and drivers with real personalities! |
That early exposure to that series is what led to me wanting to learn more about the Baja, because many of the trucks and buggies looked like what I remembered from all those years ago. That in turn led me to Short Course Racing because the action was just as intense. For me, Stadium Truck Racing was my gateway into the world of off road racing. When I had learned that Robby Gordon was trying to bring it back, a guy I had looked up to because of his many disciplines in racing, I was hyped up over it. Watching the first two rounds on the computer and talking to both Jarod Deanda and Robby himself on our podcast cemented it; I had to go to the LA Coliseum round.
 |
| So, how do you race trucks off road in the LA Coliseum? This used to be an all dirt surface but with advances in asphalt technology, you can lay down a paved section in just a couple of days. |
 |
| However, it's the 70 foot gap jump that really makes the driving exciting! |
For the guys racing at the Coliseum this would mark a return to where stadium truck racing began and where many legendary races took place. It was where Robby had announced the 2013 season and where Mickey Thompson first started this unique off road series. Now many of you guys are either going to be too young to know who or probably aren’t connected enough with off road to know who Mickey Thompson was and what he means to the off road racing world.
 |
| Oh, and I guess running two paths to the center palisade where drivers can meet head on makes things exciting too. |
 |
| You can't appreciate how steep that climb is until you start walking up it. This view is from the center palisade. |
