You hear them long before you see them. Ears ring with the frenzy of 850hp race trucks closing ground at an alarming rate. The earth trembles, your chest pounds, and vision strains. Then, in a burst of bright fiberglass and flying dirt and rocks, the pack appears around turn one-fender to fender, sideways, on two wheels, and sometimes upside down at over 100 mph.
Welcome to Crandon. Hope you enjoy the show.
It's been described as the most exciting turn in motorsports. Turn 1 at the Crandon International Off-Road Raceway must be experienced to be believed. Television doesn't do it justice; you have to feel it to understand. Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) Pro4 and Pro2 trucks line up door to door in a land rush start that can be as many as 20 trucks wide. Turn 1 is a tricky right-hand sweeper that falls off camber at the exit. Just getting to Turn 1 can be an adventure, thanks to the uneven terrain off the starting line that can launch trucks into the air sideways and a high-speed straight that funnels down into the first turn. The start is critical to winning. Don't lift, don't even blink, or you're eating dirt and rocks.
Every Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend, off-road enthusiasts flock to Crandon, Wisconsin, by the tens of thousands for a dose of off-road excitement that is addicting. CORR runs four of its Exxon Superflo Pro Series points races here each year with factory teams and the biggest names in the sport. But Crandon's off-road racing history goes back more than three decades.
With the support of local businesses and the community, Crandonmania continues to grow. The facility is second to none. Perfectly groomed and watered prior to each race, much of the track can be seen from a contoured hillside that wraps from Turn 1 down the front straight.
Crandon has something for everyone. In addition to the Pro4, Pro2, and ProLite (mini-trucks) class, Crandon also runs vintage Class 3s, Enduro Trucks, three buggy classes, and the another crowd favorite, the Good Ol' Boys, which is so popular they now run both a car and truck class. It's an interesting mix of demo derby, run-what-ya-brung spray-bomb painted heavy metal that sheds bumpers, hoods, and fenders as they smoke around the big Crandon track with the Dukes of Hazard theme echoing through the PA system.
Located in northern Wisconsin, several hours from Green Bay, Crandon isn't the easiest place to get to, but that's all part of the charm and adventure that is the Crandon experience. The heavily forested Northwoods region of Wisconsin is beautiful country and the race action is second to none. It's worth the trip for another dose of Crandon.