Nitro Rallycross Is Go For Launch: Travis Pastrana, Tanner Foust, Scott Speed, Andreas Bakkerud & More Headline World-Class Driver Field

Nitro Rallycross has announced the addition of Tanner Foust to its 2021 roster, featuring the biggest and best lineup in the world of Rallycross. The decorated record-breaker joins Nitro RX founder, motorsports star and action sports icon Travis Pastrana, Rallycross ace Scott Speed and the people’s champion, Andreas Bakkerud in a stacked field which includes 21 premier drivers from 10 racing teams across the top-level Supercar class and developmental NRX Next class.

The revolutionary new series kicks off Sept. 24-25 at Nitro RX’s birthplace – Utah Motorsports Campus in Salt Lake City – followed by the second series event a week later at ERX Motor Park outside of Minneapolis. In all, Nitro RX 2021 will feature five stops before it wraps in December.

Nitro RX is redefining racing with its innovative and challenging track designs. Every course is unique, incorporating elements from the local setting. Each will push cars to their limits as they fly off the biggest jumps in racing, corner through massive banked turns and contend with a mix of gravel and tarmac surfaces. There will be plenty of opportunities for passing, ensuring non-stop action, while a modern and fast-paced racing format will pit drivers head-to-head from qualifying battle brackets through to the high stakes final.

Nitro RX founder Travis Pastrana sought to combine the boundary-breaking thrills of action sports with the hard-driving intensity of Rallycross. He explains, “I couldn’t be more excited to kick off our first season. 120-foot gap jumps, exciting courses and new formats to challenge the drivers and thrill fans both at the track and watching from home.” Pastrana adds, “The depth of this field is incredible and the competition is going to be intense. Every driver is capable of taking the crown as series champion. I can’t wait to get on the track, and we can’t wait for fans worldwide to see it.”

Tanner Foust is one of the most versatile drivers in the world with championship titles in Rallycross, Rally Racing, Formula Drift and X Games (four gold medals) and is the only driver with victories in X Games, Global Rallycross, WRX, ARX and the European Rallycross Championship. He has also performed stunt driving duties in some of Hollywood biggest blockbuster movies doubling Jason Statham, Keanu Reeves, Chris Hemsworth and Paul Walker.

Speed, in addition to having competed in Formula One and NASCAR, is a three-time X Games gold medalist and three-time Global Rallycross champion. He has cemented himself as the king of American Rallycross, dominating the sport from 2015 to 2018. A hard landing during Nitro RX’s 2019 event took him out of action for over a year, however. Now Speed is looking to conquer Nitro RX’s punishing courses while adding the inaugural series trophy to his trophy case.

Andreas Bakkerud, one of Rallycross’ most popular drivers with a rapidly growing social media following, has two European Rallycross wins in Super1600 and is a multiple-podium finisher at the Supercar level. Now he is looking to breakout as a Nitro Rallycross champion.

To do so, Bakkerud will have to take on Steve Arpin, a Rallycross veteran who has competed in GRC, X Games and ARX as well as Kevin Hansen and Timmy Hansen, who took the checkered flag at Nitro RX in 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Also vying for the Nitro RX title are the maverick RX Cartel duo – four-time X Games medalist Liam Doran and European Supercar champion Robin Larsson – and Cabot Bigham, a Lites champion and experienced open wheel driver who has his sights on a Supercar prize. Other drivers to watch include rising Swedish star Oliver Eriksson, Jamaican phenom Fraser McConnell and the U.K.’s Oliver Bennett.

NITRO RALLYCROSS 2021 LINEUP

Confirmed Drivers:

HOW TO WATCH:

With coverage in more than 200 territories, fans around the world can see Nitro RX’s action-packed, high-adrenaline racing – all for free.

In the U.S., Peacock will stream over seven hours of live coverage from every Nitro RX stop while NBCSN will air a one-hour highlight special after each race.

The following platforms will also carry Nitro RX live internationally:

• BT Sport // UK
• DAZN // Brazil, Italy, Japan, Spain + all non-exclusive territories
• Fox Sports + Kayo // Australia
• MCS // Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands

• Sky // New Zealand
• SportsMax // Caribbean

YouTube will stream live Nitro RX outside the U.S. as well.

In addition, highlight programming will air on:

• beIN SPORTS (Middle East, North Africa, Southeast Asia)
• Sportsnet (Canada)
• SuperSport (Sub-Saharan Africa)
• Tencent (China)
• Viaplay Sport (Nordics, Baltics, Poland)    

To witness the high-adrenaline action of Nitro RX in-person, tickets for all five stops of the series are available at https://www.nitrorallycross.com/calendar

2021 NITRO RALLYCROSS SCHEDULE

Sept. 24-25 // Utah Motorsports Campus // Salt Lake City, Utah

Oct. 2-3 // ERX Motor Park // Minneapolis, Minnesota

Nov. 13-14 // Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park // Phoenix, Arizona

Nov. 20-21 // Glen Helen Raceway // Southern California

Dec. 4-5 // The Firm // North Florida

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week.  Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.

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