Protruck Series announces new schedule

Friday, Jan. 9, 1998 | 12:52 p.m.

America's newest motor sports series, Ivan Stewart's Protruck Off-Road Stadium Series, has announced an updated six-race, five-city schedule for its inaugural 1998 season.

Starting on March 7 at Sam Boyd Stadium, the nationally televised series has secured multi-year commitments for an annual schedule contained within an approximate three-month window. The new schedule includes events in three geographic sections west of the Mississippi and in Canada.

"Our original schedule had to be modified, but we are delighted with the lineup of events we now have for our inaugural season," said Chris Fahlman, president of events group for Beachport Entertainment, producer of the Protruck Off-Road Stadium Series.

"A few unpredictable facility and scheduling glitches have caused us to revise our originally announced series. Our revised scheduled is now even more racer, sponsor and spectator friendly. It also gives us a unique non-U.S. date in Vancouver, British Columbia. We are working diligently to build our exciting race series filled with great family entertainment value. We can't wait for the green flag to drop and the dirt to fly in Las Vegas on March 7."

The inaugural race will be held in Las Vegas' Sam Boyd Stadium and will conclude with a pair of races on May 15 and 16 in the Tacoma Dome in the Seattle metro area. In between, the new series will appear in Los Angeles' Memorial Coliseum, Albuquerque's University Stadium, and B.C. Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

"Our commitment level to this exciting new motor sports project increases with each phone call,, Fahlman said. "Our internal structure is in place, our national television contract is secure and we are finalizing an appealing variety of support classes to complement our marquee Protrucks and the Challenge of Champions."

All Protruck events will be televised nationally on the FOX Sports Net and Speedvision Network.

Protruck Racing Organization (PRO) is the sanctioning body for the Protruck Off-Road Stadium Series, overseeing all the competitive rules, regulations, vehicle updates and technical aspects for Protruck racing. Protruck racing for 1998 will include not only the new Protruck Off-Road Stadium Series, but a strong continuing presence in desert racing along with European off-road racing.

The Protruck is powered by a 400-horsepower Ford, Dodge or Chevrolet V-8 small block with a 9.5:1 compression ratio, assuring tremendous performance while keeping the trucks very cost-effective to maintain. While several different classes of off-road race vehicles will be part of the 1998 six-race schedule, the featured division will be Protrucks, developed in San Diego by off-road racing legend Ivan 'Ironman' Stewart.

"Stadium racing has tremendous potential," said Stewart. "We've had great success developing our Protrucks in the SCORE Desert Series the past two years. Protruck racing has proven to be fast, close and exciting, three elements that will fit will in front of thousands of spectators in a stadium environment."