Why You Should Be Paying Attention To ARX American Rallycross
I have attended many racing series over the last year. Indy, Porsche GT3 series, Nascar, F1, all these races are awesome to watch and have some great moments. One, however, has stood out to me more than the others. So much so that I’m going to be attending a second race in October. Americas Rallycross, or ARX, has been slowly growing over the last few years.
The tracks are split into sections which each driver has to master in order to complete the best lap times. The course It’s made up of Asphalt, dirt, a tabletop jump and of course the Joker. The Joker is a section of the track that splits off from the main course, making a lap, on average, 2 seconds longer. Each driver has to complete the Joker once a race using strategy and help from their spotter to take it efficiently. One track on the series has a 110ft jump…Over another jump.
What makes this sport so special is the cars. Subaru, Ford and Volkswagen have entries into the series with the WRX STI, Fiesta and Beetle respectively. The cars have a 2.0L, turbocharged engine that puts out 600BHP and 660ft-lb through a 4WD drivetrain. This insane set up means they can go 0-60 in 1.90 seconds, faster than an F1 car.
Everything that makes the cars practical is thrown away. They have next to no interior, plastic body panels (mainly because they need to be replaced so often) and a serious roll cage. The techs that work on these vehicles work insanely hard between heats making small tweaks to the car at the driver’s request. In some instances, they have to rebuild sections of the car so it can go back out and compete
One of the best parts of this series is that its free to watch. ARX streams all their races live on Youtube so you can watch the action as it happens, or, go check out all previous races. Two more races remain in the 2019 season. ARX of COTA, Austin will be Sept. 28th and the championship race, ARX of Mid-Ohio, will be October 5th and 6th. You can check out my Instagram (@apex.yyc) with photos from the events or! Check out the Youtube channel here.
My favorite thing about ARX is that everything feels more personal from a fan standpoint. You don’t have to pay for crazy expensive passes to hang out with the teams in the paddocks, or to be part of the podium ceremony. All the drivers are down to earth people. And of course, it truly is the one motorsport where “rubbin’ is racin'”!