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The Stadium Super Trucks series is at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend for two races. If you’re asking yourself, “What are Stadium Super Trucks?” you’re missing out. SST races sound, well, dumb, and that’s why they’re dumb fun. These trucks race the same road courses as sportscars will, except they have to go over jumps and dirt, all while reaching speeds of more than 100 miles per hour. This weekend, they’re on the same track as the NASCAR racers at the Bristol Motor Speedway.

What is a Stadium Super Truck race?

Three stadium super trucks jumping
Super Truck drivers Max Gordon, Davey Hamilton Jr., Robert Stout and Jerett Brooks all go airborne off a jump on Pine Avenue during the SST race at the 47th annual Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach | Will Lester, via Getty Images

First, take a purpose-built race truck for dirt, then put it on a street race course, and add some jumps and dirt sections, and you get the idea. But these trucks are not really designed for street courses, so the action is wild as they sway, tilt, slide and drift around street courses on the same 35-inch DOT-rated street tires that you can buy at your local Costco. The trucks look a lot like Trophy Trucks or pre-runners, but the look is about all that that’s the same.

Drivers don’t have to hit the jumps in the middle of the track. But, since they’re placed on the racing line, they’re quicker if they don’t go around them. Each ramp is 10 feet wide, and three feet high, and drivers routinely fly 150 feet. Often, like at a rally-cross event, trucks will go from dirt to pavement to dirt on the same lap.

What is a Stadium Super Truck?

A stadium super making a hard left turn
Super Truck driver Max Gordon, son of Robby Gordon drives on three wheels around turn 10 during practice at the 47th annual Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. | Will Lester via Getty Images

According to TopSpeed, these trucks are monsters. They are about the size of a small pickup, like a 1990s Ford Ranger, and the driver sits nearly in the middle. But, they have Chevy V8 engines that make about 600 horsepower, an automatic transmission (!), and tall off-road suspension. They weigh less than 3,000 pounds so they have an incredible power-to-weight ratio that gets them to more than 140 miles per hour on the fastest tracks. Each truck is worth about $300,000.

Who to watch out for this weekend

This season Gavin Harlien is in the lead, but Max Gordon and Robert Stout are not too far behind in the stats. Harlien, who is just 23, has competed in stock cars, off-road races, and more. But, by far, he’s making the most of his SST career so far. Fun fact, he’s the youngest competitor in a motorized competition at the X-Games.

Robby Gordon, the son of “Baja Bob” Gordon, started the series in 2013. It was reportedly inspired by an off-road series sponsored by Mickey Thompson where drivers such as Jimmie Johnson got their start.

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Dan Mayfield

Dan joined MotorBiscuit in 2022 with over 20 years of experience in journalism and a lifelong passion for anything related to the automotive industry. He grew up wrenching a 1949 Ford pickup truck and an MGB with his dad, learning how not to wire a fuel pump (he inadvertently set the MGB on fire).

After earning a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the University of New Mexico, Dan has contributed his expertise to a range of local outlets, including the City of Albuquerque, US Eagle, and the Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity.

On weekends, Dan spends Saturdays enjoying “cars and coffee” chats and, on Sundays, he’s watching the Route 66 Cruise roll through town. He also races motorcycles, and it’s not unusual to find him elbows-deep in his latest cafe racer build.

Taking advantage of the local desert terrain, Dan also enjoys exploring and driving off-road in his trusty Ram Rebel pickup truck, which provides personal insights into his contributions to our Trucks, SUVs, & Crossovers coverage. Dan strives to give our readers unique information about the dynamic automotive market, reading anything that has to do with cars, trucks, bikes, 4X4s, and, in his words, “everything with a motor.”

Dan has earned a number of accolades from the Public Relations Society of America, and is a University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism Fellow.