Wilwood Engineering has over four decades of experience designing rugged, made in the USA brake calipers, pads, rotors, master cylinders, pedal assemblies, and brake components that win races. Our engineers have fine-tuned a selection for off-road short-course racing to meet the demands for your vehicle and your venue. Click on each class to learn more or contact one of our trained Wilwood Specialists with any questions or concerns.

What is Short-Course Racing? Not to be confused with Short Track motor racing. Short-Course off-road racing is a form of auto racing of modified vehicles on a dirt road closed course of a short length, approximately ten miles or less. It is distinct from long-course desert racing such as the Baja 1000, which consists of racing over rugged desert terrain with a different start and end point up to hundreds of miles away.

There are two forms of short-course racing. One form involves race vehicles on an outdoor dirt road course and the other form is stadium racing, where the racing vehicles race a much shorter course inside an arena. While some of the larger trucks for short-course racing seem similar to their counterparts in Off-Road Racing, like Trophy Trucks, there are significant differences in setup between the two venues.

Short-course off-road racing became popular during the 1970s when Mickey Thompson founded the SCORE series (SCORE International Off-Road Racing). He shortened long-course desert racing, condensing it to a short course for easier spectator viewing and to allow competitors much easier access to the pits for mechanical problems.

One of the more popular series for short-course races today is Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series (LOORRS) which tours throughout the United States and has multiple classes of competing vehicles.

Trophy Karts are the original manufacturer of the scaled down versions of the much larger “Trophy Trucks” that are famous for running at over 100mph through open desert. Trophy Karts are designed to be highly maneuverable off road vehicles and share similar configurations as the full-scale machines at a fraction of the cost. With motor and chassis setups available for both children and adults, Trophy Karts are terrific for recreation and competitive motorsports with the desired safety of a space frame, roll cage, and safety harness. Trophy Karts have been racing in short-course off road and stadium events for the better part of a decade and are known for providing children and adults an affordable entry level safe motorsport discipline while carving out professional and highly competitive racers.