The fourth round of the 2022/23 Nitro Rallycross season returns to Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California. It is the second leg in the three-race United States stretch after ERX earlier in October and preceding the Wild Horse Pass round in mid-November.
Travis Pastrana, winner of the Supercar round at Glen Helen in 2021, will have all the momentum as he seeks to score his second straight Group E victory after triumphing at ERX. He will have to make up some considerable ground in the standings as he sits fourth with 103 points behind Robin Larsson (161 points), Andreas Bakkerud (140), and Fraser McConnell (114). Bakkerud scored a Supercar podium in the 2021 edition.
Oliver Bennett‘s team-mate Jenson Button continues his America-only schedule after finishing ninth in his series début in Minnesota. Kevin Eriksson, who made his first start of the year at ERX after missing the start due to injury, had a disappointing end to said round after crashing out but was strong throughout with three battle bracket wins.
With the NEXT Europe class having wrapped up its season at ERX, drivers exclusively competing on that side like champion Tommi Hallman will not return for Glen Helen. Nevertheless, Americans who raced the European rounds will unsurprisingly continue their seasons on home soil like George Megennis and Lane Vacala, as will Swede and 2021 NEXT champion Casper Jansson.
Eric Gordon, who finished sixth in last year’s NEXT points, is back after finishing seventh in Minneapolis. For the second consecutive round, a Championship Off-Road Pro 4 driver appears as Jimmy Henderson will make his maiden NEXT start; fellow Pro 4 racer Andrew Carlson placed sixth in Group E at ERX.
The SxS grid remains relatively the same from ERX with the top four (Pastrana, Ben Maier, Gregoire Michaud, Brian Deegan) coming back as well as Letícia Bufoni and Robin Shute. Conversely, Robbie Maddison and Terry Madden are out while Lia Block and Jeff Matiasevich gear up or their Nitro Rallycross débuts. Block has raced against her father Ken in rallying though rallycross will be a new foray; she and Maier are the youngest drivers in the field at sixteen and thirteen, respectively. Nicknamed “Chicken”, Matiasevich was a household name in the 1990s Supercross scene with twelve career wins and three All-Japan Motocross Championships.
UPDATE: Due to a crash in Friday practice, Button has withdrawn from the weekend.
“Unfortunately, Jenson had a turbulent first practice yesterday which resulted in extensive damage to the car. Because of this, Jenson was unable to go out for a further practice in yesterday’s session,” reads a Saturday statement from XITE Energy Racing. “Both Jenson and the team decided that it was unrealistic and unfair to ask Jenson to drive today.
“Unlike most of the other drivers here, Jenson has no prior experience with the magnitude of gap jumps that are present at this track. Without extra seat time and practice, it would have been unwise to continue. Jenson is genuinely very disappointed not to be racing following his good first event in Minneapolis.”
Entry lists
Group E
| Number | Driver |
| 4 | Robin Larsson |
| 13 | Andreas Bakkerud |
| 16 | Oliver Eriksson |
| 21 | Conner Martell |
| 22 | Jenson Button* |
| 23 | Kevin Eriksson |
| 35 | Fraser McConnell |
| 42 | Oliver Bennett |
| 199 | Travis Pastrana |
NEXT
| Number | Driver |
| 9 | George Megennis |
| 36 | Casper Jansson |
| 44 | Jimmy Henderson |
| 55 | Lane Vacala |
| 99 | Eric Gordon |
SxS
| Number | Driver |
| 13 | Letícia Bufoni |
| 27 | Gregoire Michaud |
| 38 | Brian Deegaen |
| 49 | Robin Shute |
| 57 | Lia Block |
| 67 | Ben Maier |
| 111 | Jeff Matiasevich |
| 199 | Travis Pastarna |
