The Martelli Brothers announced Friday the creation of Unlimited Off-Road Racing, which will be a three-race series of major desert races in the United States under their wing. It will begin in 2024 with the Parker 400 in January, followed by the Mint 400 in March and California 300 in October.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to be announcing this new league and championship points series,” commented Matt Martelli. “The Parker 400 is one of the oldest and most historic races in our sport and we’re excited to have that become part of our calendar as we take yet another massive step forward in our league’s development. We’re preparing to take the same assets and marketing power that we have used to make the Mint 400 the biggest spectacle in the sport, and apply that to our entire league. Racers, partners, and fans can expect us to deliver the best experience, media coverage and value in the industry as we continue to grow and expand our offering. That includes industry-leading production from our team at Mad Media, livestream team, and events group.”
The project is an expansion of the Unlimited Off-Road Racing Triple Crown Championship, which débuted in 2023 for Unlimited Trucks, Unlimited Truck SPEC, and Classes 10 and 11. The Triple Crown also has the Mint 400 and California 300 as legs, but began with King of the Hammers overseen by Hammerking Productions. Adam Householder currently leads the Triple Crown standings after winning his class at KOH and the Mint.
The Parker 400 began in 1971 and has been overseen by the likes of SCORE International and SNORE; it ran in the vicinity of the Parker Dam along the Arizona/California border, hence its original name of “Dam 500”. The Legacy Racing Association will also race at Parker a month after the 400, restoring two races to the area after Best In The Desert’s Parker 250 and Parker 425 were axed from the 2023 calendar due to land disputes; ironically, BITD replaced the lost dates with KOH.
Founded in 1968, the Mint 400 in Nevada has long been regarded as one of the top off-road races in the U.S. The Martellis took over race sanctioning in 2011 and later partnered with BITD for a decade. Eric Hardin won the Unlimited race earlier this month.
In contrast with its sister rounds, the California 300 in Barstow is in its infancy as it was introduced in 2022. The UTV World Championships are held at the California 300, and UTV competitors can earn points towards said championship across the three Unlimited Off-Road Racing legs.
“The Parker 400 is one of the most iconic and important races in our sports history,” added Josh Martelli. “It deserves top notch billing and the same approach we implemented for restoring and promoting The Mint 400 these past twelve years. We’re excited to work with the BLM (Bureau of Land Management), the City officials and people of Parker, and La Paz County to restore this race and transform it into a massive event for the entire industry to rally around. It’s also the perfect launching pad for our league.
“Unlimited Off-Road Racing has been in the works since 2020. We’ve been very clear about our goal of building the preeminent desert off-road race league in North America. It feels very rewarding to know that will come to fruition now in 2024 and we want to thank everyone who has contributed to that effort. Our staff, volunteers, partners and racers. We have you to thank for this next evolutionary step.”
