Why isn't there a TRUE Factory stock class of trucks?

[PhotogDave]

I have been a observer and fan in the Off-Road Community for a few years now as a Photographer. I see talk and announcements about Toyota this and Ford that etc.. etc. I also see logos of the Truck Manufacturers all over the place but I do not see a class of pure stock, off-the-assembly line pick up trucks so that Ford, Dodge, Chevy, Toyota, Nissan, etc. trucks could compete UNMODIFIED (with the exception of roll bars and safety equipment) in head to head competition with their own crews and "Factory Drivers". I have heard of "Factory Programs" in the past and of Factory support and the lack of it now. I may be totally naïve, but why is a class like this, not feasible?

Could you imagine what it would be like to see manufacturer trailers and their respective support crews roll into the Mint 400 or the Baja 500 loaded with a few trucks each as part of their Product Development programs? Can you imagine the Marketing and Advertising advantages they could gain in participating in this class, let alone the bragging rights?

With the multiple sanctioning bodies like SCORE, BITD etc. out there why don't we have a class like this?

 

[Cris Lepiz]

VORRA does have a stock class, where they allow a few modifications, but for the most part everything has to remain the same. I was lucky enough to be riding shootgun in the winning truck this past weekend, and I can tell you it was probably the most fun race I have been part of. Now we were the only ones in the class, but from what I hear there are a few trucks that often race. I agree with you and often imagine how cool it would be to see several stock trucks trying to conquer the Mint, or even the 1000.

 

[MCM MOTORSPORTS]

We have a production class in Australia. Only mods are safety equipment and shocks. But it is heavily restricted.

Question is. Why would manufacturers support the slowest class in the desert? Its not what people go to see.

 

[PhotogDave]

Good point that people want to see trucks flying over whoops and jumps but on another side of it, people cheer and follow the Class 5's and Class 11's etc. that aren't the fastest vehicles out there. I think, Off-Road racing fans would appreciate the opportunity to see it even if they aren't the fastest.

I also hear a lot of chatter on these blogs, about getting Off-Road Racing more recognition, brand recognition and press attention. What a better way, to gain partnerships and attention than by offering a competitive playing field for these manufacturers.

Wouldn't this sport benefit from a Baja 500 or a Vegas to Reno SPONSORED by one or more of the major manufacturers? The fact is that Manufacturers spend MILLIONS on Product Development and millions more in Marketing and Advertising Campaigns. What a better way to enhance and supplement these Development Programs than to do it on a real desert course against your manufacturing competitors? Let me put it this way, how many truck ads do you see during a televised sports event all claiming to be the biggest and baddest truck manufacturer? The consumer and commercial truck market is HUGE!!! Wouldn't it be GREAT to see them battle each other for real? As a consumer, I'd go to see that!

Just my two cents

 

[Cris Lepiz]

Question is. Why would manufacturers support the slowest class in the desert? Its not what people go to see.

Agreed, but then again people always love cheering on Class 11's.
It would be smart on the manufacturers part as it would allow them to really show off who the toughest truck out there is. It would also give them the opportunity to test new components.

 

[Zac Reish]

We have a production class in Australia. Only mods are safety equipment and shocks. But it is heavily restricted.

Question is. Why would manufacturers support the slowest class in the desert? Its not what people go to see.

I agree it would not really say much about there product when they are getting beat by class 11 cars.

 

[Dirty Harry]

Toyota raced a Tundra in the Stock Full class at the Baja 1000 a couple of years ago and won the class and then drove the truck back from La Paz!

Both Ford and GM (with the Hummer brand) have supported racers in the stock class and used that information to build better vehicles. Like others have said though, at the end of the day that is not who people show up to watch. And privateers in the stock class end up having to replace a lot of parts after every race and it gets expensive in a hurry.


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[Blackmutt]

I can't see stock trucks surviving Barstow or Lucerne Valley.

 

[Bro_Gill]

In order for the factory stock type trucks to get any support from a fan base, you would have to eliminate Trophy Truck and pretty much all the modified or tube based truck classes. I hear what your saying, but unless you limit classes to only the slow ones, 99% of the fans at races won't even see them race. They leave long before that stuff shows up on the course.

 

[El Mamito USMC]

i remeber ford testing a raptor a few yrs back with the ford aftermarket lineup.. and it finished

 

[MARXICO]

When people who can’t afford a race car the last thing they can afford is thrashing a stock truck .Stock truck class sounds good in theory but isn’t a practical application and is short lived as soon as the fan blade goes into the radiator or the exhaust is smashed shut and OEM parts fail

 

[Zambo]

Racing a stock truck trough these courses is painful to do and boring to watch. That's why.

 

[BigBlue&Goldie]

Foutz is running a pretty damn stock Raptor in BITD. Honestly, I don't see how it would have any real competition from the other makes unless they came up with something comparable. Nobody would race a stock class besides the factories because working on factory vehicles is a nightmare compared to a real race car/truck.

 

[harleys dad]

Most couldnt read a rule book and made crap like 1400 or 1450 and I cant see any factory being turned on to things like those. From what I see that wiped away 7 7s 7 4x4 and anything else a factory could put their name on in a factory team involvement.like in the past when those classes were the factories play ground.

 

[J Prich]

Most couldnt read a rule book and made crap like 1400 or 1450 and I cant see any factory being turned on to things like those. From what I see that wiped away 7 7s 7 4x4 and anything else a factory could put their name on in a factory team involvement.like in the past when those classes were the factories play ground.

LOL, classic. Always impressed with the amount of negativity and insults you're able to cram in to a few sentences. This HAS to be the reason Ford, Chevy, Nissan, etc pulled their money from desert racing. They heard about a handful of guys racing prerunners in Barstow in a series no one ever heard of and decided that they wouldn't support racers in SCORE and BITD any more. Good call.

 

[Ol' Curmudgeon]

From what I see that wiped away 7 7s 7 4x4

There's still a new mini-truck being sold in the US?

 

[La Tijereta]

They were fun to watch at the time... Mucho history to the sport in the past..

 

[Peter Alesi Jr.]

The problem has always been that we have had stock classes in the past and with time the class members always keep modifying their trucks to a point that they are no longer stock, IE: 7S,8S,even class 3 &4 that just ended up disappearing. Class 8 has been so screwed up over the years that it is a half as TT now...

 

[J Prich]

The problem has always been that we have had stock classes in the past and with time the class members always keep modifying their trucks to a point that they are no longer stock, IE: 7S,8S,even class 3 &4 that just ended up disappearing. Class 8 has been so screwed up over the years that it is a half as TT now...

Don't dispute that happened at all. But the question is very chicken or egg don't you think? Did people start deviating from the rules to find cheaper ways to stay in the game when factory money started to dry up or did factories stop supporting the classes because people started building other stuff?

I personally don't think there is a single, silver bullet answer. But I definitely don't think Ford, Chevy, etc were sitting around dying to throw money at off road racing but then decided against it because they couldn't find enough trucks, or because some stock trucks started using some aftermarket parts, or because some guys started a sportsman class in another org...

I am willing to bet that marketing demographics and ROI have MUCH more to do with the reason factory backed mini trucks stopped happening than any of the reasons floated here so far.

 

[green787]

7s died because of endless rule changes.... Stock trucks never came with linked rear suspension, bypasses, and one little leaf spring...