Off-Road Racer Podcast Episode 72: Jordan & Jonathan Brenthel
From Garage to Glory:
How Brenthel Industries Is Reshaping Off-Road Racing
Brenthel Industries wasn’t born from legacy money or generational backing. It started in a two-car garage in Southern California — two brothers, one welder, and a dream to go racing. Today, Brenthel is one of the most prolific vehicle builders in off-road, with championship wins, industry-leading designs, and a growing presence across both competition and consumer markets.
In this episode of the Off-Road Racer Podcast, we sit down with Jonathan and Jordan Brenthel to unpack the full story — from white fender days and ‘the 99¢ menu’ to building one of the most influential brands in modern off-road racing.
Building Without a Blueprint
The Brenthels didn’t inherit knowledge — being 1st generation off-roaders, they earned it. From the start, they did it all: taught themselves fabrication, CAD design, wiring, geometry, welding, and more. Early adoption of digital design gave them a massive edge. While others were cutting metal by hand, Brenthel was all in on CAD and using tab-and-slot construction to streamline production.
What began with a 4-seater in a garage has evolved into one of the most efficient race vehicle development pipelines in the sport.
Early Struggles, First Wins
With no funding and razor-thin margin for error, every move mattered. The brothers self-funded a four-seater build, hustled it on AutoTrader, and barely made enough to eat. But it sold — and that spark kicked off a string of smart, strategic builds that helped them carve out a foothold.
Their breakout came in the 7200 class, where a budget-built V6 truck took home championship wins in SCORE and BITD. With reliable, cost-effective designs, they proved they could compete — and win — against legacy players.
Scaling into the Big Leagues
From there, Brenthel turned their attention to 6100. Their platform quickly became the benchmark for reliability and performance in the spec truck class. The formula was simple: bulletproof design, precise execution, and the kind of real-world racing insight that comes from actually driving the trucks they build.
Success in 6100 opened the door to trophy truck development. Competing in the premier class meant going up against dominant platforms from Geiser, Mason, and TSCO — but Brenthel committed. The Gen 3 platform was a leap forward, and results followed with podiums and marquee wins at races like the Mint 400 and King of the Hammers.
The Next Evolution of 6100
Brenthel Industries is deep in development on the fourth generation of their 6100 platform — a truck that’s already proven itself with championships and consistent finishes across the sport’s roughest courses. With the class continuing to evolve and competition getting faster every season, the Gen 4 is being engineered from the ground up to push the limits of what a spec truck can do.
The new platform is focused on refining geometry, increasing durability, and dialing in suspension to handle faster, more punishing race conditions. As always, it’s being built through Brenthel’s unique feedback loop — driven hard, broken, reworked, and tested by racers who’ve lived every inch of the process.
It’s not just an update. It’s a full evolution — built to set the pace for the next generation of 6100 racing.
The Next Mountain: All-Wheel Drive
As the sport evolves, so do the trucks — and AWD trophy trucks are the next big leap. Brenthel’s AWD program is the newest challenge on their radar. It’s complex, and mechanically brutal — but it looks to be the future of top-tier desert racing. While early wins have proven the concept, the platform is still in development, and Brenthel’s pushing hard to refine and evolve the tech with each race.
AWD is the next chapter. And the Brenthel brothers are all-in.
Beyond Racing: Building an Off-Road Ecosystem
Today, Brenthel Industries is more than just a race shop. Their Baja Kits brand has become a go-to name in performance suspension for daily-driven and adventure-built trucks. Their Trophy Truck School — the only one of its kind — gives everyday enthusiasts the chance to drive a real race vehicle. Their arrive-and-drive program lowers the barrier to entry for racing, giving new drivers the ability to compete in professionally supported trucks.
And their collaboration with Fox on the Fox Factory Truck represents a new kind of supertruck — a street-legal, turn-key platform built with real off-road parts and OEM-level support.
Whether it’s a full custom trophy truck or a long-travel kit for a weekend warrior, Brenthel’s approach blends engineering precision with deep real-world experience. They don’t just build — they test, race, break, rebuild, and refine.
Why It Matters
Brenthel Industries represents the next generation of off-road racing. Their story is a blueprint for modern success: start small, stay focused, and never stop iterating. From building in a garage to developing championship-winning trucks, their rise has been fueled by hustle, obsession, and a deep understanding of what it takes to succeed in the desert.
Listen to the full episode of the Off-Road Racer Podcast to hear the full story — and see why the Brenthel’s aren’t slowing down anytime soon, and why their next evolution might be their biggest yet.