pri

Off-Road Racing at the The Performance Racing Industry Trade Show (PRI)

I just came back from the PRI show and I got to say I am excited about the future of off-road racing. There is a lot of work to be done but the opportunity is massive. We had multiple meetings with PRI and off-road race leagues and connected companies and the consensus was that now if the time to organize, now is the time for us to move up and claim our rightful place at the table.

For those of you that don’t know PRI is the premier tradeshow of the racing industry in America. It’s the SEMA of racing. Every form of racing is there well represented except for off-road, with the exception of a few booths that don’t even exist.

PRI show offroad andy mcmillin

A photo of Andy McMillin adorns the entry at the PRI Show

I need your help though, I need all the racers, race part manufacturers, engine builders, shock companies, vehicles builders, race leagues, all of us to participate. If you make a dollar of off-road racing, hell if you even just like it you need to be at PRI. Indianapolis is a bit of a drive for us west coasters, but it’s the Mecca of racing in America. There is no denying that.
We have to participate if we are going to grow off-road racing. Right now we are not even part of the conversation and that needs to change. We are responsible for 100’s of millions of dollars of product sales globally. We need to stop acting like we are some cottage industry and start claiming our place in not just the racing industry, but automotive overall.
Off-Road racing is the reason Jeeps, Raptors, Broncos, and Polaris RZRs, exist. Not to mention sales of wheels, tires, shocks, suspension kits, oil, and gas.
PRI show offroad Chad halls chevy ZR

Chad Hall’s Chevy ZR2 at Chevy booth at the PRI show

Currently, we have more momentum than any form of racing. We have a massive amount of new people coming into off-road racing via UTV’s and youth racing. Our future has never been brighter!
It’s time to go.
Desert off-road racing, Short course off-road, Rock Crawling, Rock racing, Rock Bouncing, Rally, Rallycross, Mud bogging, Rally Raid, Moto, all disciplines of off-road racing need to be united and involved to move this forward.
We all were hurt by Covid and we need to shake it off and go forward. Our culture and community is filled with brilliant and passionate people and we need to unlock that value.
We have a huge opportunity, but we are going to have to put in the work and lock arms.
We are forming an off-road motorsports council to help facilitate our future. If you want to join please e-mail us at the e-mail address below.
I also need you all to join PRI and go to the show.
Let’s show the world how rad off-road racing culture is and unlock its true value.
info@madmedia.com
Matt Martelli

Founder of Mad Media, a multidisciplinary creative and marketing firm and CEO of Off-Road Racer, UTV Underground, The Mint 400, The California 300, and Dirt Co. Matt is one of the biggest influences in Off-Road Racing today.