Third Annual California 300 Off-Road Race Returns to Barstow October 2-6
For the third consecutive year, the off-road hotbed of Southern California comes to life in October with the return of the California 300 Off-Road Race to Barstow, CA on October 2-6. The third and final event of the 2024 UNLTD Off-Road Racing Series season is due to attract hundreds of racers, tens of thousands of fans, and many of the sport’s biggest brands once again in its third running. The Start/Finish Midway is conveniently located near the entrance to the Stoddard Valley OHV area; to get there, take the Outlet Center Drive exit off Interstate 15, head east, and look to your right.
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Pre-race festivities kicked off on September 21 with the California 300 Desert Cleanup presented by Tread Lightly!, in which members of the off-road community cleared tons of trash from the Stoddard Valley OHV area. Coinciding with the Desert Cleanup was the California 300 Poker Run, where racers and fans alike got to explore a lap of this year’s race course in non-race off-road vehicles. Both events afforded participants the opportunity to win prizes from top off-road brands along the way.
Race week itself sees three days of open pre-running from Tuesday through Thursday, before racing and fan festivities kick off on Friday. Racing begins bright and early at 7AM with the return of the California 300 Motorcycle Race, won by Preston Campbell in its inaugural running last year, while four Youth Races begin at 8AM. Barstow Main comes alive from 9AM-5PM with the return of the California 300 Off-Road Festival, as brands show off their latest products and gear to attendees while racers go through their tech and contingency procedures. Completing the Friday festivities are two rounds of qualifying, one for pro UTVs and Class 10 cars at 11:30AM, and another for Unlimited Trucks and Class 1 cars at 1:30PM.
On Saturday, the California 300 Limited Race goes green at 8AM, with an estimated first finisher coming to the line around 3PM. Last year’s Limited Race saw Brayden Baker complete three laps of the course in 5:18:28, and Baker will join a stacked Limited class first paced by points leaders Sierra Romo in UTV Pro Open and Lance Webb in Class 10, their respective top points challengers Larry Heidler and Brody Aikins, and many of the sport’s other top racers.
Sunday’s California 300 Unlimited Race also takes the green flag at 8AM, with an estimated first finisher around 2PM. Adam Householder won last year’s UNLTD Triple Crown last year with a four-lap time of 6:12:03, and enters this year’s event as the Unlimited Truck 2WD points leader thanks to a class win at the season-opening Parker 400 and an overall win at the BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400. He also leads the overall Unlimited class standings over Unlimited Truck 4WD points leader Cole Potts, who also won his class in both races, by virtue of aggregate race time. Mario Fuentes (Class 1) and Kyle Jergensen (Unlimited Truck SPEC) also enter the event looking to lock up class titles.
“We’re thrilled to be back in Barstow once again to conclude the 2024 UNLTD Off-Road Racing Series season with the California 300 Off-Road Race,” said California 300 CEO Matt Martelli. “We’ve had terrific support from the city of Barstow and San Bernardino County over the past three years as we’ve restored their rightful place on the off-road racing calendar, as well as the local BLM office, residents, and the business community. We can’t wait to crown this year’s champions over the weekend, and we hope the many fans on site will join us in the celebration while also respecting our 150-foot spectating rule and keeping the area clean by picking up their trash so we can keep doing this for years to come!”
The 2024 California 300 will continue to build on Barstow’s rich tradition of off-road racing, following in the footsteps of the Fireworks 250, which began in 1971 and ran for more than half a century. The Martelli Brothers returned major off-road desert racing to the area with the establishment of the California 300 in 2022, and each year the event has continued to grow and expand into a premier event on the UNLTD Off-Road Racing schedule.