Reigning Group E Champion Robin Larsson Enjoys Perfect Start to Season with Dominant Display in Front of a Packed Crowd in Richmond, VA

Nitrocross kicked off its 2024-25 season with a trip to Richmond Raceway – our first trip east of the Mississippi River since 2021.

Encompassing all four turns of ‘America’s Premier Short Track’, the event utilized a purpose-built 1.25-mile track featuring our signature gap jump on the start-finish straight, and a 60:40 split of dirt and pavement, making it not just the first dirt event at the track since the late 1960s, but its first multi-surface racing event ever.

Group E

Two-time Group E champion Robin Larsson made an early case for a three-peat by dominating the 2024-25 season opener at Richmond.

The Dreyer & Reinbold Racing JC driver led from lights to flag in the final, adding to his top qualifier and heat winning performances earlier in the day.

Larsson crossed the line a second ahead of Oliver Eriksson, who took his first podium since winning at Glen Helen Raceway last year. Third went to Fraser McConnell, who recovered after slipping from second on the grid to fourth on the opening lap, aided by a late-race retirement for Andreas Bakkerud.

Robin Larsson

“It’s been a really good day. I was a little bit worried going into this one. It’s a lot of tarmac and I’m not a big fan of tarmac for my driving skills, but when you get the confidence that you’re faster and you can drive on a completely different level, you get a whole ‘nother calm in your body. I’ve had the perfect day thanks to the team.”

Oliver Eriksson

“It was too bad. We fought too much in turns two, three, and four here. Robin got some air and from there. When Robin gets some air, it’s hard to do something.”

Fraser McConnell

“It’s incredible. It’s the first of many that will come, big shout out to Dodge allowing us to represent the Hornet R/D – I think it looked really good out there. Nitro couldn’t be a more perfect fit for the whole brand.”

NEXT EVO

After a seven-year absence from racing, Mitchell De Jong proved he hadn’t lost a step by holding off 2022-23 NEXT champion Tommi Hallman in the first-ever NEXT EVO final.

Three-time 2023-24 NEXT race winner Lane Vacala completed the podium, as last season’s NEXT champion Casper Jansson retired two laps from the end.

Mitchell De Jong

“Super happy with the day today, a lot of unknowns coming into this weekend but everything just seemed to fall into place. I’m getting more and more comfortable with the car and all the races leading up to the semifinal and final went pretty much perfect and on-point. I had some shifting issues in the semifinal and final so that made it quite interesting in the first couple of corners and laps, but in the end we pulled through and had a good day.”

Side-by-Side

Travis Pastrana looked on course for victory in the first Side-by-Side final of the year, but for a last lap pass from Cash LeCroy.

The move up the inside of Turn 3 opened the door for Kory Willis to also get by two turns later, with Pastrana holding on for third, despite a late charge from reigning SxS champion Kainan Baker.

Baker completed double-duty on Saturday, also racing in NEXT EVO, continuing his development up the Nitrocross ranks after making his NEXT debut towards the end of last season.

Cash LeCroy

“It’s a dream to race at a level this high, but to be able to mix it up with guys like Travis Pastrana is something you can’t put words to.”

Baja Bugs

Nitrocross will continue its 2024-25 season in Richmond, Virginia on September 8 with Round 2. All events can be streamed live and free on Rumble Sports at www.rumble.com/nitrocross.