The Craziest Car Races and Rallies in America

You’ve likely heard of the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans race, which is not really attainable for the common man. Enter 24 Hours of Lemons — an endurance racing series that allows drivers only to use cars that were bought and modified for $500 or less. The races take place all across America, and even Australia, throughout the year. Winners of a recent event in Leeds, Alabama, drove vehicles like a 1999 Toyota Camry, a 1978 Ford Pinto, and a 1965 Ford Ranchero.

Few events showcase the full technological capabilities of four-wheeled vehicles like Monster Jam. This traveling series pits massive 10.5-foot, 6-ton trucks against one another in a variety of competitions. The drivers of the trucks race and compete in skill competitions to see who is the best monster truck driver. Drivers accumulate points throughout the season to determine a winner at the end of the year.

Named for the 1976 film “The Gumball Rally,” the American Gumball Rally is the U.S. version of the international Gumball 3000, taking place across several destinations throughout the country. The rally offers trophies for longest distance driver, best graphics, best reaction time, and more. The 2020 American Gumball Rally season will visit Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Colorado, California, and Nevada.

The Tillamook County Fair in Oregon is home to one of the most bizarre auto racing spectacles — Pig-N-Ford racing. As the name suggests, drivers must start a century-old Ford Model T before picking up a pig. The first person and pig pair to make three laps around the racetrack is declared the winner.

Since 2008, racing organization Hammerking Productions has combined rock crawling and desert racing to create King of the Hammers — one of the most unique races in the world. Racers take their vehicles out to Johnson Valley in California to drive a roughly 90-mile course. Rock crawling — a slow climb over rocks and other obstacles — and desert racing — driving over flat sandy surfaces — are two of the most different driving disciplines, so combining them provides a unique challenge to racers. Tens of thousands of fans now attend the race, which features hundreds of teams.

Described as a “live-action, full-size version” of Hot Wheels, Stadium Super Truck racing is similar to NASCAR, except the cars have soft suspensions and the course has ramps to launch the competing vehicles into the air. The frequent crashes and high-flying action make Stadium Super Trucks racing a spectator favorite.

The Mint 400 is an off-road race covering nearly 100 miles in the Nevada desert each March. Though it started in 1968 as a way to promote the Mint Hotel’s annual deer hunt, the race eventually became a huge event in its own right, attracting professional racers and celebrities. The race ended in 1988 after the hotel was sold, but it was brought back 20 years later.

Superkarts is the ideal motorsport for those who want to take go-karting to a whole new level. Drivers race around in small open-wheeled vehicles that can travel 140 mph and beyond. Organizing body Superkarts! USA puts on regional and national events each year, all culminating in the SKUSA SuperNationals in Las Vegas. The winner takes home a $10,000 grand prize.

Cannonball Run is a long-distance road rally that describes itself as the “ultimate vacation with your car,” giving drivers the chance to travel down unfamiliar roads and explore new cities. The rally was made famous by the 1981 Burt Reynolds film bearing the same name. The record time was set in 2019 at 27 hours, 25 minutes, though speeding and racing is not permitted. The 2020 Cannonball Run goes from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, through Montana and Wyoming before finishing in Chicago.

There are dozens of demolition derby events all across the country each year, but none measure up to the annual Blizzard Bash in Topeka, Kansas. The four-day event features different varieties of cars like compacts, light trucks, and others, all smashing into one another. The driver of the last car standing in each event earns a purse of anywhere from $2,500 to $40,000. Blizzard Bash was named the top derby in the world in 2019 by the Demolition Derby League, the fourth time since 2014 it has earned the honor.

Originally started in the U.K., the practice of lawnmower racing is a popular competition in America as well. There are dozens of lawnmower races at various tracks and fairs across the nation. The races allow those who can’t afford souped up supercars to compete — only after they remove the blades from the bottom of their lawnmowers.

School buses may be the least suited vehicles for racing, yet that has not stopped the Tour of Destruction from bringing school bus racing to fair grounds and speedways all across the southern U.S. Racers paint their buses and outfit them with safety equipment before tearing around the track to see who is the fastest bus driver.

The goldRush Rally brings together 100 fine cars and auto enthusiasts for an unparalleled event. Any car can enter the goldRush Rally, but most of the participants will be behind the wheel of luxury, sports, classic, or exotic vehicles. Though the rally is explicitly not a race, drivers still get revved up from time to time. In 2017, participants in a Lamborghini had their car impounded for driving over 100 mph in Washington. The 2020 goldRush rally takes drivers throughout the West Coast to destinations like Beverly Hills, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, and Seattle over the course of a week in June.

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, also known as “The Race to the Clouds,” is one of the most daunting races in the world of motorsports. Competitors, both in automobile and motorcycle divisions, race 12.42 miles to the top of the Colorado mountain, finishing the race more than 14,000 feet above sea level. It is also one of the oldest races in motorsports, with the first occurring in 1916.

Racing one car is hard enough, but chain races ratchet up the difficulty by making drivers run a course with a second vehicle chained to their back bumper. Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina gives racing fans the opportunity to see this unique racing style on one of NASCAR’s most legendary tracks.

All kinds of racing fans can enjoy the Vegas to Reno Race held each year in Nevada. With a 550-mile course, it is the longest off-road race in America. Racers on motorcycles, quad bikes, UTVs, trucks, and cars all take part in the festivities, with designated pit stops throughout the event.

For over 70 years, Floridians have been racing “swamp buggies.” These hodgepodge vehicles — made from parts of tractors, airplanes, and more — were essential for traveling and hunting in the Everglades decades ago. To this day, the Florida Sports Park in Naples still hosts annual races with these kinds of vehicles.

Professionals and amateurs alike can compete in the SuperCrawl World Rock Climbing Competition, held annually outside Reno, Nevada. In the largest rock-crawling event in America, thousands of spectators turn out to watch modified Jeeps take on challenging courses filled with boulders and gorges and see which driver is the best rock crawler.

Unlike many of the most famous and prestigious rallies, The California Melee prides itself on being affordable and quirky. What it lacks in high-end cars and accomodations, it says it makes up for with “pure grass roots enthusiasm and fun.” Any car built before 1975 is welcome to join the 750-mile tour of northern California’s wine country.