CRANDON, WISC. — Living up to its “Big House” nickname, Crandon International Raceway today announced the largest single-day cash and prize purse in short-course off-road racing history as it prepares to host its Labor Day weekend Off-Road World Championships and new Crandon World Cup.

With the support of the Red Bull Signature Series, AMSOIL, Polaris RZR®, BFGoodrich, Traxxas, Weller Racing, Rugged Radios, Lincoln Electric, MasterCraft and a host of other track supporters, the total cash and prize package to be award on Sunday, September 4th is just over $176,000. Seven classes of PRO racers will compete for almost $130,000 cash in the first ever Crandon World Cup, part of the Red Bull Signature Series. It will be day capped in dramatic fashion with $47,000 going to the winner of the richest race in the sport – the 7th annual AMSOIL Cup showdown.

Adding to the day’s highly anticipated PRO 2WD and PRO 4WD Crandon World Championship races, Polaris RZR will be awarding the first place finishers of each race a 2017 RZR XP 1000 EPS. Acknowledged as theindustry leader in high-performance sport UTVs, the addition of these machines reflects an enhanced relationship between Polaris RZR and Crandon International Raceway.

“From the start, the Crandon World Cup was created for our facility to promote and host off-road racing’s ultimate ‘Superbowl,” explained track President Cliff Flannery. “The sport and industry deserves that, the racers deserve that, and, most importantly, our fans deserve that. With the AMSOIL Cup serving as a perfect finale to the day, the support of our corporate partners have allowed us to raise the World Cup’s prize structure to a record new level.”

The 7th annual AMSOIL Cup race, the unique unlimited two-wheel drive versus four-wheel drive shootout, represents a largest single portion of the day’s prize package, with a total of $60,000 plus cash and products from Lincoln Electric and MasterCraft/Impact Safety on the line. Both the Crandon PRO 2WD and PRO 4WD World Championship races carry a total of $37,500 in cash and prizes, including a 2017 Polaris RZR and $7,500 in cash to the winners. The always-competitive PRO Light division will split a hefty $15,000 purse, with a $10,000 check for the winner, while $10,000 and a $5,000 first place package has been posted for the PRO Buggy ranks.

Presented by Weller Racing, the PRO Stock UTV division has a $7,500 purse and $4,000 first place check for the winner, with the PRO Mod UTVs splitting a $2,500 total bounty. Thanks to Rugged Radios, even the PRO Mod Kart category is racing for a prize pool worth $6,200, with Sunday’s Crandon World Champion earning a check for $1,000 and a $2,500 Rugged Radio gift certificate.

For the first time in history, the weekend officially kicks off on Thursday, September 1st with a full slate of open testing for all PRO-category racers preparing for TORC championship racing, “Crandon World Cup Sunday” as well as the AMSOIL Cup.

In addition to the watershed purse, Crandon International has announced that all PRO racers wishing to participate in Sunday’s Crandon PRO World Championship races can do so without the sport’s traditional entry or registration fee. All drivers must have a current USAC license in order to participate. Racer registration for both the Crandon World Cup and 7th Annual Amsoil Cup race, along with an event Q&A will open at 2:00 pm (CST) on Thursday, August 25th at www.crandonoffroad.com.

“The idea of not collecting an entry fee for the World Cup event is Crandon’s way of supporting race teams from around the country come and enjoy the ‘Big House,” added Flannery.

In addition to a new all-day Crandon PRO Open test being held on Thursday, September 1st, all PRO class racers are welcome to enter The Off-Road Championship (TORC) PRO series finale being held on Saturday, September 3rd, along with TORC Sportsman racing for the Super Buggy racers. The young talent found in the PRO Mod Kart division will also compete in Forest County Potawatomi’s “Friday Night Thunder” races.

Hosted and sanctioned by Crandon International Raceway, the World Cup event has been created to attract the world’s best off-road racers and teams to compete for coveted Crandon World Championships® in a variety of PRO-level classes. For the first time in the sport’s nearly 50-year history, short course competitors from all sanctioning bodies around the country can race on a completely level playing field with no concerns about points, season championships or other hindrances. The event will be brought to an international mainstream audience as part of the Red Bull Signature Series – both via a live webcast on Red Bull TV and as a special 90-minute highlight program scheduled for airing on Sat., Oct. 8 at 2pm EST on NBC.