The AMSOIL Championship Off-Road is gearing up for an action-packed 2025 season, kicking off next weekend (May 2-4) at the Wheatland, MO racetrack.

Fans, teams, and racers are building off the massive momentum from last year to deliver another great season of short course off-road racing. The racers are eager to start their engines thanks to the amazing fans, teams, and sponsors who make this series possible.

The 2025 season will feature intense competition across all classes and if there are any remaining question marks regarding the competitive classes, please check out this preview of what to watch within each class this year. 

A chaotic final weekend of racing at Crandon on Labor Day Weekend saw Brayden Kernz capitalize on the misfortunes of Trent Peetz to dethrone him and win the 2024 Sportsman SxS championship. With some of the big hitters of the class moving up into the Pro Am SxS classes, there is sure to be some new faces gracing the Sportsman SxS podium sponsored by Race-Driven in 2025. 

Pro AM SxS was dominated last season by Minnesota’s David Gay and his #94 Polaris RZR. Gay makes the jump to Pro Stock SxS for 2025, one of the many drivers from this class moving into different categories this season. This will leave the championship up for grabs for past podium contenders remaining in the class, as well as drivers moving up from Sportsman SxS into the Pro AM class. 

A brand-new class for 2025, the Pro AM Turbo SxS sponsored by Freedom Race Lifts class will provide more of an entry level class for drivers with a Turbo SxS. Where prior to 2025, Turbo SxS could only compete in the Pro SxS class, regardless of the driver’s experience level. Expect to see this class consist of current Pro Am SxS drivers adding a new class to their resume, completely new drivers, as well as some drivers that previously competed in Pro SxS. 

The youth class with the longest track record of producing future superstars, Mod Kart graduates that have claimed victories in PRO2 include Ricky Gutierrez, Johnny Holtger, and Ronnie Anderson. Close to half of the current PRO LITE and Pro Spec fields consist of former Mod Kart drivers including Avery Hemmer and Gavin Plummer, the Top-2 points finishers last year who have both graduated to Pro Spec. Always keep an eye on this class, because the next superstar of the sport could be behind the wheel. 

The little cousin to the Mod Kart, the Short Course Kart class is hyper-competitive and always features one of the largest fields of drivers each race weekend. Wesley Vande Voort overtook Finley Holtger on the final weekend of racing to become the 2024 class champion. With some of the fastest drivers from last season moving into the Mod Kart category, expect to see cousins Finley Holtger and Camden Paitl battle it out for the championship along with the rest of the returning and debuting drivers in the class. 

Despite being smallest cars in Champ Off-Road, the 170 and 200 SxSs often provide some of the best racing and largest fields, with 36 drivers competing in 2024. Championships were claimed by Raymond Deininger in the 200 class and Ashton Dreher in the 170s. Deininger traded wins all season long with Brixton Wirt while Dreher’s closest competitors were his brother Axel and cousin Drake. More of the same should be expected in 2025 from those drivers, and they’ll be joined by the many other competitors that started to hone their craft in the closing rounds of 2024. 

Hudson Houle made his mark in his first season in the Youth SxS class, dominating his way to the 2024 championship. Houle was able to dethrone defending champion Ryker Remington, who scored a pair of victories as well. Several drivers made big strides in the second half of the season and Houle’s journey to defend his championship will consist of holding off the likes of Bryce Powers, Emma Lytle, and other hard charging young drivers. 

In between the 170/200 SxS and Youth SxS as far as size and power are the 570 SxS, one of the most entertaining classes to watch in 2024. When the dust settled it was Ellah Holtger adding another championship to her already impressive resume, beating Logan Fritzinger by just a single point. Some of the top drivers from last season plan on moving into new classes, but there are plenty of returning contenders to ensure that 570 SxS will be one of the most competitive classes yet again in 2025.

The most competitive class in the series last season, Stock Truck boasted a staggering nine different winners and saw the top-5 in the standings separated by only 13 points. Kirk Graff edged out Tyler Mullins by five points to secure the title. While Mullins was generally the fastest truck on track, Graff’s consistency paid off in the end. With most of the same group returning this season, Stock Truck figures to be one of the best classes to watch again every weekend in 2025. 

PIRTEK, a leading provider of hydraulic and industrial hose services, is sponsoring the Super Stock Truck class. In a points battle that saw several trucks take it down to the wire in the final round of the season, class rookie Cory Holtger stood tall and won the 2024 Super Stock Truck championship, coming off his championship in Stock Truck the year prior. A longtime fan favorite class due to its intense battles and unpredictability, a repeat for Holtger will not come easy with a host of past champions and race winners ready to dethrone him in his sophomore season. 

One of the oldest classes in the sport, the 1600 Light Buggy division was dominated by Connor Schulz in 2024. After finishing behind his twin brother Colin in points multiple times, Connor won nearly every race on the way to his first career championship last season. The twins can be expected to be at the front of the pack anytime they’re in the field, but a class full of hungry young guns and seasoned veterans alike are all looking to knock them off the top spot. 

2024 saw veteran driver John Fitzgerald, who has been winning races and championships in Single Buggy across the country for decades, pick up yet another championship. The championship was hard fought as Fitzgerald edged out Light Buggy champion Connor Schulz and 2023 class champion Mike Seefeldt, Fitzgerald’s own teammate. An additional seven drivers recorded podium finishes in the class, and that same level of competition can be expected in 2025. 

One of the most competitive classes in the sport in 2024, Jordan Bernloehr was able to string together five consecutive wins to end the season and secure his first career Pro Buggy championship. Bernloehr will have his work cut out for him to defend the championship however, as upwards of ten cars will be podium contenders each round in Pro Buggy this season including returning 5-Time class champion Michael Meister on a part-time basis. 

Polaris RZR’s CJ Greaves stood atop the podium in 8 of 13 rounds in Pro Stock SxS in 2024 en route to his fifth career championship in the class. He was trailed closely by Yamaha young guns Owen VanEperen and Jeb Bootle, the latter of which finished in the Top-3 in points in both Pro SxS classes and will make the switch to Polaris in 2025, driving RZRs built by Greaves himself. While Greaves is always the favorite in this class, VanEperen, Bootle, and several others have shown the potential to take the top spot away from him in 2025. 

In one of the closest PRO class points battles of 2024, CJ Greaves was able to close the gap on Jeb Bootle and Andrew Carlson in the final weekends to lay claim to his second career AMSOIL PRO SxS championship. Expect to see those same players atop the podium again this season, as well as bounce-back seasons from multi-time class champions Kyle Chaney and Rodney VanEperen, as well as Rodney’s son Owen, who all had tough luck seasons in 2024. 

Dylan Parsons was the model of consistency in 2024 in Pro Spec, winning his first PRO championship after finishing on the podium in nearly every round of racing. One of the most competitive and diverse classes in off-road, Parsons will face challenges to his title from short course veterans like Nick Visser and Chris Van Den Elzen as well as from teenage drivers like Hunter VanZile, Wyatt Miller, Avery Hemmer, and Gavin Plummer. 

The 2024 PRO LITE season saw Trey Gibbs and 2020 class champion Johnny Holtger have a stranglehold on the class, with Gibbs securing his first championship in the class. While embarking on his rookie campaign in PRO2, Gibbs will also remain in the PRO LITE class to defend his title from Holtger and a cast of returning heavy hitters, as well as multiple PRO LITE rookies coming in from other classes. 

After several seasons of compiling multiple wins and appearing to be the fastest truck on track, Georgia’s Mickey Thomas finally broke through for his first career PRO2 championship in 2024. With Thomas moving to the PRO4 class in 2025, the door is open for Ryan Beat and Kyle Greaves, both multi-time PRO LITE champions that finished 2nd and 3rd in last season’s standings, to take the crown. 

For the fourth consecutive season and the ninth time in ten years, CJ Greaves added another PRO4 championship to his incomparable resume in 2024, extending his all-time record. It didn’t come easy however, with Jimmy Henderson, Adrian Cenni, Cole Mamer, and CJ’s father Johnny each picking up race wins along the way. Each of those drivers stand to return to victory lane this season as well, along with 2024 PRO2 champion and 2025 PRO4 rookie Mickey Thomas who will surely mix things up.