The year 2015 brings with it a new season in racing and a chance to start things anew. While this isn’t the first Motorsports Weekend Guide of the year, it is the first of a new format that, well, isn’t quite done. But it will be.
In the near future, the weekend guide will feature prominently three or four big events for the coming weekend and then list the rest of the events below with a few or no words. I know what you’re thinking: “I don’t really care anyway But how will I know what the hell you’re talking about when you say ‘International GT Open?’” Fret not, for I am working on a guide to all of the MWG series on our Hooniversal calendar that you can reference and allow you to proclaim you still don’t care to impress yourself at parties (because it’s so hard to impress oneself anymore).

LucasOil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals (River Spirit Expo Center | Tulsa, OK)

The Chili Bowl is short-track racing’s answer to the Super Bowl. Run on a ¼-mile clay oval inside of Tulsa’s River Spirit Expo Center, the weeklong extravaganza is possibly the closest thing to a short-track national championship (maybe along with the Turkey Shoot and the Night Before the 500) as you’ll find. Practice starts Monday with heat racing Wednesday through Friday and the 55-lap A Main on Saturday night. If you’ve got 13 minutes, Loud Pedal’s short film on the 2013 Chili Bowl gives a taste of it, though I can tell you that short-track racing has to be seen in person to be truly appreciated.
The Chili Bowl features Midgets, which are wingless, 400 horsepower, four-cylinder open-wheel racers that contain the bare essentials needed to race. More than 200 drivers—most of whom comprise the world’s best short-track racers—will compete with paid attendance numbering around 15,000 fans. Among the racers will be young standouts like four-time Chili Bowl winner Kevin Swindell, last year’s champion Bryan Clauson (who has raced IndyCar on a couple of occasions), West Coast standout Rico Abreu, and short-track “graduate”/NASCAR driver J.J. Yeley.
Website: Chili Bowl site. River Spirit Expo Center. Schedule. Entry list.
Live coverage: Nightly Pay-Per View on Racinboys.com ($25/night or $100 for all) with final features Saturday @ 7:30 p.m. ET on MAVTV.
 

Creventic Hankook 24H Series: Dubai 24 Hours

The 24H Series has become something of a revolution in modern motorsports, starting with almost nothing and then growing to an endurance racing tour de force with their flagship race, the Dubai 24, at the the fore. This year’s edition begins the series’ run as an FIA international championship, having been a loose collection of races previously. Along with next month’s 12 Hours of Bathurst in Australia, the Dubai 24 is drawing an incredible, GT3-heavy entry list.
For the Dubai race, 24H’s top A6 class will contain no fewer than 25 GT3 cars with many of the world’s regular GT drivers behind the wheels. The “997” class will have 18 Porsche Cup cars and most classes will have more than a handful of competitors down to 1.6-liter touring cars. That will mean that managing traffic becomes paramount for all classes and over the course of 24 hours, the cumulative effect of the best traffic management should produce the winner.
Website: 24H Series site. Dubai Autodrome Site. Dubai 24H site. Schedule. Entry list.
Live coverage: Live and free streaming on 24H site. Race starts Friday @ 5 a.m. ET.
 

Red Bull Frozen Rush (Sunday River Resort, Maine)

Is there anything crazier than nine Pro4 trucks hurtling down a ski slope? There is probably not anything crazier. As you might expect, Red Bull has pulled out the star power with Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series and The Off-Road Championship competitors like Bryce Menzies and Brian Deegan behind the wheels.
Website: Frozen Rush site. Sunday River site. Entry list.
Live coverage: Friday @ 11:30 a.m. ET on Red Bull TV (streaming video).
 

Formula E: Buenos Aires, Argentina

The FIA’s all-electric series continues its 2014-2015 round with its second consecutive round in South America. To date, the series has seen three different winners from three different teams. Abt Racing’s Lucas Di Grassi has finished on the podium in all three races and looks to be the driver to beat early in the season. The Buenos Aires circuit minimizes long straights and should be a twisty, technical course, which greatly favors the spec Spark-Renault chassis.
Website: Formula E site. Event page. Weekend schedule. Entry list.
Live coverage: Saturday @ Noon on NBC Sports Network.
 
 

Tudor United SportsCar Championship: Roar Before the 24

The Roar Before the 24, an open test session a cn sports cars wherein teams either flaunt their true speed or sandbag the everloving crap oouple weeks before the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, has become a great tradition in Americaut their cars. Whatever its shortcomings as a test bed, it serves as good hype for the series, putting all of the teams and drivers in the spotlight and also letting the fans drop in to see the cars up close.
Website: TUSC site. Daytona site. Roar site with schedule. Entry list.
Supporting series: Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.
Live coverage: Live timing on IMSA site.
 

SCCA Majors: Homestead-Miami

The SCCA Majors Tour opens its season in Homestead-Miami this year. With the Runoffs at Daytona this year, expect qualifying teams from the Florida races this week and next week (at Sebring International Raceway) to show up fighting for a National Championship.
Website: Majors site. Homestead site. Event page. Schedule. .
Live coverage: Live timing via Race Monitor app for smartphones and devices.
 
[Lead iamge copyright 2014  Hooniverse/Eric Rood | Other photos: K&N Filters, Red Bull]