RROL
| RROL Racing Road and Oval League Foundation | |
| |
| Year Founded | 1998 (Original) 2019 (Reincorporation) |
| Founder(s) | Robert Clarke |
| Executive(s) | Owen Clarke |
| Current Divisions | North-Atlantic Open-Wheel Modified Asphalt Division |
| Current Champion | Mike Falls |
| Racing Series | |
The Racing Road and Oval League Foundation abbreviated as the RROL Foundation, but commonly referred to as the RROL, is an American motorsport interest group created by Robert Clarke. The RROL governed several different iterations of stock car racing competition from 1998-2011, before filing bankruptcy and shutting down operations.
It was officially reincorporated in 2019, along with the creation of it's newest competition, the North-Atlantic Open-Wheel Modified Asphalt Division.
The RROL Foundation’s mission is to “support youth motorsport development and provide an avenue into the professional ranks.”
Origin[edit | edit source]
In early to mid-1996, Robert Clarke saw the need for a stock car racing feeder series of the coastal Atlantic region of the United States. Since the closure of the American Stock Car Championship in the 1970s, much of the Atlantic-based motorsport talent migrated to drag racing, dirt racing, motorcross, and sports car racing. Clarke had made many connections in the racing world over the years, serving as an official for both TM and ARLA sanctioned series. In addition to this, Clarke was a very successful car dealership owner in the mid-Atlantic. He was able to put together a tour for 1997 but the debut of the RROL Stock Series was delayed until 1998 after the series had difficulty attracting competitors. One thing that did help significantly, was an agreement made between Clarke, Tremwell, and Sellick which essentially facilitated a showdown between Tremwell and Sellick bodies with spec engines. In some cases these bodies were recycled hand-me-downs from the TM Lights Series. With some of the pieces in place, teams were more willing to join the start-up series for its debut 1998 season.
Early years[edit | edit source]
RROL Stock Series[edit | edit source]
1998[edit | edit source]
Each of the 1998 season's 15 races ran approximately 100 miles. The RROL was able to secure a date at Carbondale Raceway, which saw many local Midwestern entries; however this was as far as west as the series would venture throughout the first decade of its existence.
The RROL Stock Series held its first race at the Daytona International Speedway. Chris Anderson not only scored the first pole, but also the first win. Anderson's teammate Roberto Ramirez swept the road course rounds at Road Atlanta, Barber Motorsports Park, and Watkins Glen; however, mediocre showings on the ovals prevented him from making a legitimate run at the championship. Chris Anderson was not far from the championship battle, but it ultimately came down to Rick Jarrett and Greg Johnson who maintained the best consistency throughout the season. In the end, it was Johnson winning the championship, firing off 3 consecutive wins to end the season.
1999[edit | edit source]
After some difficulties in contract negotiations with some tracks, the RROL announced a 10-race schedule made up of 200-mile races. The difficulties in negotiating agreements with racetracks were reportedly a result of the RROL attempting to take a larger share of race revenue from track promoters. Chris Anderson would score 2 more victories in 1999 before collecting the championship. Rick Jarrett's younger brother, Jacob Jarrett lead the series with 3 wins and was a close runner-up to Anderson in the final point standings.
RROL Cup Series[edit | edit source]
2000[edit | edit source]
The RROL Stock Series returned in 2000 rebranded as the RROL Cup Series and returned to its 15 100-mile races format, after the 200-mile races in 1999 proved to be an unpopular change. The series saw its first significant crash-related injuries after a violent collision in the season-opening race at Daytona for Anthony Smith and Carl Stewart. Both would return before the end of the season.
Chris Anderson and Jacob Jarrett duplicated their win totals from 1999 in the first 7 races of 2000 with the championship rivals winning 5 of the first 7 races. Jarrett had 3 wins and the points lead to his name while Anderson had 2 victories. Jarrett's 3rd win of 2000 was in the 7th race of the season at Nazareth Speedway, a track at which only Jacob and his brother Rick had won at so far in RROL competition.
Then, tragedy. Following the first practice session at Martinsville, the 8th race of the season, Rick and Jacob Jarrett were driving to the racetrack after going out for lunch. Approximately two miles from the track, a tractor-trailer ran a red light and stuck the driver's side of the vehicle the brothers were in, killing Jacob instantly. Rick was physically unharmed. Devastated, officials postponed the Saturday night race into Sunday afternoon.
Rick changed from his #7 to Jacob's #27 immediately, originally only intending to finish that season in the 27, but Rick eventually decided to stick with the number for the remainder of his driving career. In the race at Martinsville, Rick powered his way to the front, and by lap 30, was leading the race after starting in 10th. Jarrett dominated the race after lap 30 and went on to lap nearly every other driver (only 3 drivers finished on the lead lap) before collecting his first win of 2000. Rick dedicated the win to Jacob and a funeral service was held the next day in their hometown of Chesapeake, Virginia. The RROL did not race again at Martinsville Speedway until 2010.
Rick Jarrett's motivation lasted throughout the rest of the season with Jarrett scoring another win and finishing no worse than 6th in the rest of that season's races before claiming his first championship. Steve Murray and Jacob Jarrett lead the series with 3 wins each in 2000.
2001[edit | edit source]
The 2001 RROL Cup Series season was highlighted by a strong rookie class made up of Eric Reed, Ricardo Ramirez, and Bradley Dunham. All three rookies visited victory lane in 2001. Chris Anderson had a strong start to the season, but DNFs in the final third of the season took him out of championship contention. Rick Jarrett and rookie Eric Reed won 4 races each and were battling for the championship all the way to the final laps of the season-finale at Rockingham Speedway. Jarrett collected the win at Rockingham, but ultimately, Eric Reed's 4th-place finish was enough to earn him the overall championship by a mere 6 points.
2002[edit | edit source]
Defending champion Eric Reed fired out of the gate to start the 2002 season, scoring 4 wins in the first 7 races of the season - including winning the first RROL race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Reed scored an RROL record 5th win at Lime Rock Park. At this point, Reed had earned 9 RROL victories in only 26 starts; incredibly, this tied Eric Reed with Chris Anderson, Rick Jarrett, and Steve Murray for most RROL wins with Greg Johnson just behind them at 8 wins.
Reed looked well on his way to become the first RROL driver to win back-to-back championships, but in the 12th race of 2002 at Dover International Speedway, he was seriously injured in a wreck. With about 15 laps left the race, Reed was running in 3rd when his right front tire blew coming out of turn 2. Reed slammed the outside wall at over 120 MPH and then ricocheted quickly down toward the inside wall where his car was struck by oncoming traffic at nearly full speed. Eric Reed was responsive after the crash but had to be extracted from his car, and was taken straight to the hospital from the track. Reed's main championship rival Steve Murray was critical of Reed in the aftermath of the race saying that Reed "should have been able to control his car better than that." It was later reported that the steering column in Reed's car broke on impact with the outside wall. Reed missed the final three races of the season and ended up finishing 8th in the point standings. Meanwhile, Steve Murray would go on to win his first RROL Championship.
Growth and transition[edit | edit source]
2003[edit | edit source]
For the first time in the history of the RROL, a multi-season agreement was reached with tracks to confirm the 2003 and 2004 schedules. Another change in the 2002 offseason was the switch from Liberty Tires to Goodyear as the official tire provider of the RROL. Eric Reed chose to sit out the 2003 season while still recovering from his injuries at Dover in 2002.
Chris Anderson won the season-opening race at Daytona for the third time, but it was Greg Johnson who got off to a strong start, scoring wins at Homestead and Darlington and top-10 finishes in each of the first 7 races of the season. Brian Murray and Rick Jarrett would chase Johnson down as the season wore on, and the three faced off in the season finale at Rockingham Speedway.
Greg Johnson lead the majority of the race at Rockingham and looked unbeatable but a late caution brought the field back together. Brian Murray got the jump on the restart with 9 laps to go and was able to take the lead from Johnson. Rick Jarrett, who took 4 tires on pit road, restarted from 5th. Johnson and Murray battled fiercely for the lead while Jarrett worked his way up to 3rd. With 4 laps remaining, Jarrett got a run out of turn 4 and chose the outside lane in turns 1 and 2, as Greg Johnson blocked Brian Murray on the inside lane. Down the back straight Jarrett again had a strong run developing and pulled alongside Johnson on the outside. At the same time, Murray dove to the inside making it a three-wide battle headed for turn 3. Johnson backed off into the corner, Murray rode in too deep and swept up the track in turn 4. Rick Jarrett seemed to know that move was coming and pulled a crossover move out of turn 4 and cleared Murray before the stripe. Jarrett never looked back and took home the win and the championship that day.
Rick Jarrett became the first RROL driver to win more than one championship. The 2003 season saw 5 first-time winners, the most so far in the series (not counting the debut season).
2004[edit | edit source]
In his comeback season, Eric Reed won the 2nd race of the season at Homestead, the 9th race of the season at Watkins Glen, and in the 12th race of 2004, Reed scored the win on his return to Dover International Speedway. Only Rick Jarrett and Brian Murray maintained a similar form throughout the season; however, in the end it was Eric Reed claiming the 2004 championship while his younger brother Tim, won his first race, the season-finale at Rockingham. Woody Watts finished 9th in his RROL debut driving for the The Anderson Group at Rockingham.
Notoriety[edit | edit source]
Heading into 2005, a new agreement was reached with the RROL and track promoters to establish a consistent schedule for 2005, 2006, and 2007. The schedule remained at 15 races, but notable additions were Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Summit Point Motorsports Park, Talladega Superspeedway, and Decatur Raceway (which took over hosting the season finale).
In 2005, Rick Jarrett won his third RROL championship with 4 wins and Woody Watts collected rookie of the year honors with 3 wins.
Watts followed up his 2005 campaign with 4 more wins in 2006 enroute to his first RROL title. Meanwhile, Greg Johnson won his 11th RROL race, Eric Reed scored his 14th win, Chris Anderson picked up his 15th and final win, and Rick Jarrett scored victory 20 and 21 of his RROL career. Anderson retired at the end of the 2005 season and began a transition into commentary but vowed to remove his controlling interest in the The Anderson Group, something he viewed as a conflict of interest. Woody Watts and his mother began a long-term purchase of the organization.
The 2007 season saw 11 different winners in the season's 15 races, and an intense championship battle resulted in Woody Watts edging out rookie of the year Brandon Burns and Joe Wells for the 2007 title. This meant Watts made history as the first RROL driver to win back-to-back championships.
Branching out[edit | edit source]
RROL COT Series[edit | edit source]
- Main article: 2008 RROL season
For the 2008 season, the RROL revealed that it would switch from the Generation 4 stock car body style, to the Generation 5 (also known as the "Car of Tomorrow") body style. This was considered to be a gamble for the RROL by many; and though the cars did live up to their reputation of providing greater driver safety with the series enduring several particularly extreme wrecks, this move is known to have taken a financial toll on the RROL and the teams involved. The series was officially renamed the RROL COT Series for the 2008 season.
Also for 2008, the RROL began a series of changes to more seriously align itself as a feeder/driver development platform to the TM Lights and TM Master Cup Series. Notably the RROL began scheduling races in Europe and Asia for the first time, which was a considerable leap from being mainly based along the Atlantic Coast of the United States.
An influx of new teams and drivers for 2008 did raise the level of competition and introduce the need for qualifying races. There were 10 first-time RROL winners in 2008 and 13 different winners in the 15-race season. Future TM Master Cup Series champion Adrien Devereux became the first European-born RROL champion and the second-ever driver to claim the championship and rookie of the year honors simultaneously. Devereux beat Woody Watts for the title by 44 points.
RROL Elite Series[edit | edit source]
- Main article: 2009 RROL season
For 2009, the RROL decided to scrap the Generation 5/COT body style and revert back to the 4th generation stock car body. The RROL's premier series would again have its name changed, this time to be known as the RROL Elite Series. The 2009 schedule expanded beyond 15 races (to 19) for the first time in series history, with 4 races outside of the United States. Despite not qualifying for the season-opening race at Daytona, Martin Boltano, Jr. went on to collect the 2009 RROL Elite Series championship by a mere 4 points over Woody Watts who would have to settle for 2nd-place for the 2nd year in a row.
Heading into 2010, the RROL continued to expand its international presence, with a 5th race outside of the US on a still 19-race schedule. There began to be some internal discord with the RROL as to why a developmental/feeder series was trying to travel the world and if it was worth the cost.
In 2010, Ricky Flush, driving for White Mountain Motorsports became the first driver in RROL history to claim the championship without winning a race.
Decline[edit | edit source]
- Main article: 2010 RROL season
Though the 2010 season had its share of controversies (including Doom-O's oil slick at Brazil), the news off the track overshadowed the events on it.
After the season, it was announced that Garth McCallister, Jr., and a group of investors from the American Stock Car Championship, purchased the (by this time) financially-struggling league. "We can make a legitimate American series that has the spirit of the ASCC and the origins of what made 1980s TM Master Cup series racing great," McCallister said. "We hope to revisit many tracks that Omecha took off the calendar, tracks like Texas World Speedway, Hickory, Rockingham and Charlotte Motor Speedway that the fans loved, but that Omecha didn't like because some foreigner was throwing a ton of money at them."
Now-former RROL owner Robert Clarke said, "We were having financial issues, and they came to us with an offer. With the economy already being this tough, I thought that in the end, this would be the best option, even if I am no longer involved with it...at least for the time being."
Reaction was swift, and mixed to say the least. Many long-time RROL teams expressed they would not return to the series, citing the reputation of the ASCC brass (namely, the officials' bias toward white American men) as the primary reason. The RROL's top three officials, president Thomas Clarke, head of officiating John Vernon, and competition director Larry Chambers all tendered their resignations as a result of the buyout.
Robert Clarke did have a trick up his sleeve, and it wouldn't be long before the world found out what it was.
Vaughn Intervention[edit | edit source]
- Main article: 2011 RROL season
Clarke's words "for the time being" meant only a few hours, as he, along with former Formula A team manager and British billionaire Mark Vaughn teamed up to form the Vaughn Stock Car Championship, immediately hiring on the officials from the former RROL.
Vaughn said in an interview, "I was a fan of the RROL, and I liked what they were doing, but the series did not really have anything unique about it, and I want to give them that element." That element would become the creation of two lower leagues, the Vaughn American Racing Tour and the Vaughn European Racing Challenge, which would allow drivers a shot at the VSCC championship through a promotion-and-relegation system, which had never before been seen in racing.
Vaughn also extended an invitation to the former RROL teams dissatisfied with the ASCC buyout to join the new league, and many of them did just that. The series announced a nineteen-race schedule, opening at Daytona International Speedway (as per RROL tradition) and ending at Kansas Speedway.
However, the death of Reed Racing co-owner Jack Lucas Samson, financial difficulties, and a pair of disastrous races at Mallory Park, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, and the famed Karjala Raceway proved too much for the league to handle, and the series collapsed after just eight races. The series points leader, Gordon Sting, was declared the 2011 champion.
The collapse led many observers to question the long-term viability of the league. As a result of this, the long time teams like Watts Motorsports and Rick Jarrett Racing left the series.
Attempted Revival[edit | edit source]
New Ownership[edit | edit source]
- See also: 2012 RROL Elite Series season
An investment group purchased the remains of the bankrupt Vaughn Stock Car Championship and reverted the series name back to the RROL Elite Series. Other notable changes included scrapping the multi-tier racing system and all events outside of North America. The Clairmont Circuit was the only track to host a race outside of the United States. A twin-race (double-header) format was introduced to manage the hefty entry lists the series was able to accrue; however, the format was scrapped going forward after the cancellation of the second-to-last scheduled race of the season at Carbondale Raceway and only one race being held for the finale at Rockingham Speedway.
Colin Evans would win the first championship under the series' new direction.
Rebranding[edit | edit source]
The series would be rebranded as the National Racing Championship beginning with the 2013 season. A field cap was introduced that cut down from 56 full-time teams in 2012 to 28 full-time teams in 2013. Daytona International Speedway and the Clairmont Circuit are unable to negotiate a return to the series despite the series calendar expanding from 12 to 16 races.
A new rule introduced for the 2013 season allowed only Lycoia, Tuttle, Saar, Inglesby, and Isanni as manufacturers.
Giuseppe Marchetti collected the 2013 NRC title without scoring a win - only the second driver in the history of the RROL to become champion without winning a race after Ricky Flush in 2010.
Robert Clarke's return[edit | edit source]
NOMAD[edit | edit source]
- Main article: RROL NOMAD
Last seen publicly in 2016, original founder of the RROL, Robert Clarke announced the reincorporation of the RROL, this time known as the RROL Foundation. Clarke stated he intends for this foundation to "support youth motorsport development and provide an avenue into the professional ranks. This corporation serves as an interest group that aims to protect the competitor and encourage the competition."
In the same announcement, Robert Clarke unveiled a new tour-type asphalt modified series, the North-Atlantic Open-Wheel Modified Asphalt Division, to begin racing in 2019. The series is commonly referred to as "the NOMAD division" and its cars/competitors are sometimes called "nomads."
NOMAD Knockout Cup[edit | edit source]
- Main article: RROL NOMAD#Knockout Cup
Prior to the start of the inaugural season, during an in-depth revelation of the point scoring system to be used in the NOMAD division, series officials revealed an unexpected plot twist. In addition to the standard season-long tally-style point system to determine the series champion, the NOMAD Knockout Cup offers an additional trophy for the series competitors. Essentially a tournament-style system, the Knockout Cup shouldn't interfere with the tallied championship points battle as the two will occur simultaneously - and the objective for drivers will ultimately remain the same - beating opponents.
Miscellaneous Info[edit | edit source]
Yearly Honors[edit | edit source]
| Year | Champion | Rookie of the Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Team | ||
| 1998 | Greg Johnson, Sr. | Tremwell Johnson Sport | Not awarded |
| 1999 | Chris Anderson | The Anderson Group | Craig Frye |
| 2000 | Rick Jarrett | Rick Jarrett Racing | Brian Murray |
| 2001 | Eric Reed | Tremwell Johnson Sport | Eric Reed |
| 2002 | Steve Murray | Old Dominion Racing South | Michael Ashbury |
| 2003 | Rick Jarrett | Rick Jarrett Racing | David Thompson |
| 2004 | Eric Reed | Reed Racing | Kevin Walker |
| 2005 | Rick Jarrett | Rick Jarrett Racing | Woody Watts |
| 2006 | Woody Watts | The Anderson Group | Joe Wells |
| 2007 | Woody Watts | Watts Motorsports | Brandon Burns |
| 2008 | Adrien Devereux | Calton Morel Development Program | Adrien Devereux |
| 2009 | Martin Boltano, Jr. | Rick Milligan Racing | Ricky Flush |
| 2010 | Ricky Flush | White Mountain Motorsports | James Rand |
| 2011 | Gordon Sting | Racing As Usual | Not awarded |
| 2012 | Collin Evans | Evans Motorsports | Not awarded |
| 2013 | Giuseppe Marchetti | RossiniSport | Not awarded |
| 2019 | Mike Falls | Rick Jarrett Racing | Not awarded |
| 2020 | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Race Wins[edit | edit source]
Showing RROL drivers with at least 4 race wins.
Race wins among active RROL drivers
| Wins | Driver |
|---|---|
| 4 | Mike Falls |
| 3 | Frank Azzaretto Charlie Burroughs |
| 2 | Cris Cole Jerry Richson Jeff Wilkens |
| 1 | Alex LaRosa Clay Cooper Chad Birch Chip Pasteur Mercedes Diaz Herbie Beetle Nathan Ormond |
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- When the RROL was first created, the acronym RROL meant Rollin Racing Offline League.
- The RROL is essentially the American Speed Association (ASA) of the TM canon.