Dawson Kirchner

Horsepower was virtually a birthright for Dawson Kirchner. With drag racers on both sides of the family tree and a stepfather who has dominated off-road racing, it was only a question of which vehicle’s throttle 17-year-old Dawson would be pegging, and what surface would accommodate his need for speed. After learning to race on go-karts, and a stint in motocross racing, Dawson has found a home in the cockpit of a SuperLite truck, as one of the emerging young stars of Speed Technologies on the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series.

Kirchner took the checkered flag in the November 2010 stop of the racing series in Las Vegas, and is a threat to win on each stop of the tour. Under the tutelage of the some of the heavyweights of off-road racing on the Speed Technologies crew — like Baja 1000 champion Chuck Dempsey — Kirchner has been able to hone his off-road racing skills to squeeze the most speed out of his SuperLite truck.

The work has paid off. In a short season and a half on the SuperLite tour, Kirchner has amassed eight podium finishes, and is one of the top five racers in points in the 2010 SuperLite Championship Series.

His SuperLite success has come as he regularly competes against opponents a decade older than him, and shows that the 17-year-old has learned the pragmatic tactics needed to dominate the dirt track.

And perhaps the only thing more impressive than Kirchner’s early-age success in a SuperLite truck is his potential in the sport of off-road racing. Kirchner’s mature racing skills are being matched with a support network that is perhaps one of the finest in the industry. He lives on a 260-acre property in Somis, Calif. with an off-road truck track and motocross track right out the back door. And his stepfather, Speed Technologies owner John Harrah, has tapped Kirchner into a racing team that provides some of the top race knowledge and race track practice facilities in the nation.

With SuperLite success already under his belt, a test track in his backyard, and the gift of a family tradition steeped in off-road racing — Dawson Kirchner is racing his way into the spotlight of SuperLite racing, and into a bright future in the world of off-road racing.

  • BIRTH DATE: March 16, 1993
  • PERSONAL RIDE: 2007 Toyota Tacoma
  • RACE VEHICLE: SuperLite Truck
  • 2009 OFF-ROAD RACE SERIES: Lucas Oil Offroad Series
  • MOST MEMORABLE RACE: It would have to be my first race in the SuperLite and finishing fourth the second day.
  • ACCOMPLISHMENTS: The fact that my first time in a truck practicing at Glen Helen I had a faster lap time than Chuck Dempsey!
  • 2009 RACING OBJECTIVES: I want to be on the podium in the first place spot!
  • PARTNERS: Speed Technologies, Bully Dog, General Tire, Alpinestars Lucas Oil, Exotic Engines, Safety Kleen, Ringers Gloves