The 2021 Stadium Super Trucks Series was the ninth season of the Stadium Super Trucks. The season began with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on April 24–25 and ended at the Grand Prix of Long Beach on September 24–26.
Matthew Brabham finished on the podium in each of the ten races and won twice to claim his third consecutive championship. This broke a three-way tie with Robby Gordon and Sheldon Creed for the most titles, and the former finished second in points.
The Grand Prix of Long Beach, which had hosted the trucks since the inaugural season in 2013 but was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, returned for 2021.[6] As a precaution with the pandemic ongoing, the race was moved from its traditional April slot to September.[7] The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, also an IndyCar Series street circuit, returned to the SST schedule for the first time since 2017.[8][6] June and July weekends at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with the NASCAR Xfinity Series and IndyCar, respectively, both of which last took place in 2019, were also added to the slate.[9] The series also joined IndyCar at the inaugural Music City Grand Prix in Nashville.[10][11]
On March 18, SST announced it had partnered with the newly formed Great American Shortcourse (GAS) series to hold a season finale together in Southern California in November.[12] However, GAS ultimately conducted its own weekend at Glen Helen Raceway without SST involvement while series head Robby Gordon was at the Baja 1000.[13][14]
In addition to series regulars Gordon, Matthew Brabham, and Bill Hynes, the season opener at St. Petersburg marked the returns of Jett Noland and Gordon's 12-year-old son Max, both of whom debuted in 2020; Arie Luyendyk Jr., who won in the trucks' most recent race weekend; and reigning NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Sheldon Creed, the winningest driver in SST history.[1] Robert Stout, a sports car racer and the 2019 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Production 1000 UTV champion, made his SST debut in the first race of a full-time season, while former NASCAR Truck Series driver Bo LeMastus was a late entrant.[15][16] Creed held off Brabham to win both races.[17]
Preceding the first Mid-Ohio weekend, Xfinity Series driver Justin Allgaier participated in practice and qualifying; he was sixth of eight drivers.[18] Creed won the first race but retired from the second with a transmission failure that enabled Gordon to win.[19][20] Other drivers in the field included Aaron Bambach, who was running his first race since 2018, and NASCAR Cup Series veteran Greg Biffle.[2] The second weekend at Mid-Ohio saw Hynes return after skipping the first due to scheduling conflicts; Noland and LeMastus also made their returns along with Jerett Brooks, who last made an SST start at the 2019 Race of Champions.[3] Brabham swept the weekend.[21] The end of the first race saw a fight between Hynes and LeMastus regarding LeMastus' aggressive driving against Max Gordon, with LeMastus removing his helmet and throwing his steering wheel at Hynes before the latter spiked the former's helmet.[22]
The Music City Grand Prix weekend saw the returns of Ricky Johnson and Jeff Ward, both of whom last raced in 2013, and the debuts of NASCAR's Stanton Barrett and the Indy Pro 2000 Championship's Jacob Abel.[4]Crosley Brands assumed naming rights for the weekend, which dubbed the series the Crosley Stadium Super Trucks, and sponsored the trucks of LeMastus, Johnson, Ward, Luyendyk, and Abel; Ricky Howerton was initially scheduled to drive before being replaced by Abel.[23] Gordon won the first race while Stout scored his maiden series victory in the second ahead of Abel.[24][25]
Newcomers at Long Beach included rally raid driver Christian Sourapas, former motorcycle racer Brandon Parrish, and GT4 America Series competitor Mads Siljehaug. Zoey Edenholm, who made her SST debut in 2020, returned to the series.[5] Operating on a "pretty smart" strategy of conserving his brakes, Brooks won the first race after starting at the back.[26] Gordon won the second race to score his fourth victory at Long Beach and break a tie with Brabham for the most at the street circuit.[27]
^ abNguyen, Justin (April 21, 2021). "SST Grand Prix of St. Petersburg entry list revealed". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
^ abNguyen, Justin (June 4, 2021). "SST Mid-Ohio entry list revealed". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
^ abNguyen, Justin (July 2, 2021). "SST entry list revealed for Mid-Ohio Indy weekend". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
^ abNguyen, Justin (July 29, 2021). "13 drivers form SST Nashville grid". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
^ abNguyen, Justin (September 22, 2021). "SST Long Beach entry list features 13". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
^ abNguyen, Justin (March 17, 2021). "SST returning to St. Petersburg, first races since 2017". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
^"Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Postponed to Sept. 24-26". Grand Prix of Long Beach. December 17, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
^"Public Ticket Sales Begin Thursday for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg". Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. March 17, 2021. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
^Nguyen, Justin (May 26, 2021). "SST set for Mid-Ohio return as Xfinity undercard". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
^Organ, Mike (July 9, 2021). "Robby Gordon's Stadium Super Trucks joining Music City IndyCar Grand Prix". The Tennessean. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
^"SST Added To Nashville IndyCar Weekend". Stadium Super Trucks. July 14, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
^"GAS announces partnership with SST series". Ultra4 Racing. March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
^"This Week at Glen Helen: Great American Shortcourse, SoCal old timers, Stacyc Fall Series & Mud Factor Run". Motocross Action Magazine. November 9, 2021. Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
^"Arma Robby un equipazo para la 1000" [Team Robby a great team for the 1000]. El Vigía. November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
^"Robert Stout set to chase the 2021 Speed Energy Stadium SUPER Truck Championship!". Robert Stout (Press release). April 19, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
^Nguyen, Justin (April 24, 2021). "Bo LeMastus last-minute entry for St. Petersburg, SST debut". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
^Nguyen, Justin (April 25, 2021). "Sheldon Creed completes St. Petersburg sweep". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
^Nguyen, Justin (June 4, 2021). "Matt Brabham leads SST Mid-Ohio practice, Justin Allgaier makes guest appearance". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
^Nguyen, Justin (June 6, 2021). "Sheldon Creed, Robby Gordon win in SST's Mid-Ohio Xfinity weekend". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
^Hamilton, Rob (June 14, 2021). "Allmendinger tops at Mid-Ohio". Galion Inquirer. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
^Hamilton, Rob (July 5, 2021). "Newgarden wins at Mid-Ohio". Galion Inquirer. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
^Blackstock, Elizabeth (July 4, 2021). "This Stadium Super Trucks Fight Has More Layers Than You Think". Jalopnik. G/O Media. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
^"Crosley Announces Driver Line Up for Crosley Stadium Super Truck Racing Events". Crosley Brands (Press release). Williamson Source. August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
^Organ, Mike (August 7, 2021). "Josef Newgarden and Jimmie Johnson crash in qualifying for IndyCar Music City Grand Prix". The Tennessean. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
^Organ, Mike (August 8, 2021). "Marcus Ericsson wins IndyCar Music City Grand Prix". The Tennessean. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
^Morales, Robert (September 25, 2021). "Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: Jerett Brooks wins first of two Super Stadium Trucks races". Press-Telegram. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
^Nguyen, Justin (September 27, 2021). "Robby Gordon becomes SST Long Beach all-time winner with Race 2 triumph". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
^"Round 1 – St. Petersburg – 4/24/21". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
^"Round 2 – St. Petersburg – 4/25/21". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved June 7, 2021.