Big turnout expected for the
30th annual Xtream Rock Island Grand Prix
ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS — The Xtream Rock Island Grand Prix presented by The Hemp Doctor, the world’s largest and most prestigious karting street race, will roll into its third decade on August 30-31, 2025. Once again it will feature race classes for 2 cycle, 4 cycle, shifter and Vintage racers.
After a one-year shift to an alternate course, RIGP officials expect to move back to the old course, a portion of which was completely renovated as part of an $8 million downtown improvement project in Rock Island. The result will be smooth concrete, no broken water pipes in the winter that result in street patches in the Spring, less manholes, and the potential for some track changes.
In 2025 Rock Island Grand Prix Scholarships from Simpson Motorsports-STL will be awarded to winners of King of the Streets, Masters Shifter and 100cc King of The Rock races. Winners receive paid entry fee, 2 sets of tires, oil and gas paid for,
These Scholarship awards are on top of guaranteed purses of $1,000, $500 and $250 to first, second and third place finishers in all three King classes. All drivers are eligible to enter the 3 King races if they have entered another race in the same engine class.
Huge crowds are again expected as in 2024, when despite the downtown challenges, the race drew an all-time high of more than 19,769 race fans over the two-day event – the majority for the Sunday Feature races. That was up from 17,900 in 2023 and 11,000 in 2022. While most fans were from Illinois and Iowa, there were also guests from 26 other states, according to a study done by Visit Quad-Cities, the local convention and visitor’s bureau, and Datafy by tracking cell phones. Besides fans from the local region, significant numbers also came from Chicago, Cedar Rapids/Waterloo/Dubuque, Champaign/Springfield, Des Moines, Ames, Peoria/Bloomington, Quincy/Hannibal, St. Louis and Rockford. More than 4,000 fans came from outside the region.
“Racing at Rock Island is a bucket list race or an annual spectacle for many racers,” said Roger Ruthhart of the Grand Prix. “I guarantee racing here, with all the challenges you won’t find on a kart track, will make you a better racer. Racing in front of 20,000 people is also something most kart racers, their teams and sponsors never experience. The whole weekend, including the free Saturday night concert where racers mingle with race fans, is something special too.”
Classes and rules will be released early in 2025. For the latest information follow the Grand Prix on social media or visit racerockisland.info .
The steady growth of fans at the Grand Prix follows trends elsewhere in the Quad-Cities which has a solid and growing tourism base. Visitor spending grew in 2023, according to data from Visit Quad Cities, with the increase driven by overnight hotel stays, day trips, meetings, conventions, sporting events and group tours. The region saw a 5 percent year-over-year increase in total visitor spending, reaching more than $1.37 billion in 2023 and supporting 9,346 jobs. Rock Island County grew year-over-year in direct visitor spending by 7.2 percent, beating the Illinois state average of 6.5 percent. Scott County, Iowa, realized an increase of 6.2 percent in direct visitor spending year-over-year against the state average of 5.1 percent. In 2023 Datafy showed that on average, 13.5 million visitor-days were spent in the Quad-Cities.
“As racers who have been here before have discovered, the area offers lot to do off the track so we encourage people to come early or stay on Monday, Labor Day,” said Ruthhart. “Besides the Grand Prix, we host professional baseball, hockey and arena football, a July PGA golf tournament, 2 dirt stock car tracks, dirt and asphalt kart tracks and one of the oldest drag strips in the country, as well as tons of amateur sporting events. Rock Island was home to one of the original teams in the National Football League.
“Our music and arts heritage dates back over a century as does John Deere with its international headquarters and museum in Moline. The Rock Island Arsenal military base, created in 1816 as Fort Armstrong, is much more than just an army base,” Ruthhart added. “Rock Island itself has been here since 1835 and for many years was home to the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, “The Rock Island Line”. It’s also been home to Augustana College since 1875.”
“People gravitate toward the uniqueness and vibrancy of places,” said Dave Herrell, CEO of Visit Quad-Cities. “We always try to show off the momentum that’s happening in the Quad-Cities.” For more information go to visitquadcities.com
Ruthhart encourages racers to make plans early. The room block for the Grand Prix at the Holiday Inn is waiting and it’s easy to get here. More than 159,000 passengers passed through the Quad Cities International Airport in Moline last year with direct flights from Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Orlando, Phoenix-Mesa, St. Pete-Clearwater, Charlotte, Atlanta and Las Vegas. Interstate highways 80, 88, 280 and 74 all pass through the area.
Rock Island is located in an area known as the Quad-Cities, equally divided between Illinois and Iowa, with a metropolitan population of 400,000. It is home to the Rock Island Arsenal military base and corporate headquarters for John Deere in Moline, Ill. It is served by the Quad-City International Airport and is at the intersection of Interstate highways 80, 74, 88 and 280.
The race has featured competitive teams from 39 states as well as 11 foreign teams and 13 foreign winners.
Sponsors for the event include: Mediacom, The Hemp Doctor, Briggs & Stratton Racing, Simpson Motorsports, Bally’s Quad-Cities Casino & Hotel, National Karting Alliance, Margay Racing and Hoosier Kartsport, O’Reilly Auto Parts, MG Tires, Modern Woodmen Financial/ Joe Schurr agent, Group O, Illinois Casualty Co., Neilson Trucking, Shaw Electric, Halligan McCabe DeVries Funeral Home, Hiland Toyota, Lincoln Electric, Speedway Fire & Rescue, RLV Tuned Exhaust, CBS TV4 / Fox 18 and CW, the local iHeart Radio stations: Big 106.5, Fox Sports QC, WOC and WLLR, QC Sports Net, Schurr Power Racing Engines and Tyler Schurr Racing, Sunbelt Rentals, Johannes Bus Service, C&W and Sons Trucking, Holiday Inn Rock Island, eKartingNews.com, Key Auto Mall Moline, Gas & Electric Credit Union, Rogan Scale, Triple E Sales, Duncalf Racing, Fastenal, Hughes Tire, RIGP Corner Workers and 61 Kartway.