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With a stiff wind helping to keep the heat at bay, Miller Motorsports Park was the place to be if you were in the Salt Lake City area today, as the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, brought fans out in their thousands to see Round 7 of the 2012 championship. In just three short years, this venue has rapidly grown in popularity with local supporters, who packed the stands to the brim, including the all-new 1500-seat stands that have just been added at the east end of the track. Fans came in anticipation of some exciting races, and the drivers gave them plenty to tell their friends and co-workers about, as some of the best races of the season unfolded here in this beautiful valley this afternoon. Several drivers came back to the fore here today, as others who'd been breezing through the season hit their first real issues. For all the latest photos, check out our Lucas Oil Flickr Page.  

With a stiff wind helping to keep the heat at bay, Miller Motorsports Park was the place to be if you were in the Salt Lake City area today, as the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, brought fans out in their thousands to see Round 7 of the 2012 championship. In just three short years, this venue has rapidly grown in popularity with local supporters, who packed the stands to the brim, including the all-new 1500-seat stands that have just been added at the east end of the track. Fans came in anticipation of some exciting races, and the drivers gave them plenty to tell their friends and co-workers about, as some of the best races of the season unfolded here in this beautiful valley this afternoon. Several drivers came back to the fore here today, as others who'd been breezing through the season hit their first real issues. For all the latest photos, check out our Lucas Oil Flickr Page.  

Junior 2 Kart

The first race of the day was Junior 2 Kart, and the first leader of the weekend was Trevor Briska in the #459 JH Sims Trucking Co, Inc./Fairview Ford machine. Behind Briska, Travis PeCoy ran second in the #411 Simpson/Fox Racing Shox truck, with Jeremy Davis third in his #485 Green Army/Rigid Industries LED Lighting kart, Shelby Anderson fourth in the #405 Walker Evans Racing/K&N entry, and Dylan Winbury fifth in his #469 Magnum Off-Road/Famous Stars and Straps kart. On lap two, Anderson got by Davis on the inside at turn six, moving her up to third. Briska was then slow out of turn three on the next lap, allowing PeCoy to get by and up to the lead. Two laps later, Winbury also moved up, getting by Davis to take over fourth spot, just ahead of the Competition Yellow. The running order at this point was PeCoy, Briska, Anderson, Winbury, and Davis, but on the restart lap, Briska and Anderson collected in the whoops, dropping them both to the last two positions on track. This was a devastating blow for Anderson, who came into today as the points leader in the class (Anderson was tied with PeCoy at 278 points apiece, but her finishing record put her just ahead under tie-breaking rules). Following Briska's and Anderson's misfortunes, the running order was now PeCoy, Winbury, Broc Dickerson in the #423 Driscoll's Surf 'N' Skate/Black Rhino kart, Davis, and Parker Steele in the #449 Martori Farms/SDHQ Off Road Racing machine. Davis and Steele then got hooked together coming out of turn three on lap nine, dropping them both back several spots, and moving Eliott Watson and Hayden Cling up to fourth and fifth with about a lap and a half remaining. Up front, Winbury had been struggling to find a way to get by PeCoy, and on the final lap, he set up a textbook outside-inside pass heading into the final corner. Driving like a pro, Winbury set up the move several seconds before pulling the trigger, leaving PeCoy plenty of time to cover the inside line. PeCoy didn't defend his spot well enough, though, and Winbury made the move work beautifully, taking the lead and holding it to the checkered flag for the win. PeCoy was an oh-so-close second, with Dickerson third, Watson fourth in the #403 Eibach Springs/Kar Tek Off Road truck, and Cling fifth in the #418 kart.

Junior 1 Kart

Following an exciting Junior 2 Kart race, the Junior 1's would have their moment in the sun. Darren Hardesty Jr. got the early lead in his #231 Bilstein Shock Absorbers/Racer X Motorsports kart, followed by Conner McMullen in the #288 Monster Energy/Kevin McMullen Fabrication & Transaxles machine, Parker Darland in his #241 Alexander Ford/Lincoln/StreetGraFX.com entry, Travis PeCoy in the #211 Hoosier/CMI truck, and Blaze Nunley in the #230 machine. These five drivers held their positions for the first three laps, and opened up a sizeable gap over the rest of the runners. Then on lap four, Darland went wide at the exit of turn six, allowing PeCoy to get by on the inside for third. After another lap, the Competition Yellow came out, and the running order was Hardesty Jr., McMullen, PeCoy, Darland, and Nunley. This order stayed the same after the restart, and through laps seven and eight, but on lap nine, after several laps of trying, McMullen got a great run out of turn six, and pulled alongside Hardesty Jr. coming up to the start/finish line. At the stripe, McMullen just nosed ahead and into the lead, and kept his momentum to lead into turn one. McMullen drove a great final lap to keep the lead he'd had to fight so hard for, and picked up the win, his first since Round 2 back at Firebird. Hardesty Jr. finished second, with PeCoy rounding out the podium in third, Darland taking fourth, and Nunley fifth.

Modified Kart

The Modified Karts came out next, and on this especially tight and technical track, these little rockets looked almost too fast for the track. That didn't stop the drivers from putting on a great race, though, as Brock Heger grabbed the early lead in his #511 Kacon Framing Inc./Walker Evans Racing kart, followed by Myles Cheek, Kyle Hart, Sheldon Creed, and Bradley Morris. Blake Lenk moved up to fifth on lap two, and on the next lap, the battle up front was really raging, as Cheek and Heger went across the start/finish line side by side. Cheek edged his #557 Metal Mulisha/ThyssenKrupp Materials NA kart into the lead heading into turn one, and despite Heger's briefly taking the position back in turn three, Cheek went right back in front in turn four. Just behind, Creed and Lenk collected in turn four, dropping both drivers out of the top five, and sending Creed all the way to the back of the running order. A full course caution was thrown because of this issue, which handily doubled as the Competition Yellow, and the running order was now Cheek, Heger, Hart, Cole Mamer, and Morris in the top five. On the restart lap, a multi-kart incident at turn three involving Lenk, Hart, and Mamer brought out another full-course caution, and after another restart, Cheek and Heger still ran one-two, with Morris now third in the #504 Trophy Kart entry, Gavin Harlien fourth in the #555 Full Tilt Trophy Karts/Simpson machine, and Jeff Hoffman fifth in his #547 BRT Signs/Cactus Asphalt entry. From here, the top five drivers held their positions, and it was Cheek who got his first win since clear back in Round 1, ahead of Heger, Morris, Harlien, and Hoffman.

Limited Buggy

First out on the full-length track were the Limited Buggies, and leading the field at the end of the first lap was points leader John Fitzgerald in the #314 BFGoodrich Tires/Simpson buggy. Behind him, Dillon Ayers was briefly running second, but then received the black flag for opening lap contact with Curt Geer. This promoted Kevin McCullough to second in his #389 Gear One/LAT Racing Oil Geiser, and Geer to third in the #310 Riot Racing/Yokohama Fraley. Keaton Swane ran fourth in the #323 Bradford White Water Heaters/Everflux buggy, and Bradley Morris sat in fifth in his #304 Lucas Oil/K&N Penhall. On lap three, Morris got around Swane to take over fourth, while up front, Geer had gotten by McCullough and was now challenging Fitzgerald for the lead. Geer, filling in for an injured Jordan Poole this weekend, appeared to have an obviously faster car, and seemed to be simply biding his time before trying to make a pass on Fitzgerald. When he finally went for the move, Geer made it stick, nosing ahead out of turn four, and holding his momentum through turn five to pull away and into the lead. At the Competition Yellow, the top five was made up by Geer, Fitzgerald, McCullough, Morris, and Swane, with Morris quickly getting by McCullough for third on the restart lap. Two laps later, Ayers moved back into the top five after charging from the back following his early black flag, but despite a couple of strong attempts, he was able to make any further headway up the order. At the front of the pack, Geer must have felt some redemption from the struggles he's endured as a rookie in the Pro Lite Unlimited division this season, as he went right back to the winner's circle in his first race back in this class. Fitzgerald finished second, followed by Morris in third, McCullough in fourth, and Ayers in fifth.

Pro 4 Unlimited

Following Opening Ceremonies, the Pro 4 Unlimited drivers fired up their monstrous engines in preparation for their all-out assault on the course. All eyes were on Kyle LeDuc, and everyone was wondering if he could continue his six-race winning streak. However, it was Kyle's brother, Todd LeDuc, who grabbed the early lead in his #7 Rockstar/Makita Ford, with his usual teammate Rob MacCachren, filling in for Greg Adler (who is absent as he and his wife welcome a new baby to the family- congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Adler!) in the #10 4 Wheel Parts/BFGoodrich Tires Ford, running second. Carl Renezeder had slotted in third in the #1 Lucas Oil/General Tire Nissan, ahead of Josh Merrell in the #22 MavTV/Hart and Huntington Ford, and Kyle LeDuc in the #99 Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Ford. Kyle moved up to fourth on lap two, while just ahead, Renezeder was really working the inside line as he tried to find a way past MacCachren. Renezeder finally got the job done at turn one on lap four, with Kyle LeDuc quickly following suit in the next corner as MacCachren struggled to get straightened out after having been forced a little wide by Renezeder. Renezeder now had his sights on Todd LeDuc, but Todd wasn't going to just give Renezeder the lead. Despite Renezeder having an obviously quicker truck, LeDuc drove his lines perfectly, and refused to give Renezeder an inch as he protected his lead. Behind them, MacCachren pulled off with a mechanical issue, promoting Eric Barron to fourth, and Travis Coyne to fifth. The Competition Yellow then came out, and it was still Todd LeDuc out front, followed by Renezeder, Kyle LeDuc, Barron in the #32 Maxxis/Rancho Performance Drivetrain Toyota, and Coyne in the #5 ProComp/Team Associated Ford. Kyle LeDuc's truck was looking and sounding somewhat off, and his chances of winning seemed truly slim for the first time this year.  

Todd LeDuc got a good restart, while all those behind seemed to be caught dozing, but Renezeder quickly charged up to LeDuc's back bumper once again. Behind them, Kyle LeDuc's issue had now revealed itself more obviously, as a troubled right front suspension forced LeDuc to back off; all hopes of keeping his streak alive had been dashed. Up front, Todd LeDuc was still holding off Renezeder, but being forced wide at turn one by Renezeder, he was finally forced to concede the lead. LeDuc mounted a momentary counter-attack, and got right back to Renezeder's bumper by lap's end, but the pace of the 97-time race winner was too strong, and Renezeder flew home to break an uncharacteristically-long winless streak that had stretched back to last November. Renezeder's 98th win puts him now just two shy of that magic century mark, and with enough races left this weekend for him to take those wins, Miller Motorsports Park could see some special history tomorrow. Todd LeDuc picked up a fine second place, ahead of Barron in third (his first podium), Ryan Beat in the #46 eBay Motors/Hart and Huntington Ford in fourth (his best finish in this class), and local favorite Jerry Daugherty in fifth in the #23 E3 Spark Plugs/Racin Dirty Chevrolet.

Pro Buggy Unlimited

After a four-position inversion of yesterday's qualifying results, Eric Fitch started on the pole in his #97 General Tire/Action Auto Racing Foddrill, but was unable to capitalize on that good fortune, as he got out of shape at the end of the whoop section and spun out on the opening lap. This held up several drivers, and helped put Doug Fortin into the lead in his #96 Fortin Racing, Inc./BFGoodrich Tires Racer, and Fortin was followed by Mike Porter, Steven Greinke, Dave Mason Jr., and Larry Job in the top five. The top five held their positions for the first four laps, with Fortin and Porter pulling away up front. On lap five, Garrett George moved up to fifth in his #71 Anenberg/Yokohama Funco, and at the head of the field, Fortin was now opening up a gap on Porter as he continued to lead. At the Competition Yellow, Fortin led Porter, Greinke, Mason Jr., and George in the top five, and on the restart, a bunch-up at the exit of turn four caught slowed Porter, Greinke, Mason Jr., and George, handing Fortin some extra cushion. George picked up a spot after the bunch-up, and on the next lap, he moved up to a podium position when Greinke bicycled in turn three and left the door open on the inside. Greinke quickly tried to battle back, and a hot race for third opened up between he and Greinke, with Mason Jr. waiting patiently on Greinke's back bumper for either George or Greinke to make even the smallest mistake. A rollover by Robb Harvey then brought out a full course caution, and the running order was the same up front when racing resumed. However, George got tangled up in turn one on the restart, dropping him to the back of the pack, painstakingly close to the end of the race. George's misfortune put Greinke back up to third, with Job now fourth and Mason Jr. fifth. From this point, the running order in the top five stayed the same, and despite a strong charge by Porter, it was Fortin who picked up his third win on the trot, followed by Porter in the #8 Mickey Thompson/Redline Performance Alumi Craft, Greinke in the #23 SC Fuels/Concourse Racer, Job in the #7 Supercross.com/Toyo Tires Alumi Craft, and Mason Jr. in the #65 Competitive Metals/Jamar Alumi Craft.

Pro Lite Unlimited

Starting from the front row after the inversion from qualifying, Ryan Beat and Chris Brandt ran one-two after the first lap in Pro Lite Unlimited. RJ Anderson ran third, with Brian Deegan fourth and Noah Fouch fifth. Brandt pulled off early, moving Anderson, Deegan, and Fouch up, and Bradley Morris into the top five in his #24 GoldStar Asphalt!/K&N Ford. A rollover by Aaron Daugherty then brought out a full course caution, and the running order up front stayed the same on the restart. On lap six, a bicycle in turn six by Anderson allowed Deegan to get by and up to second, while a bit further back, Matt Cook was really pushing to get past Morris, and managed to do so on that same lap in his #55 Supercross.com/Loctite Toyota. Up front, Deegan then made a pass for the lead, going inside Beat at turn four. Cook moved up again as well, passing Fouch for fourth, and was now challenging for third as Anderson was focused ahead on trying to pass Beat. At the Competition Yellow, Deegan led the running order up front, followed by Beat, Anderson, Cook, and Fouch, with Fouch getting by Cook on the restart. Cook got the position back with a wild pass at turn three, then muscled by Anderson at turn five to move into the top three. Another full course caution was thrown when Daugherty had more problems, which caused him to stop on track, and when racing resumed, Anderson got pushed into the infield at turn two. The young driver kept his head about him, though, and kept his foot in it well enough to re-join the pack several spots down the order, somewhere around eighth place. The running order was now Deegan, Beat, Cook, Fouch, and Morris in the top five, with Fouch then spinning out at the exit of turn one, and dropping well back. Cook then rolled at turn four, which brought out yet another full course caution, and with just a few laps to go, there were carnage-wrought trucks littering the track, some moving and some not. A green-white-checkers finish was called for, and on the restart, Smith got by Morris on the inside at turn two, moving him up to third. The top five kept their spots safe on the final lap, and it was Deegan who drove a masterful race to pick up the win in his #38 Rockstar/Makita Ford, ahead of Beat in the #51 Premiere Motorsports Group/Black Rhino Ford and Smith in the #19 Competitive Metals/BFGoodrich Tires Ford (both of whom scored their first podiums in this class), Morris, and Kimbrell in the #88 Toyo Tires/Fiberwerx Ford.

Super Lite

In Super Lite, #5 General Tire/Valli Construction driver Ryan Hagy had the early lead, ahead of Jessie Johnson, Sheldon Creed, Drew Britt, and Kyle Lucas. Hagy slid straight ahead in a very wet turn three on the second lap, getting up into the outside k-rail, and dropping to second place behind Johnson. Creed then passed Hagy for second, and on the next lap, a half spin by Johnson in that same slick turn three put Creed up into the lead.  

With a running order of Creed, Hagy, Britt, Dawson Kirchner, and Johnson in the top five, Creed led for several laps, but just before the Competition Yellow, he bobbled out of turn two, and was slow up the ramp of the tabletop on the back straight. This allowed Hagy to close right in, and with momentum in his favor, Hagy made the pass for the lead, which he held through the Competition Yellow. At this point, Creed ran second in his #74 BFGoodrich Tires/Fox Racing Shox entry, with Britt third in the #7 Source Refrigeration and HVAC/Mickey Thompson truck, Johnson fourth in the #15 SoCal Super Trucks/Speed Energy entry, and Lucas fifth in the #11 Lucas Oil/Howard Packaging machine. Lucas moved up to fourth on the restart lap, while at the head of the field, Hagy was starting to pull away a little bit. Just as Hagy was getting some breathing room, though, Creed and Britt started to close him down again, and just behind, Johnson and Kirchner were doing the same thing to fourth-placed Lucas. Kirchner moved past Johnson for fifth, and at the white flag, it was Hagy, Creed, Britt, Lucas, and Kirchner in the top five. Hagy looked to finally have that elusive first win in his grasp, but nerves must have gotten to him, as him went wide out of turn one and up into the outside k-rail on the final lap. Hagy was able to continue, but as several drivers streaked past, all hopes of a win today were gone. Creed got the lead, and kept himself there through the checkers to get the win, his fourth of the year, with Britt taking his fourth second place of the season. Kirchner and Johnson had a great drag race from the final corner to the checkers, and Kirchner came out on top, a fine result after his spinning out just before the Competition Yellow. Johnson finished fourth, and Noah Fouch rounded out the top five in his #21 Fouch Racing/Fox Racing Shox truck.

Pro 2 Unlimited

The final race of the day was Pro 2 Unlimited, and it was Jeff Geiser in the #44 Mickey  Thompson/Canidae Chevrolet who led the field past the stripe after lap one. Hot on his heels was a bevy of talent, with Brian Deegan in second, Marty Hart in third, Rodrigo Ampudia in fourth, and Rob Naughton in fifth. Justin Davis' truck came to a stop between turns one and two, which forced a full course caution on lap two, and although Davis was able to get re-fired, he had dropped to the back of the pack. Racing resumed, and the running order in the top five stayed the same for several laps, until lap six, when all of the sudden, Deegan simply dove on Geiser, and pulled a beautiful sliding pass for the lead in turn three. Now out front, Deegan began to distance himself slightly from those behind, and at the Competition Yellow, he and his #38 Rockstar/Makita Ford picked up the bonus championship point for leading at this point, with Geiser still second, Hart third in the #15 ReadyLift Off Road Suspension/GearUp2Go.com Ford, Ampudia fourth in the #36 Papas & Beer/Lucas Oil Ford, and Naughton fifth in the #54 Lunar Pages Web Hosting/Hart and Huntington Ford. This order stayed the same on the restart lap, as well as the lap after that, but on lap thirteen, a brief electrical issue slowed Ampudia for a few seconds, which was all that was needed to allow no less than eight drivers to get by him- that's how competitive this class is! Ampudia's misfortune moved Rob MacCachren up to fourth in the #21 Rockstar/Makita Ford, with Naughton still sitting fifth; MacCachren had put in a stellar charge from the back of the pack after having spun on the opening lap to avoid hitting Geiser. Up front, Deegan now had a good gap over his competitors, and the real racing was going on for the positions behind him. Patrick Clark moved his #52 Patrick Clark Racing/Eibach Springs Chevrolet past Naughton to take over fifth spot, and just ahead, the battle for second was really heating up between Geiser, Hart, and MacCachren. MacCachren had just managed to pass Hart, and was now trying to get by Geiser, when he just got into Geiser in turn one and caused him to spin. MacCachren got the black flag for his actions, but with three laps allotted to serve his penalty and less than three laps remaining, he chose to stay out on track. Up front, Deegan had really stretched out his lead, and he came home on top to pick up his 25th career Lucas Oil Off Road win- congratulations Brian! Second went to Hart, with MacCachren finishing third physically, but then being moved to the last position on the lead lap (12th) in the results. This moved Clark up to third (his first podium in the class), Naughton to fourth, and Robby Woods to fifth in the #99 Lucas Slick Mist/General Tire Ford, a fine performance on this, the debut of Woods' all-new truck, which only arrived here last night.

Today's racing was good, but history tells us that tomorrow's race should be even better, so be sure to get out here to Miller Motorsports Park and see for yourself. Gates will again open to the public at 9:00am, with racing starting at 12:00 noon, and Opening Ceremonies at 2:00pm. The stands were packed early today, so make sure you get here ASAP to get your favorite spot!

Written by Scott Neth for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series

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