The final race weekend of the season is upon us, and with just one regular season round of racing left here in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by Geico Powersports, qualifying would be key for all the drivers still mathematically eligible for the points championships in their respective classes. The drivers would have a beautiful new track to do their work on, as Lucas Oil Off Road has made its maiden voyage here to Firebird International Raceway in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, AZ. The Lucas Oil Off Road team has laid out a fantastic new track, which strings together several high speed runs with some spectacular big jumps, as well as a few new features, including a table top rhythm section and a dual line split section. All of this made for a great afternoon of qualifying under the pleasant Arizona sun, and in case you couldn't make it out, here's what you missed.

Pro 4 Unlimited
First out on track were the fire breathers of Pro 4 Unlimited, and once again it looked like 2010 points champion Rick Huseman was going to have his run of the place. Huseman stormed out the gates with an opening lap of 42.706 seconds in his #36 Monster Energy/Traxxas Toyota, followed in quick succession by a 42.452 and a 42.265. Huseman stayed atop the time sheets for several more laps, despite completing only four laps himself. In the closing moments of the session, however, it was The Wildman, Adrian Cenni and his #11 Atrium Payroll/BFGoodrich Tires Chevrolet, who snagged the top spot away with two blistering laps of 42.167 and 42.150 in the final two laps. Cenni's best lap earned him his first pole of the season, while Huseman's early laps remained good enough to keep him in second place. Third went to reigning champion Carl Renezeder in the #1 Lucas Oil/General Tire Ford, whose best lap was a 42.280, with Kyle LeDuc taking fourth at 42.451 in his #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford, and keeping a gap of just 0.13 seconds between the top four runners! Rounding out the top five was Mike Johnson, who ran a 43.354 in his #31 K&N/Ironclad Ford.

Pro Lite Unlimited
Next up were the little monsters of Pro Lite Unlimited, and again it was the championship frontrunners who locked out nearly all the front spots in qualifying. Points are sure to be paramount for the four drivers who remain mathematically in contention for this year's title, and even the single point given to the pole winner would be valuable. With that in mind, it was Chris Brandt who must've been happy to pick up that point after taking the pole with a best lap of 45.411 seconds, and moving his #82 mavTV/Hart and Huntington Toyota to within just 12 points of points leader Marty Hart going into tomorrow's final race of the championship season. Second in today's qualifying session was Brian Deegan in the #38 Rockstar/Maxxis Tires Ford, whose best lap was a 45.628, while third went to Hart and the #15 Stronghold Motorsports/Kolpin Ford, with a best lap of 46.271. In fourth it was Jimmy Stephensen in the #33 JS Pest Control/Yokohama Tires Nissan, who recorded a best lap of 46.568, and rounding out the top five was Matt Loiodice, who ran a 46.775 in his Impact/Jimco Ford. For tomorrow's race, the four drivers in contention for the title are Hart (championship leader), Brandt (12 points out), Deegan (-27), and Loiodice (-44). Brandt has the best shot at snaking the title from Hart, but must beat Hart by at least six places in order to do so.

Pro 2 Unlimited
Having already wrapped up this season's points championship in Pro 2 Unlimited, Rob MacCachren seems set to be set on stamping his authority on the rest of the field in this final race weekend of the season. Greg Adler took the early lead in today's qualifying session with a 44.578 on the opening lap, then followed it up with a 44.323 on lap two in his #10 4 Wheel Parts/Magnaflow Performance Exhaust Ford. Quickly, though, it was MacCachren who took over at the top, dropping the top time dramatically with a 43.583 on lap four in his #21 Rockstar/Fox Racing Shox Ford. From there on in, MacCachren's lap held, and MacCachren picked up the pole and yet another point to add to his big tally for 2010. Behind him, MacCachren's former protégé, Bryce Menzies, moved up to second in the #7 Blanco Basura/Bully Dog Ford with a 43.785. In third was Carl Renezeder in the #17 General Tire/Team Associated Ford, with a best lap of 43.946, while fourth went to Brian Deegan, whose best time was a 44.028 in his #38 Rockstar/Metal Mulisha Ford. The final spot in the top five went to Rodrigo Ampudia, who turned a 44.169 in his #36 Papas & Beer/Lucas Oil Ford.

Super Lite
With five drivers still alive in the hunt for the Super Lite championship, there was perhaps no other class in which the drivers would be fighting more fiercely for the pole. CJ Greaves grabbed the early lead in his #33 Traxxas/Oakley truck with a 49.747, but was overhauled on lap two by the #92 MoTec/Exotic Engines machine of Brandon Ward, who turned a 49.566. Kyle LeDuc then moved to the top on lap three with a 49.293 in his #24 So Cal Super Trucks/A.O.K. entry, only to have Greaves re-take the lead on lap four with a 48.956. Greaves held the top spot for two more laps, but on the final lap, it was Chad George who bested the field with a 48.529 in his #42 Bull Outdoor Products Inc./Beard Seats machine, taking the pole and the one point that goes with it. Dawson Kirchner also had a fast last lap, turning a 48.882 to grab second in his #16 Speed Technologies truck. Greaves held on to third, with fourth going to Jeff "Ox" Kargola in the #2 General Tire/Lost truck; Kargola's best lap was a 49.201. LeDuc's earlier time held up well enough to keep him in fifth. As far as points are concerned, George's pole position moves him within 21 points of championship leader Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg, while Greaves sits third at 25 points out, Jacob Person fourth at 48 back, and Kirchner fifth at 50 points back.

Pro Buggy Unlimited
Heading into tomorrow's regular season finale, the closest race in any class points chase is that between teammates Larry Job and Cameron Steele in Pro Buggy Unlimited, who are separated by just nine points. Of course, don't forget about Doug Fortin, who is also in the hunt at 22 points back… Steele kicked things off with a 45.714 in his #916 Super Clean/Bully Dog AlumiCraft, with Justin Davis then taking over at the top with a 45.671 in his #985 Green Army Racer. Davis' time held good for several laps, but in the late going, it was Steele who seized the pole position with a 45.160, fully a half second quicker than anyone else. Davis' time held up for second, with third going to Bobby PeCoy in the #973 downloadactionvideo.com/Maxxis Tires AlumiCraft. PeCoy's best lap was a 46.038, while a 46.118 by Mike Porter and the #900 Speed Energy/Redline AlumiCraft was good enough for fourth. Rounding out the top five was points leader Job, who turned a 46.387 in his #907 Rusty/Blanco Basura AlumiCraft. Steele's pole position gives him one extra point, and moves him to within just eight points of Job in the points race, meaning Steele will have to beat his teammate by at least four places tomorrow in order to take the title. Fortin is also still alive, and remains 22 points back.

Limited Buggy
The penultimate class on track for qualifying was Limited Buggy, and it was points leader Justin "Bean" Smith who grabbed the early lead in his #319 Menzies Motorsports/Metal Mulisha Fraley. A 49.415 on lap one was followed by a 49.286 on lap three for Smith, but it was Curt Geer in the #385 Green Army/BDI Bowden Development Inc. Lothringer who overhauled him with a 49.122 to grab the pole. Smith's time was still good enough for second, with Kyle Lucas taking a strong third after running a 49.293 in his #325 Lucas Oil/mavTV buggy. Fourth was Bruce Fraley in the #312 BFGoodrich Tires/Freeman's Carpet Service Fraley (his best lap was a 49.481), and fifth went to Dave Mason, who turned a 49.504 in his #365 Western Motorsports/King Off Road Racing Shocks AlumiCraft. In the points race, Smith remains the leader, with John Fitzgerald now his only challenger at 13 points back; Fitzgerald must beat Smith by at least seven places in tomorrow's race in order to grab the title.

UTV
The final group on track was UTV, with the Unlimited UTVs and the SR1s racing side by side in their bid for pole. Today's UTV qualifying session was all about Ryan Beat, who grabbed the pole on the opening lap with a 46.727 in his #851 Osborn Racing/Black Rhino Yamaha. Keep in mind that Beat's time was only slower than the four fastest Pro Lite Unlimiteds, and faster than any other UTV by nearly three full seconds! While some people might opt to not believe this was possible, Beat backed up that lap with three more that were within 0.457 seconds of his best lap! Second went to the #655 Custom Off Road Design/Simpson Kawasaki of John Dempsey, who was the fastest of the Unlimited UTV drivers with a 49.482. RJ Anderson took third with a 49.705 in his #637 Walker Evans Racing/Goodyear Polaris, with Chad George taking fourth in his #642 Monster Energy/Funco Kawasaki; his best lap was a 49.761. Austin Kimbrell rounded out the top five with a 49.817 in his #607 Monster Energy/UTVUnderground.com Kawasaki. In the points races, George leads Kimbrell and Robert Vanbeekum by 12 and 29 points respectively in the Unlimited UTV battle, while Tyler Herzog leads Corry Weller by 28 in the SR1 fray.
That's all from qualifying here at Firebird. Be sure to get out to this great track to see this season finale weekend for yourself, and of course keep up with all the latest Lucas Oil Off Road happenings at lucasoiloffroad.com.

About the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series:
The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series is the evolution of the long standing support of short course racing by Forrest Lucas and Lucas Oil Products. Steeped in the Midwest tradition of short course off road racing infused with a West Coast influence, Lucas Oil Off Road Racing brings intense four wheel door to door action to challenging, fan friendly tracks. Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series: This is Short Course. For more information please visit LucasOilOffRoad.com

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