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Big Names Up Front in Round 9 Qualifying |
August 05, 2011 |
After a highly successful couple of rounds at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, now makes its triumphant return to the lights of Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, CA. Racing here is always a big hit with local fans, as this is the heart of the sport beats strong and proud here in so-cal. Qualifying position is all-important at this track, something all drivers had in the back of their minds in today’s qualifying sessions. The drivers took to the track here on a beautiful, sunny summer afternoon, and in case you couldn’t be here, read on to find out what you missed.
Pro 4 Unlimited
After what he might have deemed a “disastrous” weekend at Miller Motorsports Park, Rick Huseman came charging back with a vengeance in qualifying here at Glen Helen this afternoon. The Pro 4 Unlimited qualifying session was all about the local Riverside native, who led the field from the first lap with a 44.800 in his #36 Monster Energy/E3 Spark Plugs Toyota. Huseman followed up his opening lap with a 44.662 on lap three, a 44.624 on lap five, and a 44.507 to take the pole on lap six. The only driver close to Huseman was new points leader Carl Renezeder, whose best lap of 44.638 was good enough for second in his #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire Ford. Third went to Todd LeDuc with a 45.374 in the #4 Rockstar/Makita Ford, with Greg Adler (driving for an injured Travis Coyne) taking fourth in the #5 ProComp/Team Associated Ford with a 45.956. Rounding out the top five was Curt LeDuc in the #43 Rockstar/Makita Ford; his best time was a 46.029.
Pro Buggy Unlimited
Pro Buggy Unlimited was the second class to take to the track today, and it was Round 8 winner Cody Freeman who grabbed the top spot early in his #2 Race Fuel Energy Drink/Freeman’s Carpet Service Racer, setting the time to beat at 49.520. Freeman’s time held up for two laps, but it was then Justin Davis, back in action after missing the two rounds in Utah, who stole the top spot away with a 49.353 on lap three in his #85 Green Army/CBR Performance Products Racer. Davis was then pipped on the following lap by Steven Greinke in the #23 SC Fuels/BFGoodrich Tires Racer, whose time of 48.668 would hold up for the balance of the session to give him pole position. Doug Fortin took second with a 49.119 in his #96 Fortin Racing, Inc./Fox Racing Shox Racer, while Freeman bettered his earlier time to take third with a 49.314. Davis’ early time turned out to be his best as he wound up fourth, and fifth went to Jerry Whelchel with a 49.404.
Pro Lite Unlimited
Pro Lite Unlimited qualifying was certainly the most eventful session of the afternoon, with Rodrigo Ampudia falling victim to a lost front wheel, and Stephan Papadakis taking a nasty tumble that will certainly keep his crew busy tonight and tomorrow (Papadakis was ok). At the head of the field, Cameron Steele had the field covered after lap one in his #16 Stronghold Motorsports/Monster Energy Ford, setting the benchmark at 49.228. After a couple of slow laps that followed Ampudia’s and Papadakis’ incidents, Kyle LeDuc just edged ahead of Steele by seven thousandths of a second to move to the head of the field in his #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford. The lap at the X Games, Deegan put in a blistering 48.073 to trounce the field by nearly eight tenths of a second- no small feat on this short, fast track. Second went to Steele, who improved to a 48.831, while third went to Chris Brandt in the #82 Aero Motorsports/BFGoodrich Tires Toyota, who at 48.834, was just three thousandths of a second out of second place! LeDuc wasn’t far behind either after improving to a 48.866 to take fourth, and Ryan Beat, back in action in this class after racing only his UTV in Utah, took a fine fifth place with a 49.419 in the #51 Black Rhino/Fiberwerx Ford.
Super Lite
The battle for pole in Super Lite was, for the most part between Jessie Johnson and Dawson Kirchner this afternoon. Kirchner drew first blood with a 53.549 in his #16 Torchmate CNC Cutting Systems/General Tire machine, but was quickly surpassed by Johnson, who turned a 53.349 on the next lap in the #15 Lowe’s/MasterCraft Safety entry. Kirchner re-took the top spot on the following lap with a 52.520, but was again answered by a 51.966 from Johnson on the very next lap. Johnson’s time went un-answered for the remaining laps, and he ended up the pole sitter, with Patrick Clark sneaking in a 52.126 in the #25 BFGoodrich Tires/Method Race Wheels machine to nab second. Kirchner’s lap three time was good enough for third, with Austin Kimbrell finishing fourth at a 52.591 in his #88 Kimbrell Racing truck, and Kirchner’s younger brother Wyatt taking fifth at a 52.670 in his #26 Bull Outdoor Products, Inc./Speed Racing entry.
Pro 2 Unlimited
In perhaps the most fiercely-contested class of this series, Pro 2 Unlimited is one class where starting up front will almost certainly play a pivotal role in the outcome of any driver’s race, and that’s something that every driver in this field knows. Jeremy McGrath turned his best lap on the opening lap in his #2 Monster Energy/ReadyLift Ford, topping the field with a 46.361. Lap two saw Greg Adler, picking up right where he left off here at Glen Helen back in May, move to the front with a 46.088 in his #10 4 Wheel Parts/Speed Energy Ford. Adler’s time held up for a couple of laps, until Rob MacCachren came along and upped the ante to 45.961 in his #1 Rockstar/MasterCraft Safety Ford. MacCachren looked to have the field covered, but Adler wasn’t going to lie down easily, and edged back ahead on lap six with a 45.916, a time that would hold up for the rest of the session to give him the pole. MacCachren’s time was still quick enough for second, while Robby Woods moved up to third with a 46.166 in his #99 Lucas Slick Mist/General Tire Chevrolet. McGrath’s early time netted him fourth place, and rounding out the top five was Rob Naughton, with a time of 46.409 in his #54 ReadyLift/Stronghold Motorsports Ford.
Limited Buggy
Following some vital track repair (Pro 2 Unlimiteds always leave their marks), a host of Limited Buggies took to the track, and it was John Fitzgerald who had the fastest first lap. A 53.059 meant that Fitzgerald was atop the time sheets early in his #314 Aero Motorsports/Wik’s Racing Engines buggy, but after a couple of laps , was bested by a 52.366 from Geoffrey Cooley in the #322 Competitive Metals/MasterCraft Safety AlumiCraft. Cooley’s lap held up through lap five, when Bradley Morris’ 51.817 moved him into the lead, where he would remain at the session’s end in his #304 Lucas Oil/K&N Filters AlumiCraft. Cooley improved to a 51.922, which kept him in second, ahead of Curt Geer, who took third with a 52.418 in his #385 Vleet/Lakeshore Homes and Stables Lothringer. Quentin Tucker came home fourth with a 52.499 in his #377 General Tire/USA Wheel buggy, and fifth went to Dave Mason, whose best lap was a 52.575 in the #365 BFGoodrich Tires/B&R Buggie AlumiCraft.
UTV
The final “big track” qualifying session of the day was that of the UTVs, with both the Unlimited and SR1 classes running together once again. RJ Anderson topped the combined field after the first lap, turning a 51.905 in his #637 Walker Evans Racing/HolzRacingProducts.com Polaris Unlimited UTV. For three laps, Anderson’s time went unbeaten, and would wind up only being bested by a single SR1. On lap four, Ryan Beat made his new #851 Hart and Huntington/Black Rhino SR1 really move, and he grabbed the SR1 and overall poles with a 51.433. Anderson’s time netted him the Unlimited UTV pole and second place overall, with Corry Weller taking second in SR1, third overall with a 52.072 in her #810 Weller Racing/Tilted Kilt Yamaha. Third in SR1, fourth overall was Code Rahders in the #816 SuperChips/Frostyburger Yamaha; his best lap was a 52.658. Tyler Winbury took second in Unlimited UTV in his #694 Wagon Burners/UTVUnderground.com Kawasaki, turning a best lap of 52.917, and rounding out the Unlimited UTV podium was Chad George, whose best lap was a 54.025 in the #1 Monster Energy/Funco Kawasaki.
As the sun sets over Glen Helen, we now turn our attention to the nighttime action that is still to come tomorrow night and Sunday night. Racing for Rounds 9 and 10 will be under the lights here in southern California, and you won’t want to miss out. Both Lucas Oil Off Road race weekends that have been held here at Glen Helen so far have been sellouts, so get here early to get a good seat! Gates open to the public at 3:00 pm, and racing starts at 5:00 pm- don’t be late…
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 www.LucasOilOffRoad.com.
Written by Scott Neth for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series
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