With the first season of competition winding to a close in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by Geico Powersports, drivers returned to where this series made its debut: The Primm Valley Motorsports Complex in Primm, NV. With the championship battles running very close in nearly every class, drivers put the pedal to the metal to try and grab those all-important pole positions for tomorrow’s races. A cool autumn breeze and a slight chill were in the air, so the sunny skies overhead were a welcome sight as stormy clouds lurked in the distance. Out on the track, conditions seemed quick, and with names like MacCachren, LeDuc, Cenni, Vandenheuvel, and Evans being added to the already impressive field of LOORRS competitors, the action was sure to be fast-paced and exciting.                                 

Unlimited 2
Unlimited 2 was the first class out on the track this afternoon, and with the addition of several new LOORRS competitors, this was one of the most exciting qualifying sessions of the year. Carl Renezeder drew first blood in his #17 Lucas Oil/General Tires Ford, turning in a time of 58.014 seconds on the opening lap. Renezeder then bettered the top time the next two laps, rifling off times of 57.500 and 56.978 on laps two and three before disappearing from the track. With the track having really come into its own, it was now someone else’s turn to top the time sheets, and that someone was Bryce Menzies, who drove a personal best of 56.824 to take the provisional pole in his #7 Super Clean/O’Neill Ford. With one lap left in the session, Todd LeDuc saved his best for last, taking the pole away in convincing fashion. LeDuc ran a lap of 56.392 in his #8 Rockstar/Makita Ford to take the pole for tomorrow’s race, with Menzies taking second and Renezeder third. Jeff Ward finished with the fourth best time of 57.132 in his #3X Speed Technologies/Bully Dog Chevrolet, and Rodrigo Ampudia wound up fifth with a time of 57.237 in his #36 Papas & Beer/Tecate Ford.                                

Unlimited 4
After ending his Unlimited 2 qualifying run early, Carl Renezeder once again came out firing in Unlimited 4 qualifying. With a season-high 12 trucks on track, Renezeder led the field around the track in his #1 Lucas Oil/Team Associated Ford, taking the early lead with a time of 54.378 on lap one. Round 10 winner Adrian Cenni was the only driver who could match Renezeder, and he took over the top spot on lap two with a time of 54.208 in his #11 Atrium Chevrolet. Cenni’s time held for the next two laps, but on the final lap, Renezeder came back to steal The Wildman’s thunder, setting a pole-winning time of 54.096. Cenni had to settle for second this time, with a very consistent Tim Herbst taking third in his #18 Terrible Herbst/Lucas Oil Chevrolet with a time of 55.014. Kyle LeDuc’s return to LOORRS action wasn’t quite as good as his earlier runs this year, and he took fourth today, turning in a time of 55.034 in his #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford. Renezeder’s teammate Alan Pflueger rounded out the top five with a time of 55.103 in his #71 K&N Chevrolet.                 

Unlimited Lite
The battle for the Unlimited Lite pole was waged between the three drivers waging a bigger war for this year’s Unlimited Lite championship. Current championship leader Chris Brandt was the session’s early leader, setting the provisional pole time at 1:02.138 on lap one in his #82 Rockstar/Hart & Huntington Toyota. Robert Naughton, who currently sits third in points, then took over the top spot on lap two as he turned a 1:01.534 in his #54 Ready Lift/Maxxis Tires Ford. Naughton was the only driver who was able to better the top time in the remainder of the session, which he did a further three times. With the session going an unusual seven laps, Naughton turned in improvements of 1:01.026 on lap three, 1:00.604 on lap six, and the pole-grabbing time of 1:00.241 on the final lap. Brian Deegan, who lies second in the points hunt, found himself second today as well, rounding his #38 Lucas Oil/Metal Mulisha Ford in a time of 1:00.512. Brandt was able to improve his early time, and wound up third with a 1:01.285, while Heath Carpenter took fourth in his #25Jeff Carpenter Racing Ford with a time of 1:01.637. Todd Cuffaro came home fifth in 1:02.288 in his #46 Rockstar/Metal Mulisha Nissan.

Super Lite
The Bully Dog Super Lites were next up, and today’s qualifying session was all about Chad George. After taking the pole in Round 10, which was only his second race in Super Lite, George once again grabbed top honors this afternoon. The promising young driver took the lead early and never let it go, turning in the fastest three laps of the session and taking the pole with a time of 1:03.802 in his #42 Independent machine. Ricky James was nearly a full second adrift of the top time, taking second in his #24 SoCal Super Trucks machine with a time of 1:04.726. Third went to Chad Leising in the #17 Rockstar/Hart & Huntington truck in a time of 1:04.899, while points leader John Harrah came home fourth with a time of 1:05.472 in his #13 Speed Technologies truck. Rounding out the top five was Joey Granatelli in the #20 Granatelli Motorsports machine, whose best lap was a 1:05.513.

Unlimited Buggy
Another battle for the pole between points contenders was seen in today’s Unlimited Buggy action. Chuck Cheek and Mike Halliday, who sit first and second in the points chase in Unlimited Buggy, were the main contenders in this pole battle, but it was Joe Morgan in the #944 Redline Alumicraft who set the early top time of 59.219. Halliday then assumed the lead on lap two, turning a 58.956 in his #904 Green Army/Gatorwraps.com Alumicraft. Cheek then stole the lead away on lap three with a time of 58.807, and by following that up with a 58.250 on lap four, held the pole position at the end of the session in his #957 CMI/Lucas Oil Alumicraft. Halliday improved his lap two time, and wound up second with a personal best of 58.601. Rich Ronco was just a little further back in third, turning a 58.749 in his Tatum. Cody Freeman returned to competition after a long absence during the middle of the season, and put his #994 Freeman’s Carpet Service buggy into fourth with a 58.946. Larry Job, who lies third in the points, came home fifth today in a time of 59.032 in his #907 Menzies Motorsports Alumicraft.

Limited Buggy
The closest competition of the day was found in the Limited Buggy qualifying session, yet only one driver held the top time during the session. John Fitzgerald continued his trend of strong runs this season, and raced out to the early lead in his #314 Rockstar/Geico Powersports machine with a time of 1:06.412 on lap one. He then improved to 1:05.838 on lap two, and set the top time of the session at 1:05.666 on lap three. Behind pole winner Fitzgerald, several drivers were vying for the spots two through five. Bryan Freeman nearly got himself the pole with a time of 1:05.673, but at just seven thousandths of a second off the top time, had to settle for second in his #318 Lone Kid Racing buggy. Just behind Freeman was third place Curt Geer in the #392 BDI Bowden Lothringer, whose best time was a 1:05.748. A bit further back in fourth was Sean Geiser in the #351 General Tires Geiser Bros. buggy, whose best lap was a 1:06.036, and taking fifth was Bruce Fraley. Like his former teammate Freeman, Fraley was just seven thousandths of a second behind the driver in front of him, turning a 1:06.043 in his #312 BFGoodrich Fraley.           

UTV
The final class to qualify today was UTV, and the usual frontrunners were at it again in today’s qualifying session. Robert Vanbeekum topped the time sheets early in his #664 Xtreme Machine and Fabrication machine, setting a time of 1:06.781 on lap one. Austin Kimbrell, who is also sponsored by Xtreme Machine and Fabrication, then took over the top spot on lap two, turning a lap of 1:05.847 in his #607 machine. Kimbrell then took a big chunk of time out of the field on lap four, setting the pole winning time at 1:05.189. Vanbeekum improved to a 1:05.889 to take second, while teammates #624 Chad George and #694 Tyler Winbury came home in third and fourth with times of 1:06.162 and 1:06.850 in their Funco Kawasakis. RJ Anderson rounded out the top five in his #637 Walker Evans Racing Polaris, turning a best lap of 1:07.626.

Written by Scott Neth for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by Geico Powersports.