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Round 8: More New Winners, Huge Action |
June 28, 2010 |
Round 7 was a great first day of off-road racing here at the Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT, and today the drivers of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series were back to bring more thrills and spills for their new fans at this incredibly difficult, treacherous track. Round 8 would again feature perfect weather and an un-equaled facility to accompany a group of drivers who were hungry to attack this track with brute force, and all those in attendance were treated to a terrific day of racing. In case you couldn’t be here to enjoy them in person, here’s how the day’s events unfolded.
Modified Kart
Sunday’s action kicked off with the Modified Karts, and Brandon Vermillion started alongside Mitchell DeJong on the front row. After a big pile-up in turn one forced a full restart of the race, it was Vermillion in the #585 mavTV/San Manuel Band of Mission Indians kart who took the lead on the second start. In second it was DeJong in the #524 Speed Technologies machine, followed by Zac Hunt in the #534 King Off Road Racing Shocks/Creative Fabrication and Design, Inc. truck, Connor Pankratz in the #511 Dickerson Motorsports/Fiberwerx kart, and Blake Lenk in the #521 Missing Lenk Motorsports/Racin’ Dirty machine. Mitch Guthrie Jr. then moved into the top five in his #555 Guthrie Racing/Gatorwraps.com kart, while further forward, points leader DeJong took over the lead from Vermillion. DeJong pulled out a sizeable gap on the rest of the pack by the competition yellow, and at that point, he was followed by Vermillion, Guthrie, Pankratz, and Lenk in the top five. After the restart, DeJong again pulled away from the field, with Guthrie closing on Vermillion for second. DeJong then pulled off the track with an unknown issue, and with Guthrie getting by Vermillion, it was now Guthrie in the lead. Guthrie held the lead all the way to the end to take his first career LOORRS win, with second going to Vermillion, third to Pankratz, fourth to Hunt, and fifth to Lenk. Hunt, who’d had his whole fiberglass body removed under the yellow flag after it’d sustained major damage in the early going, was able to go a bit quicker without the full body, and put in a very impressive 49.661-second lap to snag the fast lap.
Junior 2 Kart
Next up were the Junior 2 Karts, and after having to nurse an injured kart around the track in the Modified Kart race, Sheldon Creed had a better start in this race, taking the early lead in his #422 A.M. Ortega/Fox Racing Shox machine. In second it was Maxwell Ries in the #474 ProAm/Hoosier truck, with Shelby Anderson third in the #405 Walker Evans Racing/CMI kart, Chad Graham fourth in the #410 Bulletproof Suspensions/Cornwell Tools Racing machine, and Bowen Brooks fifth in the #477 Synergy Electric Racing/Simpson truck. The top five drivers were running in a very close pack, and with drivers running three-wide, someone was bound to get caught out. That someone was Ries, who had a big rollover in the roller jumps, just after he’d taken the lead of the race! Anderson assumed the lead, and she led through the competition yellow, followed by Graham, Brooks, Creed, and Micaela Cheek in the #457 CMI/Jamminproducts.com machine. On the restart lap, Paige Porter moved up to fifth in the #462 Redline Performance/Advantage Boats kart, while at the head of the pack, Anderson and Graham had pulled clear in a great battle for the lead. Graham eventually got the better of Anderson, and came home the winner. Yesterday’s winner Anderson took second, followed by Creed, Brooks, and Porter. Graham also got the fast lap of the race with a 58.407.
Junior 1 Kart
The final kart race of the day was the Junior 1 Kart main event, and it was Jack Yeiser who led the field in the early going in his #244 truck. Yeiser was able to open a huge lead on the opening lap, leaving the rest of the field to try and find a way to catch back up. Leading that charge was points leader Brock Heger in the #212 XtremeTKforums.com/iTi Performance Motorsports kart, followed by Broc Dickerson in the #223 Dickerson Motorsports/Hoosier machine, Travis PeCoy in the #211 downloadactionvideo.com/K&N Filters truck, and Corey Geiser in the #245 Canidae All Natural Pet Foods/ReadyLift kart. Heger seemed to make a little headway into Yeiser’s lead, but Yeiser responded and opened the gap even further. At the competition yellow, Yeiser looked invincible up front, and was followed by Heger, Dickerson, Geiser, and PeCoy. On the restart lap, Preston Roben jumped into the top five in his #210 Duggins Construction/Mad Graphix machine. Geiser was also on the move, jumping up to third and looking very racy. Up front, Yeiser was pulling away again, but now Heger seemed to be able to follow him. Yeiser had a small cushion over Heger, but Heger quickly closed that down, and after pulling alongside Yeiser, Heger took the lead with one lap to go. Heger had put in some blistering laps to close down on Yeiser, including a 1:02.188 to get the fastest lap of the race, and was quick again on the final lap, opening a small lead over Yeiser before taking the win. Yeiser finished second, followed by Roben, Dickerson, and Cole Mamer in the #235 Mamer Racing/Racer X Motorsports kart.
UTV
As was the case yesterday, the UTVs would once again face a shortened course for today’s racing action, and with no inversion of the qualifying results, it was Chad George in the #642 Monster Energy/Beard Seats Kawasaki and Austin Kimbrell in the #607 Monster Energy/Weller Racing Kawasaki who started on the front row. Kimbrell grabbed the early lead over George, with John Dempsey third in the #655 Custom Off Road Designs/Simpson Kawasaki, RJ Anderson fourth in the #637 Walker Evans Racing/Kroyer Racing Engines Polaris, and Robert Vanbeekum fifth in the #664 Xtreme Machine and Fabrication/Muzzys Kawasaki. George grabbed the lead in turn one on the second lap, and the two Monster teammates then ran side by side in a great battle for the lead. George held the lead for a little bit, but Kimbrell then got back in front as the top four drivers closed right up on one another. At the competition yellow, Kimbrell still led over George, with Dempsey third, Anderson fourth, and Tyler Winbury fifth in the #694 Funco/King Shocks Kawasaki. Anderson got caught up in some contact on the restart lap and dropped to fifth, while up front, Kimbrell and George were in a league of their own. George gave it everything to get by Kimbrell, but as he was yesterday, Kimbrell was just too strong, and he came home the winner to take a clean sweep of the weekend. George took home his second consecutive runner-up spot, and was followed by Winbury, who got around Dempsey to take third on the final straightaway. Dempsey finished fourth, and Anderson rounded out the top five. Kimbrell also grabbed the fast lap of the race with a 59.734.
There was, of course an SR1 race going on as well, and it was Corry Weller in the #801 Magnaflow Exhaust/Tilted Kilt Yamaha who took the class lead just a few laps into the race and never relinquished it, holding on to take her third win of the year. Second in class went to Greg Frantz in the #877 Lonestar Racing/Fox Racing Shox Yamaha, who hounded Weller throughout the race but couldn’t quite find a way around her. Rounding out the podium was Doug Mittag in the #848 Custom Off Road Designs/Simpson Yamaha, who led early before dropping back a couple of spots. Tyler Herzog finished fourth in the #844 Ivy Trucking and Grading Yamaha, and took the fast lap with a 1:01.956.
Limited Buggy
Limited Buggies were up next, and it was yesterday’s winner Justin Smith who took the early lead in his #319 Bully Dog/Super Clean Fraley. Close behind came the man who built Smith’s car, Bruce Fraley in the #312 Freeman’s Carpet Service/BFGoodrich Tires Fraley, followed by John Fitzgerald in the #314 Lucas Oil/Hart and Huntington buggy, Dave Mason in the #365 Western Motorsports/Sunoco AlumiCraft, and Quentin Tucker in the #377 Fox Racing Shocks/McKenzies buggy. A full course yellow was brought out following Geoffrey Cooley’s crash between turns four and five, and after some significant shuffling following a return to green flag racing, Smith, Fraley, and Fitzgerald were still one-two-three, but it was now Kevin McCullough in the #389 General Tire buggy fourth and Mason in fifth. McCullough lost it a little bit coming out of turn seven, pushing Mason wide in the process, and allowing Tucker and Kyle Quinn in the #311 Wilson Motorsports/Bugpack Products buggy through to fourth and fifth positions. Mason recovered quickly and was right back to fifth, while Fraley dropped back two spots to fourth. Up front, Smith had opened a big lead over the rest of the field, and he was the first to find the competition yellow flag, ahead of Fitzgerald, Tucker, Fraley, and Mason. Fraley had a good restart lap, moving back up to second place, with Mason coming through to third right behind him. Fraley closed in a little on Smith, but Smith soon gapped away again, with Fraley still second, and the real battle being the race for third between Mason, Fitzgerald, and Tucker. On the final lap, Fitzgerald got by Mason, but Mason got around Fitzgerald again to grab the position back. Unfortunately, Mason did so under a local yellow flag, and had to give the position back. In doing so, Mason also let Tucker through, and in the end, Fitzgerald won the battle for third over fourth place Tucker and fifth place Mason. Up front, Smith took his second win of the weekend to make it a clean sweep, while Fraley picked up second place. Smith also swept the fast lap category this weekend, taking today’s with a 1:13.938.
Pro 4 Unlimited
Round 8 in Pro 4 Unlimited started off a bit slow, but turned into an absolute thriller by the time the checkers flew. Mike Johnson’s #31 K&N Filters/Ironclad Ford and Carl Renezeder’s #1 General Tire/Lucas Oil Ford started on the front row, but it was Rick Huseman, who, after starting clear back on row three after an inversion of the qualifying order, charged hard from the drop of the green flag to take the lead before the end of lap one in his #36 Traxxas/BFGoodrich Tires Toyota. Second was occupied by Renezeder, with Kyle LeDuc third in the #99 Rockstar Energy/Makita Ford, Johnson fourth, and Adrian Cenni fifth in the #11 Atrium Payroll/King Shocks Chevrolet. LeDuc got by Renezeder to take second on lap two, and Rob MacCachren moved up to fifth on the same lap in his #21 Stronghold Motorsports/LAMB Energy Chevrolet. Renezeder then spun in turn one, dropping to last as he was forced to wait for the whole field to go by before he could safely got pointed in the right direction. This moved Travis Coyne to fifth in the #5 ProComp/VP Ford, but Coyne was soon passed by Curt LeDuc in the #43 Rockstar Energy/Makita Ford. Up front, Huseman was in a league of his own, and at the competition yellow, he had several seconds in hand over the rest of the field. Kyle LeDuc ran second at this point, with MacCachren now third, Johnson fourth, and Curt LeDuc fifth. After the restart, Kyle LeDuc started laying down some blistering laps in an effort to take the fight to Huseman, including the fast lap (a 1:04.051), and he managed to get himself right to Huseman’s back bumper. As the two leaders swept through the alternate line around the moguls, LeDuc bicycled in a big way, bringing the whole crowd to the edge of their seats. LeDuc lost a bit of ground, and with one lap to go, he would have to give it everything if he would stand any chance of catching Huseman. On the final lap, LeDuc again closed down on Huseman, and coming out of the final turn, LeDuc got into Huseman and nearly caused Huseman to spin out. Huseman somehow avoided disaster, and after moving away from an inside barrier that had nearly ended his day, he nailed the throttle for all it was worth and was able to out-pull LeDuc in a winner-takes-all drag race to the finish line. Huseman’s win gave him his second clean sweep weekend of the year and his sixth win in eight races this season. LeDuc finished second, with MacCachren third, Curt LeDuc fourth, and Johnson fifth.
Pro Buggy Unlimited
The Pro Buggy Unlimiteds took to the track next, and it was Cameron Steele in the #916 Metal Mulisha/Blanco Basura AlumiCraft and Chuck Cheek in the #957 Stronghold Motorsports/Maxxis Tires AlumiCraft who started on the front row. Cheek grabbed the early lead, with Steele slotting in second, Cody Freeman third, Jerry Whelchel fourth, and Doug Fortin fifth. The top five soon moved clear of the rest of the field, with the top three just a bit ahead of fourth and fifth. Whelchel picked up two spots to take over second in his #901 Foddrill Motorsports Toyota, while Steele dropped two positions to fourth. Whelchel then grabbed the lead from Cheek, while Steele moved back up to third and Fortin moved up to fourth in the #996 Fortin Racing, Inc./BFGoodrich Tires Racer. As the competition yellow was about to come out, Whelchel was pulling away a little bit up front, and at this point he was followed by Cheek, Fortin, Steele, and Freeman. After the restart, Steele was again up to second, while Fortin dropped down to fifth. Cheek then got caught up in a little incidental contact with Freeman and Fortin, and he spun off track and dropped back several positions. Fortin was next to hit trouble, as something in his right front suspension broke, causing him to slow significantly and drop to the back of the field. Ahead of all this carnage, Whelchel still led over Steele, and despite a couple laps in which Steele closed down the gap on the leader, Whelchel was too quick, and went on to take the win and a clean sweep of the weekend, with this win giving him a 75 percent winning record since joining the Foddrill team. Steele picked up his second consecutive second place finish, with Freeman rounding out the podium in the #994 FCS Flooring/Goodyear Racer. Fourth went to young Justin Davis in the #985 Green Army/Hoosier Racer, and fifth went to Rich Ronco in the #999 Tatum. Despite his misfortunes late in the race, Fortin was able to get the fast lap with a 1:10.194, pipping Steele for the honors by just one thousandth of a second!
Super Lite
The “arrive and drive” battle of Super Lite was next, and again Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg was able to get around both front row starters to take the early lead in his #88 Rockstar Energy/Lucas Oil truck. In second and third were the two drivers who started on the front row, Ricky James in the #24 Rockwell/AOK machine and Dawson Kirchner in the #16 Speed Technologies truck, while rounding out the top five were Chad George in fourth and Jacob Person in fifth. Stenberg and Kirchner hit big trouble on the back side of the track, and both dropped out of the race with issues unknown to this reporter, putting James into the lead. James quickly opened a gap over the rest of the pack, and at the competition yellow, he still led over George in the #42 Funco/Bull Outdoor Products Inc. truck, Person in the #29 Stand-Up-MRI of Arizona/Goodyear machine, Johnny Harrah in the #9 Speed Technologies truck, and Brandon Ward in the #92 KMC Wheels/Troy Lee Designs machine. On the restart, James either missed the green flag or missed a shift, but quickly recovered the two spots he’d briefly lost and was back at the head of the field within less than a lap. Behind him, Person moved up to second, and after a big rollover by Harrah coming into turn six, Ward was up to fourth with CJ Greaves just behind in the #33 Monster Energy/Oakley truck. Ward then had contact with George and went wide coming into turn three, allowing Greaves to get by for fourth. George, Greaves, and Ward had a good battle for third, with Greaves eventually taking the position. Up front, James took a comfortable win, his first since his dominant run in the second half of 2009. Second went to Person, third to Greaves, fourth to George, and fifth to Ward. James also grabbed the fast lap of the race by almost eight tenths of a second, topping the timesheets with a 1:14.159.
Pro Lite Unlimited
The youth and experience duo of Jacob Person and Marty Hart were on the front row for the start of the Pro Lite Unlimited race, and it was experience that won out, as Hart took the early lead over Person. Brian Deegan ran in third in the #38 Maxxis Tires/Rockstar Energy Ford, with Corey Sisler fourth in the #19 Forgiven Energy/Toyo Tires Ford, and Chris Brandt rounding out the top five in the #82 mavTV/Lucas Oil Toyota. Brandt quickly moved up to fourth, with Adam Wik just behind in fifth in the #11 Wik’s Racing Engines/Kumho Tires Chevrolet. Further forward, Person and Deegan were having a good battle for second, and although Deegan briefly took the position, Person got it back just before the competition yellow. At this point, Hart was the clear leader, with Person second, Deegan third, Brandt fourth, and Wik fifth. Jimmy Stephensen jumped up to fourth on the restart lap in his #33 Yokohama Tires/Raceline Wheels Nissan, while ahead, Deegan had gotten by Person for second again. Deegan was now putting on a real charge in an effort to catch Hart, and once reaching Hart’s back bumper, Deegan got a good run through the moguls and made his move coming into turn seven. Deegan pushed Hart wide and got the position on the inside, but wasn’t able to follow through as he got out of shape exiting the corner. Deegan lost a little ground, and with Hart getting a good run off the outside of turn seven, Hart was able to re-gain the lead as quickly as he’d lost it. Hart was far enough in front to stay clear on the final lap, and he came home the winner here in Round 8. Deegan finished second, with Person third, Wik fourth, and Anthony Verdone fifth in the #7 So Cal Superchrome/LAT Racing Oil Toyota. Hart was the class of the field this time, and he took the fast lap in addition to the win, setting the benchmark at 1:10.025.
Pro 2 Unlimited
The old adage of “they saved the best for last” couldn’t have been more fitting than it was here in Tooele this weekend. After a great set of races all weekend in this first venture to this new host track, the Pro 2 Unlimited race was certainly one that should help draw many fans back when LOORRS returns here next year. Greg Adler started his #10 4 Wheel Parts/Airaid Ford alongside Todd LeDuc in the #8 Rockstar Energy/Airforce Ford on the front row, and it was LeDuc who again jumped out to the early lead. In second it was Rob Naughton in the #54 Stronghold Motorsports/ReadyLift Ford, with Rob MacCachren third in the #21 Rockstar Energy/MasterCraft Safety Ford, Ricky Johnson fourth in the #48 Red Bull/Traxxas Ford, and Adler fifth. LeDuc was checking out quickly, while behind him, MacCachren was up to second, with Rodrigo Ampudia now fifth in the #36 Papas & Beer/Tecate Ford. Naughton, who’d already lost a spot to MacCachren, was then passed by Johnson and Ampudia, and soon slowed with a flat right front tire. The competition yellow then came out, and at this point it was still LeDuc out front, followed by MacCachren, Johnson, Ampudia, and Bryce Menzies in the #7 Blanco Basura/Bully Dog Ford.
The top five drivers held their positions on the restart, but on the next lap, LeDuc spun in turn one, and as everyone scrambled to avoid hitting him, Johnson cleared the chaos better than the rest, taking the lead over MacCachren and Ampudia. Just three turns later, Johnson spun out and dropped to fifth, handing the lead to MacCachren. MacCachren had a small cushion over second-placed Ampudia, and it looked like he’d have a clear run to victory lane, until a rollover by Robbie Pierce brought out a full course yellow and re-bunched the entire field. A green-white-checkers finish was called for, and with a ton of bumping and banging going on in the restart, the order shuffled behind MacCachren. In second it was now LeDuc, followed by Johnson, Carl Renezeder in the #17 Lucas Oil/Team Associated Ford, and Menzies. The top five finally settled down and held their positions to the end, but after the race, Johnson nosed his truck into MacCachren’s, then drove unsafely near the track officials who had come over to keep a fight from breaking out between the two drivers (MacCachren had gotten out of his truck and come to Johnson’s window to have words). Johnson’s conduct drew the wrath of the officials, who handed Johnson a disqualification. This moved Renezeder up to third, Menzies to fourth, and Adler to fifth. Fast lap went to MacCachren with a 1:05.593.
That’s all from this weekend. Be sure to join us for Rounds 9 and 10 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, CA on the weekend of August 7th and 8th. In the meantime, stay tuned to lucasoiloffroad.com for all the latest developments in the LOORRS championship.
Written by Scott Neth for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.
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