Hart and Huntington Off Road Plays The Spread in Las Vegas

September 27, 2012 – Corona, California

The Hart and Huntington Off Road Team's trip to Las Vegas paid the dividends needed to carry Premiere Motorsports Group through the final event of the season. Running four trucks in Lucas Oil Off Road's pro divisions meant that Hart and Huntington would have the table covered for Rounds 13 and 14 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  But that does not exactly mean the odds always play out in favor.

Playing on a big gamble, Premiere Motorsports Group showed up with a freshly rebuilt #54 truck and all new Roush Competition Power. The team has been striving all season to put the Lunarpages Pro2 up on the podium and Naughton has proven his ability to turn fast lap times all year under the PMG Tent. If it was not for a mechanical snafu here or another truck wrecking him out there, Robert was a likely candidate for podium finishes in any Pro 2 Race.

Check out the Highlight Video from Round 13

Despite no testing and with an all new truck, Robert must have had a lucky ace up his sleeve or the setup was just right because he made it all work having a breakout weekend. The Lunarpages machine pushed the edge and was awardede a 2nd place finish in Round 13 and nearly taking home a victory on Saturday with a 3rd place finish for Round 14. Naughton would lead all but two laps of the exciting  final event of the weekend, but it was not to be and he bicycled the truck on the 2nd to last lap.  "The track was real grabby tonight. Lots of good drivers put it up on 2 wheels, so I don't feel so bad. Our General Tires and Fox Shox made this truck hook up real good and we came out here with a new setup and zero test time. I think we did real well and I am looking forward to going to Firebird. Who knows, with this fast Lunarpages Pro 2, I have a good shot at repeating a Challenge Cup Victory!"

Josh Merrell, driver of the MAVTV Pro 4, did everything in his power to put lady luck in his corner. From pre-event testing to participating in the Lucas Oil Xperience on Fremont Street with the #22 truck on display and signing autographs for hundreds of new fans, Merrell was looking forward to making out in Las Vegas.

Unfortunately, a crash during practice on Saturday dealt Merrell a bad hand and the #22 was unable to compete in Round 13. "Despite not making the Friday round, I got to give it up to Justin Carey and the crew," declared Josh. "This crash was real bad on the Pro 4's front end, so we got it straight enought to drive out all 4 corners and we did our best. It was good enough to take home a 4th place finish from the back row"

Check out the Highlight Video from Round 14

Ryan Beat, who also appeared on Fremont Street for the autograph signings and to pump up the fans, has come away from the Las Vegas Rounds of racing on a tremendous high.

After earning his first victory of the category at the last event, Round 12 in Reno, Beat showed up in Las Vegas with nothing to lose but the championship. Putting it all on the line, Ryan who was 2nd in points knew he had to drive fast and flawless to edge out RJ Anderson who was leading the division by a large margin. It would be a long shot and a roll of the dice, but Beat played the game according to the players strategy. The Lunarpages / eBay Motors Pro Lite was on the podium both days for back to back 3rd place finishes.

Mathematically, even with #51 consuming the most points possible of the weekend, RJ would of had to just about DNF all the remaining races for Beat to be able to secure the Championship. Instead RJ would place 2nd and 1st accordingly and locked in the 2012 title with one race to go. "The Pro Lite Class in the Lucas Oil Off Road Series features an abundant  field of talent. I would go as far to say that this is the most competitive off road racing there is," claims Ryan "I am really happy with our performance this weekend and super pumped on the overall season. We still have to make Round 15, but it looks like we will capture 2nd in the Pro Lite Championship. That is not too bad for a rookie with a garage built truck and a brand new program. I will take it!"

Beat has finished in the top 5 seven times out of fourteen races all on Nogrady V8 Power. The 3rd place finish would be Ryan's third consecutive podium and fifth top 5 in a row.

Carey Hart, driver of the eBay Motors truck and Pro 4 Teammate was hoping to put on the show for friends and extended Hart and Huntington family in the Vegas area. His efforts earned him a solid 6th place finish in Round 13. During Saturday's Round 14, Carey stepped up the pace but the tacky track came up and bit the #46 eBay Motors truck turning it upside down with only a few laps remaining. "Being the last race of the weekend, I went all in and ran as hard as this truck would go. We have been sharing a lot of data and set up from the #22 to the #46, and it is just not working. This eBay Motors truck needs its own tune, so we will have to go and make the adjustments as we head to Firebird for the Lucas Oil Off Road 2012 Finale on October 27-28."

Testing for Las Vegas

Follow the Hart and Huntington Off Road Team at the races on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube pages or check out www.LucasOilOffRoad.com for more information.