LOORRS Racing Heats Up Las Vegas, Hart and Huntington Off Road Bears the Wrath

Corona, California (May 1st, 2013) – The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series has brought a load of changes to teams and racers for the 2013 season. One transformation was the short course track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway which had recently undergone a major reconfiguration eliminating turns 4 & 5 while improving views for spectators. The result was seriously hot wheel-to-wheel racing action all around. The Hart and Huntington Off Road Team was right in the mix of it, but in the end, one complication and hardship after another prohibited favored results.

Going into the weekend, for the #22 MAVTV PRO-4, the team's focus had been getting the truck back to the baseline performance after the big crash in Round 2. Josh Merrell took to the track and worked the machine as best he could but was only able to find mid-pack speed. By the end of the weekend, the MAVTV PRO-4 had seen many adjustments and Merrell improved on-track performance significantly. The good news is that the PRO-4 finshed both Rounds 3 & 4 with solid 7th place finishes. It is understood that there is still much to be done in preparation for the next event. "It is real tough anytime there are major changes," declared Josh. "We will not give up and are going to do whatever it takes to get the performance we are looking for. I think we are on the verge, so look for us to be racing up front by Lake Elsinore."

Ryan Beat showed that he is still a top contender in the ProLite division by consistently blasting around the track with top lap times throughout the weekend. Beat started out fast on Friday with the 2nd quickest lap during practice. He would go on to earn the fastest qualifying time of his group and second quickest out of the combined Saturday qualifying results.

This effort would put Ryan on the front row for Round 3 next to the #1 Qualifier Brian Deegan. Beat was able to jump out and hook in the chase for the lead on the opening laps. Ryan burned around the track in 2nd place until the #74 of Sheldon Creed passed by down the front stretch. For the next 10 laps, Beat hung his #51 Lunarpages ProLite on the tail of the leaders aiming for a well deserved 3rd place podium finish until the final turn of the last lap. 2nd place Sheldon Creed ducked down inside in a shoddy attempt to pass for lead. There was just no way to make it clean and Deegan knew it was coming. As the race leader, Brian shut the door on the risky attempt, leaving Sheldon halfway spun out and hung up in the corner. With Beat coming right around behind on their tails, this left the #51 with nowhere to get by except to punch through.

Unfortunately, the trucks hooked and locked. Beat gassed his way out and off managing to cross the finish in 4th, however officials handed down a penalty for rough driving leaving him in 19th. Back in the pits, Ryan expressed his feelings on the incident, "It is just regrettable that someone had to risk their race and my podium finish by pulling such a fateful attempt passing for the lead. I don't race like that because it does not get you the win."

By the next morning, Ryan and his devoted crew had moved on and put the #51 Lunarpages Dodge back up into the top 5 of Round 4 Qualifying. Beat would again start next to Deegan, but this time from the second row behind Jerett Brooks & 2012 ProLite Champion, RJ Anderson. With 26 trucks firing into Turn 1, Ryan eased into the corner with caution trying to appease officials demand for clean racing techniques. Beat found a groove in 5th place and then began to pace the lead pack. On Lap 3, Deegan who was in 2nd, found himself tangled with 3rd place Brooks. Their collection, left Ryan free and clear to presume a steady 3rd place behind Sheldon Creed and the #1 plate of RJ Anderson. For the next 10 laps and after several restarts, Ryan preserved his podium spot until an ignition box failed leaving the #51 truck unable to fire on all cylinders of the Dodge V8. Ryan was shuffled back into the pack with just 2 laps to go and ended the race in 18th. 

This consistent run at the top for the majority of Beats track time has earned him much credibility among his sponsors; however Ryan is warranted to the results. "This weekend will be very difficult to recover from," stated Ryan. "After the way this season has started, I hope the Championship is not out of the picture. There are a lot of trucks in the field, and that means a lot of points to be earned. We are better than most so there is still a fighting chance, and we are pretty good at that and racing."

For Hart and Huntington Team Driver, Robert Naughton in the #54 Lunarpages PRO-2, the weekend proved to be a struggle. The track conditions were difficult to setup for as the surface was constantly changing under the hot sun. The track workers would flood the course leaving a muddy slick mess for the many trucks to start the race. It would quickly dry out in certain areas but still leaving wet patches for the racers to deal with. Finding the right setup was a tremendous challenge for all, and those who dialed in the setup, found the speed and left everyone else in the dust.

Rob Naughton found his momentum early during Friday's PRO-2 practice where he was fourth fastest with a quick lap time of 53.589. Rob was able to stay consistent through qualifying, however the stacked field of fast talent just edged him out and pushed the #54 to the back of the top 10. For Round 3, Naughton lined the Lunarpages Truck and was fired up and ready to race through the grid. Unfortunately, fate would reveal its head on lap 2 when a drive line failure cracked the transmission tail housing wide open.

The #54 crew gathered to assess what caused the malfunction and diligently went through the driveline setup. After the inspection the resolution called to replace the PRO-2's transmission and several other components. Finally feeling race ready, Naughton would start Round 4 mid pack and that is where he would finish. Fighting through the traffic and battling with tough competitors like Greg Adler and Kyle LeDuc, Rob put up a valiant fight in the Lunarpages truck to finish with a solid 7th place to end the weekend. "Well this was just a matter of finding the speed and making improvements from there," Rob described the weekend's effort. "It was a struggle and the heat made it that much more difficult. We will work to improve and come back to the next event with more fire power in a couple of weeks."

Team sponsor and Lucas Oil Off Road Series supporter, Lunarpages Internet Solutions provided two sweepstakes winners with one heck of a weekend to remember. Joe Edgerton from Las Vegas and his buddy enjoyed an all inclusive VIP package that awarded them ride-a-longs, helicopter rides, hospitality and much more. Stay connected with Hart and Huntington Off Roadbecause leading up to the next several events, we are rolling out some fantastic promotions with various prize packages that all fans are welcome to enter!

Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series is headed to Lake Elsinore, California on May 18th-19th for Rounds 5 & 6. You do not want to miss out as the facility at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park offers a stadium style configuration and some of the best racing action in Short Course Motorsports.