LAKE FOREST, CA (October 29, 2014 ) - After a season of many challenges, Carl Renezeder ended the year with a victory.
The race weekend started out on Thursday with two back-to-back practice sessions, letting the racers get a feel for the track and check on any last minute issues.
On Friday, both trucks qualified first, putting Renezeder in the front for the start of that evening's races. The Pro-4 race started with a lot of trucks on the track, giving Renezeder some stiff competition. On the second lap, Renezeder moved into fifth, and by lap six, he was in second position, which he held for quite a while. With one lap to go, as he was going up the jump in a battle with Johnny Greaves, Renezeder suddenly went airborne, like a rocket ship into the stratosphere, before coming down hard, demolishing the truck and ending the possibility of a podium.
The last race of the night was the Pro-2, with Menzies leading the charge and Renezeder, no doubt sore from his crash, hot on his heels looking for redemption. A blown engine pulled Menzies off the course giving Renezeder the lead, with Deegan and MacCachren in hot pursuit. In a race for the finish with Deegan, Renezeder crossed the finish first, turning his pain into profit with a victory.
Saturday morning was Round 14, a makeup race from a previous rain-out in Las Vegas. Renezeder's crew had not slept all night in a frantic rush to put the demolished Pro-4 back into racing shape. Renezeder made it to the track, a tremendous accomplishment for his team, but had to start two laps behind. All seemed to be going well, but about 5-6 laps into the race the truck said "enough" and Renezeder was out of luck once again. The Pro-2 was in top form Saturday, started the race out in forth and stayed there for quite a while, then broke into third and held that position, finishing with a third place podium.
The Challenge cup was the final race of the night to end the 2014 season. Renezeder had no choice but to race his Pro-2 in a battle, where the Pro-4's are usually dominant. The truck was fast, proving that the small changes the crew made to the truck were working well. Renezeder was patiently holding on, waiting for the mayhem to start and he was not disappointed as the first Pro-4 to come by made contact and spun him. Renezeder was hit at least 3 more times by the Pro-4s, relegating him to the back, but still on the lead lap and moving forward. One last hit damaged the front end and Renezeder had to pull off the track with one lap to go. "The truck was fast and I enjoyed driving it," was all Renezeder had to say about it.
With the off-season ahead of the them, the crew will get to work developing the trucks for next season to be faster, better and to get more wins. Renezeder and his team would like to thank their sponsors, who make this possible, and their fans, who make this all worthwhile.
