San Bernardino, California (July 21, 2015) - Brian Deegan turned a corner at round 9 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, (LOORRS). Behind the 8 ball since the season started, he treated the fans to his trademark form at Glen Helen. He was fast, precise and determined. Physically and mechanically, he was firing on all cylinders.
The Lucas Oil Series is unforgiving. A few laps of practice are all you get before qualifying. When qualifying does take place, if you are off the pace by only a few tenths of a second, you can end up starting in the back. Track conditions between practice, qualifying and the race can change; sometimes drastically. At Glen Helen, none of it mattered, qualifying was rained out. In fact, the main event was rained out too. Round 9 would be held Sunday morning instead of Saturday night as scheduled.
First up on Sunday morning were the Pro-4’s. Deegan got his new Rockstar Energy / Makita Power Tools / Ford Pro-4 properly sorted out at the last rounds in Tooele, Utah. He took his first podium in the new truck, a 3rd place, and was looking forward to hitting the dirt again. With qualifying rained out, the points standings would be used to set the grid; Deegan would have to start deep in the pack.
As soon as the green flag dropped, Deegan was on rails. All the testing and tuning done to the Rockstar Energy / Makita Power Tools / Ford had paid off, the truck was a rocket. He sliced through the field, making clean passes on every lap. He blew past Rob Mac who was in second and set his sights on the leader Kyle LeDuc.
The lap count was cut short to fit the rain delayed, double rounder into a single day. After battling all the way up to the front, there just weren’t enough laps left to make a move for the lead. Deegan would have to settle for second spot on the podium. LeDuc got the win by .861 seconds, but was frustrated to learn that the fastest lap time belonged to Deegan and the #38. Everyone wondered what Deegan had in store for round 10 later that night.
With a great run in the Pro-4, it was time to continue that momentum in the Rockstar Energy / Makita Power Tools / Ford Pro-2. The same lack of qualifying would put Deegan in a slightly better position than in the Pro-4 race; he would start outside row 3. Deegan was running 5th behind Renezeder who was driving a wide line. Despite having a huge advantage in the whoops section, Deegan could close on Renezeder but the groove was not wide enough to get around. As drivers dropped out ahead, Deegan and Renezeder kept gaining positions. They closed on the leader Rob Mac but it was a single lane groove and neither could overtake. The result was Deegan’s second podium of the day, a 3rd.
With great anticipation for round 10, the rains returned. Another deluge of rain ruined the chances of more racing on Sunday. Round 10 would have to be made up at another date. “I was so bummed out that we would not get another chance to race,” said Brian Deegan, “Both Rockstar Energy / Makita Power Tools / Ford trucks were dialed in. The way my Mickey Thompson tires were hooking up, we would have been hard to beat. I’m looking forward to the next rounds in Mexico, the fans there are amazing. It’s a new track so everyone will have the same challenge getting the set-up right but I think we are exactly where we want to be.”
August 1st and 2nd the Lucas Oil Series will be in Ensenada, Baja Mexico for the Baja International Short Course race at Estero Beach. The first time event for the Lucas Oil Series will be racing by the shores of the Pacific Ocean at the beautiful Estero Beach track. Make your plans early to come watch Brian Deegan race south of the border.
