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With the extra draw of a fun night under the lights being added to the already thrilling show that is Lucas Oil Off Road, it’s no wonder that this race weekend is the most popular on the calendar. The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, is back at Glen Helen Raceway once again, and the southern California race fans flocked to the northern outskirts of San Bernardino to pack the stands once again as Round 10 of the 2012 championship got down and dirty here this evening. The racing was once again fantastic, as the drivers battled the unique challenges of both the lights and this difficult track, which has caught out even the most seasoned of veterans in years past. If you weren’t here, you missed a great event, but you can read on and at least get a taste of what those of us who were here got to enjoy.
Junior 2 Kart
After starting from row two, Shelby Anderson and her #405 Walker Evans Racing/Anderson’s Nu Power machine grabbed the early lead in today’s opening race, Junior 2 Kart. Behind Anderson, it was Travis PeCoy in the #411 Fox Racing Shox/Simpson kart, Dylan Winbury in the #469 Magnum Off-Road/Black Rhino truck, Parker Porter in the #461 Redline Performance/Advantage Boats machine, and Jeremy Davis in the #485 Green Army/Hoosier entry. The running order in the top five stayed the same for the first four laps, but on lap five, Davis was the first to break up the ranks, as he got by Porter for fourth after Porter was briefly slowed when he had a bit of contact with Winbury ahead of him. This also meant that the top three drivers were now separating away just a little, but with the Competition Yellow then coming out, those gaps closed right down again. The running order was now Anderson, PeCoy, Winbury, Davis, and Porter at the halfway point, but on the restart lap, it was Winbury who muscled PeCoy out in turn two as he took over second spot. The top four then pulled open a small gap over those behind, with Porter driving a bit erratically as he fought to catch back up. On the penultimate lap, Winbury made his bid for the lead, as he really leaned on Anderson from turns two through four, before finally edging ahead and into the lead. Then on the last lap, Broc Dickerson got by Porter through the whoops in the final corner to move up to fifth in his #423 Driscoll’s Surf N Skate/Kar Tek truck. Up front, Winbury picked up his sixth win of the season, followed by Anderson, PeCoy, Davis, and Dickerson.
Junior 1 Kart
Next on track came the Junior 1 Karts, and it was Blaze Nunley in the #230 RC10.com kart who took the early lead, ahead of Broc Dickerson, Darren Hardesty, Parker Darland, and Travis PeCoy. Dickerson then moved up to first on lap two in his #1 Dickerson Motorsports/Walker Evans Racing truck. A few laps later, and some moving was going on a bit further down the order, with PeCoy moving up to fourth in the #211 King Off-Road Racing Shocks/Simpson machine, and Conner McMullen taking over fifth in his #288 Monster Energy/Racer X Motorsports entry. The top five drivers were now running nose-to-tail, and at the halfway mark, their order was Dickerson, Nunley, Hardesty, PeCoy, and McMullen. On the restart lap, PeCoy had to swerve to avoid contact with McMullen, which ended up costing him a few positions, and dropping him out of the top five. McMullen had moved up to fourth, and Darland was now back up to fifth in the #241 Alexander Ford/Lincoln/Maxim Air Conditioning and Heating truck. A couple of laps later, and McMullen had picked up another spot, as he got by Nunley and up to third. After that, though, the running order in the top five stayed the same, and it was Dickerson who picked up the win, followed by Hardesty in the #231 Bilstein/RC10.com entry, McMullen, Nunley, and Darland.
Modified Kart
In Modified Kart, it was yesterday’s winner Cole Mamer who was out front early again in the #535 Simpson/T.I.S.I. Racing kart, ahead of Myles Cheek in the #557 Rockstar/Metal Mulisha truck, Blake Lenk in the #521 Team Associated/Walker Evans Racing entry, Gavin Harlien in the #555 Simpson/Full Tilt Trophy Karts machine, and Sheldon Creed in the #574 TrophyKart/Duncan Racing truck. On lap two, Harlien was slow out of turn four, which allowed Creed to get by and move up to fourth. Harlien then spun near the end of the very long turn six, which dropped him back several spots, and moved Kyle Hart up to fifth in the #523 ReadyLift Off Road Suspension/Duncan Racing kart. Up front, the top three had already been running clear of the field since lap two, and continued to do so all the way to the Competition Yellow, with the running order still Mamer, Cheek, Lenk, Creed, and Hart in the top five. On the restart lap, Lenk slowed with smoke coming from the back of his machine, while other drivers got by both him and Hart and into the top five. Those two drivers were Bradley Morris and Jeff Hoffman, who slotted in to fourth and fifth, behind Creed, who was now up to third. On lap eleven, there was a change at the front, as Cheek got by Mamer into turn five (where he’d tried the same pass on the previous lap), shooting into the lead in the process. The track was really rutting out now, and the young drivers were hooking the ruts and bicycling just like the grown-ups. On the penultimate lap, Hoffman found his way by Morris for fourth spot. Then on the final lap, Creed was a bit slow out of turn four, and with Hoffman and Morris side by side just behind, the three streaked towards turn five in a race for the final podium position. Unfortunately, there was a local yellow in turn five, which these drivers didn’t really seem to recognize, as they all sped past the scene, which drew the ire of race officials. As they crossed the line, it was Cheek who got the win, followed by Mamer, Creed, Morris, and Hoffman, but following a post-race decision by race officials, Creed, Morris, and Hoffman were moved to the end of the lead lap for their local yellow infraction. This unofficially places Hart in third, Brock Heger in fourth in the #511 Kacon Framing Inc./LGE Paint machine, and Sterling Cling in fifth in the #518. However, the results are still in question, as officials are still trying to review Hart’s involvement in Harlien’s spin on lap four, so results won’t be finalized until Wednesday.
Limited Buggy
First out onto the full-length track was Limited Buggy, and once again, it was a big field of open wheel drivers who would take each other on. On the opening lap, there was a big pile-up in turn four that involved several drivers, including points leader John Fitzgerald, but although those drivers may not have liked where they ended up after the incident, they were at least all able to continue. Kevin McCullough had the lead after all the chaos, and was followed by Bradley Morris, Jordan Poole, Zac Hunt, and Kyle Quinn. This running order remained the same for the first six laps, until a rollover by Grew Crew in turn two forced a full course caution. Crew was able to continue, and with officials deciding that the full course caution would also serve as the Competition Yellow, drivers were set to have an extra lengthy nine laps of green flag running to the checkered flag. On the restart lap, Fitzgerald (who’d already come back up to sixth) got down the inside of Quinn at turn two, and went by as the two raced down to turn three. Up front McCullough and Morris were really dicing for the lead, but another full course caution (brought out after Chad Graham spun and stalled out in turn five) forced them to ease up for a few moments.
On the restart, Poole slowed just after the start/finish line, and came to a stop, race over, up in turn two. This forced yet another full course caution, and also moved Hunt to third in the #334 Speed Energy/Bowden Development, Inc. Alumi Craft, Fitzgerald to fourth in the #314 BFGoodrich Tires/Simpson buggy, and Quinn to fifth in the #311 McKenzies/LAT Racing Oils machine. On the restart lap, Morris got alongside McCullough coming out of turn four, and out-braked the leader into turn five, moving himself into first place with just three laps to go. Two laps later, and Fitzgerald was now just ahead of Hunt as they approached turn three. Hunt hit Fitzgerald as the two braked for the corner, sending Fitzgerald sideways into the corner. Fitzgerald stayed upright, and got back going quick enough to maintain his third place, while Hunt suffered a left front suspension failure, ending his race. At the white flag, the running order was now Morris, McCullough, Fitzgerald, Quinn, and Lindsay Geiser in the #395 Canidae/Mickey Thompson Geiser up front. On the last lap, however, it was Dillon Ayers who made a forceful pass on Geiser to take over fifth in the final corner in his #398 Gear One/Fat Performance Lothringer. At the head of the field, Morris picked up the win in his #304 Lucas Oil/K&N Penhall, followed by McCullough in the #389 Gear One/Broken Cartel Geiser, Fitzgerald, Quinn, and Ayers.
Pro 4 Unlimited
Following Opening Ceremonies, which included the singing of the National Anthem by Caroline Renezeder (daughter of Carl Renezeder), it was time to get back to racing with Pro 4 Unlimited. Travis Coyne had the early lead in his #5 ProComp/Maxxis Ford, and was closely followed by Eric Barron in the #32 LAT Racing Oils/California Metals Toyota, Josh Merrell in the #22 MavTV/Hart and Huntington Ford, Kyle LeDuc in the #99 Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Ford, and Todd LeDuc in the #7 Rockstar/Makita Ford. On lap two, Coyne and Barron bumped side by side heading for turn four, with Barron nosing ahead and into the lead in the corner. Shortly afterwards, Kyle LeDuc got by Merrell for third, before diving in next to Coyne into turn five, going by, and moving into second on lap three. Within two more corners, Merrell and Todd LeDuc also got by Coyne, with Renezeder also getting by less than a lap later. Up front, it was already a close race for the lead between Barron and Kyle LeDuc, but a rollover in turn two by Merrell, and the subsequent full course caution, paused that for just a bit. Merrell’s misfortune moved Renezeder’s #1 Lucas Oil/General Tire Nissan up to fourth, and put Coyne back in fifth, but on the restart lap, it was Adler who got by Coyne to take that spot. The Competition Yellow then came out, and the running order was now Barron, Kyle LeDuc, Todd LeDuc, Renezeder, and Adler in the top five.
Under yellow, smoke was seen coming from the back of Todd LeDuc’s truck, but he was able to continue at what looked like full speed when racing resumed. Renezeder, however, wasn’t able to do so, as some kind of mechanical issue took the edge off of his pace, and allowed Adler and Coyne to get by and into fourth and fifth. Up front, Kyle LeDuc was really trying hard to get by Barron now, but Barron was driving rather erratically, never leaving a clear opening available for long enough to allow LeDuc to get by cleanly. LeDuc tried an acceptable level of contact, which Barron was un-phased by, so LeDuc then tried reckless bravery. Unfortunately, Barron had the same idea, and with the track now very rutted out in turns two, three, and five, the two went way up on the bicycle, side by side, as they raced through turn two. Both drivers came back down in their same positions, and to the delight of the crowd, the battle was still on. Another full course caution then came out after Renezeder and Curt LeDuc got tangled up in turn four, and after racing resumed, Barron simply had the measure of Kyle LeDuc. LeDuc made a couple of last ditch shots for the lead, but Barron was just too tough to pass, as he thrust his truck through the immense ruts to pick up his third win on the trot; Barron hasn’t been beaten since taking his first career Lucas Oil Off Road win back in Round 8! Kyle LeDuc finished in second, with Todd LeDuc third, Adler fourth, and Coyne fifth.
Pro Buggy Unlimited
There was potential for history to be made in Pro Buggy Unlimited this evening, as Doug Fortin, winner of the last five races in the class, was poised to tie the current series record of six straight wins (set by Kyle LeDuc in Pro 4 Unlimited earlier this season) if he were to win here in Round 10. At the end of lap one, though, it was Mike Porter who was out front in the #8 Mickey Thompson/Speed Energy Alumi Craft, followed by John Holmes in the #3 Prolong Super Lubricants/JG Transwerks Racer, Fortin in the #96 Fortin Racing, Inc./Fox Racing Shox Racer, Jerry Whelchel in the #5 ProAm/General Tire Foddrill, and Geoffrey Cooley in the #22 Competitive Metals/BFGoodrich Tires Alumi Craft. On lap two, Holmes got into the back of Porter coming into turn three, and although Porter got away clean, Holmes stuttered for a moment, which allowed Fortin to get by on the inside. Two laps later, Cooley rolled at turn two, which brought out a full course yellow. Despite a couple of big puffs of smoke coming out of Cooley’s car, he was able to continue, with his engine quickly clearing out and getting back up to speed. Garrett George briefly moved up to fifth after Cooley’s misfortune, but was then black flagged (possibly for contact with Cooley), which moved Randy Minnier into fifth in the #59 Bay City Electric Works/Ramtek Alumi Craft. After the restart, Minnier went wide in turn three, allowing Cameron Steele (who’d also been black flagged earlier) to easily get by on the inside. Two laps later, Steele was a bit too aggressive into turn three, where he just clipped Whelchel. Whelchel got away unscathed, and Steele turned himself to avoid furthering the contact, which allowed Minnier to get back by. Steele got the spot right back before the end of the lap, though, and just ahead of the Competition Yellow.
Under yellow, the running order was Porter, Fortin, Holmes, Whelchel, and Steele in the #16 Monster Energy/Lucas Oil Alumi Craft. On the restart lap, Steele charged by Whelchel and Holmes in the whoops between turns two and three to move into third, with Whelchel then getting black flagged for contact with Holmes during the restart. Minnier was now up to fourth, with Holmes running fifth, before falling off the pace somewhat and dropping back a few more spots. This moved Cooley back into the top five, while up front, the top three drivers were now fairly clear of the field. On lap sixteen, Fortin had a good drive coming down to turn one, and as he and Porter climbed up the ramp of the tabletop between turns one and two, Fortin turned sharply to the inside and tried to dive down the inside into turn two. Porter chopped down in front of him, though, and kept Fortin at bay, and with two laps to go, it was now Porter, Fortin, Steele, Cooley, and Steven Greinke in the top five. From there, Porter continued to stay smooth as silk, as he’d done all race, as he flew home to his second win of the season, ending Fortin’s streak just shy of the record. Fortin finished a close second, followed by Steele in third, Cooley in fourth, and Greinke in fifth in the #23 SC Fuels/Concourse Racer.
Pro Lite Unlimited
With the lights now fully illuminating the track, it was veteran Chris Brandt starting alongside young gun (and winner of last night’s race) Bradley Morris in Pro Lite Unlimited. Morris moved into the lead early in his #24 GoldStar Asphalt!/Oakley Ford, followed by Brian Deegan in the #38 Rockstar/Makita Ford, Justin “Bean” Smith in the #19 Competitive Metals/Metal Mulisha Ford, Brandt in the #82 BFGoodrich Tires/National Concrete Cutting Toyota, and Matt Cook in the #55 Supercross.com/Loctite Toyota. Up front, the running order went unchanged for the opening three laps, before a rollover by Smith at turn two on lap four forced a full course yellow. That yellow turned into a red flag when a small fire broke out aboard the Smith machine, but with emergency crews quickly extinguishing the flames, Smith was able to continue at the tail of the field. Once racing resumed, the running order was now Morris, Deegan, Brandt, RJ Anderson in the #37 Monster Energy/Polaris Dodge, and Chad George in the #42 Discount Tire/Yokohama Ford. Deegan tried to dive inside at turn two on the restart lap, but with Morris holding his preferred line, Deegan was unable to get past. On the next lap, Anderson got alongside Brandt as they entered turn four, where the two stuttered as they both tried for the same line through the corner. George was right there to take full advantage, as he got them both to jump from fifth to third in one corner, with Anderson then coming out ahead of Brandt for fourth. George’s good fortune was short-lived, however, as he then rolled in turn two on the next lap, which brought out a full course caution just when the Competition Yellow was set to come out anyway. Under yellow, the running order was now Morris, Deegan, Anderson, Brandt, and Cook in the top five.
George was able to get re-fired and continue, and after green flag racing resumed, the running order up front remained the same for a few laps. On lap thirteen, big smoke then started coming out the back of Anderson’s truck, and after finishing the race on seven cylinders last night, the points leader’s luck went much worse here tonight. Anderson’s pace was slowed to a crawl, as the rest of the pack roared past, with Brandt, Cook, and Casey Currie moving up to third, fourth, and fifth. At the head of the field, Morris was actually starting to pull away from Deegan now, which forced to Deegan to try and raise a little more pace from his machine. Further back, Cook then slowed on lap fifteen, pulling into the hot pits and out of the race. This moved Ryan Beat into fifth in the #51 Premiere Motorsports Group/Black Rhino Ford, while up in front, Deegan was now eating back into Morris’ lead. On the final lap, it was a heartbreaking turn of events for Brandt, who suddenly pulled to a stop at the exit of turn two, as a mechanical failure ended a very strong charge when Brandt, running second in points, could’ve taken advantage of Anderson’s misfortune. As the checkers came out, it was Morris who drove an immensely impressive race, with mental fortitude well beyond his years, to hold some of the best in the business. Morris led wire to wire to take the win and the sweep of the weekend, followed by Deegan (who finished with a flat tire- maybe this explains his loss of pace for a few laps earlier on?), Currie in the #2 Monster Energy/General Tire Nissan, Beat, and Doug Mittag in the #81 Supercross.com/Desert Ironwoods Resort Toyota.
Super Lite
The penultimate race of the night was Super Lite, and it was Brent Fouch who was out front early once again, as he was last night, in the #21 Fouch Racing/General Tire truck. Code Rahders ran second in the #16 Superchips/K&N machine, with last night’s winner Sheldon Creed third in the #74 A.M. Ortega/BFGoodrich Tires entry, Ryan Hagy fourth in the #5 Valli Construction/Rockstar machine, and Dawson Kirchner fifth in the #18 Speed Technologies/General Tire truck. This running order stayed the same for the first three laps, with the top three drivers beginning to open up a gap over those behind. On lap four, Rahders jumped by Fouch, literally, into turn five and into the lead, with Creed then out-dragging Fouch out of the corner to get by as well. Two laps later, and Fouch was now starting to fall back into clutches of Hagy, and on the next lap, Jessie Johnson charged through the whoops to pass Kirchner and move into fifth. At the Competition Yellow, the running order was Rahders out front, followed by Creed, Fouch, Hagy, and Johnson in the #15 SoCal Super Trucks/Speed Energy entry. After the restart, the running order was still the same in the top five, and after a few more laps, Rahders and Creed were starting to pull away out front. Johnson then had yet another rollover in turn two (he rolled there twice last night), which brought out a full course caution. On the restart lap, Rahders was a bit slow coming out of turn two, and Creed and Fouch were right there to take advantage, as they both moved past and into the top two spots. Hagy then muscled by Rahders in turn three, before getting past Fouch right afterwards. Rahders fought back, though, as he jumped alongside Fouch, again, and out-braked him into turn five, moving back up to third in the process. With one lap to go, it was now Creed, Hagy, Rahders, Max Hunt (who’d also gotten by Fouch just after Rahders had), and Fouch in the top five. On the final lap, Rahders spun out as he exited turn four, sending him to the back of the pack after what had been a very strong race by the young driver. Up front, Creed streaked home for the win and the sweep of the weekend, followed by Hagy, who got a big measure of redemption following a nasty rollover last night. Rounding out the podium was the British driver Hunt and his #37 General Tire/Justice Brothers truck, who scored a terrific result in his first ever race weekend in the series. Fourth place went to Kirchner, and fifth place was Garrett Poelman in the #62 Supercross.com/Toyo Tires machine.
The final race of the weekend was once again Pro 2 Unlimited, and as the field streamed out on track, an outage in the portable light over turn four meant that the racers were sent to the hot pits for about 20 minutes until the lights were fixed. Once that was done, it was Brian Deegan who got the early lead in his #38 Rockstar/Makita Ford, ahead of Carl Renezeder in the #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire Nissan, Jeremy McGrath in the #2 Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Ford, Robby Woods in the #99 Lucas Slick Mist/General Tire Chevrolet, and Rob Naughton in the LunarPages Web Hosting/Hart and Huntington Ford. On lap three, Rob MacCachren got inside of Naughton coming into turn three, and really forced him wide as he moved up to fifth. A full course caution was then thrown when Marty Hart came to a stop in turn two, and on the restart lap, McGrath jumped alongside Renezeder off the jump into turn five, and ran him wide to pick up second spot in the corner. Another full course yellow then came out after Greg Adler blew his engine in spectacular fashion, with a huge plume of smoke pouring out the back of his truck as the motor let go.
Once racing resumed, championship leader Hart re-joined the fracas in an effort to salvage some precious points. Yet another full course caution then came out as Ryan Hancock was at a near-standstill in a dangerous spot atop the tabletop between turns one and two. Officials also made this the Competition Yellow, and when racing resumed, Hart came to a stop again, with track workers being able to get him towed to safety just in time to avoid another yellow flag period. The running order in the top five was still Deegan, McGrath, Renezeder, Woods, and MacCachren through lap fifteen, but on lap sixteen, Woods just caught the back bumper of Renezeder in turn four. This caused Renezeder to spin, and while MacCachren tried to take advantage from just behind, Woods had a half spin that put him right in MacCachren’s path, forcing him to check up, and allowing Woods to actually pick up a position as he moved into third. MacCachren also moved up (to fourth), as did Naughton (to fifth), with Renezeder dropping back three spots to sixth. In the closing laps, two battles developed for third and fifth spots, with MacCachren and Renezeder really hounding Woods and Naughton, respectively. All the drivers in the top five held their positions, though, and at the checkered flag, it was Deegan who got the win, ahead of McGrath, Renezeder, Woods, MacCachren, and Naughton.
That does it for a tremendous race weekend here at Glen Helen. Up next on our calendar, we’ve got an all-new race track, as the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series heads north to Sparks, NV, just outside Reno, and the Wild West Motorsports Park. Series head Tony Vanillo says that fans will be blown away by this new track, which is reported to have substantial elevation change and great viewing areas. Rounds 11 and 12 of the 2012 championship will take place in just three weeks’ time, August 25 and 26, so make your plans now to head up and check out what is sure to be another fantastic weekend of fun in the dirt!
About the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series:
The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series is the evolution of the long standing support of short course racing by Forrest Lucas and Lucas Oil Products. Steeped in the Midwest tradition of short course off road racing infused with a West Coast influence, Lucas Oil Off Road Racing brings intense four wheel door to door action to challenging, fan friendly tracks. Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series: This is Short Course. For more information please visit www.LucasOilOffRoad.com.
Written by Scott Neth for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series
Re: LOORRS- Race Info - News, Photos, and Inside Scoops-
Hay FYI Jessie Johnson drove one heck of a race on Saturday--- started like 8th was knocking on 2nd place rolled landed on all 4 that put him 10th drove like a man possessed back up to 3rd and turtle it again coming to the white flag- but that guy has some talent I thought it was the best drive of the night.
Stroker ace and crew absolutely KILLED pro-4, both laduc’s gave it their best shot and had nothing for the him---
And what the heck is going on with rent a center? Its kinda like all his luck has ran out? He was hit pushed and stuffed
My car is done but Wednesday I pulled the plug because me and the car needs some track time. but I am looking forward to Reno --- new track to everybody so it should be a even playing field.
Re: LOORRS- Race Info - News, Photos, and Inside Scoops-
Thanks to Lucas, I had a great time and glad to finish on Sunday.
PS, the new Sheriff in town is going to be great for the sport and a real help to Tony.
Again BIG thanks to Lucas and I was excited to be back in the seat again.
Re: LOORRS- Race Info - News, Photos, and Inside Scoops-
Had a great time hangin at the track for 3 days,although im at a race every weekend this was the first time in a few years that I had made it down to a LOORRS race,ran into Ken Johnson and he hooked me and the kid up with some swag.I got talking with Robby Woods in the stands during the p4 race and he couldnt believe I come all the way from canada just to watch the race, he invited me to his pit for beers after the race and it just added to the whole experience,cruzin socal for a few more days visiting friends but going crazy in this heat
Re: LOORRS- Race Info - News, Photos, and Inside Scoops-
Originally Posted by wheeli
Had a great time hangin at the track for 3 days,although im at a race every weekend this was the first time in a few years that I had made it down to a LOORRS race,ran into Ken Johnson and he hooked me and the kid up with some swag.I got talking with Robby Woods in the stands during the p4 race and he couldnt believe I come all the way from canada just to watch the race, he invited me to his pit for beers after the race and it just added to the whole experience,cruzin socal for a few more days visiting friends but going crazy in this heat
I am sure that you are a very interesting person to talk to but if Robby Woods was living up to his reputation he likely sat next to you to talk to that girl sitting behind you in the photo!
Originally Posted by FlyHiFlyLo
Off Road used to be full of brain trust now it's a bunch of mail order brides.
Re: LOORRS- Race Info - News, Photos, and Inside Scoops-
Originally Posted by Dirty Harry
I am sure that you are a very interesting person to talk to but if Robby Woods was living up to his reputation he likely sat next to you to talk to that girl sitting behind you in the photo!
Originally Posted by wheeli
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