Lake Elsinore, CA

After posting great results at rounds 3 and 4 in Las Vegas, Team LoanMart was hoping for a little smooth sailing at rounds 5 and 6 in Lake Elsinore. With the level of competition in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing series, that’s just not possible. Every round has been an intense battle on and off the track. With most of the LoanMart teams going through a season of firsts, the only constant has been the amount of work put in by the entire team, their steady progression and the consistent performance of defending Prolite champion RJ Anderson. RJ did not finish round 5 but came back with his third win of the season in round 6. “It was awesome taking our third win of the season,” said RJ, “I think we have proved to be the team to beat, we just need to focus on improving our Saturday finishes.”

For Oscar Rodriguez, it was a bit of a mental challenge. “Our weekend started cautious as I had a previous injury at lake Elsinore during testing,” said Oscar, “Saturday I was a bit overly cautious and managed to avoid the wreck to finish 14th out of 28. On Sunday, I felt great and was driving aggressive. If it was not for a flat, I would have been well within the top ten. Mentally, Elsinore is the hardest track for me, I look at the other tracks as a piece of cake, we’ll see.”

Ryan Beat’s weekend was up and down. He was fast on Saturday, finishing 4th in round 5. On Sunday he backed it up when he was 2nd fastest in group 1 qualifying but dropped to 21st with mechanical troubles during the race. “After being fastest in practice we were running top five on Saturday,” said Ryan, “I was passing Caddell for third when I got spun out from behind; dropping us to 9th. I made it back up to 4th in two laps but was disappointed with what should have been a podium finish. On Sunday we qualified third overall giving us a second row starting position but at the drop of the green flag we broke a valve spring in the motor. All I could do is limp around and try to salvage some points. I just want to run with RJ and Sheldon up front. When we have been on the track we have been fast but have been having some bad luck. We want to get out there and show everyone why we finished second in the points last year.”

In Pro2, Austin Kimbrell had a solid top five on Saturday. In round 6 on Sunday, he was running in 5th place again when he blew a tire. The crew changed the tire in no time but his trip to the hot pits under a green flag dropped him back to 19th. The pressure was on to make up lost ground. He came charging back to 9th in only three laps but was sidelined when the transmission expired. “We know we are a top five truck every race now,” says Austin, “It’s just a matter of following the learning curve and getting the truck figured out.”

Corry Weller had a great weekend in Pro4 competition posting back-to-back 4th place finishes but it didn’t come easy. Both rounds she had to tangle with the cagey veteran Curt LeDuc. LeDuc has been around forever and knows every trick in the book. He doesn’t like to get passed and doesn’t mind a little fender banging. “We were locked up on the front straight but I stayed into it because, IT’S A RACE!” says Corry, “He started to get sideways off the jump so I hit the brakes hard as I landed so he wouldn’t barrel roll. We were on the throttle so we both got pushed into the K-rail; I ended up on his hood. I heard him get on the gas in reverse so I hit the gas and drove over his front end. I ended up battling with Brandon Bailey who just beat me for the last podium spot. I’m not sure if Curt was sore but I’ve been driven over, spun sideways, flipped and been on fire, that’s shortcourse racing. It all comes with the territory, I love it!”

With rounds 5 and 6 in the books the LoanMart Team has five weeks to get ready for rounds 7 and 8 at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. Miller Motorsports Park is a beautiful facility and always provides great action for the fans as well as the racers.

For more information as well as weekly updates and videos, visit LoanMartRacing.com.
Like LoanMart Racing on Facebook, Facebook.com/LoanMartRacing

For more information on the Lucas Oil Offroad Racing Series go to: www.lucasoiloffroad.com

Photography By: Brian Binkert
Bink Designs - www.binkdesigns.com

About LoanMart
LoanMart is a direct lender specializing in non-traditional loans for customers who may otherwise be unable to borrow money from traditional sources such as banks.  Their lending products include auto equity loans and signature loans and are available regardless of applicants’ credit score.  Based in Encino, Calif., LoanMart has over 250 employees, and currently does business in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Illinois, and Missouri.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Loanmart.com

About Bink Designs
Bink Designs is a premier graphic design company located in San Diego, CA. Since 2003, Bink Designs has been committed to providing cost-effective solutions for clients’ high-end graphic needs. Bink Designs will work with you to develop a strategy that matches your goals. Bink Designs offers a number of services, including: Identity, Print Design, Vinyl Graphics, Web Design, Photography & Apparel.

For more information about Bink Designs, please visit www.binkdesigns.com

–
Bower Motorsports Media
Charlene Bower
714-394-1716
charlene@bowermedia.com

Race-dezert.com brings you highlights of rounds 5 & 6 from Lake Elsinore, CA

Taft, CA (5/13/2013) – Blingstar’s Nick Nelson put in a solid race at the fifth round of the Rocky Mountain ATV MC WORCS Series. Team owner, Clint Roberts, had to sit this round out, but is looking forward to a strong Blingstar presence after the break.

Nick Nelson had a decent start and was in tenth at the end of lap one. He continued to push through the twenty one racer field. He had a few issues on the motocross section and dropped to twelfth for laps two and three, but put on a hard charge and moved to ninth physically on the track. Nelson took over the eight spot on the final lap and finished in tenth after adjusted time.

“My Blingstar RZR XP 900 worked well. My FOX Shocks were dialed in and my DWT Moapa’s were getting the perfect amount of traction. I am really looking forward to getting some testing done over the break and coming on strong at Pala,” regarded Nelson after the race.

The Blingstar Team has 7 weeks off before the next round of the WORCS series. The team plans to complete a montage of testing to their Polaris RZR XP 900’s, while adding all new, FOX 2.5 shocks, LSR Stage 2 Kits and newly built motors by none other than Allen Knowles of CT Racing. The team is excited to announce that CT Racing has come aboard to do the honors of building us our race motors. CT Racing, has built Championship motors, world wide for over 20 years and has state of the art technology to get the most horsepower out of 4 stroke motors.

“We are really stoked to get the RZR’s dialed in for the second half of the season. We have a lot of great sponsors and a solid crew helping us. I know that both Nick and I will come on strong this summer, now that are SxS’s are as competitive as the rest of the field” said Clint Roberts, team owner and driver.

The Blingstar team has had a solid year thus far and Nick Nelson currently holds third place in the SxS Pro Production championship point’s chase. Clint Roberts is tied for eleventh. The pair plans to better their rankings as they come on strong at the sixth round at Pala Raceway in Pala, California July 12th – 14th.

This has been a long time coming. After years of discussion we decided to put what we felt were a list of the top ten active off-road racers in the world.

We based our opinion on the last 12 months of activity in short course, desert, rally raid, and rally. Racing and winning in multiple disciplines gives a driver more points. Class wins count less than overall wins.

10. Tavo Vildosola (Trophy Truck)
After a near win at the Baja 1000 last year Tavo Vildosola shook off the drama and started the year strong by winning the San Felipe 250. When he is on – he is an incredible driver. Watching him come through the road crossing at Vizciano at last year’s Baja 1000 was one of the most spectacular moments I have ever witnessed in off-road racing. We just wish Tavo would race more and venture into other forms of off-road. Three races a year is not nearly enough.

9. BJ Baldwin (Trophy Truck)
Winning the Baja 1000 with two drivers is a remarkable feat, but driving it entirely on your own and winning is an unbelievable achievement! BJ is consistently one of the top racers in the desert and has had experience with Dakar winning his class. He has been in a Pro-2 and a rally car…so maybe we will see him continue to expand his driving disciplines.

8. Robby Gordon (Trophy Truck, Pro-2, SST Truck, Dakar Vehicle)
Robby Gordon aka (Captain America) has found a new level as an off-road driver. After a dominant performance in the Desert last year winning the Best in The Desert Championship, Robby charged to Dakar, and after a rough start won three stages. Robby even managed to pull off a third place at Crandon last year. Robby also started this year off well with a top five finish at Parker and a win at his own Stadium Super Trucks. It would be pretty awesome to see Robby show up at both TORC/LOORS or Rallycross. He is capable of winning in any car, in any form of racing. There are no boundaries to what Robby is capable of…

7. Carl Renezeder (Pro-2 + Pro-4)
A lot of people don’t know that Curt Leduc actually introduced Carl to short course off-road, and he immediately fell in love with it. Carl has also raced in the desert having a Baja 1000 win to his credit, but that’s not why he’s on this list. Carl races both Pro-2 and Pro-4 and has won championships in both classes, and is dominating this years Lucas Oil Series.

6. Tanner Foust (Rallycross)
Tanner is arguably one of the best drivers on the planet. He is the only American to not just compete, but win in the European Rally Cross Championship. Having witnessed his car control on multiple occasions, I can safely say that he is a true wheelman capable of wielding any vehicle with incredible precision. Add his X-Games wins, with his Global Rallycross championship and you have America’s best rally driver at minimum. It would be great to see Tanner tackle Desert and short course racing.

5. Stéphane Peterhansel (Dakar Vehicle)
The only man in the world to have eleven Dakar victories Peterhansel has mastered the discipline of rally raid. Hopefully we don’t have to wait an entire year to see him battle. It would be interesting to see Peterhansel at The Baja 1000 or Vegas to Reno in a Trophy Truck.

4. Bryce Menzies (Trophy Truck, Pro-2, Rallycross)
After working his way up in desert and short course this young champion has become a top contender in an amazingly short amount of time. With one short course championship, two Baja 500 wins and a big win at The Mint 400, Bryce Menzies is on his way to the number one position. Now competing in rallycross Bryce is also targeting Dakar as his next challenge. It’s going to be fun to watch Bryce battle his way through competition in multiple disciplines.

3. Brian Deegan (Pro-2, Pro-Lite, Rallycross)
When Brian started talking to me about short course and Rallycross, I kept telling him that just getting to the point where you were competitive was going to be a monumental task. Brian is a lot smarter and more disciplined than people think. Behind the General of the Metal Mulisha facade is a driven, highly disciplined, ultra competitive athlete. Now after winning four championships in short course and multiple wins in rallycross, Brian has proven he can race and beat the best. Now if we could just get him into a Trophy Truck….

2. Sebastian Loeb (Rally Car, Rallycross)
After dominating in WRC for the last 9 seasons consecutively, Loeb stepped out into Rallcross and smashed the competition at X-Games. Even though he is technically retired from WRC he shows up at select races and smashed the compettition like he did at Monte Carlo and Argentina. Loeb is also headed to Pikes Peak and other racing challneges TBD. It would be great to see him in rallycross, shortcourse or even desert.

1. Rob MacCachren (Trophy Truck, Pro-2, Pro-4, SST Truck)
Currently racing a full season of Desert in BITD and SCORE as well as TORC and Lucas Oil Off-Road, Rob Mac added two Stadium Super Truck wins to his already amazingly packed resume. Rob is the man to beat in off-road, a dominant and consistent champion in short course and desert, he seemingly is getting better with age. After four decades of racing everything in dirt the only discipline Rob has not conquered is rally. It would be pretty epic to see a shoot out between Rob Mac and Sebastian Loeb at X-Games.

On the horizon

Races are happening even as we speak. In a few months these rankings could change radically so we wanted to mention a few drivers right on the edge of breaking into the top 10.

Brad Lovell (Pro-Lite, Ultra 4)
Brad successfully made the move from Ultra 4 to Pro-Lite with style winning multiple races and the TORC championship in 2012 including RedBud and Crandon. This self funded peoples’ champ also set a new track record at Crandon and finished the year with a BC Challenge Car win at The Baja 1000. Oh and he still had time to win the Ultra 4 Pro-Series Championship.
 
Nasser Al-Attiyah (Rally Car, Dakar Vehicle)
Who? In case you have never paid attention to Dakar or WRC let me introduce you to Nasser Al-Attiyah. Besides being 8x FIA Middle East Champion, Nasser is a regular in both WRC and Dakar. Even though he DNF’d at this year’s Dakar he still had an impressive 3 stage wins running on an independent team. We need to see Nasser hop the pond and get into a Trophy Truck or Pro-2.

Kyle Leduc (Pro-4, Pro-2)
This dominant Pro-4 Champion has taken on racing in the Pro-2 class as well as Desert racing. With plenty of experience racing an 8 truck with his father Curt Leduc, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kyle ended up in the drivers seat of a Trophy Truck.

RJ Anderson (Pro-Lite, UTV)
After serving up the Pro-Lite field with a steady view of his rear bumper in 2012, RJ has already started the season strong winning one race as well as competing in the WORCS UTV series.

CJ Greaves (Pro-Lite, Pro-2)
When your dad is short course champion Johnny Greaves I would expect you have a lot of pressure to perform, but CJ showed that at just 15 years old he was ready to go against the best. In 2012 CJ became the youngest driver to win a Pro-2 class race and managed to finish 4th in class with 5 podiums. CJ also pulled double duty racing in Pro-Lite all season as well. In fact CJ started his season off this year with a Pro-Lite win in TORC.

Bradley Morris (Pro-Lite, Super Buggy, TrophyKart)
Part of the wave of trophy cart kids this “Baby Faced Killer” has come up though Trophy Karts, to Pro-Buggy, to Pro-Lite and has been a regular podium threat all along the way. Morris had two podiums back-to-back and was named rookie of the year in Pro-Lite in 2012 all while racing in two other classes.

Luke McMillin (Class 1)
Third generation off-road racer Luke McMillin had a stellar year in Class 1 dominating all season sweeping the SCORE races in Baja. He won the San Felipe 250, Baja 500, and the Baja 1000 in Class 1. He’s already off to a good start this year winning the SNORE Bap in 1600 for the second year in a row and finishing the San Felipe 250 third in Class. This 20 year old kid has a bright future and will be racing his first Trophy Truck race at the 2013 Baja 500.

Sébastien Ogier (Rally Car)
When Ogier moved from the proven platform of the Citroën to VW’s new Polo R platform no one expected him to come out of the gate in control of the WRC points championship lead. He has dominated every round except the ones his former teammate Sebastian Loeb showed up at. It would be awesome to see what kind of damage Ogier could do in rallycross or shortcourse.

Words by Matt Martelli
Additional contributors Klaus Rasch and Ron Solomon
Watermarked Photography by Vincent Knakal of Mad Media
Tanner Foust Photos by Jason Zindroski

[Show as slideshow]

Douglas Motorsports

Frana Racing

John Frana PRO-Buggy #907

Frana Runs Fast Early – Retires Late

Race Report

Video Clip

Los Angeles, Calif (May 20, 2013) - The Global Rallycross event at X Games Barcelona scheduled for Sunday, May 19 was cancelled.

Congratulations to JCR/Honda EnduroX sensation Colton Haaker who rode a nearly flawless race in Spain and is coming home with the Silver Medal!

If you missed any of the action that was broadcast 3 times this weekend on both ESPN and ABC you can watch the race here. http://jcrhonda.com/story/all/249 or here http://youtu.be/RlwndmpX_60

“I can see the momentum building with Colton Haaker, he is focused and confident and this program is steadily improving. I believe it takes key ingredients like talent, structure and support to make racing dreams come true and that’s what we are seeing happen with Colton Haaker. I am super happy with and for Colton and as this program continues to develop I know for certain the best is yet to come.” — Johnny Campbell

Photo Credit: Jeremy Merrell

2013 JCR/Honda team video link: http://youtu.be/GBtkL9iStHs

Follow JCR/Honda on FB at www.Facebook.com/JCRHonda

Follow JCR/Honda on Twitter www.Twitter.com/JCRHonda

Follow JCR/Honda on Instagram @JCRHonda

2013 EnduroX, EnduroCross schedule for TV times and more info go towww.EnduroCross.com

XGames Enduro X

Foz do Iquacu Brazil, Foz do Iquacu, April 18, 2013

Barcelona, Spain, Olympic Stadium, May 18, 2013

Munich, Germany, Olympiastadiom, June 30, 2013

Los Angeles, USA, Staples Center, August 4, 2013

AMA EnduroCross

Las Vegas, Nevada, Orleans Arena, May 3, 2013

Sacramento, California, Sleep Train Arena, June 8, 2013

Ontario, California, Citizens Bank Arena, September 21, 2013

Denver, Colorado, National Western Complex, October 12, 2013

Everett, Washington, Comcast Arena, October 26, 2013

Boise, Idaho, Idaho Center, November 9, 2013

Las Vegas, Nevada, Orleans Arena, November 23, 2013

Robby Gordon is not a guy who stays content for more than a moment, and that’s a good thing for all of us watching. For round five of Stadium Super Trucks, the second round at San Diego’s Qualcomm stadium, Robby completely changed the course layout from the previous round. He basically created a course where the vehicles would be upset the entire race. Small whoops, giant whoops, a pavement rhythm section, a massive over under gap jump, hairpin turns, and a crazy double all added up to be a slow but extremely entertaining course. Every round I can see improvements being made everywhere, from the event production to the TV coverage, Stadium Super Trucks just keeps getting better. Sit back, have some beers and food, and enjoy off-road racing from the comfort of a stadium seat!

Fastest qualifier on Friday night was 15-year old Sheldon “The Prodigy” Creed. It’s remarkable for a kid this young just to be in the same field with the likes of Robby Gordon, Rob MacCachren, and Ricky Johnson, but to out-qualify them is down right incredible. Now lets see if Sheldon can race mature enough to turn his one lap speed into a solid finish. Similar to Supercross a lot of the best action of the night is in the qualifying rounds. I suspect, as the vehicle counts will eventually grow the qualifying rounds will be the best racing of the night.

Qualifying heat one was pretty much the Robby Gordon show. He started in 6^th and methodically picked off the competition showing that he has the ability to win at will. At one point, Arie Luyendyk, Jr. put his truck on its lid trying to keep up with Gordon’s pace.

Qualifying heat two was an awesome battle between Rob MacCachren and Sheldon Creed. They literally came straight from the Lucas Oil Off-Road race where Creed scored his first win in the Pro-Lite class. Sheldon got out front and was holding Rob Mac off until he made a little mistake and spun in the first corner on the pavement covered in dirt. Rob Mac always stalking, immediately got around him and took the checkered flag for the first heat race. Both of these drivers have mastered the E-brake that is a feature of these trucks. The E-brake allows a driver to rotate the truck around to make tight corners in the tight Stadium Super Trucks race tracks.

The Trophy Kart main was easily one of the most entertaining races of the night as they have to race the same course as the big vehicles minus the over under gap jump, so the giant whoops Robby created are mountains for these kids… but they get over them somehow. Brock Heger got a good start and led until his car stalled when Myles Cheek took over with Cole Mamer in third. The field literally had to crash over the massive set of jumps in the front stretch, which took out Miles Cheek as he endoed over the massive jump ending his lead. On the restart Mamer, Heger, and Gavin Harlien went charging over jumps in front stretch this time taking out Mamer as he also endoed. On the restart Heger again stalls on the restart and Shelby Anderson get’s around him to take the win! Yes a girl wins! An Anderson. If you don’t know who here family is let me tell you she was bred for off-road racing.

1. Shelby Anderson
2. Gavin Harlien
3. Darren Hardesty Jr.

The LCQ Qualifying heat was Lofton vs Johnson. Justin Lofton started out front, but the always crafty Ricky Johnson got around him for the lead. Lofton fended off multiple attacks from Greg Adler managing to maintain second behind Johnson. It was all Ricky Johnson.

In Super Buggies, Rob Archibald, Michael Ward, Eddie Tafoya, and Apdaly Lopez got into a tangle which led to a great battle between Lopez and Tafoya, which Lopez got the better of and took the lead. Jerry Welchel made a charge up to threaten third but slowed suddenly. Once Lopez took the lead he drove smoothly and walked away with the win.

1) Apdaly Lopez
2) Eddie Tafoya
3) Michael Ward

Robby added Supermoto to the line up of the night’s racing. As a fan of Supermoto, I was pretty excited to see how it would work. It was clear that this type of tight and rough course was more suited for motocross than Supermoto. There was a pretty gnarly over the handlebars crash on the start, I don’t know how the guy was able to continue, but he did. Other than one or two crashes, it was slow boring follow the leader race. If we’re going to have bikes at Stadium Super Trucks let’s just go all the way and have motocross like Mickey Thompson had back in the day. I don’t think they’ll mind the pavement sections? Or maybe, they can have a separate line. I like bikes but they need a course that can showcase them. It’s difficult to create an all-in-one track.

1) Derek Costella
2) Dustin Hoffman
3) Danny Casey

The Main started right out of the gate as knock-down drag-out fight on four wheels. Nick Baumgartner smashed into Sheldon Creed, Jesse Johnson went off the first jump wide and got high sided on the wall. Robby Gordon just smoothly drove around the chaos and took control off the lead. They restarted the field. Gordon, Baumgartner, Arie Luyendyk Jr., and Sheldon Creed.  Gordon blasts off, Creed hunts down Luyendyk, Jr., and eventually passes him for third. Baumgartner stalls and Creed moves to second over the double and Luyendyk, Jr., literally lands on the back of him but Creed squirts away.

Gordon begins to gap the field when Lalo Laguna goes over the wall and the field is restarted. On the restart, Creed take the alternate line and gets door to door with Gordon nearly passing him but Robby holds the lead. Baumgartner goes over the wall and there is another restart. Laguna rolls his truck on the way to the restart. On the restart, Rob MacCachren catches Creed and tags his bumper in the hairpin. Creed recovers and attacks Gordon in the corner before the pavement rhythm section, and the restarts continue which normally I would be irritated with but it just keeps giving everybody behind Robby a shot at getting him. PJ Jones rolls. Restart. Lofton rolls. Restart. Finally they finish the race with Robby out front, Sheldon Creed in second and Rob MacCachren in third. Awesome race for sure, but a few too many restarts.

1) Robby Gordon
2) Sheldon Creed
3) Rob MacCachren

The race will air on TV next Saturday, May 25th, from 12:30-2pm on NBC Sports so set your DVR’s.

Photography by Ernesto Araiza

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SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, dominiccnv@aol.com

May 20, 2013

Nearly 300 entries expected Tim Herbst, MacCachren leading 38 SCORE Trophy Trucks entered in 45th annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500 desert race

Round 2 of 2013 SCORE Desert Series to be held May 30-June 2 in Ensenada, Mexico. Racers from 35 States, 15 countries expected as course map available at score-international.com.

SAN DIEGO—Las Vegas’ Tim Herbst and Rob MacCachren, two of the all-time winningest racers in desert racing history are leading a field of 38 SCORE Trophy Trucks, the marquee racing division in the sport, in the upcoming 45th Tecate SCORE Baja 500. Between the two drivers they have won 22 individual races and six season championships in the featured SCORE racing division for high-tech, 850-horsepower unlimited production trucks.

Entries from around the world continue to arrive for Round 2 of the 2013 SCORE Desert Series, to be held May 30-June 2 in Mexico’s Baja California Norte, starting and finishing in Ensenada, the seaside port on the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of San Diego.

It is an elapsed-time race with staggered starts with the green flag on Saturday (June 1) dropping first for the motorcycles and ATVs at 6 a.m. with cars and trucks leaving the start line three and one-half hours after the last Sportsman ATV at approximately 10:30 a.m.

Motorcycle classes 22 and 21 will start in 30-second intervals, all of the other motorcycle and ATV classes will start one every 15 seconds and those classes will have a 16-hour, 45-minute time limit to be an official finisher. There will be a 22-hour time limit to be an official finisher in the grueling race for all of the car and truck classes and those classes will start one every 30 seconds as well.

SCORE is celebrating its 40th year as the world’s foremost desert racing organization in 2013 and this race is traditionally one of the most popular events on the SCORE schedule. Most the world’s best desert racers will be in action at this year’s 45th anniversary of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, the original desert race produced by SCORE on July 26, 1974.

SUPERSTAR SCORE TROPHY TRUCKS

With the world’s top desert racers competing, of the 38 entries so far in SCORE Trophy Truck are13 racers who have combined for 65 race wins out of the 105 total races since the class debuted in 1994. There are also eight previous winners in this race entered and a total of 14 from SCORE Trophy Truck season point champions including the last seven straight winners.

Tim Herbst, 50, and MacCachren, 48, lead the way each with 11 career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins. Herbst, who is racing with legendary racer Larry Roeseler (three career SCORE Trophy Truck) drives the No. 19 Monster Energy Terrible Herbst Motorsports Ford F-150 while MacCachren, who is driving solo, races the No. 11 Rockstar Energy MacCachren Motorsports Ford F-150.  Tim Herbst has four career season class championships in SCORE Trophy Truck (1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003) and MacCachren has earned two titles in the class (1996 and 2007).

Among the former SCORE Trophy Truck season champs, the star-studded field also includes former titlists B.J. Baldwin, Las Vegas (2006, 2008 and 2012 in the No. 1 Monster Energy Baldwin Motorsports Chevy Silverado), Robby Gordon, Charlotte, N.C. (1996 and 2009 in the No. 77 Speed Energy Team Gordon Chevy CK1500), Curt LeDuc, Cherry Valley, Calif. (1997 who is driving with Nick Vanderwey this year in the No. 84 Flying Dutchmen Chevy Silverado), Mark Post, Las Vegas (2007 with MacCachren who is driving the No. 3 Riviera Racing Ford F-150), Jesse Jones, Litchfield Park, Ariz. (2010 who drives the No. 76 Jones Motorsports Chevy Siverado) and Bryce Menzies, Las Vegas (2011 who drives the No. 70 Red Bull Menzies Motorsports Ford F-150).

Menzies, who has three career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins, has also won the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 for the last two straight years.

Gordon, who won this race in 2005, has nine career SCORE Trophy Truck races wins, fourth most in SCORE history. Post has seven career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins, Baldwin has five, LeDuc has four, Ryan Arciero (who is racing with Troy Herbst in the No. 91 Monster Energy Terrible Herbst Motorsports Ford F-150) has three victories in the class.

Also with three career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins entered in this year’s race are Roeseler (including twice in 2008 with new SCORE President Roger Norman) and Mexico’s Gus Vildosola who races with his son Gus Vildosola Jr (who has two career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins) in the No. 21 Red Bull Vildosola Racing Ford F-150. The Vildosola duo opened this season by winning the Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 in March.

Other entries with class wins on their resume in the featured SCORE racing division are Jones and Hawaii’s Alan Pflueger who both have two career wins each.

DOUBLE ANNIVERSARY RACE

To enjoy the history-making anniversary race, entries from up to 35 U.S. States and 15 countries are expected with competition offered in 40 Pro and 7 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs. Entries have already been received from Hawaii to Florida in the U.S., the U.S. territory of Guam, along with entries to date from the additional countries of Australia, Austria, Belize, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Italy, Japan, Norway and host country Mexico. A total of 230 entries have been accepted to date and an additional 70 are expected before the green flag drops.

QUALIFYING A FIRST…

For the first time in SCORE Baja racing history, qualifying for starting positions will be held. On Thursday, May 30, qualifying for both the SCORE Trophy Truck and the unlimited Class 1 will be held over a special course near Ensenada. Qualifying will not be open to the public.

To date, there are a total of 38 SCORE Trophy Trucks and 21 Class 1 entries that will qualify for their starting positions on Thursday (May 30), marking the first time there has been qualifying in the storied history of SCORE Baja racing. For the top two car and truck classes, the start drawing identified their qualifying order in each class.

Receiving the first qualifying positions in their respective classes were B.J. Baldwin, Las Vegas, in the No. 1 Monster Energy Baldwin Motorsports Chevy Silverado SCORE Trophy Truck and Eduardo Laguna, Mexicali, Mexico, who drives the No. 117 Speed Energy RPM Racing RGM-Chevy open-wheel race car.

Tampa Digital Studios and Tempt Media Films will tape all qualifying vehicle for broadcast use on the ground and from the SCORE TV helicopter.

ENTRY LEADERS

While SCORE Trophy Truck with 38 has the most entries of any class in the race including 4-wheel vehicles, other car/truck classes with double figure entries so far are Class 1 with 21, Class 10 with 20 and Class 1/2-1600 with 11.

Leading the Pro motorcycle classes are the open Class 22 and Class 30 (riders 30 years old and over), each with 10 entries so far.

Class 24 leads the ATV classes so far with eight and leading the Sportsman Motorcycles is the SPT M/C> class with 21 entries so far.

A BAJA FIESTA…

Colorful race week festivities will include several first-time events for SCORE, starting with qualifying for SCORE Trophy Truck and Class 1 followed by the Monster Energy SCORE Kick Off Party on Thursday, May 30 from 7 p.m. until Midnight at the start/finish line area in the heart of Ensenada. With donations for La Cruz Roja Mexicana (Mexico’s Red Cross), the event will include a racer’s autograph party and vehicle display.

Friday, May 31 will see the day-long, pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and contingency festival in the start finish line area in Ensenada. With three performances during the day at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., will be a special appearance of the Monster Energy Freestylemx.com show featuring XGames stars Kenny Bell, Dustin Miller and Rich Kearns.

During the race on Saturday, June 1, the Monster Energy SCORE VIP hospitality area, will be part of the start/finish line compound. The Monster Energy SCORE VIP area will include live streaming from the race course as well as updated leaderboard and Internet tracking display of the race vehicles.

All of the week’s festivities will be aired both live and same-day including the race, on the Dirt LiveHD SCORE race week shows, airing via the internet on the SCORE website.

ENTERING HISTORY

Online registration, with classes grouped into four Pro and two Sportsman levels is ongoing through the SCORE website. Questions regarding SCORE racer registration should be directed to Elise Norman at 775.690.2306.

Official entries received after the drawing are being given the next available starting position within their respective classes. Late entries received after May 24 or registering on-site will be assessed a $200 late fee.

GLORY GIVEAWAY

With help from sponsors BFGoodrich Tires, Monster Energy, King Shocks, Rigid Industries and GoPro, SCORE is holding a special online prize giveaway contest through its website to help commemorate ‘45 Years of SCORE Baja 500 Glory’. Visit www.score-international.com for all the details.

ANNIVERSARY COURSE

The race features a course of just over 501 miles that includes some new or seldom-used areas as several new festivities will be held surround the event as the celebration continues for the 40th season of SCORE International desert racing.

Pre-running on the race course began this past Wednesday, except for the portion from the start to Ojos Negros (approximately 41 miles), which will be used in both directions during the race. This section may be run only the Thursday (May 30) and Friday (May 31) of race week and only in the outbound direction.

SCORE President Roger Norman and SCORE Race Director Jose Grijalva have designed a historic race course that will be another memorable example of all that Mexico’s Baja California has to offer, including high-speed dirt trails, sandy, rocky and silty natural terrain, majestic Baja washes and canyons, stretches along the seashore with elevations from sea level to over 4,100 feet. The course will be another jewel reflecting the stark beauty of Baja California.

Featuring four physical, full-stop checkpoints and more than 90 virtual checkpoints, the race will start and finish in downtown Ensenada on Boulevard Costero in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center, marking the sixth straight year this race has been able to finish on Blvd. Costero. Starting and finishing in Ensenada, this year’s tight and technical course will run in a clockwise direction for the 10th straight year.

The course runs East to Ojos Negros area, South through Tres Hermanos to near Lllano Colorado then East and Northeast up over the top of the 4,100-foot Summit, looping east and NE to Cahabuzo Junction South into the Laguna Salada desert running parallel to the Sea of Cortez to Borrego  and then back Northwest, Southwest past and up by Mike’s Sky Ranch, followed by a West travel section, turning north at the Pacific Ocean then East, North and back West for the final charge back into Ensenada. The first 35 miles will be used both outgoing and incoming. The course also includes a magnificent 60-plus mile run along the shores of the Pacific Ocean. There are also five short highway pavement areas on the course, less than 15 miles total, with a maximum speed limit of 60 mph.

AT THE RIVIERA…

The Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center, in the heart of Ensenada, will again be the site of many of the activities surrounding the Tecate SCORE Baja 500. Racer registration and Media registration will be held at the Riviera on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (May 30-31, June 1) and the SCORE Media Center will be there as well during the race with internet access and live race updates, vehicle tracking and unofficial elapsed times.

In the Cathedral Room at the Riviera will be pre-race media conference as well as the mandatory pre-race racer’s meeting on Friday (May 31). The post-race awards celebration will be in the outdoor Riviera open-air amphitheater at noon on Sunday (June 2).

The start/finish line for the race will once again be adjacent to the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center as well.

DAKAR CHALLENGE 2013

This year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 500 and Eldorado HDRA Reno 500 (July 12-14) are part of a special program where the combined best qualified car/truck finisher and combined best qualified motorcycle finisher in the two races will each receive special entry packages into the 2014 Dakar Rally in South America. Regulations and other information on Dakar Challenge 2013 are available at http://www.dakar.com/dakar/2013/us/dakar-challenge.html.

GRANDEST GRAND…

Roger Norman has also announced that the grand marshal for this year’s 45th Tecate SCORE Baja 500 will be Sal Fish, the iconic godfather of desert racing, who was a vital part of the first 39 years the popular race was produced by SCORE. Fish, 73, sold SCORE International to Norman on Dec. 20, 2012.

GRAN HISTORIA

The Tecate SCORE Baja 500 is one of the top motorsports events in the world. It was started originally in 1969 by the NORRA organization. Mickey Thompson and his SCORE International organization were asked by Mexican government to take over the event in 1974. Sal Fish ran and later owned and produced the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 for 39 years until he sold SCORE to Roger Norman in December of 2012.

Ensenada has been the heart and soul of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 as the popular summertime race.  This year will mark the 40th time it has started and 36th time it has finished in Ensenada.

IT’s DIRT, LIVE!

Roger Norman’s Dirt Live one-hour weekly show is broadcast live on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Pacific Time on the SCORE website.  The show content is centered around his two desert racing series, the SCORE Desert Series and the High Desert Racing Association as well as the new bonus points program he has developed called the World Championship of Desert Racing. Broadcast studios are located at the SCORE tech shop in El Cajon, Calif., a suburb of San Diego.

DIRT LIVE CREW

Desert racing public address announcer George Antill is the host of Norman’s Dirt Live program. While being refined weekly, one of the regular elements of the show will be a SCORE social media interchange, allowing fans and racers to comment and ask questions through the SCORE Facebook and SCORE Twitter platforms.  Another special segment each week is Tech Tips with either one of SCORE’s Tech co-directors Jake Velasco and Art Savedra.

Andrew Grimshaw, SCORE Media Production Manager, is the coordinating producer of the show. The program is hosted on ustream.com, the world’s largest streaming internet site.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF DESERT RACING

The 2013 SCORE Desert Series will also be part of the quickly-evolving World Championship of Desert Racing, which will combine points accumulated for car and truck classes in two of the three SCORE Baja races along with points earned from three of the four-race 2013 HDRA Series, all held in the United States. Both the SCORE and HDRA series will crown their own individual class and overall point champions as well with a bonus purse for those racers who qualify for the World Championship of Desert Racing points bonus purse program to earn a desert racing World Champion title.

With a growing total, for the inaugural World Championship of Desert Racing bonus purse, an official total of $45,000 has been posted to date from new SCORE sponsors Amber Racing Services ($25,000), King Shocks ($10,000) and Rigid Industries ($10,000).

For Pro car and truck classes with at least three starters in each qualifying race in 2013, the World Champion titles will be decided on combined points from two of the three SCORE races and three of the four HDRA races with the bonus purse paid using the same formula based on total purse and number of starters in each class as is used currently for each SCORE race.

For the Pro motorcycle and ATV classes, the World Championship of Desert Racing will include points earned in the three SCORE Baja races as well as the AMA National Hare and Hound race to be held during the HDRA Reno 500.

MORE AWARDS…

In addition to season class point championships and World Championship titles, the racers are also competing for part of the nearly $400,000 in cash purse and contingency postings each race. There are also annual SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year Awards. Drivers in the Pro car and truck classes are also attempting to earn prestigious SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards given to all car and truck class drivers who complete every required mile of the race season.  These awards are being presented by Toyota Motorsports for the 28th consecutive year.

SCORE SPONSORS…

Official Sponsors: Tecate Beer-Official Beer/Official Race Sponsor, Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire, Amber Racing Services-Official Race Fuels, Rigid Industries-Official Lights, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber, Volaris Airlines-Official Airline, Wide Open Excursions- Official Arrive and Drive Company, Coca-Cola-Official Soft Drink, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino, Hotel Coral and Marina-Official Hotel.

Associate Sponsors: Graham Watchmakers, SatellitePhoneStore.com, Symons Ambulance Company, Azunia Tequila.

Additional SCORE Partners: Proturismo Ensenada, Visit Baja California Sur, Baja California Secretary of Tourism, Mexicali Ayuntamineto, COTUCO Mexicali/San Felipe, Cruz Roja Mexicana, Blue C Advertising, PCI Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.

For more information, visit the official website of the new SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.

45th Tecate SCORE Baja 500

Official Entries (as of 5/20/13)

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (Unlimited Production Trucks)

(Numerical, before qualifying)

1 B.J. Baldwin, Las Vegas, Chevy Silverado

3 Mark Post, Las Vegas, Ford F-150

7 Steven Eugenio/Adam Pfankuch, Vista, Calif., Chevy Silverado

9 Mark Weyhrich, Troutdale, Ore./Luke McMillin, El Cajon, Calif., Ford F-150

10 Greg Nunley, Tulare, Calif., Chevy Silverado

11 Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas, Ford F-150

14 Heidi Steele, San Clemente, Calif./Jessica McMillin, National City, Calif., Chevy Silverado

15 Armin Schwarz, Germany/Martin Christensen, Escondido, Calif. (Denmark), BMW X-6

16 Cameron Steele, San Clemente, Calif., GMC Sierra

18 Juan C. Lopez, Tecate, Mexico, Chevy Silverado

19 Tim Herbst, Las Vegas/Larry Roeseler, Boulevard, Calif., Ford F-150

20 Robbie Pierce/Mike Julson, Santee, Calif., Chevy Silverado

21 Gus Vildosola/Gus Vildosola Jr, Mexicali, Mexico, Ford Raptor

22 Roberto Encinas Jr, Tijuana, Mexico, Chevy Silverado

23 Dan McMillin, La Mesa, Calif./Chuck Hovey, Escondido, Calif., Ford F-150

26 Jay Reichert, Cottonwood Shores, Texas/Charles Dorrance, Austin, Texas, Ford F-150

28 Alan Pflueger, Honolulu, Chevy Silverado

34 Ken Losch, Phoenix, Chevy Silverado

35 Jason Voss/Rich Voss, Cupertino, Calif., Ford F-150

39 Ron Whitton/Chas Dana, Mesa, Ariz., Ford F-150

44 Todd Jergensen/Kyle Jergensen, Oak Hills, Calif., Ford F-150

45 Gary Magness, Desert Hot Springs, Calif., Ford F-150

46 John Kolutra, Yorba Linda, Calif./Dave Gasper, Chino Hills, Calif., Chevy Silverado

48 Jimmy Knuckles, Brawley, Calif., Ford F-150

50 Zak Langley, Santa Monica, Calif., Ford F-150

51 Kory Scheeler, Las Vegas, Ford F-150

55 Mark Workentine, Fresno, Calif., Chevy Silverado

57 Mike Palmer, Denver, Chevy Silverado

59 Craig Potts, Scottsdale, Ariz., Chevy Silverado

70 Bryce Menzies, Las Vegas, Ford F-150

76 Jesse Jones, Phoenix, Ford F-250

77 Robby Gordon, Charlotte, N.C., Chevy CK1500

78 Jesse Ashcraft, San Marcos, Calif./Adam Ashcraft, Oceanside, Calif., Ford F-150

84 Nick Vanderwey, Phoenix/Curt LeDuc, Cherry Valley, Calif./Larry Vanderwey, Litchfield Park, Ariz., Chevy Silverado

85 Justin Davis, Chino Hills, Calif., Ford F-150

88 Sergio Salgado, Mexicali, Mexico, Ford Raptor

91 Troy Herbst, Las Vegas/Ryan Arciero, Foothill Ranch, Calif., Ford F-150

98 Gary Weyhrich, Troutdale, Ore., Ford F-150

Tecate SCORE Baja 500

SCORE Trophy Truck all-time winners

1994—Ivan Stewart

1995—Curt LeDuc

1996—Rob MacCachren

1997—Ivan Stewart

1998—Ivan Stewart

1999—Ivan Stewart

2000—Larry Ragland

2001—David Ashley/Dan Smith

2002—Mark Miller/Larry Ragland

2003—Mark Miller/Ryan Arciero

2004—Alan Pflueger

2005—Robby Gordon

2006—Brian Collins/Larry Ragland

2007—Larry Ragland/Brian Collins

2008—B.J. Baldwin

2009—Rick D. Johnson

2010—Andy McMillin/Scott McMillin

2011—Bryce Menzies

2012—Bryce Menzies

SCORE Trophy Truck®

(debuted in 1994, for 850 horsepower unlimited production trucks-102 total Desert races, 3 Stadium-short course)

All-Time SCORE Trophy Truck Race Winners

(1994 through 2013 Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250)

Wins   Driver(s), Years

11

Ed/Tim Herbst, Las Vegas, Ford F-150, 1997, 1998, 1999(3), 2000(2), 2001, 2002, 2003(2)

Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas, Ford F-150, 1994, 1996(2), 2003 (w/ G. Vildosola), 2007(3) (w/M.   Post), 2011 (2), 2012 (2)

10

Larry Ragland, Phoenix, Chevy, 1995(2), 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002 (w/ Mark Miller), 2005-2006-2007 (w/B.Collins)

9

Robby Gordon, Mooresville, N.C., Ford F-150, 1996(4), Chevy CK1500, 2005, 2006* (2) (one w/A. McMillin), 2009 (2)

Dan Smith/David Ashley, Riverside, Calif., Ford F-150, 1998(2), 2000, 2001(3), 2002(3)

Ivan Stewart, Alpine, Calif., Toyota SR5, 1994(3), 1995(2), 1997, 1998(2), 1999

7

Mark Post, Laguna Beach,CA, Ford F-150, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 (all w/J. Whelchel), 2007(3) (w/R. MacCachren)

6

Brian Collins, Las Vegas, Chevy Silverado, 2001, 2005-2006-2007 (w/L. Ragland), 2008, 2009

5

B.J. Baldwin, Las Vegas, Chevy Silverado, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012(2)

Andy McMillin, San Diego, Chevy Silverado, 2006 (w/R. Gordon), 2009 (w/S. McMillin), 2010 (2) (one w/S. McMillin), 2011 (w/S. McMillin)

4

Curt LeDuc, Cherry Valley, Calif., Jeep Grand Cherokee, 1995, 1997(3)

Mark Miller, Cave Creek, Ariz., Chevy Silverado, 2002 (w/ Larry Ragland), 2003(2), 2004 (w/ R. Arciero)

Paul/Dave Simon, Fallbrook, Calif., Ford F-150, 1994(2), 1995(2)

Jerry Whelchel, Portola Hills, Calif., Ford F-150, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 (all w/M. Post)

3

Ryan Arciero, Foothill Ranch, Calif., Chevy Silverado, 2003(2), 2004 (w/ M. Miller)

Scott McMillin, San Diego, Chevy Silverado, 2009 (w/A. McMillin), 2010 (w/A. McMillin), 2011 (w/A. McMillin)

Bryce Menzies, Las Vegas, Ford F-150, 2011 (2), 2012

Larry Roeseler, Boulevard, Calif., Chevy K1500, 1999, 2008 (2) (w/R. Norman)

Gus Vildosola Sr., Mexicali, Mexico, 2003 (w/ Rob MacCachren), 2010, 2013 (w/ Gus Vildosola Jr.)

2

Garron Cadiente, Mesa, Ariz., Ford F-150, 2006, 2007

Jesse Jones, Litchfield Park, Ariz., Ford F-150, 2010 (2)

Roger Norman, Reno, Nev., Ford F-150, 2008 (2) (W/L. Roeseler)

Alan Pflueger, Honolulu, Chevy Silverado, 2004(2)

Bob Shepard, Phoenix, Chevy CK1500, 2005, 2006

Gus Vildosola Jr., Mexicali, Mexico, 2010, 2013 (w/ Gus Vildosola Sr.)

1

Jason Baldwin, Laguna Beach, Calif., Ford F-150, 2005

Brian Coats, Huntington Beach, Calif., Chevy C1500, 1997

Marty Coyne, El Centro, Calif., Ford F-150, 2005*

Gary Dircks, Anthem, Ariz., Ford F-150, 2004

Dale Dondel, Hemet, Calif, Chevy Silverado, 2005

Juan C. Ibarra, Ensenada, Mexico, Chevy C1500, 1998

Rick D. Johnson, Barstow, Calif., Ford F-150, 2009

Rich Ronco, Peoria, Ariz., Chevy Silverado, 2008

Jim Smith, Orange, Calif., Ford F-150, 1994

*non-points stadium-short course race

Round 5 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, presented one of the best afternoons of short course off-road racing in recent memory. Every race had something special, and astounding battles abounded throughout the fields in each class. Today, the drivers would have their work cut out for them if they hoped to repeat that excitement of yesterday, but as true professionals so often do, they made that job look easy, as the racing here at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park was once again outstanding. Not every race was a door-to-door, wheel-to-wheel race for the lead, but each race had something uniquely enjoyable, and the cheers from the packed grandstands reflected the emotion evoked by the events on the track. In case you couldn’t see it for yourself, read on and find out why this weekend was so good.

Junior 2 Kart

The Junior 2 Kart drivers gave us a thrilling race to kick off the afternoon’s events, but the race got off to a bit of an auspicious start, as an incident in turn two involving several karts forced a full restart. On the second go-around, it was yesterday’s winner Ricky Gutierrez who got out front once again in his #478 G Brothers/B&D Performance truck, followed by Hailie Deegan in the #438 Dirt Princess/4 Wheel Parts kart, Parker Steele in the #449 Steele Racing/SDHQ Off Road Racing machine, Parker Porter in the #461 Redline Performance/Morgan Racing entry, and Broc Dickerson in the #423 Legacy Motorsports/LGE/CTS Motorsports kart. Ryan Carey got by Dickerson on the inside at turn one on lap two, and moved his #422 Mother’s/Lawrence Equipment truck up to fifth in the process. Shortly afterwards, Porter got by Steele and up to third between turns one and two, with Deegan then passing Gutierrez for the lead coming out of turn three. Gutierrez then quickly dropped back several positions to sixth for some odd reason, so it was now Deegan, Porter, Steele, Carey, and Dickerson in the top five. Dickerson got back by Carey and up to fourth at turn four on lap four, and through the next lap, the running was consistently and irregularly close from first all the way back to ninth, with each of those drivers still running nose-to-tail. On that lap, Steele got into Porter coming out of turn four; both drivers spun, and after a few other drivers “ran into” the scene, Porter came away with broken right front suspension, which brought him to a halt down in turn one. The field was now circulating under the Competition Yellow, and it was Deegan, Dickerson, Carey, Gutierrez, and Dylan Winbury in the top five. On the restart lap, Winbury pulled off coming out of turn one, which briefly moved Alyssa Fortin up to fifth. Fortin was quickly passed by Hayden Cling, though, while further forward, Carey had gotten by Dickerson for second. At the white flag, it was still Deegan out front, with Carey, Dickerson, Gutierrez, and Cling in-tow. On the final lap, Carey just got into Deegan’s back bumper, which upset her kart enough to force her to back out of the throttle for a second. This gave Carey and Dickerson an opening, and they both went by her down the straight between turns one and two. Deegan kept her cool, though, and battled back down to and through turn four. Exiting the final corner, she pulled alongside and between the two boys, with Carey to her right and Dickerson to her left. It was a drag race to the end, which quickly became a two-horse race between Carey and Deegan. Deegan just got even with Carey with less than 100 feet to go, and had just enough momentum to get Carey at the stripe, taking a thrilling win by just four hundredths of a second! Carey was an oh-so-close second, with Dickerson third, Gutierrez fourth, and Cling fifth in the #418 Cling’s Manufacturing/KyleGreenFab.com machine.

Junior 1 Kart

In Junior 1 Kart, Madix Bailey got the early lead in his #217 Loctite/Madix Racing Carburetion machine, ahead of Blaze Nunley in the #230 P.C.I. Race Radios/Sunoco Race Fuels kart, Daely Pentico in the #218 LEX/Hexis truck, Kali Kinsman in the #236 7 Heaven Racing/Hoosier entry, and Ricky Gutierrez in the #278 G Brothers/Wilson Motorsports Inc. truck. On lap two, Nunley got by Bailey coming out of turn two to take the lead, with Gutierrez also picking up a position to fourth on the same lap. Kinsman pulled off the track and out of the race coming out of turn one on the next lap, and this moved Connor Barry up to fifth in the #228 CBR Performance Products/Racer X Motorsports kart. Barry’s time in fifth was short-lived, though, as Bear Nunley then got by him coming out of turn three to take over that position. Up ahead, the top four drivers were still running very close, and at the Competition Yellow, it was Blaze Nunley leading Bailey, Pentico, Gutierrez, and Bear Nunley in the #215 Black Rhino/King Off-Road Racing Shocks entry in the top five. On the restart lap, Bailey got by Blaze Nunley on the inside at turn one to take back the lead, and on the next lap, Gutierrez got around Pentico out of turn three to move up to third. On that same lap, Bailey and Blaze Nunley started to pull away from those behind, but Gutierrez and Pentico closed right back down on the two leaders on the following lap, and as they went into the final lap, the top four were once again running nose-to-tail. Behind these four, fifth placed Barry was also fending off some major pressure from Kamrin Dickerson and Justin Wilson, but all the drivers in the top five managed to maintain their positions to the checkers. At the head of the field, it was Bailey who picked up the win, with Blaze Nunley taking second, Gutierrez third, Pentico fourth, and Barry fifth.

Modified Kart

After a three-kart incident in turn one forced Lucas Oil Off Road officials to call for a full restart, it was defending champion Myles Cheek who got out in front on the second attempt. Behind Cheek, Preston Roben ran in second, with Travis PeCoy third, Jeff Hoffman fourth, and Gavin Harlien fifth. A crash by Isabella Naughton in turn one on lap two forced a full course caution (Naughton was able to get going again), and after a botched restart, the field got back to green flag racing on lap five. On lap six, PeCoy went wide in the rhythm section between turns three and four, which allowed Hoffman to move past and up to third in his #547 Kar Tek Off Road/Fox Racing Shox machine. At the end of this lap, the Competition Yellow came out, and out front it was still Cheek in the #1 Metal Mulisha/ThyssenKrupp Motorsports entry, with Roben, Hoffman, PeCoy, and Harlien in-tow. On the restart lap, PeCoy and Harlien both got by Hoffman on the inside at turn one, which moved these two up to third and fourth places, respectively. Hoffman got back around Harlien before the end of the lap, but Harlien and his #555 Team Associated/Smith Optics kart were back by once again at turn one on the following lap. On lap ten, another full course caution came out after Naughton spun and stalled at the exit of turn three, and when the green flag came back out, Harlien got by PeCoy at turn one, and moved himself up to a provisional podium in the process. On the final lap, Trisha Wright had a big end-over-end crash over the first jump, which brought out a full course caution, and with the leaders already halfway around the final lap, Lucas Oil Off Road officials made the decision to throw the checkers on this race; Wright was ok, despite the scary looks of her wreck. Cheek got the win, his first behind the wheel this season, while Roben had by far his best showing of the season as he picked up second place in the #514 Duggins Construction/Boost Composites machine. Third went to Harlien, fourth to PeCoy in the #573 FMF/Oakley truck, and fifth to Hoffman.

Pro 4 Unlimited

The first Pro class race of the afternoon was Pro 4 Unlimited, and at the end of the first lap, it was Carl Renezeder out front once again, trying to extend his undefeated streak to six in a row this season. Behind Renezeder’s #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire Nissan, it was Kyle LeDuc in the #99 Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Ford, Rob MacCachren in the #21 Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita Power Tools Ford, Todd LeDuc in the #7 Rockstar Energy Drink/Maxxis Ford, and Eric Barron in the #32 Mickey Thompson/LAT Racing Oils Toyota. Barron slowed to a stop in the rhythm section with onboard smoke on lap two, and the obviously frustrated driver quickly climbed out as the field packed up under a full course yellow. Barron’s truck was dealt with without serious damage, and it was now Greg Adler who’d moved up to fifth in the #10 ProComp/4 Wheel Parts Ford. After the restart, Kyle LeDuc was slow out of turn two on lap six, and he dropped to fifth spot by lap’s end. LeDuc then nearly spun in the final corner of the next lap, which put him back another spot, and it was now quite obvious that something wasn’t 100% with his truck. On lap eight, Todd LeDuc then slowed out of turn two, and pulled off the track and out of the race just afterwards. Ryan Beat, driving for Josh Merrell today, came to a stop in turn two on the next lap, which brought out a full course yellow (Beat was able to re-fire and continue), and as the field bunched up yet again, it was now Renezeder, MacCachren, Adler, Brandon Bailey in the #77 Loctite/Madix Racing Carburetion Ford, and Kyle LeDuc in the top five. After the restart, Bailey slowed coming out of turn one with a flat tire on lap twelve. The tire came right off the wheel up in turn two, making for an even slower trip back to the hot pits for Bailey, and this now put Kyle LeDuc up to fourth and his dad Curt into fifth in his #43 Ultra Xtreme Motorsports/K&N Ford. Both Curt LeDuc and Corry Weller got around Kyle on the next lap, with Weller then passing Curt coming out of turn one and moving up to fourth on the following lap. Up front, the race for first was still very close between Renezeder and MacCachren, with MacCachren continually pressing Renezeder, while at the same time appearing as though he was doing all he could to stay that close. Starting the final lap, though, MacCachren was closer than he’d been so far, and he even managed to give Renezeder a little tap on the back bumper coming out of turn one, but Renezeder was simply too strong today. Having won the first five races of this season, Renezeder extended his 2013 streak to six today, and when added to his wins in Round 15 and the Challenge Cup last season (something this reporter forgot to do until reminded of those today), Renezeder’s streak now stands at eight, two more than Kyle LeDuc’s old record of six from last season. Moreover, Renezeder also won Rounds 12 and 13 in 2012, which gives him 10 wins in the last 11 Pro 4 Unlimited races- unbelievable! Congratulations Carl! MacCachren was a close second today, with Adler also making the podium in third. Fourth place was Weller in the #18 Optima Batteries/Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery Ford, and fifth went to Curt LeDuc.

Pro Buggy Unlimited

The open wheel fiends of Pro Buggy Unlimited were up next, and after a very disappointing run yesterday, Bradley Morris was out for redemption this afternoon, as he grabbed the early lead in the #24 K&N/Tri-State Materials Alumi Craft. Right behind Morris, Steven Greinke ran second in the #1 SC Fuels/Fox Racing Shox Racer, with John Fitzgerald third in the #14 BFGoodrich Tires/Simpson Racer, Dave Mason Jr. fourth in the #65 Competitive Metals/B&R Buggie Alumi Craft, and Robb Harvey fifth in the #18 Interstate Batteries/BFGoodrich Tires Alumi Craft. On lap four, Geoffrey Cooley brought out a full course caution after coming to a stop in turn three, and on the restart lap, there was a change at the front. Morris got fairly sideways over the big tabletop jump into turn three, and when he paired that with a slight over-rotation in turn three, Greinke was able to get by and into the lead. Larry Job moved his #7 Loctite/Toyo Tires Alumi Craft up to fifth on the same lap, and two laps later, there was more action at the head of the field. This time, Morris flew big over the step-up jump into turn two, and when Greinke took his turn getting somewhat sideways over the tabletop jump into turn three, Morris was there to capitalize, as he went by and into the lead coming out of the corner. A great battle for the lead ensued between Morris and Greinke, with two other positions (third place and fifth place) also being quite closely contested (Fitzgerald vs. Mason Jr. for third, Job, Eric Fitch, and Harvey for fifth). Greinke got alongside Morris multiple times on lap eleven, but couldn’t quite get himself ahead, as Morris held the lead each time. Morris then began to open up the gap just a bit over the next couple of laps after Greinke developed a rear suspension issue, while further back, Fitch was up to fifth in the #97 Mickey Thompson/VP Racing Fuels Racer after Job had slowed substantially. At the white flag, it was now Morris, Greinke, Fitzgerald, Mason Jr., and Fitch in the top five. On the final lap, Mason Jr. closed right in on Fitzgerald, and when “Fitz” missed a shift at turn three, Mason Jr. quickly capitalized, as he moved by and up to third. Up front, Morris did indeed redeem himself from yesterday, and he pumped his fist out the window down the final straightaway as he picked up his third win of the season, followed by Greinke, Mason Jr., Fitzgerald, and Fitch.

Pro Lite Unlimited

Wow, when are we going to have a boring, uneventful Pro Lite Unlimited race? Hopefully not any time soon, and with the nature of this class and its huge entry numbers, it’s unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future. Here this afternoon, it was defending champion RJ Anderson who jumped out to the early lead in his #1 LoanMart/Maxxis Dodge, with Sheldon Creed in the #74 BFGoodrich Tires/A.M. Ortega Dodge, Ray Griffith in the #53 General Tire/King Off-Road Racing Shocks Nissan, Kyle Lucas in the #25 Lucas Oil/Speedco Truck Lube & Tires Ford, and Bradley Morris in the #24 K&N/Kicker Ford in-tow. Paul Hoffman came to a stop at turn three on lap two, which forced a full course caution (Hoffman was able to re-fire and continue), and after the return to green, the top five drivers held their positions through the end of lap five. On lap six, Morris got by Lucas for fourth spot, just ahead of another full course caution (someone else had been stopped on the track). On the restart lap, Morris moved up again after passing Griffith on the inside at turn two, and that took Morris up to a provisional podium in third. On the same lap, Creed got by Anderson with a terrific pass at turn four, while Andrew Caddell, again pulling stand-in duty for Brian Deegan, got by Lucas for fifth in the #38 Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita Power Tools Ford. Just after this, yet another full course caution came out, and on the restart, Anderson was right on Creed in a bid to re-take the lead. On lap 12, Anderson got inside Creed at turn four, forced him wide, and the two then ran side-by-side up to the start/finish line. Anderson nosed ahead in turn one, but Creed battled back alongside into turn two, where he ran wide and brought both he and Anderson to a near-stop. The battle was then unfortunately interrupted by Eric Hunter’s rollover in turn four, which brought out another full course caution, and under yellow, Anderson was moved back to the lead under the “last completed lap” rule (he must have been ahead by just inches at the stripe at the end of lap 12). After several laps under yellow, racing finally resumed, and the battle between Anderson and Creed was on again. Behind them, Noah Fouch got by Caddell on the inside at turn one, and after Griffith spun in turn two and dropped all the way back to last place in the running order, Fouch and Caddell moved up to fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Two laps later, the battle for the lead dissolved somewhat, as Creed bicycled at turn three and lost ground to Anderson, but still managed to hold onto second place. Two laps after that, Creed had gotten fairly close to Anderson again, but would have to do something very special if he was to get the win. Creed raced as hard as he could, but could only get to Anderson’s back bumper, as the #1 plate holder stayed strong out front to pick up the win, his third of the season. Creed had to settle for second today, with Morris backing up his win in Pro Buggy Unlimited with another podium here, this time a third place. Fouch had a good run to finish fourth despite some mangled bodywork, and Caddell did another nice stand-in job for Deegan, as he rounded out the top five.

Pro 2 Unlimited

The final race of the weekend was Pro 2 Unlimited, and after finishing behind Carl Renezeder in Pro 4 Unlimited earlier this afternoon, it was Rob MacCachren in the #21 Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita Power Tools Ford who led Renezeder in the #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire Nissan in the early going here. Behind these two, it was Kyle LeDuc third in the #98 Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Ford, Kyle’s brother Todd LeDuc(filling in for Brian Deegan again) in the #38 Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita Power Tools Ford, and Robby Woods in the #99 Lucas Slick Mist/General Tire Chevrolet. Up front, MacCachren quickly opened up a comfortable gap over his pursuers, and those behind in the top five settled into fairly consistent spots, with fairly even gaps between them, over the first six laps. On lap seven, a fire onboard Mike Porter’s truck brought out a red flag. Safety crews were on the scene in an instant, pulling Porter to safety and getting the fire subdued; Porter was ok, but his day was done. Once Porter’s truck was cleared from the track, racing resumed on lap nine, and it was Kyle LeDuc who pushed out wide at turn four, leaving the door open for his brother Todd to get by on the inside. Kyle battled back to get alongside Todd again early on the next lap, but over-rotated in turn two, allowing Todd to hold on to his third spot. Todd then seemed to develop an issue, which became more apparent later on; something was wrong with his front suspension and steering, but he was able to maintain a reasonable pace, though he began to drop back down the order. Kyle was the first to get past, making the move on lap 11. Meanwhile, MacCachren was again pulling away out front, and had already opened up a gap similar to the one he’d had in the early laps. On lap twelve, Woods was the next driver to pick Todd LeDuc off, and with Greg Adler then getting by LeDuc on lap 13, Todd was out of the top five and looking ever more vulnerable to the hungry pack behind him. Four laps later, a full course caution was thrown when Austin Kimbrell’s truck came to a stop just out of turn three, and as the field backed up behind the Pace Truck, officials called for a green-white-checkers finish. On the restart lap, Kyle LeDuc over-rotated as he exited turn two, coming across the nose of Woods and around to the inside wall, where he became very precariously-placed relative to the gaggle of horsepower bearing down on him from above in the corner. Woods stormed by as LeDuc got straightened out, with a little help from those around him, but LeDuc then ended up wide and up against the outside k rail at turn three, with a huge pack of drivers rushing in to pass him up. Several of those drivers got by, and at the white flag, it was now MacCachren, Renezeder, Woods, Jeremy McGrath in the #2 The Water Warden/Loctite Ford, and Adler in the #10 4 Wheel Parts/Magnaflow Performance Exhaust Ford in the top five. At the head of the field, MacCachren was simply untouchable today; as he put it on the podium, “I didn’t want to play today,” and the rest of the field just didn’t have an answer for his pace. Renezeder picked up second place, while Woods earned a measure of redemption after a very difficult spell as of recent, as he picked up a long-overdue podium finish in third. Fourth went to McGrath, who survived from very rough mid-pack racing earlier on, and rounding out the top five was Adler, who bicycled twice on the final lap, yet somehow managed to keep those behind him at bay.

It has been a fantastic and eventful weekend of competition here at the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Complex, and things are looking quite promising for the series’ return here in October, when this track will become the third track in series history to host the season finale, as well as the “post season” Challenge Cup events. However, there is a lot of racing to be done between now and then, and that all starts when the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, resumes action in five weeks’ time. The fantastic Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, just west of Salt Lake City, will host Rounds 7 and 8 of this year’s championship, June 21-23. This facility is unparalleled in off-road racing, and the beauty of the surrounding scenery makes this one of the can’t miss events of the season, so be sure to make your plans to make the trek north to see how the next chapter of this saga unfolds.

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 visitwww.LucasOilOffRoad.com.

Written by Scott Neth for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series

Under absolutely beautiful conditions here in southern California, the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, took to the challenging track here at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park for Round 5 of the 2013 championship. There was some absolutely great racing here today, some of the best of the season without a doubt, and the day’s proceedings were certainly filled with some major surprises. To come out on top, the drivers had to overcome a very difficult and vehicle-breaking track, and those who came out victorious could certainly say that they accomplished something special. For more on the day’s events, read on and re-live one of the best days of short course off-road in recent memory.

Junior 2 Kart

The first race of the day was Junior 2 Kart, and this one was one of the most exciting of the season for this class. Parker Porter had the early lead in his #461 Redline Performance/Active Screenprinting truck after the opening lap, and was followed closely by Hayden Cling, Ricky Gutierrez, Parker Steele, and defending champion Dylan Winbury, who is making his return to competition here this weekend. Steele picked up a spot on lap two, moving his #449 Steele Racing/Martori Farms truck up to third, and behind him, it was now Hailie Deegan fourth in the #438 Dirt Princess/4 Wheel Parts kart and Gutierrez fifth in the #478 G Brothers/McKenzies machine. Deegan dropped well back on lap four, falling out of the top five in fact, which moved Gutierrez up to fourth and series newcomer Tayler Wood to fifth in the #455 Foddrill Motorsports/King Off-Road Racing Shocks entry. Up front, it was a serious battle for the lead between Porter and Cling, and early on lap five, Cling had just edged ahead of Porter, before the two collected in turn one, sending both into a spin. Porter got the worst of it, as he dropped to the back of the pack, while Cling faired better, as he was able to continue in a spot substantially higher up the running order. The misfortune of these top two drivers helped move Steele into the lead, but by lap’s end, he was out-nosed to the line by Gutierrez, just in time to lead the field at the Competition Yellow. Steele ran second at this point, with Wood third, Ryan Carey fourth in the #422 Lawrence Equipment/Mother’s kart, and Broc Dickerson fifth in the #423 Legacy Motorsports/DASA machine. On the restart lap, Carey got by Wood for third, while just behind, Dickerson got collected up with Porter and Cling in turn three. This dropped these three to the back of the pack, and also brought out a full course yellow. Once racing resumed, Carey and Wood traded places twice on the penultimate lap, and continued to race closely into the final lap. In the final corner, Carey tried to make a move on Steele on the outside, and as he ran wide, Wood closed in on the inside, and edged ahead coming onto the final straightaway. Carey out-pulled Wood to the line, though, and edged back up to third by a nose at the stripe. At the head of the field, it was Gutierrez with the win, followed by Steele in second, Carey in third, Wood in fourth, and Bryce McDaniel fifth in the #425 JH Sims Trucking Co., Inc./We All Ride entry.

Junior 1 Kart

Next up were the youngest youngsters, the Junior 1 Kart drivers. Fresh off of his win in Junior 2, Ricky Gutierrez assumed the early lead in his #278 G Brothers/Patrick’s High Performance Graphix machine. Behind him, Daely Pentico ran second in the #218 LEX/Hexis truck, with Madix Bailey third in the #217 Loctite/Stronghold Motorsports entry, Bear Nunley fourth in the #215 King Off-Road Racing Shocks/P.C.I. Race Radios kart, and Kali Kinsman fifth in the #236 Pink Motorsports/Eibach Springs machine. Nunley came to a stop at turn two on the second lap, which allowed his brother Blaze to take over fourth in his #230 Black Rhino/Kevin McMullen Fabrication & Transaxles truck; Kinsman still ran fifth. Up front, Gutierrez started to edge out a lead over the field by lap four, while further back, Blaze Nunley was looking quick, as he moved past Bailey for third. On the next lap, Nunley then moved past Pentico going into turn one, which brought him up to second place, while further back, Bailey bobbled coming out of turn one, which dropped him back to fifth spot. At the end of the lap, the Competition Yellow was now waving, and the running order in the top five was Gutierrez, Blaze Nunley, Pentico, Kinsman, and Justin Wilson in the #256 Legacy Motorsports/LGE/CTS Motorsports kart. After the restart, major misfortune struck the leader Gutierrez, as he slowed to a stop coming out of turn one on lap eight. Unfortunately, Gutierrez’s race and his chance to double up on wins was over, so it was now Blaze Nunley who inherited the lead, with Pentico now second, Kinsman third, Wilson fourth, and Bailey fifth. From there, the top five maintained their positions, and it was Nunley who got the win, with Pentico and Kinsman joining him on the podium in second and third. Wilson picked up a fourth place finish, and rounding out the top five was Bailey.

Modified Kart

The final race of the day on the shorter “kids” course was Modified Kart, and as usual, these young talents put on a great show! Following multiple incidents on the first start, a full restart was called for, and on the second attempt, it was front row starters Brock Heger and Jeff Hoffman who got out to the top two spots on the first lap. Behind these two, Scotty Steele ran third in the #548 Steele Racing/Northland Motorsports truck, with Travis PeCoy fourth in the #573 FMF/Oakley machine, and Shelby Anderson fifth in her #505 Walker Evans Racing/SoCal Super Trucks kart. These top five maintained their running order over the first three laps, but on lap four, the tricky turn three caught Anderson out, as she spun and was forced to wait for almost the entire field to go by before she could safely re-join the fray. This moved Preston Roben up to fifth in his #514 Duggins Construction/Trophy Kart entry, while up front, the battle for the lead was really starting to heat up between Heger and Hoffman. On lap six, Hoffman moved past Heger and into the lead between turns one and two, and stayed there through the end of the lap, where the Competition Yellow was waiting for him. At this point, Heger ran in second, and was followed by Steele in third, PeCoy in fourth, and Roben in fifth. On the restart lap, Steele took a few knocks but kept his cool well, and only dropped one spot to fourth, while just behind, defending champion Myles Cheek was now up to fifth, having charged through the field from last on the grid in the first half (Cheek had been excluded from qualifying by Lucas Oil Off Road officials). On lap ten, Hoffman spun coming out of turn two, dropping him down to ninth position, and moving Heger back into the lead. PeCoy was now second, Cheek third, Steele fourth, and Roben fifth, but on the next lap, PeCoy drove past Heger and into the lead coming into turn one, setting up a thrilling last lap and a half of racing. On the final lap, Heger got back by PeCoy at the same spot where PeCoy had passed him just a lap before, and while the pressure from PeCoy and Cheek was strong, Heger kept his cool and held the perfect lines en route to the win. PeCoy picked up second, with Cheek rounding out the podium in third. Steele slowed with damage on the final lap, which moved Roben up to fourth at the stripe, and behind him, it was Gavin Harlien who finished fifth in the #555 Team Associated/Fox Racing Shox truck.

Pro 4 Unlimited

Following Opening Ceremonies, it was time for Pro 4 Unlimited, and it was the screaming engine of Eric Barron and his #32 LAT Racing Oils/Rancho Performance Drivetrain Toyota who was out front at the end of the first lap. Behind Barron, a bevy of hotshoes were on his tail; Todd LeDuc ran second in the #7 Rockstar Energy Drink/Maxxis Ford, followed by Kyle LeDuc in the #99 Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Ford, Carl Renezeder in the #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire Nissan, and Rob MacCachren in the #21 Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita Power Tools Ford. Through the first four laps, the top drivers behaved themselves and held their positions, but on lap five, Kyle LeDuc got just into the right rear of his brother Todd’s truck in turn three. Todd held onto it though, and almost picked up a little launch forward from the incident, as he was suddenly right on Barron’s back bumper. Todd was really hounding Barron for the lead on lap six, but then over-rotated slightly coming out of turn three on the next lap, which allowed Kyle LeDuc and Renezeder to close right down on him through the rhythm section. Kyle got by his brother in turn four, and Renezeder also made the move on Todd at turn one on the next lap. Todd’s truck seemed to still be mechanically sound, but MacCachren managed to get by him as well by lap’s end, and when a full course caution came out on the next lap (Josh Merrell was stopped in turn three), it was now Barron, Kyle LeDuc, Renezeder, Todd LeDuc, and MacCachren in the top five. On the restart lap, Kyle LeDuc shredded a left rear tire, and with another full course caution (Corry Weller briefly came to a stop up in turn two), he had to wait for a legal chance to come into the hot pits for a change. Kyle finally got his chance as the field bunched up behind the Pace Truck, and this moved Renezeder to second, with MacCachren now third, Greg Adler fourth in the #10 ProComp/G2 Ford, and Brandon Bailey fifth in the #77 Madix Racing Carburetion/Loctite Ford; Todd LeDuc had mysteriously dropped to the back of the pack.

On the restart, Renezeder was immediately onto Barron’s back bumper, but near the end of the lap, he then found himself fending off a short challenge from MacCachren behind. MacCachren then slowed in turn two on the next lap, and soon pulled off the track and out of the race. This left Renezeder free to focus ahead, and on the next lap, he came in hot into turn two, got door-to-door with Barron, and with a bit of a bump, he forced his way by and into the lead. Barron picked up a right rear flat at almost exactly the same time, which sent him into the hot pits for a change, and moved Adler, Bailey, Curt LeDuc, and Jerry Daugherty up to second, third, fourth, and fifth, respectively. On the next lap, Curt LeDuc and Weller collected badly over the final jump, and both got into the inside k rail, just above the hot pits. The site was pretty ugly, as LeDuc ended up partly under Weller, who eventually drove her way off, while LeDuc’s battered truck took a bit longer to get going again, though it eventually did. The incident brought out a full course yellow, and when racing resumed, Weller got by Daugherty going up the step-up jump heading for turn two, which moved her up to fourth as a result. Curt LeDuc got by Daugherty at the same spot on the final lap, while just ahead, Weller and Bailey were having a good scrap for the final step on the podium. Weller got by Bailey over the big tabletop between turns two and three, but Bailey muscled his way back by in turn three. Weller tried to get back by from turn four all the way to the checkers, but Bailey just managed to hold her off to preserve his third place. Up in front, it was Renezeder taking the win, his team having completed its second thrash repair after qualifying in as many races. Both times, Renezeder has repaid his team’s hard work with wins, and overall, he has now extended his streak to five. Tomorrow he stands a chance of tying Kyle LeDuc’s outright series record of six straight wins, which he set in the opening six rounds of Pro 4 Unlimited last year, Adler picked up his best finish of the season by taking second today, with Bailey joining he and Renezeder on the podium in third. Just behind Bailey, it was Weller who finished fourth in her #18 Optima Batteries/Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery Ford, and in his return to the series, Curt LeDuc picked up fifth in his #43 Ultra Xtreme Motorsports/UltraWheel.com Ford.

Pro Buggy Unlimited

Bradley Morris took the early lead in his #24 Kicker/K&N Alumi Craft in Pro Buggy Unlimited, but the usual strong cast of characters was right behind him. In second, it was defending champion Steven Greinke in the #23 SC Fuels/Fortin Racing, Inc. Racer, with Geoffrey Cooley third in the #22 Competitive Metals/BFGoodrich Tires Alumi Craft, Dave Mason Jr. fourth in the #65 Competitive Metals/Mickey Thompson Alumi Craft, and John Fitzgerald fifth in the #14 BFGoodrich Tires/Simpson Alumi Craft. Mason Jr. got around his teammate Cooley for third on lap two, and shortly afterwards, a rollover by Tony Lisa in turn two brought out a full course caution on lap four. A botched restart forced the field to re-group and try again, and on the second go-around, Arden Dennington lost a tire and wheel in turn three, which rolled down into the rhythm section and came to a stop in the middle of the track, which forced yet another full course caution so that safety crews could clear the potential hazard. Once racing resumed, Fitzgerald got by Cooley at turn one on the restart lap, but Cooley gained the position back in turn four. However, Cooley was now in obvious trouble: a left front suspension problem meant that his tire and wheel were now laid over dramatically, yet he continued on at what seemed to be full race speed. On the next lap, Greinke got by Morris at turn one to take over at the front, and a bobble by Morris in turn four caused him to come to a near-stop, which meant that those close behind him would end up stacking up in the corner. Morris came away with a flat tire, pulled into the hot pits, and then away from the pits and, mysteriously, out of the race. All this meant that Greinke was now well clear out front, as he enjoyed a very comfortable lead that looked untouchable for the rest of the field. Further back, Larry Job was briefly up to fifth in his #7 Loctite/Toyo Tires Alumi Craft, but a right rear flat sent him to the hot pits for a change, and moved Robb Harvey up to fifth in his #18 Interstate Batteries/BFGoodrich Tires Alumi Craft. Harvey was then passed by Eric Fitch in the #97 Mickey Thompson/VP Racing Fuels Racer early on lap 14, while just ahead, Cooley was still going strong in fourth despite basically dragging his left front tire and wheel at times. At the head of the field, Greinke cruised home to pick up his second win in a row, followed by Mason Jr., Fitzgerald, Cooley, and Fitch.

Pro Lite Unlimited

Once again, the big field in Pro Lite Unlimited produced a very exciting race here this afternoon, and for Sheldon Creed, a top qualifying spot and a draw of zero for the inversion meant that he had the fastest truck and the best starting position for the race. Creed moved straight to the lead in his #74 BFGoodrich Tires/Method Race Wheels Dodge, followed by defending champion RJ Anderson, Bradley Morris, Ryan Beat, and Andrew Caddell, who is filling in for Brian Deegan in this class this weekend. On lap two, class newbie Jimmy Fishback moved past Caddell and up to fifth in his #48 Maximum Turbine Support/Weller Racing Nissan, before a full course caution then came out on lap three after Jason McNeil came to a stop at the exit of turn two. On the restart lap, Fishback hook the berm and started to climb the big bank coming out of turn one, and lost several positions as he “did the wall ride” back onto the straightaway up to turn two. At turn four, Morris pulled off the track and out of the race with a mechanical issue, and after the field had been scrambled by Fishback’s error and the general chaos of a restart lap, it was now Creed, Anderson, Caddell, Kyle Hart, and Trenton Briley as the field picked up another full course caution while Morris’ truck was cleared. On the restart, Ray Griffith got around Briley for fifth in his #53 General Tire/King Off-Road Racing Shocks Nissan, and with Hart then bicycling at turn four and dropping back, Briley was then back into the top five in his #17 Kal-Gard Lubricants/Affinity Nissan. On lap ten, Beat got by Briley for fifth coming into turn two, then picked off Griffith for fourth spot coming out of turn three. Two laps later, Briley got by Griffith out of turn one, but then bicycled at turn two, allowing Griffith to get back by. Fishback was right there to make a move, and he got by Griffith into turn three, as Griffith got himself caught behind the lapped truck of Paul Hoffman.

Up front, Caddell was now putting the pressure on Anderson, and he made the pass on the inside at turn one on lap 14, moving up to second as a result. Shortly afterwards, Anderson’s left front suspension failed, sending him 90 degrees right and nose-first into the wall going up the step-up jump before turn two, fortunately at relatively low speed thanks to Anderson’s quick reactions. This brought out a full course caution, and after several laps under yellow, it was now Creed, Caddell, Beat, Fishback, and Griffith in the top five. On the restart, Beat got pushed towards the infield in turn one, dropping him back several spots, and moving Fishback, Griffith, and Chris Brandt up to third, fourth, and fifth, respectively. On the next lap, Brandt got by Griffith for fourth coming out of turn one, while up front, Caddell was mounting the first serious challenge of the race on the leader Creed. Creed had an answer for everything, though, and he quickly began to pull away a bit, while further back, Beat was charging back up the order, moving up to fifth after passing Griffith on the inside at turn three. At the white flag, it was now Creed, Caddell, Fishback, Brandt, and Beat in the top five, and on the final lap, Beat made a late lap move on Brandt to get up to fourth coming out of turn three. At the stripe, it was Creed who took his first-ever win in this class, making him a winner in no fewer than five different classes in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series- way to go Sheldon! Caddell did a great job standing in for Deegan by finishing second, while Fishback was perhaps most impressive of anyone today, as he made the podium in third in this ultra-competitive class, all in his first-ever race in the class! Beat came home fourth today, and rounding out the top five was Brandt.

Pro 2 Unlimited

The final race of the day was once again Pro 2 Unlimited. As was the case in Pro Lite Unlimited, series frontrunner Brian Deegan would have a sub-in driver this weekend, as he’s over in Barcelona, Spain, competing in the Rally X event at the X Games. Andrew Caddell was Deegan’s stand-in for Pro Lite Unlimited, but in Pro 2 Unlimited, it would Todd LeDuc doing the job for Deegan, and it was LeDuc who got Deegan’s #38 Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita Power Tools Ford out front early on. Behind LeDuc, it was Carl Renezeder in the #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire Nissan, Rob MacCachren in the #21 Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita Power Tools Ford, Marty Hart in the #15 ReadyLift Off Road Suspension/GearUp2Go.com Ford, and Patrick Clark in the #25 Method Race Wheels/King Off-Road Racing Shocks Chevrolet. Up front, LeDuc quickly began to streak away from the field, opening up a sizeable gap on the competition within just a couple of laps. On lap three, Clark slowed while coming out of turn two, which moved Austin Kimbrell up to fifth in his #88 LoanMart/BFGoodrich Tires Ford. Things then stayed fairly neutral for several laps, but by lap seven, Renezeder and MacCachren were now starting to close down the gap to LeDuc, if only ever so slightly. On the next lap, MacCachren was really hounding Renezeder for second place, while further back, Robby Woods was now up to fifth in his #99 Lucas Slick Mist/General Tire Chevrolet. Things then settled in again, until the intensity of the Renezeder-MacCachren battle heated up again on lap 12. MacCachren was really trying to use the low line in turns three and four, but couldn’t quite hold enough momentum to make his moves on Renezeder stick. On lap 13, though, MacCachren finally managed to make the pass at turn three, just before a full course caution was thrown following Kyle LeDuc’s coming to a stop in turn one. Unfortunately for MacCachren, this meant that Lucas Oil Off Road’s “last completed lap” rule would drop him back to third, undoing the pass it’d taken him so long to achieve. On the restart lap, Woods got by Hart for fourth at turn two, then came barreling in to turn three, where he and several other drivers collected in an incident that actually could’ve been far more detrimental than it actually was. As it happened, all the drivers in question managed to get away relatively quickly, albeit in a jumbled order, and while it was still Todd LeDuc out front, it was now MacCachren in second, Hart third, Woods fourth, and Renezeder fifth. Woods was given a black flag for his part in the incident, but after refusing to serve it, officials stopped scoring him at lap 15, then docked him a further two laps after the race, as he’s already on probation. As it was, Woods was passed on track by Renezeder on the next lap, with Renezeder then getting by Hart for fourth not long afterwards. On the final lap, MacCachren closed right down on LeDuc, and made a solid attempt to get by on the inside in the final corner, but again, couldn’t quite get there. LeDuc held off the field to lead wire to wire, and brought Deegan’s truck home for a fantastic win, his first in the class since back in 2009, when he himself was a Pro 2 Unlimited driver. MacCachren came home second, with Renezeder rounding out the podium in third, Hart taking fourth, and Kimbrell fifth.

That wraps up today’s events here at the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park. Today was a great day at the races, and what’s more, we’ll be back to do it all again tomorrow. Round 6 will fire off at 9:00 am tomorrow, when the gates open up to the public, followed closely by the day’s first qualifying session at 9:15. Racing is set to go at 12:30 pm, with Opening Ceremonies at 2:00 pm, and the first Pro class race of the afternoon just afterwards at 2:15. The stands were absolutely packed here today, so get here early to get a good seat, and enjoy all that these drivers, the best short course off-road drivers in the world, will bring to the track tomorrow.

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 visitwww.LucasOilOffRoad.com.

Written by Scott Neth for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series

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For more information contact Jim Short at jimshort65@sbcglobal or (951) 203-2649

Speedway motorcycle star gets third in first race in LOORRS series

LAKE ELSINORE, California (May 18, 2013) – Jimmy Fishback isn’t big on moral victories as a rule. But Saturday evening, after his “first race, first anything” in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) presented by GEICO, he was more than pleased with a third-place finish in the Pro Lite Unlimited class.

“I can’t tell you what this means,” Fishback said after sharing the podium with race winner Sheldon Creed and guest driver Andrew Cadell, who was filling in for Brian Deegan on the first day of the Rockstar Energy Southern California Nationals presented by General Tire.

Fishback, 32, is the youngest in a family of famed Speedway Motorcycle racers and had been transitioning to off road racing by running the Lucas Oil Regional Series. He won the UTV SR1 championship last season and said he probably could have repeated this year, but decided it was time “to get up with the big boys, so we bought a used truck about two months ago. One weekend I drove it the regional series and then we had one day of testing at Glen Helen (Raceway Park) in nearby Devore, California.

Fishback, who actually is Jim III, is running a no-frills team with his dad, Jim Jr., as his crew chief and nothing more than contingency sponsor stickers on his truck. The Rancho Cucamonga, California, resident also ran Saturday’s qualifying and race on used tires that a friend had donated to him. But he qualified fourth quickest and raced in the top 5 throughout the 14-lap race at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park.

Creed, 15, of Alpine, California, said he was “dialed in the whole time” after setting the pace in qualifying on his favorite track, and showed that by simply driving away from the field to win by 2.7 seconds. Cadell, who was making his LOORRS debut, was 1.3 seconds ahead of Fishback. But Fishback had the biggest smile.

“I can’t explain how this feels,” he said before heading back to the pits to prepare for round six of the series on Sunday, May 19.

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Carl Renezeder made it 5-for-5 in the Pro 4 Unlimited class this year with a 2.38-second win over Greg Adler in their 16-lap race. Renezeder started fourth in his Lucas Oil Ford, raced third behind Eric Barron and Kyle LeDuc until first LeDuc and then Barron had problems, but he said he wasn’t  lying in wait so much as being cautious.

“Right now they haven’t been too clear on when or if they’re going to have a mandatory caution,” he said, “so you have to race the race as the track comes around. I have to take my time at the beginning of the race because I want to make sure my truck’s there at the end. If there’s an opportunity I’m definitely going to take advantage of it, but I’m not going to force anything.”

Adler, who was the leading qualifier, looked to be the fastest on the track at the end, too. But he had given himself a little too much of a handicap to overcome by killing his motor in Turn 3 on the opening lap and losing several positions, “so I had to work my way back up. The yellows helped us, and we got a couple spots on some attrition at the end, too. But the truck is fast.

“I feel good about it. It’s something to build on.”

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Todd LeDuc didn’t have a good day in the Pro 4 Unlimited race, breaking a stub axle on his Rockstar Makita Ford just five laps into the contest. But he really enjoyed the Pro 2 Unlimited race as a substitute for Deegan, who is racing in Spain this weekend.

LeDuc, of Cherry Valley, California, qualified fourth, but started on the pole after the invert, grabbed the lead with an aggressive move in the first turn, and said he “couldn’t believe how soon the track went to a blue (worn) groove.”

LeDuc didn’t quite lead all the way, however. He said in the final moments of the final lap runner-up Rob MacCachren was ahead for about 6 feet, but couldn’t maintain his momentum.

LeDuc’s win in the Pro 2 Unlimited race and Cadell’s second in the Pro Lite Unlimited test both will be credited to Deegan in the point standings.

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Steven Greinke got his second straight win in the 14-lap Pro Buggy race, but the winners in the other buggy categories were getting their first victories of the season – Brock Heger in Modified Kart, Ricky Gutierrez in JR2 Kart and Blaze Nunley in JR1 after Gutierrez broke while leading.

The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by GEICO is supported by a potent marketing concept known as “Team Lucas” whose members include Lucas Oil Products Inc., E3 Spark Plugs, General Tire, GEICO, Canidae All Natural Pet Food, MAVTV-American Real, Speedco Truck Lube and Tire, Optima Batteries, Toyota, LoanMart and Protect The Harvest.

Additional sponsorship is Rockstar, 4 Wheel Parts, Lunarpages, ReadyLIFT, Mickey Thompson Tires, Team Associated, Red Buck cigars, Kar-Tek Off Road, Eibach springs and Magna Flow.

Detailed information on the series is available at www.LucasOilOffRoad.com.

Round 6 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series made its way back to the high flying track of Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park in Lake Elsinore California. Despite the hot temperatures, thousands of fans were on hand to witness some of the most extreme off road racing action at one of the most exciting tracks on the circuit.

Although the classes are called Pro 4 Unlimited and Pro 2 Unlimited, what they should really be called is “The Carl and Rob show”, referring to Carl Renezeder and Rob MacCachren. These two veterans put on one hell of a show for the fans, not just in Round 6 but in Round 5 as well. You could try and come up with a number of how many times these two cagy vets swapped positions, but I guarantee you that you wouldn’t be able to come up with a solid number.

Starting on the front row and kicking off Round 6 racing action was none other than the veterans Carl Renezeder and Rob MacCachren. It was an absolute clinic between these two as they clicked off lap after lap of head to head racing. After 16 laps of the Carl and Rob show, Carl Renezeder would find himself at the top of the box and taking home another win for the weekend. Rob MacCachren would wind up in the second place position and none other than Greg Adler would keep clear of all the carnage and claim himself a third place podium for Round 6.

Pressing forward to the Pro Lite main event, some of the youngest most talented drivers in the series would start up at the front of the pack. The 2012 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing champion Rj Anderson would line himself up along side “The Prodigy” Sheldon Creed and just in front of the ever so dangerous Ryan Beat. Beat finished second in points in the 2012 LOORRS season and without a doubt RJ Anderson knew he would have his work cut out for him between Creed and Beat.

Rj Anderson would lead the first three laps of the main event until Sheldon Creed took a trick out of Brian Deegan’s book and pulled the good ‘ol “Inside out” move on Anderson. As luck would have it, a full course yellow flag would make its way to the flag stand and because Creed hadn’t made a complete lap since taking over the lead he was forced to give up the number one spot to Anderson under caution.

Fearful of getting a black flag, “The Prodigy” Sheldon Creed would push as hard as he absolutely could but unfortunately would come up just shy when it was all said and done. Rj Anderson would claim yet another race win followed by Sheldon Creed and Bradley Morris.

Back to the Carl and Rob show for Pro 2 racing action! The stage was set and the field was stacked. Rob MacCachren would start along side of Carl Renezeder right in front of Marty Hart and Todd LeDuc.

When the green flag was waived the pedal went to the floor and by the end of the first lap Rob MacCachren had already taken command of the field. After Mike Porter ran into a k-rail and caught fire that caused a full course red flag, it was nearly a flagless Pro 2 main event with MacCachren absolutely checked out.

Coming upon lap 14, Rob MacCachren led; Carl Renezeder, Kyle LeDuc, Robby Woods and Greg Adler at the front of the field. Seeming as if that’s exactly how they would finish the 16 lap main event, the infamous yellow flag would come out in order to let safety crews pull Austin Kimbrell off the track with a blown transmission. The field was once again bunched up and because of the full course caution the rules would call for a complete green-white-checkered restart.

As if a green-white-checkered restart wasn’t exciting enough, Robby Woods was looking to make is way to the front of the pack and redeem himself of his black flag that he was given in Round 5. Sure enough, Robby Woods would go for broke and blast his way into podium contention.

Rob MacCachren would go on to finish in first place followed fellow veteran Carl Renezeder and the kid from Pahrump; Robby Woods.

Veteran racers remain at the top of the stack when it comes to the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, and one thing that is undeniable is the fact that Rob MacCachren is not human. Some of the things he is able to pull off in one single weekend is beyond anybody’s imagination… never underestimate a veteran racer.

Words by Adam “Gunnslinger” Gunn

Photos by Jason Zindroski of HighRev Photography

[Show as slideshow]

San Diego, Calif. (May 18, 2013) – SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks made a return trip to Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Calif., for the second and final time in 2013. Five distinct racing divisions took to the track to test their driving skills on the uniquely prepared dirt and asphalt course. Robby Gordon, Larry Swim, Apdaly Lopez, Derek Costella and Shelby Anderson were able to record wins in Round No. 5 of SST competition.

Practice for Round 5 runs smoothly

The drivers and crews of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, have had just three weeks to get their vehicles back in top shape, and now the time has come to find out whether or not they’ve done enough. With four rounds already in the books, this season is flying along, and now the series comes to the high-speed, high-flying track at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park for Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2013 championship. This track is tough on race vehicles, and the unique layout of huge jumps and high-speed sections demands ultimate concentration from all drivers. Things can go very well or very poorly here, so it’s important to learn the track as well as possible, and to have one’s setup as dialed in as it can be. This places big importance on all practice sessions, and all drivers were given two separate sessions today. Read on to find out who’s looking good for this weekend, and whose teams might need to do some re-thinking tonight.

Pro 4 Unlimited

First out on track for each segment of practices were the Pro 4 Unlimiteds. In the morning session, Rob MacCachren set the early pace on lap one with a 53.723, but was quickly topped by Carl Renezeder’s 52.201 and Todd LeDuc’s 51.950. On lap two, Greg Adler moved just ahead of LeDuc, having turned a 51.925, but LeDuc re-gained the top spot with a 51.361, before getting overtaken by Eric Barron’s 51.116. LeDuc returned to the top of the heap on lap three, and did so substantially after running a 50.255, before he was then bested by Adler again. Adler’s 49.986 was the first sub-50 second lap, but he was quickly joined in that realm by Kyle LeDuc, whose 49.996 put him into the number two position. On the next lap, Kyle posted the quick time of the session at a 49.448, making him the only driver with multiple laps under 50 seconds. Adler’s time was good enough for second, while Todd LeDuc improved to a 50.229 on the final lap to hold third spot. Barron also improved on his earlier time, and he wound up fourth with his 50.331 from lap five; MacCachren rounded out the top five with a 50.935.

In the afternoon session, Jerry Daugherty was first to finish a hot lap, and therefore led the pack early with a 55.455. Daugherty’s top time was bettered by both MacCachren and Renezeder on lap one; MacCachren ran a 52.894, which was then surpassed by Renezeder’s 52.175. Renezeder then bumped his own session-leading time down to 51.162 on lap two, before being overtaken by a 50.273 from Barron. Renezeder re-gained the top spot briefly on lap four after posting a 50.218, but it was then Todd LeDuc who moved ahead with this session’s first sub-50: a 49.929. Barron got the lead back on lap five with a 49.792, but was eclipsed by MacCachren on the next lap, after MacCachren ran a 49.540. This was now the final lap, and after MacCachren had crossed the line, Todd LeDuc improved the session-leading time to 49.369, before his brother Kyle grabbed the eventual top time, a 49.273. Todd LeDuc remained in second, with Adler moving up to third on the last lap with a 49.457. MacCachren’s time was good enough for fourth, and Renezeder also improved on the final lap to round out the top five with a 49.732. The track must have really been coming in for these drivers as the session wound down; seven out of the ten drivers posted their best times on the final lap.

Pro Buggy Unlimited

In Pro Buggy Unlimited, the elite drivers in terms of outright speed seemed to be the youngsters today. In the morning session, Dave Mason Jr. grabbed the early quick lap at 54.994, but was quickly surpassed by teammate Geoffrey Cooley’s 53.327. Cooley jumped down to a 52.632 on lap two, before being overtaken by Bradley Morris on lap three; Morris had taken the top time down to 52.288. Two laps later, and Morris dropped that top time again, edging it down to 52.010, but just seconds later, Cooley got him back, as he posted the session’s top time of 51.757. Morris’ time was still good enough for second, with Steven Greinke taking third at 52.500. Mason Jr. improved on his earlier time to wind up fourth at 52.859, and Larry Job was fifth quick with a 53.141.

In the afternoon, Eric Fitch posted the first top time at 56.578. Mason Jr. knocked Fitch off with a 54.212 on the same lap, then bettered his own session-leading time to a 53.678 on lap two. Mason Jr. did the same on lap three, having dropped down to a 52.859, but he was again bettered by his teammate Cooley, who dropped down to 52.598 on lap four. After two laps under caution, the field returned to full speed, and Cooley went even quicker, improving the top time of the session to 52.092, where it would stay for the balance of the practice laps. Cooley’s consistency was good; not only did he have the top time in both sessions, but his second quickest lap in the afternoon was only one thousandth off of his best time! Mason Jr. got down to 52.391 on the last lap to take second, while Robb Harvey had one of his best-ever runs to take third at 52.767. Morris posted his best lap of the session on the first lap, but still wound up fourth at 53.010, and defending champion Greinke rounded out the top five at 53.304.

Pro Lite Unlimited

The large field of Pro Lite Unlimiteds once again necessitated a running of two separate groups in the practice sessions, and in the morning’s first session, things were pretty straightforward. Defending champion RJ Anderson went quickest on the first lap with a 55.079, then bettered his own time to a 54.474 on lap two. On the same lap, Sheldon Creed dropped the top time to a 53.707, and that time would hold through the end of the session. Anderson improved to a 53.744 to hold second, while Casey Currie picked up third with a 54.637. Chris Brandt was fourth at 55.136, and Jacob Person was fifth at 55.416.

The second session was even simpler, at least as far as the top time was concerned, as that honor was held with an iron grip by young Bradley Morris. Morris’ opening lap was a 54.007, which was the quickest first lap. Morris then dropped the top time on three successive laps, taking it to 53.745, 53.033, and finally down to 52.945, the time which held up for the balance of the session. Morris’ time was over seven tenths quicker than anyone else in either group of trucks; a mighty feat, considering how even these trucks ought to be (in theory). Ryan Beat was second quick in this group; his best time was a 53.663. Third was Andrew Caddell, who is filling in for Brian Deegan in this class this weekend (Deegan is racing Rally X at the X Games in Barcelona, Spain); Caddell posted a personal best of 53.759. Fourth quick was Chris Lawrence at 53.849, and rounding out the top five was class and big series newcomer Jimmy Fishback, whose best lap was a 53.877.

In the afternoon sessions, things got a bit more interesting. Brandt posted the early quick time at 58.247, but was quickly surpassed by Currie’s 54.923. Person then moved to the top with a 54.896, before Brandt got back to the top with a 54.456. Currie bettered Brandt for a second time with a 54.230 on his fourth lap, then went quicker yet again on his seventh lap, when he posted a 54.025. Next to take a crack at the top was Justin Smith, who ran a 53.992 on lap seven, but Brandt brought things full circle to take the top time in this group with a 53.615. Second went to Jerett Brooks, who despite never leading the time sheets, was consistently quick; Brooks’s best time was a 53.622. Currie ran his best lap on the final lap, and wound up third at 53.983, just ahead of Smith, whose earlier time turned out to be his best; Kyle Lucas was fifth quick with a 54.028.

In group 2, Noah Fouch posted the first top time at 59.237, but that time was quickly bettered by both Morris (58.306) and Jason McNeil (55.317) on the opening lap. Creed then moved to the top of the heap on lap two with a 54.747, before Kyle Hart flew his truck to the lead with a 54.431 on the next lap. Morris got back to the front on lap four with a 53.756, before he was passed by Creed’s 53.287. Creed improved the top time again on lap five with a 53.141, but it was Beat who had the last laugh, as he posted the session’s top time of 52.925 on the final lap. Beat’s time was the quickest of any driver in the class, morning or afternoon. Creed’s time was good enough to keep him in second, and Hart improved to a 53.254 to take third. Fourth was Morris at 53.756, and fifth was Caddell at 54.163.

Pro 2 Unlimited

Rob Naughton was first out on track in Pro 2 Unlimited, which gave him the early top time of 55.998. Matt Cook, making a return to the series after moving up from Pro Lite Unlimited, went a bit quicker at 55.226, but Rob MacCachren (54.610) and Marty Hart (53.992) also did so on the first lap. Austin Kimbrell took over the top time with a 53.585 on lap two, before three to four (depending on where you were in circulation on the track) caution laps slowed proceedings considerably. Once the drivers were allowed to get back up to speed, it was Jeff Seifert who came out firing with a 52.356, before he was surpassed by both Patrick Clark (52.029) and Greg Adler (51.465) on the same lap. On the next lap, MacCachren posted the top time of the session, a 51.120, which held up for another three laps. Kyle LeDuc showed huge improvement in his new 2wd endeavor, as he picked up second spot with a 51.343. Third was Adler, whose earlier time held up for the balance of the laps, and fourth was Clark, who improved to a 51.644 on the final lap. Rounding out the top five was Kimbrell, who also posted his best lap, a 51.683, on the final lap.

In the afternoon session, Carl Renezeder was the first of five drivers to top the time sheets on the first lap. Renezeder’s time of 55.669 was quickly surpassed by a 54.680 from Todd LeDuc (who is filling in for Brian Deegan in this class this weekend). Naughton (54.512), Hart (53.593), and Seifert (52.874) all had their turn at the top of the heap on lap one, with LeDuc then getting back to the front on lap two with a 52.682. MacCachren then got to the front with a 52.161, before LeDuc passed him back with a 52.088 on lap three. Robby Woods then got to the front with a 51.989, but LeDuc got by him as well, as he turned a 51.621 on lap four. Finally, though, LeDuc’s ability to re-take the top time came to an end on lap five, when MacCachren ran a 51.281, then backed it up with a 51.136 on the final lap. That lap was the quickest of the session, with Clark and Kyle LeDuc also improving on the final lap to come in second and third at 51.352 and 51.372, respectively. Todd LeDuc’s time was still good enough for fourth, though, and Seifert picked up fifth with a 51.717.

Junior 2 Kart

Ryan Carey was the first to the top of the leaderboard in the first practice session for Junior 2 Kart, after running a 48.650. Hayden Cling was quickest of the bunch once everyone had completed their first lap, though, with a time of 48.621. Carey got back to the top on his second lap after turning a 47.075, but then it was Broc Dickerson who surpassed him with a 46.607. Dickerson improved his session-leading time to 45.836 on lap three, but it was then Hailie Deegan with a 45.333 on lap five who picked up the quick time of the session. Dickerson improved to a 45.407 on the final lap to hold second spot, and Cling also turned his personal best of 45.453 on the final lap to take third. Just six thousandths adrift of Cling was Parker Porter with a 45.459, and rounding out the top five was Ricky Gutierrez with a 45.685.

In the second session, Carey was again the first to head the time sheets, this time with a 47.369. Deegan led the field after they’d all run their opening lap, though, with a session-leading time of 47.054. Carey got back up front on lap two with a 46.944, but Dickerson (46.744) and Cling (46.611) each got ahead on the same lap. Porter and Deegan then had their turns at the top on lap three (46.427 and 45.649, respectively), and again traded the top spot on the next lap (45.384 and 45.015, respectively). On the fifth lap, though, Porter finally got the better of Deegan, as his lap of 44.738 turned out to be the quickest of the session. Deegan also dipped into the 44s with a 44.838 to hold second spot, and third was Carey with a 45.120. Cling picked up fourth with a personal best of 45.123, just three thousandths behind Carey! Rounding out the top five was Dickerson, whose best lap was a 45.322 on the final lap.

Junior 1 Kart

In Junior 1 Kart, the first practice session was all about series newcomer Tayler Wood. Wood had the quickest opening lap, a 50.779, and bettered his own top time on the next four laps. Wood brought the time down to 48.587 on lap two, 47.960 on lap three, 47.548 on lap four, and 47.264 on lap five. Wood’s time on lap five was the quickest of the session, and was more than two full seconds quicker than anyone else in the class! Second quick was Kali Kinsman, whose top time was a 49.594, and just behind her was Madix Bailey, who wound up third with a 49.601. Fourth place was Daely Pentico, who was also very close at just four hundredths off of Bailey’s time (49.641), and rounding out the top five was Ricky Gutierrez, who was just over a further tenth adrift at 49.764.

The second session wasn’t as lop-sided as the first one, though that might have had something to do with the fact hat Wood wasn’t running. As it was, Bailey was on top early with a 50.095, and stayed there through the end of the second lap after improving to a 49.878. Kinsman then took over the top time with a 49.122 on lap three, and bettered her best to a 48.130 on lap four. That time held up for the balance of the session, while Bailey improved to a 49.546 on lap four to hold on to second. Third went to Blaze Nunley, who turned a 50.696 on the last lap. Nathan Barry picked up fourth with a 51.121 on the last lap, and Justin Wilson was fifth at 51.476.

Modified Kart

The final class to run in each batch of practice sessions was Modified Kart, and in the first session, it was defending champion Myles Cheek who was first to clock a lap. Cheek’s lap of 40.080 led the time sheets briefly, before Gavin Harlien moved ahead with a 39.481. Harlien got passed up as well, though, as Jeff Hoffman turned a 39.001 to head the pack once everyone had their opening lap in the books. Hoffman bettered his own session-leading time down to 38.779 on lap three, but it was then Harlien who got back on top with a 38.288 on lap five. Harlien’s time held up through session’s end, with Travis PeCoy and Brock Heger taking second and third with times of 38.416 and 38.582, respectively. Hoffman improved to a 38.625 on the last lap to pick up fourth, and Cole Mamer wound up fifth with a personal best of 38.643.

Lead changes abounded in the second session, and the first driver to head the time sheets in this go-around was a young lady, Isabella Naughton, with a time of 40.779 on the first lap. Harlien (40.135), Mamer (40.013), and Cheek (39.736) each moved to the top spot on lap two, with Brock Heger then moving to the lead with a 39.488 on lap three. On the same lap, Cheek got back on top with a 39.206, before he was overtaken by Harlien’s 38.758 on lap four. Mamer and Hoffman each improved on that best time on the same lap, as they turned laps of 38.697 and 38.631, respectively. Mamer was running just behind Harlien on the track, and each time Harlien improved the top time in the session, Mamer was right there less than a second later to drop the top time even further. That trend continued on lap five, with Harlien dropping to 38.402, before Mamer took another tenth off as he ran a 38.302. That time held up for the remainder of the session, leaving Mamer on top, with Harlien second (his time held up) and Cheek third (Cheek improved to 38.424). Heger also improved, and turned a personal best of 38.454 on the final lap to wind up fourth. Hoffman’s earlier session-leading time did get passed up by four other drivers, but it was still good enough to put him in fifth at session’s end.

With that, practice is now in the books here at Lake Elsinore. Tomorrow, the real action hits the track, with both qualifying and racing in Round 5. This is one of the most popular race weekends of the season, so get here early to take in all the sights and sounds of a day at the races. Gates open to the public at 9:00 am, with the first qualifying session of the morning following shortly at 9:15 am. Racing starts at 12:30 pm, with Opening Ceremonies set to go at 2:00 pm, and the first Pro class race gets underway at 2:15 pm.

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

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, dominiccnv@aol.com

May 17, 2013

Contest open until June 10 BFGoodrich Tires, Monster Energy, Rigid Industries, King Shocks, GoPro Honoring SCORE legacy: ’45 Years of SCORE Baja 500 Glory’ Giveaway

Round 2 of 2013 SCORE Desert Series to be held May 30-June 2 in Ensenada, Mexico. Racers from 35 States, 15 countries expected as pre-running underway on 501-mile course.

     SAN DIEGO—Getting a significant amount of assistance from some very special friends, SCORE International has launched an Internet giveaway contest to commemorative ‘45 Years of SCORE Baja 500 Glory’. Five major SCORE sponsors have contributed prizes for this inaugural SCORE contest as pre-running continues in earnest this weekend over the 501-mile desert race course for the upcoming 45th Tecate SCORE Baja 500.

With entries accepted online at www.score-international.com, the winners for each of the five prizes will be determined by random draw. Entries close on Monday, June 10, 2013 and entrants must be at least 18 years of age or older. Complete details and rules can be found on the SCORE website.

Entries from around the world continue to arrive for Round 2 of the 2013 SCORE Desert Series, to be held May 30-June 2 in Mexico’s Baja California Norte, starting and finishing in Ensenada, the seaside port on the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of San Diego.

SCORE is celebrating its 40th year as the world’s foremost desert racing organization in 2013 and this race is traditionally one of the most popular events on the SCORE schedule. Most the world’s best desert racers will be in action at this year’s 45th anniversary of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, the original desert race produced by SCORE on July 26, 1974.

All current SCORE sponsors, providing the five prize packages are BFGoodrich Tires, Monster Energy, Rigid Industries and King Shocks.

     Prizes to be awarded in the‘Forty Five Years of SCORE Baja 500 Glory’ giveaways are:

-One (1) First Prize-set of (4) four BFGoodrich Tires MT/AT 35” 17” max in size. 

-One (1) Second Prize-Monster Energy Fridge and six cases of assorted Monster Energy Drinks.

-One (1) Third Prize-Rigid Industries 30” LED Light Bar.

-One (1) Fourth Prize-two (2) King Shocks Bump Stomps. 

-One (1) Fifth Prize-GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition.

     The direct link to enter the contest can be found at:

http://score-international.com/45-years-of-baja-500-glory-giveaways/

RACE TIME

The Tecate SCORE Baja 500 is an elapsed-time race with staggered starts with the green flag on Saturday (June 1) dropping first for the motorcycles and ATVs at 6 a.m. with cars and trucks leaving the start line three and one-half hours after the last Sportsman ATV at approximately 10:30 a.m. Starting in 30-second intervals, the official time limit to be an official finisher in the race will be 22 hours.

DOUBLE ANNIVERSARY RACE

To enjoy the history-making anniversary race, entries from up to 35 U.S. States and 15 countries are expected with competition offered in 40 Pro and 7 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs. Entries have been received from 24 U.S. states from Alaska to Florida and Hawaii to New Jersey, the U.S. territory of Guam, along with entries to date from the additional countries of Australia, Austria, Belize, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Italy, Japan, Norway and host country Mexico. A total of 227 entries have been accepted to date and an additional 80 are expected before the green flag drops.

A BAJA FIESTA…

Colorful race week festivities will include several first-time events for SCORE, starting with qualifying for SCORE Trophy Truck and Class 1 followed by the Monster Energy SCORE Kick Off Party on Thursday, May 30 from 7 p.m. until Midnight at the start/finish line area in the heart of Ensenada. With donations for La Cruz Roja Mexicana (Mexico’s Red Cross), the event will include a racer’s autograph party and vehicle display.

Friday, May 31 will see the day-long, pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and contingency festival in the start finish line area in Ensenada. With three performances during the day at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., will be a special appearance of the Monster Energy Freestylemx.com show featuring XGames stars Kenny Bell, Dustin Miller and Rich Kearns.

During the race on Saturday, June 1 the Monster Energy SCORE VIP hospitality area, will be part of the start/finish line compound. The Monster Energy SCORE VIP area will include live streaming from the race course as well as updated leaderboard and Internet tracking display of the race vehicles.

All of the week’s festivities will be aired both live and same-day including the race, on the Dirt LiveHD SCORE race week shows, airing via the internet on the SCORE website.

DAKAR CHALLENGE 2013

This year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 500 and Eldorado HDRA Reno 500 (July 12-14) are part of a special program where the combined best qualified car/truck finisher and combined best qualified motorcycle finisher in the two races will each receive special entry packages into the 2014 Dakar Rally in South America. Regulations and other information on Dakar Challenge 2013 are available at http://www.dakar.com/dakar/2013/us/dakar-challenge.html.

IT’s DIRT, LIVE!

Roger Norman’s Dirt Live one-hour weekly show is broadcast live on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Pacific Time on the SCORE website.  The show content is centered around his two desert racing series, the SCORE Desert Series and the High Desert Racing Association as well as the new bonus points program he has developed called the World Championship of Desert Racing. Broadcast studios are located at the SCORE tech shop in El Cajon, Calif., a suburb of San Diego.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF DESERT RACING

The 2013 SCORE Desert Series will also be part of the quickly-evolving World Championship of Desert Racing, which will combine points accumulated for car and truck classes in two of the three SCORE Baja races along with points earned from three of the four-race 2013 HDRA Series, all held in the United States. Both the SCORE and HDRA series will crown their own individual class and overall point champions as well with a bonus purse for those racers who qualify for the World Championship of Desert Racing points bonus purse program to earn a desert racing World Champion title.

With a growing total, for the inaugural World Championship of Desert Racing bonus purse, an official total of $45,000 has been posted to date from new SCORE sponsors Amber Racing Services ($25,000), King Shocks ($10,000) and Rigid Industries ($10,000).

For Pro car and truck classes with at least three starters in each qualifying race in 2013, the World Champion titles will be decided on combined points from two of the three SCORE races and three of the four HDRA races with the bonus purse paid using the same formula based on total purse and number of starters in each class as is used currently for each SCORE race.

For the Pro motorcycle and ATV classes, the World Championship of Desert Racing will include points earned in the three SCORE Baja races as well as the AMA National Hare and Hound race to be held during the HDRA Reno 500.

MORE AWARDS…

In addition to season class point championships and World Championship titles, the racers are also competing for part of the nearly $400,000 in cash purse and contingency postings each race. There are also annual SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year Awards. Drivers in the Pro car and truck classes are also attempting to earn prestigious SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards given to all car and truck class drivers who complete every required mile of the race season.  These awards are being presented by Toyota Motorsports for the 28th consecutive year.

SCORE SPONSORS…

Official Sponsors: Tecate Beer-Official Beer/Official Race Sponsor, Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire, Amber Racing Services-Official Race Fuels, Rigid Industries-Official Lights, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber, Volaris Airlines-Official Airline, Wide Open Excursions- Official Arrive and Drive Company, Coca-Cola-Official Soft Drink, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino, Hotel Coral and Marina-Official Hotel.

Associate Sponsors: Graham Watchmakers, SatellitePhoneStore.com, Symons Ambulance Company, Azunia Tequila.

Additional SCORE Partners: Proturismo Ensenada, Visit Baja California Sur, Baja California Secretary of Tourism, Mexicali Ayuntamineto, COTUCO Mexicali/San Felipe, Cruz Roja Mexicana, Blue C Advertising, PCI Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.

For more information, visit the official website of the new SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.

The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series headed to Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park for the fifth round of high flying racing action. The track at Lake Elsinore is one of the most entertaining, high speed, high flying tracks of the series. With first class amenities and a perfect view of the track from anywhere in the stands, Round 5 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series was destined for a good show and great racing action.

Pro 4 Unlimited racing action was staged to be one of the best Pro 4 Unlimited races that the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series has ever seen. With a spectacular track like Lake Elsinore and proven champions gridded up at the front of the pack, the compactly crowd was sure to get their money’s worth.

As the field of Pro 4 Unlimited trucks came across the starting line, the green flag dropped and the war was on. Todd LeDuc and Eric Barron led the field to the green flag and it wasn’t long before the Toyota of Eric Barron was at the front of the pack. Barron led the first 11 of 16 laps while a dog fight between Carl Renezeder and Rob MacCachren had the crowd on the edge of their seats.

After a full course yellow was thrown, the pack of Pro 4 Unlimited’s bunched back up and just as he had done before; Eric Barron was leading the charge. It seemed as though Barron couldn’t pick a bad line, he was using every part of the track to gain the upper hand. After losing some ground to Carl Renezeder, Barron was turned around before you knew it and mayhem ensued.

Carl Renezeder would go on to win his 7th straight victory followed by Greg Adler and Brandon Bailey in his photo finish across the line with Corry Weller.

The 14 lap Pro Lite main event was next to hit the main stage, the track was at optimal conditions and 27 of the fastest short course off road racers in the United States were about to hit the track. “The Prodigy” Sheldon Creed would qualify on the pole position and fortunately for Creed there would be no inversion.

When the green flag dropped, Sheldon Creed quickly went to work and instantly took a commanding lead. Creed would be hunted down by the 2012 Pro Lite champion Rj Anderson and the always dangerous Bradley Morris. Not far behind the lead pack was that of Andrew Caddell who would pilot the #38 Pro Lite in place of Brian Deegan. After a long string of caution laps, the Pro Lite field would quickly understood the threat of Andrew Caddell. Although Caddell isn’t a LOORRS regular, a man by the name of Jimmy Fishback stole the show. Fishback, a 100% privateer grassroots self-made racer would fight his heart out and make multiple comebacks and would wind up finding himself landing a 3rd place podium right behind Andrew Caddell. “The Prodigy” Sheldon Creed would finish Round 5 on the top of the podium; winning Round 5 wire to wire.

Just as Brian Deegan had Andrew Caddell fill in for him for his Pro Lite duties, fellow teammate Todd LeDuc would be the weapon of choice to fill in for him in the Pro 2 category. LeDuc would start the #38 Pro 2 on the pole lined up next to the ever so dangerous Carl Renezeder. Just as Sheldon Creed was able to do in the Pro Lite race, Todd LeDuc was able to get out into clean air and run upfront without any contention.

Behind LeDuc, Carl Renezeder and Rob MacCachren would battle it out like true veterans and put on one hell of a show for the crowd. The duo must have traded places a dozen times before Rob MacCachren was able to make a pass stick and hold it all the way to the finish. Todd LeDuc would run away with the Pro 2 race winning Round 5 wire to wire. Rob MacCachren held off Carl Renezeder just long enough to secure a second place finish and leave Carl wanting more as he would have to settle for a third place podium.

It was a round of firsts at Lake Elsinore and racing action did not disappoint. Brandon Bailey, Jimmy Fishback would both see the podium for the first time while “The Prodigy” Sheldon Creed would see his first 1st place podium after an impressive run in Pro Lite.

Words by Adam “Gunnslinger” Gunn
Photos by Jason Zindroski of HighRev Photography

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Short course racing is back for another year for Rounds 5 & 6 of the Lucas Oil Offroad Racing Series at the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park. Today marked a full day of practice for teams to test their setups and tweak their trucks for a big weekend ahead.

Kyle Leduc laid down the fastest lap of the day with a 49.273 in his Pro 4. Less then a tenth of a second behind him is older brother Todd (who is also filling in for Brian Deegan in his Pro 2). Posting up a 51.120 was Rob MacCachren in his Pro 2 who is once again doing double duty as he is also racing the SST race in San Diego. The next fastest class? Pro Buggy, with Geoffrey Cooley putting down a 51.755 lap that if today was qualifying, would put him 7th in Pro 2, and faster then a few Pro 4 trucks. Ryan Beat would round out your fast lappers with a 52.925 in his Prolite.

Photos by Jason Zindroski of HighRev Photography

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Casey Currie takes us around one lap at Lake Elsinore during practice for the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series Round 5. Casey is the current Pro Lite points leader going into this weekend of racing.

CORONA, Calif. (May 17, 2013) – Following back-to-back runner-up finishes at the third and fourth rounds of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORS) in Las Vegas, Monster Energy/General Tire driver Casey Currie is looking forward to coming home to Southern California for Rounds 5 and 6 of the championship from Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park in Lake Elsinore, Calif., May 18^th and 19^th.

Currie is looking for a little home field advantage on the track that sits closest to his hometown of Anaheim Hills as well as his Corona race shop. While he’s consistently finished at the front of the field this season, Currie wants nothing more than the thrill of victory this weekend so he can add to his early Pro Lite points lead.

“I always love racing at home and the track at Lake Elsinore has always been one we’ve excelled on,” said Currie. “It’s been a great start to the season to this point, but I want that win to help cement myself atop the point standings.”

CORONA, Calif. (May 17, 2013) – Following back-to-back runner-up finishes at the third and fourth rounds of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORS) in Las Vegas, Monster Energy/General Tire driver Casey Currie is looking forward to coming home to Southern California for Rounds 5 and 6 of the championship from Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park in Lake Elsinore, Calif., May 18th and 19th.Currie is looking for a little home field advantage on the track that sits closest to his hometown of Anaheim Hills as well as his Corona race shop. While he’s consistently finished at the front of the field this season, Currie wants nothing more than the thrill of victory this weekend so he can add to his early Pro Lite points lead. “I always love racing at home and the track at Lake Elsinore has always been one we’ve excelled on,” said Currie. “It’s been a great start to the season to this point, but I want that win to help cement myself atop the point standings.” Currie has spent the last three weeks making minor adjustments to his Monster Energy/General Tire truck, looking to find the right combination that will enable him to take that next step on the track and battle for victory. Currie is eager to rebound from a tough weekend in Lake Elsinore last season where he showed impressive speed and ran at the front of the field on both Saturday and Sunday, only to suffer misfortune in the late stages of each race.Friday will signify the first time Currie’s Monster Energy/General Tire ride hits the track with a pair of practice sessions. After he makes the necessary adjustments to get the balance right and maximize the traction from all four General Tires, Currie will have the opportunity to qualify and earn his spot on the grid before each respective round on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. “We’re so close to mixing it up out front,” he added. “My qualifying has been solid, but I know I can lay down a better lap. I’ll need to if I’m going to really have a chance at winning one of these rounds this weekend. I’d love to be able to sweep Saturday and Sunday and walk away making a statement, but if we’re able to keep doing what we’ve been doing it’ll be a good weekend.” Tickets for this weekend’s action are still available through the LOORS website for both Saturday and Sunday. Fans unable to make it out to the track can keep up to date on everything from Lake Elsinore Motorsports through Live Timing and Scoring. To keep up with all of Casey’s racing visit www.caseycurrie.com For More Information: pr@nextlevelsportsinc.com 949-365-5750

JCR/Honda Enduro X sensation Colton Haaker is set to battle it out in search of an XGames medal. It all goes down this Saturday, May 18th when Barcelona, Spain’s Olympic Stadium will host the best EnduroCross racers in the world for the 2nd of 4 Global XGames Enduro X races in 2013.

The Enduro X event will take place on Saturday evening Barcelona time, which translates to 10:00AM to 3:00PM Eastern Time. The same show is scheduled to include Street Skateboarding and Freestyle Moto X. Check your local listings or http://xgames.espn.go.com/events/2013/barcelona/schedule/ 

“I am really enjoying working with Colton Haaker and moving our team into the EnduroCross world. We are steadily improving our effort and I can’t thank Fly Racing, Lucas Oils and Rockstar Energy enough for the support. I’ll be glued to the TV this Saturday and I’m confident in Colton’s ability and speed to battle for a medal.” — Johnny Campbell

2013 JCR/Honda team video link: http://youtu.be/GBtkL9iStHs

Follow JCR/Honda on FB at www.Facebook.com/JCRHonda

Follow JCR/Honda on Twitter www.Twitter.com/JCRHonda

Follow JCR/Honda on Instagram @JCRHonda

This is everything it takes to win and everything that gets in the way. This isLaunch Control.

Launch Control is a new web-series, released every other Wednesday, that follows Subaru Rally Team USA and the Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team throughout the 2013 race season.

Launch Control Ep3: Higgins fights for win after crash at Sno*Drift Rally