Anaheim Hills, CA (January 24, 2012) – Well known Pro Lite and desert racing competitor, Casey Currie will join forces with Hawk Performance Products Group at a new level beginning this year. In his continued partnership with Hawk Performance, Casey will also work closely with Black Rock wheels to develop his very own Casey Currie designed and tested signature line of wheels.

“We are very happy about forming a long term partnership with Casey Currie for 2012 and beyond,” noted Managing Director of Hawk Performance Products Group, Bob Williams. “Our relationship began last year with Casey and we are thrilled that we have the opportunity to outfit his race trucks with more of our products. Hawk Performance Products Group will not only provide braking products, but we are excited about the opportunity to work with Casey in developing his signature line of Black Rock wheels. Casey is a proven champion and we are proud of the trust that he has shown in our brands.”

Hawk Performance Product Group has entered into a multi-year partnership with Casey Currie Racing and will support all of Casey’s racing efforts. He will not only run Hawk Brake pads throughout the season, but will utilize the competition Black Rock wheels in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series in the Pro Lite class.

“I’m super excited to be working with Hawk Performance again this year and to now be adding Black Rock Wheels to the mix,” stated Casey. “There is an awesome team of guys behind this product and they have the experience and technology to make a top-of-the-line wheel. I am even more excited about introducing my very own line of wheels, to be released later this year.”

Casey will design the Casey Currie Signature Line of wheels, including the following: 16″ high positive offset beadlock wheel for Pro Lite competition, 17″ low offset beadlock wheel for Pro 2, Pro 4, and desert racing competition, 17″ positive offset beadlock wheel for Pro 2, Pro 4, and King of the Hammers competition, and also a 14″ beadlock ATV/UTV wheel geared for King of the Hammers Competition as well.

“It’s a huge undertaking,” beams Casey, “one which I’m honored and excited about. Building this relationship with Hawk Performance and being involved in the development of products is important to improving and expanding this sport.”

ABOUT CASEY CURRIE

Racing dirt bikes at age five and off-road trucks by age 16, it becomes more than a coincidence that Casey Currie is one of the youngest-ever team owners and drivers on the off-road circuit. Now involved with the Lucas Oil Off Road Series, Currie runs the Pro Light 2WD Truck class, scoring his first Championship in 2010, and driving toward many more. Currie’s off-road resume is lined with wins on motorcycles, trucks and buggies in the desert—this one is no stranger to dirt sports.

In 2012 Casey will race for the championship in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series in his No. 2 Monster Energy/General Tire/Nissan Pro Lite truck, while mixing it up with UTV races and public appearances in between. When he’s not on the road, building off-road vehicles and drumming up side projects, he’ll take to the dirt with friends—dirt bikes, UTVs, or mountain bikes, he does it all. For more information on Casey Currie, visit CaseyCurrie.com. Keep up with him on Facebook and Twitter at Facebook.com/OfficialCaseyCurrie and Twitter.com/caseycurrie.

ABOUT HAWK PERFORMANCE PRODUCT GROUP

We are excited to announce the creation of the Hawk Performance Products Group. In an effort to broaden our mission of serving the Performance Products Markets, we look forward to leveraging the power of our brands in order to meet serious performance-minded customers’ expectations of new products, unrivaled performance, unique styles, and overall value. The Hawk Performance Products Group includes Hawk Performance, Cragar Wheels, and the Black Rock Wheel Collection. For more information visit HawkPerformance.com, CragarWheels.com, and BlackRockWheels.com

Casey Currie Motorsports would like to thank all their Partners:
Monster Energy, General Tire, Currie Enterprises, Magnaflow Exhaust, NISSAN, Motive Gear, American Wire Harness, Team Associated, Black Rock Wheels, Hawk Performance, QTM Brakes, GoPro Cameras, Goodridge, K&N Filters, Kawasaki, Kicker Audio, King Shocks, HJC Helmets, MasterCraft Safety, Oakley, Dirt Bagz, CBR Radiators, Rockwell Watches, Swift Springs, Sign Pros, Simple Green, Torco Oil, Jones Products.

The Monster Energy Off-Road Team assembled talent from around the globe to Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix for Round 15 of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series (LOORS) season. Veteran short course racer Johnny Greaves made the long drive from Wisconsin while X Games Rally Car Gold medalist and international rallycross star Liam Doran flew in from England and jumped right in to the fastest class in the series; the 4WD, 800 horsepower Pro4 Unlimited category.  Greaves and Doran joined their Monster Energy Teammates, including Jeremy McGrath, Casey Currie, and Cameron Steele, for final and best round of the season. When it was all said and done, the Monster Energy Off-Road Team walked away from the 2011 LOORS season with with a staggering 16 podiums, including 8 first place trophies!

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

With the final round of LOORS in the books, the Monster Energy Off-Road Team put it all on the line for the Challenge Cup. Veteran short course racer Johnny Greaves made the long drive from Wisconsin while X Games Rally Car Gold medalist and international rallycross star Liam Doran flew in from England and jumped right in to the fastest class in the series; the 4WD, 800 horsepower Pro4 Unlimited category. Greaves and Doran joined their Monster Energy Teammates Jeremy McGrath, Casey Currie, and Cameron Steele, for the final and best day of racing of the season.

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

The Monster Energy Off-Road Team assembled talent from around the globe to Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix for Round 15 of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series (LOORS) season. Veteran short course racer Johnny Greaves made the long drive from Wisconsin while X Games Rally Car Gold medalist and international rallycross star Liam Doran flew in from England and jumped right in to the fastest class in the series; the 4WD, 800 horsepower Pro4 Unlimited category.  Greaves and Doran joined their Monster Energy Teammates, including Jeremy McGrath, Casey Currie, and Cameron Steele, for final and best round of the season. When it was all said and done, the Monster Energy Off-Road Team walked away from the 2011 LOORS season with a staggering 16 podiums, including 8 first place trophies!

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

Go on-board with the Monster Energy Off-Road team at Round 12 and 13 of the TORC short-coarse season at legendary Cycle Ranch in Floresville, Texas. 2010 PRO-4 Champion Johnny Greaves along with Marty Hart, Casey Currie, and PRO-Lite rookie CJ Greaves battled the technical new track to come away with five podiums, including CJ’s first PRO Light Cup win. The newly created truck course was a combination of hard technical turns, huge jumps and a rough mogul section. Hundreds of dedicated Texan race fans came out to witness the premier of TORC short course racing at the newly anointed short course off-road racetrack at Cycle Ranch.

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

Monster Energy brought talent from around the globe to Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOOORRS) season finale.  Veteran short course racer Johnny Greaves made the long drive from Wisconsin while X Games gold medalist and rallycross star Liam Doran flew in from England and jumped right in to the fastest class in the series; the 4WD, 800 horsepower Pro4 Unlimited category.  Greaves and Doran joined the usual cast of Monster Energy LOORRS stars that includes Jeremy McGrath, Casey Currie, and Cameron Steele.

Saturday was the last race of the season and championships were on the line in all classes.  In the Pro Lite Unlimited class, Casey Currie and Cameron Steele took different paths in their quest for victory, with Currie’s truck powered by a factory sealed V8 engine and Steele’s sporting a high performance four cylinder.  Unfortunately the results were the same for the duo, as mechanical issues limited Steele to a seventh place finish and varying track conditions forced Currie, who was in second place for much of the race, back to fourth by the end.  When the dust settled Steele had finished third for the season and Currie finished fifth in points.

McGrath was coming off a win from the last LOORRS stop in Las Vegas and looking to repeat, but after running under the caution flag half way through the race he was shoved into Carl Renezeder on the first corner of the restart and forced to limp around the track for the remainder.  His injured Monster Energy 2WD truck could not make full use of the 800 horsepower and 35-inch tires and crossed the line in seventh place, putting him in fourth place for the season.  Neither Doran nor Greaves were running for season points in Pro4, so they had nothing to lose by going all out.  Greaves got mixed up in traffic early on and came away with damaged steering, but newcomer Liam Doran banged with Todd LeDuc lap after lap, hanging with the short course veteran right to the checkers to finish in fifth place.  “Short course has huge jumps, trucks sliding sideways, and lots of passing,” Doran commented.    “This is what every kid wants to watch.”

On Sunday the Lord (or at least LOORRS) made cup races, where buggies and trucks, 2WD and 4WD, ran on the track at the same time for five figure paychecks.  Cameron Steele chose to park his Pro Lite Unlimited truck for teammate Brandon Bailey’s Super Buggy, while Currie made suspension adjustments to best the competition.  Steele’s gamble did not pay off, but Currie finished third in a field of 27 drivers despite having zero visibility on the last lap after his hood folded back over the windshield.

The final race of the year pitted the Pro2 Unlimited trucks against the Pro4 Unlimiteds in the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup, with the faster 4WD trucks forced to start half a lap back.  Liam Doran  started dead last amongst the 25 truck field but weaved his way past half the competitors before his transmission called it quits.  Carnage came quickly and hardly a lap went by without a caution or black flag coming out.  Jeremy McGrath was in second place with two turns to go on the final lap when his Monster Energy truck was clipped from behind by Carl Renezeder and passed by two competitors in a controversial finish.  McGrath had some words with Carl and the officials had Jeremy’s back, DQ’ing Renezeder and awarding McGrath third place for a $7500 paycheck.  “The toughest part is having someone else dictate your race,” McGath commented.  “Third isn’t bad but next time things will go differently.”

Photos by Vincent Knakal of Mad Media

[Show as slideshow]

The final rounds of the 2011 TORC short-course season took place at the legendary Cycle Ranch in Floresville, Texas. 2010 PRO-4 Champion Johnny Greaves along with Marty Hart, Casey Currie, and PRO-Lite rookie CJ Greaves battled the technical, new track to come away with five podiums, including CJ’s first PRO Light Cup win. The newly created truck course was a combination of hard technical turns, huge jumps and a rough mogul section. Hundreds of dedicated Texan race fans came out to witness the premier of TORC short course racing at the newly anointed short course off-road racetrack at Cycle Ranch.

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

• Carl Renezeder looks to claim 2011 LOORRS championship.
• General Tire’s Grabber tire to be featured on all six Team GT entries during the event held December 10-11 at Firebird Raceway.

Fort Mill, SC – (December 8, 2011) The Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series (LOORRS) wraps up their season at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix, AZ, December 10 and 11 and members of General Tire’s Team GT are ready for their descent on the desert. Team GT is led by veteran driver Carl Renezeder who is poised to claim victory number 98 in addition to the 2011 championship in the Pro 4 Unlimited class, which will mark his eighth short-course off-road championship.

Renezeder will compete in both the Pro 4 and Pro 2 Unlimited classes with Team GT teammate Josh Merrell joining him in the Pro 4 Unlimited class. Four more drivers will carry the General Tire logo on their entries including up-and-comer Robby Woods in Pro 2 Unlimited. Casey Currie will compete in Pro Lite Unlimited and Ryan “Fluffer” Hagy and Jason Ellis will represent General Tire in the Super Lite’s.

“Team GT has a strong contingency of short-course off-road drivers,” said Travis Roffler, director of marketing, General Tire. “Our guys have done an excellent job ‘unleashing the fury’ on-track all year and we’re looking forward to another great race at the upcoming LOORRS finale. It would be great for Team GT to cap off the year with a championship and a few more podiums.”

General Tire also has a complete line of Grabber tires for the passenger and light truck market, including the Grabber DOT-approved off-road tire; the Grabber HTS, which delivers the perfect synergy of comfort, durability and performance; the Grabber UHP, which sets a whole new standard in performance and ride quality for SUVs, light trucks and crossover vehicles; and Grabber AT2, designed for aggressive all-terrain traction in all weather conditions.

To catch all the latest action on Team GT and our products check outwww.generaltire.com

More information on Lucas Oil Products can be found at www.LucasOil.com.

For more information on LOORRS visit www.lucasoiloffroad.com.

If you cant be there to see all the action first-hand, you can get up-to-the-minute information on all the races atwww.twitter.com/teamgt or check out General Tire’s Facebook page to see pictures from the race.

Under the searing hot Arizona sun, The Monster Energy Off-Road Team was back in action this past weekend at Speedworld Off-Road Park in Surprise, AZ for rounds 11 and 12 of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series. With record highs hitting 108 degrees and only four races left in the series, race fans knew the racing was going to get red-hot! The ultra technical track featuring the notorious “Moguls” section is known for forcing the drama by keeping the passing lanes tight causing drivers to take big risks for the pass. Strap in and check out the insane short-course racing action presented by Monster Energy.

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

Monster Energy presents: On-Board with Monster Energy at LOORS Rounds 11&12, Speedworld 2011. The Monster Energy team attacked Speedworld Off-Road Park in Surprise Arizona at this year’s LOORS rounds 11 & 12. Experience what it’s like to ride on-board with Rick Huseman as he launches off of table-top jumps, or through the crazy off-set woop section with Casey Currie. Ride shotgun as Cameron Steele battles the brutal competition and race legend Jeremy McGrath fights for his place on the podium. Strap in and check out the insane short-course racing action presented by Monster Energy.

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

Under the searing hot Arizona sun, The Monster Energy Off-Road Team was back in action this past weekend at Speedworld Off-Road Park in Surprise, AZ for rounds 11 and 12 of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series.  With record highs hitting 106 degrees and only four races left in the series, race fans knew the racing was going to get red-hot!  The ultra technical track featuring the notorious “Moguls” section is known for forcing the drama by keeping the passing lanes tight causing drivers to take big risks for the pass.

After opening ceremonies, racing kicked off with the Pro-4’s.  Qualifying 8^th on Friday, Rick Huseman came right off the start and grabbed an early third position.  After battling with Adrian Cenni, Huseman was able to pass on the inside in turn three and maintain that position until the mandatory caution.  A few laps into the second half of the race, a noticeable gap began to form between the front-runners of Kyle Leduc, Rick Huseman, and Carl Renezeder.  In an attempt to catch and pass Kyle, Huseman roared through the moguls and came into turn four with some extra speed, Huseman went wide and lost control, spinning his truck.  Renezeder passed and Huseman was still able to hold on to a podium 3^rd place finish.

Sunday was disappointing day for Huseman.  After moving up a position to second early on, things were looking great for back-to-back podiums.  However, in lap four he broke his rear driveshaft, causing him to limp behind the field for the remainder of the race.

After qualifying 6^th on Friday, Jeremy McGrath knew just what he had to do if he wanted to be on the podium at the end of the race.  McGrath moved his way to 4^th by the mandatory caution, with Carl Renezeder and Robby Woods falling behind with some mechanical issues. McGrath took advantage of the race traffic melee and did what he does best, pass.  With Brian Deegan and Rob MacCachren starting to extend their lead, the battle for third place was intensifying between McGrath, Ampudia, and Adler.  McGrath saw an opening after Ampudia checked up and flew past him with a couple of laps left.  McGrath was able to hold on to the position to finish in third place.

The Sunday Pro-2 race was perhaps the most exciting of the weekend.  After landing wide off a jump going in to turn four, Robbie Pierce smashed in to Myan Spaccarelli as he tried to gain control of his truck.  Both trucks were severely damaged.  Jeremy was caught in the mess, which caused damage to his truck.  On the restart, McGrath climbed back up to 5^th but later gave up his position after he was forced to the hot pits during a yellow flag for a fresh tire.  McGrath still managed to finished the race in 9^th position.

Casey Currie and Cameron Steele had solid Friday performances in the Pro-Lite class.  Qualifying 11^th, Cameron fought all the way from the back of the pack to a 4^th place spot.  With only eight trucks left out of the initial eleven, Cam’s engine blew on the final lap, leaving him with the 8^th place finish.  Currie filled Cameron’s 4^th place spot after a continuous fight to maintain his 5^th place qualifying position all race.

Cameron looked to redeem himself on Sunday, as he jumped out to an early 4^th position, with Rodrigo Ampudia in 3^rd, Casey Currie in 2^nd and Jimmy Stephenson in the lead.  The leaders stayed closely packed as they grinded for top position.  Steele overtook Ampudia in lap four with a little nudge from the side.  Brian Deegan passed Ampudia as well.  Heading to the caution flag, Steele fell a position to Deegan and Currie maintained his second place spot.  After some battling right out of the gate, Cameron’s truck got damaged and he fell behind in the pack.  Currie was unable to hold off red-hot Brian Deegan and Corey Sisler, a couple of laps later and finished in 5^th place.

With only four races left, the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series is going to get intense.  The next race is at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on November 5^th and 6^th, with the series finale at Firebird Raceway in December.  Pro-4 Champion Rick Huseman is once again in the hunt for the championship right behind former champion Carl Renezeder.  It may come down to the very last race of the season.

Photos by Vincent Knakal of Mad Media

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The Monster Energy Off-Road team battled the field and weather to come away with a single podium. Weather is always a factor in Crandon and Sundays racing would not be immune to mother natures wrath.

Song Info: Be Careful What You Wish For [INSTRUMENTAL] By Memphis May Fire
Available on Bullet Tooth Records

Directed by The Martelli Brothers. Produced by Mad Media.

The Monster Energy Off-Road team battled the field and weather to come away with a single podium. Weather is always a factor in Crandon and Sundays racing would not be immune to mother natures wrath. Rain soaked the track overnight and into the first half of the day turning the Pro-2  race into a “Who can survive the mud?” race. Marty Hart got a good start slipping by (literally) the competition moving up to third place. But the combination of running a manual transmission and the unpredictable track conditions took him out of the race. Hart slid into a giant mud bank in the back section of the racecourse and was stuck until a support vehicle could pull him out of the three and a half foot bank of mud. “That was crazy! I was just trying to get around the track. I couldn’t control the truck at all. Racing in conditions like this sucks because we don’t really get to race, we just have to survive.” Stated Hart.

Johnny Greaves had a rough start in Pro-4 getting caught in traffic into turn one. Undeterred Greaves stayed focused and fought his way up to 2^nd through the traffic, rain and super muddy track conditions. As Greaves began to stalk down the race leader Adrian Cenni he got a right rear flat causing him to go into the hot pits for a spare. Greaves returned to the race to get the finish putting him in the points lead for the championship as the weekend concluded.

Casey Currie and CJ Greaves both went out swinging in Pro-lite and managed to get through turn one in the front pack. Currie fought his way up to 3rd before he succumbed to a wheel/tire failure due to the combination of giant holes and embedded rocks. After getting a spare Currie returned to the race to get a finish. CJ also had a tire failure late in the race and was unable to return to the race in time.

CJ also racked up a first place finish in Pro-buggies earlier in the day besting a stacked field of experienced competitors. At just 16 years old, he undoubtedly has a bright future in off-road racing.

The Cup race is a spectacle to behold! The race puts pro-2’s and pro-4’s against each other in war to see who can get to the finish first. The pro-2’s are started first in an effort to even out the competition between the two classes. The Pro-2’s rarely win. The Pro-4’s rocketed off the line as Johnny Greaves managed to get into the front pack. After some heated battling Greaves got in a tangle in the back section with a group of pro-4’s, but managed to get through by driving over Kyle Leduc’s front hood. Greaves managed to get to third place before the checkered flag. “We got tangled up behind Kyle and I knew after that it was going to be hard to catch Chad Hord. I will take the podium, but I want that cup. I will be back for it next year! I hope the fans enjoyed the racing. I am glad they stayed and braved the weather. The fans at Crandon are the best off-road fans in the world!” stated the war torn Greaves.

Photos by Vincent Knakal of Mad Media

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Adrian Cenni wins his second-straight at Crandon
Bryce Menzies tops out in the PRO 2 class and Andrew Caddell remains perfect on the weekend in PRO Lights. Brian Deegan finds success with podium and Traxxas Maxx Cash!

By Pat Schutte   CRANDON, Wisc., (Sept. 3, 2011) – As heavy skies began to open up on the Crandon International Raceway faithful at round, the only thing brighter that the fast-approaching glowing red and yellow blobs on the Doppler was Adrian Cenni’s (Atrium Payroll/Maxxis/Mastercraft Safety) hunters orange Ford, which wrapped missile-like laps around the Crandon track, topping local favorite Johnny Greaves (Monster Energy/Toyota/Maxxis) and Ricky Johnson (Red Bull/KMC Wheels/Mopar/Ram) in a mad dash for the checkers before the storm hit.   With Greaves leading the race and running strong, the competition yellow flew and regrouped Cenni (2nd) and Johnson, along with Kyle Leduc (Rockstar/Makita/Toyo). The four off-road greats left the rest of the pack in a competition train, only to have Cenni bring the massive crowd to their feet when he returned from the far reaches of the expansive Crandon track – out front of Greaves and putting time on the Wisconsin native.   “I some weird way I liked chasing him (Cenni),” said Greaves. “And I’m kinda proud of him.”   Cenni, who scored his first career TORC PRO 4 win at Crandon on Friday, was again pumped with his team’s effort on Saturday at the legendary short course off-road track: “We had some contact and I did my best to get around (Greaves) clean … my team did such a great job today. I’m really, really proud of them.”   Racing back to the checkers Johnson was right on Greaves, but not in a position to pass – so he held onto 3rd. Fourth place went to Leduc while Mark Jenkins (Traxxas/BFG/AMSOIL) and Steve Barlow (Maxxis/Ebay Motors/Metal Mulisha) came together right at the finish line, bringing a thundering close to TORC’s Saturday at Crandon.   PRO 4     1 11 ADRIAN CENNI 9 0 01:23.7 01:20.2 7 2 22 JOHNNY GREAVES 9 0 01:23.2 01:20.9 7 3 48 RICKY JOHNSON 9 0 01:22.5 01:21.3 3 4 99 KYLE LEDUC 9 0 01:26.3 01:21.4 3 5 83 STEVE BARLOW 9 0 01:27.0 01:23.6 2 6 25 MARK JENKINS 9 0 01:25.8 01:22.9 8 7 47 MIKE JENKINS 9 0 01:30.2 01:23.5 2 8 7 SCOTT DOUGLAS 9 0 01:30.3 01:23.2 1 9 69 MILAN MAZANEC 9 0 01:38.2 01:31.7 5 10 6 CASE GUNDERSON 1 0 01:24.9 01:24.9 1 11 4 TODD LEDUC 7 0 01:33.6 01:24.5 2 12 43 CURT LEDUC 8 0 01:31.2 01:23.6 6     PRO 2 Having already taken the overall Traxxas TORC Series PRO 2 class season points lead from his mentor, Rob MacCachren (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL) on Friday at Crandon, Bryce Menzies (Red Bull/KMC Wheels/Mopar/Ram) took advantage of an apparent Jeff Kincaid (Traxxas/Ford/BFG) mechanical malfunction late in the race and to record his 3rd win of the season with a hard-charging effort at the track where he holds the class fastest lap record.   “I can’t thank my team enough for setting this truck up – it ran as good today as it did earlier in the year at Crandon when we set the track record,” said Menzies. “Was hoping Jeff (Kincaid) and I could give the fans a great show with run to the end, but he ran into some trouble and that pretty much wrapped things up for us.”   For a time it looked like a rematch of the Menzies vs. Chad Hord (BOSS Snowplows/AMSOIL/Nissan) battle for 2nd place at Crandon on Friday was going to rematerialize, but Hord just didn’t have enough for the PRO 2 points leader as Menzies maintained a consistent 1.5 to 2-second lead on the Michigan local.   Benefitting the most from the mandatory restart was Marty Hart (Monster Energy/Maxxis/Toyota), who jumped up two spots to 4th. And just about as soon as Hart moved into 3rd, MacCachren, whose truck was limping to begin with, had a rear shock come flying off his truck which ended his day – and seriously dashed his 2011 TORC PRO 2 title hopes.   Kincaid, who had locked down the Oakley Bomb Award for the fastest PRO 2 lap, pulled off the track on the top of the right hand sweeper, obviously bummed that what looked to be in the bag in terms of a second-straight Crandon win was now done.   So with Menzies, Hord and Hart on the podium, the top five would be rounded out by Mike Oberg (AMSOIL/BFG/King Shocks) and Mikey Vanden Heuvel (Maxxis/ATD Trans/Boatec), who beat Scott Taylor (Miller Electric Welders) to the line for 5th in a great battle between those two that lasted the whole race.   PRO 2     Place No. Name 1 7 BRYCE MENZIES 2 9 CHAD HORD 3 15 MARTY HART 4 80 MIKE OBERG 5 77 MIKEY VANDEN HEUVEL 6 8 SCOTT TAYLOR 7 33 DOW WOERNER 8 4 JEFF KINCAID 9 21 ROB MACCACHREN 10 29 KEITH STEEL   PRO Light   For the second straight day Andrew Caddell (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG) took charge of the TORC PRO Light class, pulling the holeshot, leading the race from green to checkers – and   But while the fans had one eye on Caddell, the other was trained intently (as was Caddell’s spotters’ eyes) on Brian Deegan (Rockstar/Metal Mulisha/Traxxas). The former supercross racers, X Games freestyle motocross star and, more recently, rally racer was on fire, getting past Samuel Hubinette (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG) and Brad Lovell (AMSOIL/BFG/Torchmate) in his pursuit of the podium. Deegan would clock the Traxxas Maxx lap for the fastest PRO Light spin around the 1.5 mile Crandon track with a 1:27.113 in his pursuit of Caddell, but ran out of time. Lovell rounded out TORC PRO Light podium in 3rd.   Said Caddell: “I knew Deegan would be coming. Heard over the radio ‘He’s third and moving up,’ and I was like ‘OK, here we go.’   Added Deegan: “It’s cool to race in front of so many people.”   Noteworthy: Deegan was driving Caddell’s 2010 truck that holds the TORC PRO Light track record at Crandon.   Rounding out the top five in the PRO Light class on Saturday were Shawn Morris (Maxxis/Chevy) and defending TORC Series PRO Light champ Casey Currie (Monster Energy/General Tire/Nissan) in 4thand 5th, respectively.   PRO Light     Place No. Name 1 43 ANDREW CADDELL 2 38 BRIAN DEEGAN 3 44 BRAD LOVELL 4 27 SHAUN MORRIS 5 1 CASEY CURRIE 6 11 RANDY ELLER 7 77 SAM HUBINETTE 8 37 RJ ANDERSON 9 17 MITCH DORR 10 73 ERIC RUPPEL 11 4 JASON JANUSZ 12 8 MIKE PORTER 13 7 KEEGAN KINCAID 14 76 ANDY ZIPPERER 15 14 LUKE JOHNSON 16 33 CJ GREAVES 17 30 MARK OBERG 18 5 TODD CUNNINGHAM     Unofficial TORC season overall points   PRO 4   1 22 GREAVES JOHNNY TOYOTA/MAXXIS 181 3 2 48 JOHNSON RICKY RAM/BFG 175 2 3 7 DOUGLAS SCOTT FORD/BFG 154 1 4 25 JENKINS MARK FORD/BFG 130 0 5 83 BARLOW STEVE FORD/MAXXIS 128 0 6 47 JENKINS MIKE FORD/BFG 118 0 7 11 CENNI ADRIAN FORD/MAXXIS 94 2 8 69 MAZANEC MILAN 66 0 9 32 DREWS AL FORD/BFG 38 0 10 99 LEDUC KYLE FORD/TOYO 30 0 11 6 GUNDERSON CASE 6 0 12 4 LEDUC TODD FORD/TOYO 5 0 13 43 LEDUC CURT FORD/TOYO 4   PRO 2   1 7 MENZIES BRYCE RAM/BFG 176 3 2 21 MACCACHREN ROB RAM/BFG 156 2 3 9 HORD CHAD NISSAN MOTORSPORTS/BFG 149 1 4 4 KINCAID JEFF FORD/BFG 139 2 5 8 TAYLOR SCOTT FORD/BFG 122 0 6 80 OBERG MIKE CHEVY/BFG 116 0 7 15 HART MARTY TOYOTA/MAXXIS 112 0 8 77 VANDEN HEUVEL MIKEY CHEVY/MAXXIS 110 0 9 29 STEELE KEITH CHEVY/KUMHO 30 0 10 10 ADLER GREG FORD/BFG 28 0 11 30 PIERCE ROBBY FORD/BFG 18 0 11 33 WOERNER DOW CHEVY/BFG 18 0 13 218 BAKER MICHAEL 0 0 14 217 BADOUX DAN FORD/BFG 0   PRO Light   1 43 CADDELL ANDREW RAM/BFG 2 1 CURRIE CASEY NISSAN/GENERAL 3 77 HUBINETTE SAM RAM/BFG 4 44 LOVELL BRAD NISSAN MTRSPT/BFG 5 27 MORRIS SHAWN CHEVY/MAXXIS 6 5 CUNNINGHAM TODD CHEVY/MCK TMP 7 11 ELLER RANDY FORD/MAXXIS 8 37 ANDERSON RJ RAM/GOODYEAR 9 14 JOHNSON LUKE RAM/BFG 10 33 GREAVES CJ TOYOTA/MAXXIS 11 73 RUPPEL ERIC FORD/BFG 11 4 ELLENSON/JANUSZBRETT/JASONTOYOTA 13 17 DORR MITCH FORD/GDYR 14 76 ZIPPERER ANDY FORD/BFG 15 21 HOEK ROSS FORD/BFG 16 38 DEEGAN BRIAN FORD/BFG 17 8 PORTER MIKE FORD/BFG 18 7 KINCAID KEEGAN FORD/BFG 19 18 BAKER MICHAEL FORD 20 30 OBERG MARK 21 29 RAYFORD CHAD  NISSAN 22 26 PETERSON DERRY   Saturday Sportsman class results from Crandon   1600 Light     1 73 STEVE OMAN 5 0 01:49.3 01:49.3 5 2 28 MATT SOLKA 5 0 01:50.2 01:50.2 4 3 72 GREG STINGLE 5 0 01:47.6 01:47.6 5 4 95 MATT GERALD 5 0 01:45.2 01:45.2 5 5 14 BILL KORTENS 5 0 01:50.3 01:50.3 5 6 17 BARRY WHALEN 5 0 01:50.8 01:50.8 5 7 0 CRAIG PAITL 5 0 01:49.9 01:49.9 5 8 77 MATT ASHER 5 0 01:55.5 01:50.7 2 9 151 BILLY BUTH 5 0 01:52.3 01:52.3 5 10 81 MICHAEL CAREY 5 0 01:53.1 01:53.0 3 11 188 BEAU AMBOS 5 0 01:51.6 01:51.6 5 12 187 JUSTIN FOLKMAN 13 120 TRACI FLEISCHMAN 5 0 01:53.0 01:53.0 5 14 44 STEPH PAITL 5 0 01:54.7 01:54.7 5 15 111 JOSH FRANKLIN 5 0 01:52.2 01:52.2 5 16 169 ERIC LEAR 5 0 02:00.0 01:58.3 4 17 26 CRAIG RABE 5 0 02:00.2 02:00.2 5 18 170 WENDY LEAR 5 0 02:11.1 02:03.3 1 19 125 JAMIE KLEIKAMP 3 0 01:52.1 01:52.1 2 20 119 MAGGIE ZIPPERER 2 0 01:57.6 01:57.6 2 21 104 SPENCER FEDDER 2 0 03:30.1 02:27.9 1 22 9 TODD LEMKE 1 0 01:53.2 01:53.2 1     Stock Truck   Place No. Name Laps Adjust Last Time Fast Time Fast Lap Misc 1 587 MATT IVES 5 0 02:01.4 02:00.7 3 2 526 BOB BIRKHOLTZ 5 0 02:00.9 02:00.9 5 3 517 BEN WIERZBA 5 0 02:00.3 02:00.3 5 4 599 BOB REINHARDT 5 0 02:00.9 02:00.9 5 5 555 NICK BAUMGARTNER 5 0 01:59.4 01:53.9 4 6 521 TROY PETERSON 7 512 MARC ROGACZEWSKI 5 0 02:08.5 02:08.5 5 8 538 ROBERT CLEMO 5 0 02:06.9 02:03.6 3 9 577 MATT DALE 5 0 02:16.7 02:15.3 4   Classix     Place No. Name Laps Adjust Last Time Fast Time Fast Lap Misc 1 631 SCOTT MUELLER        5 0 02:18.9 02:06.5 2 2 612 JAKE VANDERVOORT 5 0 02:17.0 02:17.0 5 3 699 PETE DELOREY 5 0 02:20.1 02:20.1 5 4 682 KURT SCHUCH 5 0 02:15.6 02:15.6 5 5 687 MIKE MISCHLER 5 0 02:22.9 02:22.9 5 6 621 ROB WEILAND 5 0 02:41.7 02:16.8 4 7 640 AARON KONITZER 5 0 02:30.3 02:18.3 4 8 606 WILLIAM GROBOWSKI 5 0 02:19.0 02:19.0 5 9 646 JEREMY FORBES 5 0 02:28.0 02:28.0 5 10 696 JEREMY DRAKE 3 0 02:32.1 02:29.6 1 11 604 SHANE THEIL 12 613 DALE CHESTNUT 1 0 02:12.1 02:12.1 1 13 601 BILL WILSON 1 0 02:28.4 02:28.4 1

The Monster Energy Off-Road Team charged Day 2 of Crandon taking two podiums! Marty Hart managed to put it together in Pro-2 and come up with a third place finish after a hard fought battle. “It feels good to be on the podium! Now I just want to move up a couple spots. The truck feels good. It’s on for Sunday!” stated the confident Hart.

Crandon favorite Johnny Greaves dominated the Pro-4 class leading every lap until the last couple where Adrian Cenni got around him. Greaves still held on to 2nd. ” I made a mistake in the back section and allowed Cenni to get around me. It felt good to get the hole shot. I am ready to let it all hang out Sunday!” stated the champ.

In Pro-lite Casey fought back in forth through the field and finished a solid 5th place.

More action today including the notorious “Cup Race” that pits Pro-2′s and Pro-4′s against each other in an all out battle for off-road supremacy!

Photos by Vincent Knakal of Mad Media

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Crandon laid under a thick cloud of rain this morning and rumors of a cancellation where floating around, but mother nature seems to be a race fan and let the sun out throughout most of the day.

PROLITE

Today’s Prolite race started out similar to yesterday’s. Andrew Caddell right away stole the lead and never gave it away for the remainder of the race. Then the usual suspects lined up for battle.  Brad Lovell, Sam Hubinette, Brian Deegan, Schaun Morris, CJ Greaves and Casey Currie.

Not much changed in the positions until right after the mandatory yellow flag when Deegan inched himself from 5th to 4th, 3rd and then 2^nd place. The last 2 laps then had every fan on their feet watching Deegan chipping away on Caddell for the win, but all he could get was fast lap while trying.

Top 5:

1. Andrew Caddell
2. Brian Deegan
3. Brad Lovell
4. Sam Hubinette
5. Casey Currie

PRO2

Pro2  made for an interesting race until the checkered flag dropped.  Jeff Kincaid had the hole-shot out of the infamous Crandon turn 1 and he then defended it all the way until his truck let him down with some mechanical problems late in the race.

After Kincaid we had Bryce Menzies running up front followed by Rob McCachren then Chad Hord and Marty Hart. They where running hard with their Rev limiter kicking in on the straights yet maintaining huge gaps in between each other.

Right before the yellow flag Rob McCachren pulled over just to get passed by the entire field due to a failing drive shaft.

At the end it was Bryce Menzies, Chad Hord and Marty Hart on the podium

Top 5:

1. Bryce Menzies
2. Chad Hord
3. Marty Hart
4. Mike Oberg
5. Mikey Vanden Heuvel

PRO4

The Pro4 race was again the most exciting one of the three races we are reporting on. Johnny Greaves ran away with a strong lead early on and it looked like it was his to keep, but yesterday’s winner Adrian Cenni was drilling on Ricky Johnson for 2^nd place and ultimately for the win. The crowd was on their feet and when he ultimately passed Johnson and Greaves everyone went crazy rooting for the racer from New York.

The weather took a turn for the worse half way through the race with massive downpours just moments after the checkered flag.

Even long after the race in the local restaurants in town, everyone relived their favorite moment of that Pro4 race.

Top5:

1. Adrian Cenni
2. Johnny Greaves
3. Ricky Johnson
4. Kyle LeDuc
5. Steve Barlow

Words by Klaus Rasch.

Photos by Jason Zindroski of HighRev Photography.

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Follow the Monster Energy Off-Road team as they storm the biggest, most dangerous short course race of the year! Climb in the trucks of Pro-4 Champion Johnny Greaves, Pro-Lite Champion Casey Currie, Pro-2 charger Marty Hart, and rising star in Pro-lite and Pro-Buggy CJ Greaves. We will have new videos posted daily so you won’t miss any of the action!

The Monster Energy Off-Road team storms Day 1 of TORC at Crandon to come away with three podiums! In Pro-Lite Casey Currie managed to battle his way up through the traffic for a solid third place finish. ” I am happy to be on podium. The goal for today was to be on podium without damaging the truck. We have two more days of racing. So from here on out it’s on!” Stated Currie.

In Pro-4 Johnny Greaves also fought his way to a second place finish just on the tails of Adrian Cenni who got his first win at Crandon. “I am glad Adrian got one, but that’s all he is going to get! The next two days of racing that spot on the podium is going to be mine!” stated Greaves.

In Pro-2 Marty Hart charged the stacked field finishing 5th. “I had a few mechanical issues that came up. I will be ready for the next couple days of racing.” stated the confident Hart.

In Pro-Buggy CJ Greaves put on a full court press battling off-road race veteran Larry Job all the way tot the finish where it appeared CJ overtook the lead. After review by officials it was determined Larry held on to first place putting CJ in second. Not bad for a 16 year kid who has only had his drivers license for two months!

Photos by Vincent Knakal of Mad Media

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Crandon Labor Day started out like every day with the usual Downtown exhibition and parade to the nearby race track facilities. The weather was the unpredictable Wisconsin type that brought in plenty of rain in the morning but cleared up into a partially overcast afternoon.

Todays event was unique since Friday was a makeup round from the June/Sprint Crandon race that was rained out while Saturday and Sunday will be the regular scheduled rounds.

ProLite

Caddell lead the entire race, CJ Greaves looked good until he blew up before the yellow flag and Brad Lovell finished 2^nd while Casey Currie took 3 place.

Top3:

1. Andrew Caddell
2. Brad Lovell
3. Casey Currie

Pro4

This was the more exciting race of the day despite the low entry of 9 competitors. Early on into the race Adrian ran away with the lead to never give it up again. The battle was between Greaves, Johnson and Douglas for 2^nd and 3^rd place. Jenkins got into each other a little bit sending Jenkins off track past the finish line.

Top3:

1. Adrian Cenni
2. Johnny Greaves
3. Ricky Johnson

Pro2

Very soon after the green flag dropped a single file formed that didn’t change order much until the end. In fact the Jeff Kincaid the won the race with multiple car lengths behind him.

Top3:

1. Jeff Kincaid
2. Chad Hord
3. Bryce Menzies

If you are the blood thirsty type of fan that hopes for spectacular crashes then your meets where not met at todays racing in Crandon.

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PRO4

Today’s Pro4 race was almost a carbon copy of Saturday and Friday’s races with the addition of rain half-way through the race.  Adrian Cenni killed it again and by lap 2 he was unstoppable; running so far in front of the pack that you would think he is in another faster class.  He wound up winning the race without a challenge.

The two rivals, Ricky Johnson and Johnny Greaves both ran into engine problems, Johnson’s transmission began to smoke early in the race, while Greaves got tangled up and was forced to limp around the track collecting points for the TORC championship.

Half-way through the race the rain kicked in, turning the track into a slippery slope.  Speeds went noticeably down as everyone tried not to slide off track while defending their position.

At the end it was Mark Jenkins in 2nd place followed by Steve Barlow.

Top5:

1. Adrian Cenni
2. Mark Jenkins
3. Steve Barlow
4. Todd LeDuc
5. Mike Jenkins

PRO2

The Pro2 race was a straight up mess.  Heavy rain delayed the start by over one hour over the scheduled time while track officials tried to push the heavy mud away.  Eventually they went green and Scott Taylor held the lead throughout most of the race until he spun-out and lost his podium position. Due to the mud and rain, speeds were a lot lower than what we’re used to for this class, plus they were covered in mud, making it impossible to identify the trucks. When it was all said and done, Bryce Menzies repeated his previous day’s win followed by Mike Oberg and Rob MacCachren.

Top4:

1. Bryce Menzies
2. Mike Oberg
3. Rob MacCachren
4. Chad Hord

PROLITE

Brian Deegan continued where he left off on Saturday.  Up front.  First RJ Anderson had the hole-shot out of turn one, but couldn’t hold on and wound up with a 4^th place finish.  CJ Greaves ran in the front of the pack but after he went too wide in the gravel pit turn he fell from 3^rd towards the back.  Andrew Caddell was fast but only fast enough for 2^nd place.  Brad Lovell finished again on the podium with a solid 3^rd place.  In his only second year of racing short course, the rock crawler by heart made it to the podium all three days.  Deegan took the win in his new V8 making his return to Crandon triumphant.

Top5:

1. Brian Deegan
2. Andrew Caddell
3. Brad Lovell
4. RJ Anderson
5. Randy Eller

AMSOIL CUP

The weekend’s highlight was the Amsoil Cup where the Pro2’s had a 20-second head-start over the Pro4’s for no less than $27,500 in prize money, the traveling trophy, and bragging rights to be the baddest driver of them all.

All bets where set on Adrian Cenni to conclude the weekend with 4 of 4 wins, but after lap 2 his early lead within the Pro4 pack changed when his front wheel drive failed and more things broke after a gnarly landing.

Since the Pro2’s started ahead for a Pro4′s to win they had to get around the Pro2’s entered. Chad Hord in his Pro2 gave them hell and no one came even close to passing him for a solid win in the Amsoil Cup.  It was only the third time in history that a Pro2 has won the cup.

Kyle LeDuc ran up front for a long time but after some fuel pickup issues he fell back all the way to the back but managed to finish 4^th.

Scott Douglas and Johnny Greaves ran at a steady pace the entire time without any major position changes. Good enough for 2^nd and 3^rd place.

Top5:

1. Chad Hord (PRO2)
2. Scott Douglas (PRO4)
3. Johnny Greaves (PRO4)
4. Kyle LeDuc (PRO4)
5. Todd LeDuc (PRO4)

In closing, this was a very exciting Crandon weekend but it’s unfortunate that politics between the two race series prevents a full house of racing. The race fan loses when all of the top competitors are not on hand to race.

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The 2011 TORC Fall Crandon is here! Three days of racing on the fastest, most unforgiving track in all of off-road. Who will win the war between Ricky Johnson and Johnny Greaves? Will Bryce Menzies continue to dominate Pro-2? How will Rob Mac fair with his injury? Who will come out on top in Pro-lite? Here is a little taste of what’s to come. Stay tuned to Race-Dezert.com for live coverage of the “Daytona 500 of off-road racing”.

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

Photos by Vincent Knakal of Mad Media

TORC Crandon live coverage

It’s that time again for the biggest short course race of the year.  Crandon is like the superbowl of short course racing and race-dezert.com is there to bring you the action.

Click here Friday through Sunday for all the race action.

• Race results
• Live video
• Produced videos
• Interviews
• Photos
• Live chat

There is one race every year that defines short course racing, and that race is TORC Fall Crandon. Every year 30 thousand+ spectators show up to witness a knock down drag out off-road war unlike any other in off-road. A land rush start, and 100 mph+ turn one guarantee for tons of drama! Not to mention the infamous Cup race that pits Pro-2′s and Pro-4′s against each other in the same race! If you haven’t witnessed it first hand you are missing out!

Here is a look back at the last few years on insane off-road action! We Can’t wait for this year epic three days of off-road racing. Stay tuned to Race-Dezert.com for daily coverage of the biggest short course race of the year!

Videos Directed by The Martelli Brothers, Produced by Mad Media

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• Currie of Team General Tire takes first Friday and Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.
• Currie takes three 1st place finishes in a row. LOORRS at Miller Motorsports June 26th and TORC at Charlotte Motorspeedway July 23rd and 24th

“The TORC Series is like home to me,” said an elated Currie as he took the podium in Concord Saturday. “I set out here to win, and that’s exactly how I plan to finish the weekend – on top. I’ve had such great support from General Tire and I couldn’t have done it without them.”

July 11th, 2011 | Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series ~ Utah Race Report

Thursday

We arrive in Utah straight from Green Bay. The race truck has already arrived by the semi driver and we set up for an early practice. Our times are really good and we try some new products in the truck for 2nd practice that made some slightly better times.

Friday

We arrived to the track early Friday morning to set up for qualifying. We made some gear changes and everything else seemed good to go. We went out for qualifying and the track was slightly different making my ratio off. We qualified 11th so we made a gear change and felt the truck was fast and ready to race.

Saturday

The crowd was filing in at Miller and the truck was ready to go. Before I went out for my race, Curt Leduc pulled me aside and gave me some words making me look at things a little different. When I went to staging I felt ready to race. I told my Dad that I want to do whatever it takes to get up front.

When the green flag dropped I was moving forward. Passing trucks every chance I got. By the mid race caution, I was 3rd and felt I had more then the leaders. When the green flag dropped a crash happened in the whoops putting a gap in the field. I chased back up to Cameron and Deegan and as soon as I got close, Deegan hit Cameron, taking him out and giving me the perfect passing opportunity. For the last 2 laps I had the lead and drove it to the finish.

The truck was perfect coming off the track and the tires were hooked up the complete race. “it feels so good to be back up top, it’s our first Lucas win and it’s the first win for a V8!″

Sunday

Qualifying didn’t go as plan. We went out and on the first lap I threw it into a corner catching a rut giving me a flat, by the time we got it fixed I had 1 lap to go and on the last lap I hit traffic giving me a horrible qualifying time.

Starting in the back was what we did Saturday so we knew we could do it again. When the green flag dropped I started passing as fast as possible. I passed up to 4th by the 4th lap and there was a huge crash. They did a complete restart and when I took off I got tangled with another truck giving me a flat. By the time I got into the pits and the tie changed I went a lap down. At the midway caution I was in dead last and when the flag dropped, I told my dad this was perfect practice for setting up lines and passing. We went from last to 4th without touching a single truck and easily had more.

I am excited to be running the V8 truck and will run the truck the rest of the year. We are going home to do more suspension tuning and gear changes. I can’t wait for Glen Helen. Casey Currie Motorsports would like to thank all their Partners:
Monster Energy, General Tires, Currie Enterprises, Magnaflow Exhaust, NISSAN, Motive Gear, American Wire Harness, Method Wheels, GoPro Cameras, Goodridge, K&N Filters, Kawasaki, Kicker Audio, King Shocks, Leatt Brace, HJC, MasterCraft Safety, Oakley, CBR Radiators , Sign Pros, Simple Green, Torco Oil.

Monster Energy Off-Road teammates Jeremy McGrath and Casey Currie both Podium at LOORS Round 7-8 in Tooele, Utah!

The freshly redesigned purpose built track at the Miller Motorsports Complex in Tooele, UT, just outside of Salt Lake City became home to some of the most Intensely wild off-road racing action of the season.  The skies were blue and the stands were full as the Monster Energy Off-Road team fought their way through the wild crashes all the way to the podium.

Current Pro-4 Champion Rick Huseman had an unusually difficult weekend.  After qualifying first on Friday, Rick took charge after the green start flag and moved to the front battling back and forth with Carl Renzeder for the lead until on lap 6 when he broke his front drive shaft, losing all power steering and front wheel drive.  Rick continued to limp his wounded vehicle around in an attempt to finish the race.

Sunday during qualifying, Rick smashed into Curt Leduc when Curt checked up early for a corner.  Race officials decided to penalize the champ although it was unintentional contact and start him in the back of the pack. Undeterred, Rick came from the back of the pack and sliced through the field up to fourth where he again was stopped due to mechanical issues after he lost a rear wheel bearing and his transfer case gears, halting the number #36 Monster Energy Pro-4.  “I hope we never have a weekend like that again.  I like the view from the front better.” stated the frustrated champion.

In Pro-Lite, both Casey Currie and Cameron Steele battled contact from other racers as well as mechanical issues all weekend.  Steele proved once again that when he has a working truck he will be on the podium.

On Saturday after qualifying 4^th Cameron started on the inside of the pole next to Brian Deegan.  The duo battled side by side for the first lap until Cameron made his move passing for the lead.  Cameron led the entire race until in turn four with one lap to go, where Deegan took him out earning a black flag.  Cameron still managed to finish 4^th.  Casey Currie who had been running steady the entire race after starting 11^th moved up through the field taking advantage of the mayhem on the final lap and stole away first place!

On Sunday, Casey qualified 10^th after getting two flats due to the massive ruts forming on the track.  Cameron fared much better qualifying 2^nd.  Contact and track conditions would keep the duo from reaching the podium. Cameron managed to finish 5^th when he lost his fuel pump after battling in the top three all day and Casey ended up with another flat finishing in the 8^th position.  “I feel like I am right there.  The truck feels good now, I am really getting comfortable with it now.” stated Cameron.

Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath came out swinging for the fences. “I am ready to stand on that podium every race.  That’s where I belong.” stated McGrath.  On Saturday after qualifying 7^th, McGrath put on an electrifying performance battling his way to the fourth within the first two laps. McGrath maintained the fourth position until after the mandatory restart when he passed both Robby Woods and Rodrigo Ampudia in corner four to move to 2^nd behind Rob Naughton!  McGrath held the second position to the checkered flag.

On Sunday McGrath again had trouble qualifying 8th.  “I have always had trouble qualifying.  I need someone to race!  I am trying to get better at qualifying, but I have always had problems with it even when I was racing bikes.  I tend to over think what I am doing.” stated McGrath.  When the green flag dropped McGrath showed his racing prowess and made a charge all the way to 4th by lap two. The position would be short lived though as McGrath spun in turn four (the same corner where he passed two vehicles the previous day.)  The spin put McGrath to the back where he continued to battle back to a 6^th place finish.  “It was a tough race. The track was unpredictable; it was either wet and slippery or dry and hard.  I am feeling more comfortable in the truck now. I am looking forward to Glen Helen.”

Photos by Jason Zyndroski

Words by Matt Martelli

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Go on board with the Monster Energy off-road team as they tackle the ultra muddy course during TORC Round 1-2 at Red Bud. Although the track conditions were less than ideal, it made for spectacular racing. Rain or shine, dust or mud, this is what off-road racing is all about!

Directed by The Martelli Brothers, Produced by Mad Media

Monster Energy’s Greaves runs the fastest PRO 4 TORC lap ever @ Crandon

Greaves’ first text after the race goes out to fellow Monster Energy off-roader Rick Huseman, who responds: “WOW”

Interview by Pat Schutte

CORONA, Calif. (June 22, 2011) – Boy did Monster Energy’s Johnny Greaves (Toyota/Maxxis) step up and come charging back at the Traxxas TORC Series, presented by AMSOIL’s second round of action this summer after getting stuck in the mud at TORC’s RedBud MX (Buchanan, Mich.) opener.

This past weekend not only did Greaves win TORC contest at Crandon (Potawatomi Brush Run 2011), he did so by setting a record, beating fellow Monster Energy off-road racer and defending TORC Series PRO 4 champion Rick Huseman’s previous record by a full half second – 1:18.983 to 1:19.482.

Above the din of air compressor-run tools, tubular steel being banged around and other sounds associated with one of the busiest off-road cottage industry shops in northern Wisconsin, Greaves took a few minutes to re-live Crandon’s epic, record-setting race weekend.

Monster Energy: Right out of the gate, Johnny, open up on Crandon this year. Not only did you break the track record, but so did Rick Johnson – who was chasing you. That and Bryce Menzies and Rob MacCachren in PRO 2 smashed that record as well. Why was it so insanely fast at Crandon?

Johnny Greaves: You know, I don’t know, actually. I was thinking about that on the way home. Last year at the fall Crandon event I thought the corners were faster, but we probably didn’t have the amount of grip on the straightaways that we had this past weekend. Last year you could throw it up into the berms really hard, square it off. This year you couldn’t really do that. You kinda were real timid to do that, so I stayed low the whole time. But man, when you hooked that low line it was hooked hard and you got a good shot out of there – low or high. So definitely there seemed to be really good grip on the track. I think that was the first time – ever – that I’ve raced at Crandon where they didn’t water the track at all before a race. I think maybe the moisture (already present) had something to do with it. It’s been pretty wet here the past couple months.

It also had something to do with those Maxxis tires (Razor project tire). That was the first time we’ve been on that track with those tires and I was impressed. I mean we could put that thing anywhere we wanted to go and it was hooking up hard.

Note: In addition to all the recent wet weather in the region, track operations officials with Crandon hosed the track down with a local paper mill byproduct solution devised to hold moisture in and keep the dust down on the track. It’s the same organic solution used for a similar purpose on logging roads in this region of the United States. Stuff’s got a curious smell – some at the race say it smelled like “pickle juice.”

Monster Energy: For about three-quarters of the race you battled hard with RJ, and early on with Adrian Cenni. Did your fellow TORC competition help push you to that new lap record, or were you just set on going as fast as you possibly could from the beginning?

Johnny Greaves: I knew Ricky was going to be fast. He’d been testing there and has been around that track as much as I have this year. At the drop of the green I tried to nudge my way past him and Adrian right off the bat. Ended up making one mistake in the gravel pit and let Adrian by, but went back after him right away, saying to myself ‘I’m not going to let either one of these guys settle into a lead. Force my way into it, set the pace and it worked out well. Ricky kept me honest, kept pushing. Then towards the end of the race I settled into a pace where he wasn’t catching me, but I wasn’t losing him either. I think we were both on edge at the beginning of the race – at that pace – and that’s where the record was broke (by both drivers).

Monster Energy: What were your thoughts when your crew told you that you’d broke the Crandon lap record?

Johnny Greaves: Man, when we got done and saw that it was a new record – by a half second – I was definitely excited about that. Rick (Huseman) was the first text I sent out. I told him we won and said ‘Sorry, buddy, we had to smash your record.’ He was impressed and sent back a big ol’  “WOW.” And if Rick was here he’d have made us step it up even a little bit faster even. He’s a pretty aggressive guy out there too.

Monster Energy: Rewind a few weeks back to RedBud MX and the Traxxas TORC Series opener. You got off to a rough start at RedBud – literally getting stuck in the mud. Pretty sure they snapped a 32,000-pound test tow strap trying to pull you out. Has anything like that ever happened to you in your short course racing career?

Johnny Greaves: Oh yeah. I’ve been around this a long time and there’s been many a time where we’ve raced in some deep mud. You make a stupid mistake and find yourself stuck in a pile of mud or up in a berm – wherever it may be. You’re always at the mercy of the track. It’s just one of those things that you get with this sport. You have great days and you have not-so-great days. Overall I was just happy to get back out on the track and finish where I did, salvage some points. I knew once we got on our home turf at Crandon we were going to make up some points. Lead at the yellow and make sure to win the race. That got us maximum points and we’re only one point out from being nine back when went in.

Monster Energy: Over the course of time do you think RedBud will be a pretty good facility for the Traxxas TORC Series?

Johnny Greaves: Yeah. It was the first shot at it and I’m excited to see them get a fair shot at it – with better weather and now knowing what they’re dealing with. They’ve had the chance to see our trucks run and Tim (RedBud’s Tim Ritchie) understands what he needs for a little more area. The beauty of RedBud is you’ll never find a track that has that type of elevation change, mixed in motocross jumps and be at that type of facility that has that allure of the whole motocross nationals and everything else. It’s a good fit, we’ve just got to figure out how to make it work.

Monster Energy: Back to Crandon, there were all kinds of Monster Energy/Johnny Greaves T-shirts and hats on kids running around the pits. Is this probably the best race for you to do well at considering you’re from about an hour away?

Johnny Greaves: We’re very fortunate that we get so many fans both at Crandon and Bark River (Mich.) that come just to see my team, along with Marty (Hart) and CJ (Greaves). It’s pretty cool to walk around the pits and if it’s not a Johnny Greaves shirt it’s a CJ Greaves shirt. So we’re building that legacy as we go. It’s such a loyal fan base … I stay there until the last person gets a signature or whatever the need, try and not walk away crabby.

Monster Energy: Do you get a similar reception when you race out in California, or are you considered more of a villain out there?

Johnny Greaves: No, not really. I think with out there it’s a little different crowd, they’re kind of into their west coast guys – 909ers following the Mulisha. But I’ve definitely got a bunch of fans out there as well that all seem to like it when we show up. And since we’re not committed to that series it helps rolling as one of the top Monster guys. The fans gotta love you then!

Monster Energy: How cool is that having your son, CJ, racing the same series as you?

Johnny Greaves: Oh that’s awesome. I’m so pumped that we can bring him along as we go through all this, experience it all and learn. Kind of the same way it worked with me. I got to grow with the series and learned and we went along. He’s catching on so quick. I think it was all those years when I thought he was just a kid playing in the grandstands that he was really paying attention. He’s never done any sort of four wheel racing, go-karts or any of that stuff. He’s only been a motocrosser and last year was his first time ever in any sort of four wheel racing – in his buggy. So he got it figured out pretty quick. Obviously motocross is huge in this sport. Any motocrossers are successful in it. And CJ didn’t even have his driver’s license until a month ago! (laughter)

Monster Energy: Does it get nerve-wracking watching him, then having to go race yourself. Or does the fact that he’s killing it fire you up to race even more?

Johnny Greaves: The only thing that bugs me is that I can’t have more time preparing for his race, during his race and being with him on the starting line. I gotta make sure Marty’s ready, get myself ready and have everything else organize.

Monster Energy: Dealing with all that – and then you get the massive PRO Light pile up at Crandon, which collected CJ.

Johnny Greaves: That was pretty wild. It’s unfortunate that it had to happen, but I’d told him that we’re all going to do it one day – and he got his the first day, first time ever. I was running around with my head cut off trying to orchestrate getting him back on the track. And it did leave me a little worked up when I was heading for the line. But in the end it all turned out real well.

Photos by Michael Roth

[Show as slideshow]

Monster Energy presents: The 2011 TORC Season Opener at RedBud. Rain, thunder, and mud couldn’t stop the Monster Energy Off-Road team from standing on the podium at the TORC season opener at the legendary RedBud Motocross track in Buchanan, Michigan.  Pro-4 Champion Johnny Greaves along with Marty Hart, Casey Currie, and Pro-Lite rookie CJ Greaves battled the elements and an ultra muddy new track to come away with two podiums.  The newly created truck course was a combination of tight technical turns, off-camber jumps and elevation changes, unlike any other course in off-road.  The thousands of dedicated Michigan race fans braved the weather to witness the premier of TORC short course racing at the newly anointed short course off-road racetrack at RedBud.

Directed by The Martelli Brothers, Produced by Mad Media