Lucas Oil Challenge Cup Presented By Toyota
on CBS – January 7th at 1:00PM EST
ProLite VS. ProBuggy & PRO-2 VS. PRO-4
From Firebird Raceway in Chandler, AZ

January 7th at 1:00 PM EST. CBS Sports Spectacular will feature Lucas Oil Challenge Cup presented by Toyota showcasing the most chaotic racing action ever televised. Class on Class racing pairs ProLite VS ProBuggy and the culminating event of the Lucas Oil Off Road Series; PRO-2 VS. PRO-4 – the “Super Bowl” of Off Road Short Course Racing. This event puts up the richest payday in the sports history with $123,000 up for grabs.

ProLite VS. ProBuggy
A field of 26 vehicles made up of 13 Trucks and 13 Buggies racing for 19 laps on the same track for the same prize, sets the table for pure action oriented entertainment. #38 Brian Deegan coming off as the 2011 ProLite Champion and 2011 PRO-2 Champion is looking to cap off a marvelous season with a chance to win both Lucas Oil Challenge Cup Events. Can he pull off the impossible double-duty feat? Deegan barely edged out rival #82 Chris Brandt in the Championship who has been a serious factor all year. ProLite Truck drivers #19 Cory Sisler and #2 Casey Currie should be noted as a threat even though the Buggies have held the title for two years running. Be on the lookout for 2010 ProBuggy Champion, Cameron Steele, who parked his truck for the #17 Buggy, and then there is 2011 ProBuggy Champion #8 Mike Porter, the 2010 Challenge Cup Winner #96 Doug Fortin, and finally off road specialist #19 Justin “Bean” Smith who took the 2011 ProBuggy Rookie of the Year Title. All of these contenders will be driving their wheels off hoping to claim the $20,000 Winner’s Purse.

PRO-2 VS. PRO-4  The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series has crafted together an incredible formula of racing entertainment that can only be described as controlled chaos. With $30,000 going to the winner, 15 PRO-2 Trucks VS. 10 PRO-4 Trucks battle it out for all of off road racings richest purse. Kyle LeDuc, the 2010 Challenge Cup Champion will have his work cut out as he starts his #99 PRO-4 in 22nd position out of 25 trucks. #38 PRO-2 Brian Deegan, may be at an advantage as he his entered in both Challenge Cup Events. #54 Robert Naughton has a history as a smart & consistent driver always in the right place at the right time. It will be a challenge to pass the #99 Robby Woods as he can drive as fast as anyone out there and he starts on the front row. #17 Carl Renezeder, won the 2009 Challenge Cup, and has a history of winning the biggest cup races in his PRO-4. For this event he has opted to run his PRO-2 to prove he is equally as fast in both 2WD and 4WD. Last but not least look out for Adrian Cenni in his #11 PRO-4 who is known as the “Wildman” and one of the fastest drivers in short course off road racing.

This is true spectacle and we guarantee you have never witnessed anything like this before. Don’t miss the “Super Bowl” of off road racing and the world’s best short course drivers battle wheel-to-wheel for big money and the prestigious Lucas Oil Challenge Cup Title. Check local listings for more information and set your DVR’s now!

JANUARY 3, 2012

The Lucas Oil Regional Off Road Series released the 2012 regional schedule today for the Utah region.   The Lucas Oil Regional Off Road Series Utah will be hosting a 5 race series held at the Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. The Utah region will continue it’s growth in the sport of short course off road racing with the return of great racers and their families. The Arizona Regional series will host a 7 race series on 3 different tracks across Arizona while the Southern California series schedule will see the addition of the new and improved Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park to join Glen Helen Raceway on its 6 race schedule.  All series will finish out the points season at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the first ever Lucas Oil Regional Off Road Shootout bringing together racers from all over the west to battle it out.

“We are excited by the growth that all of our Lucas Oil Regional Series have seen this year,” said Southern California series director Lee Perfect.  “We have seen that with sponsor, racer and spectator support it is definitely possible to put on affordable, fun grassroots events that provide a place for racers to do some good racing, get some practice for the professional series and come out and just have a good time with a limited budget and time commitment.  We are excited to offer an end of the year shootout, and are certain that it is going to be a great addition to the schedule for everyone.  The overall focus of all of the Lucas Oil Regional Off Road Series has been to keep everything affordable, fun and family friendly and we look forward to working together to continue to do that in 2012.”

2012 Lucas Oil Regional Series Schedule:

Utah

May 5 – Round 1 – Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, UT

June 16 – Round 2 – Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, UT

July 7 – Round 3 – Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, UT

August 18 – Round 4 – Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, UT

October 6 – Round 5 – Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, UT

November 10 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, NV

Southern California  

February 18 – Glen Helen Raceway, San Bernardino, CA

March 10 – Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park, Lake Elsinore, CA

June 9 – Glen Helen Raceway, San Bernardino, CA

July 21 – Glen Helen Raceway, San Bernardino, CA

September 29 – Lake Elsinore Raceway, Lake Elsinore, CA

November 10 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, NV

Arizona

February 18 – Speedworld Off Road Park, Surprise, AZ

March 18 – Firebird International Raceway, Chandler, AZ

May 5 – Speedworld Off Road Park, Surprise, AZ

June 9 – Kingman Fairgrounds, Kingman, AZ

September 15 – Speedworld Off Road Park, Surprise, AZ

October 14 – Firebird International Raceway, Chandler, AZ

November 10 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, NV

For more information on the Lucas Oil Regional Off Road Series – Utah please see www.lucasoilregionalutah.com. For more information on the Lucas Oil Regional Off Road Series  Arizona please see www.arizonashortcourse.com. For more information on the Lucas Oil Regional Off Road Series So. Cal visit www.lucasoilregional.com.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA    DECEMBER  20, 2011  -  Chris Brandt #82 BFGoodrich / Toyota Pro Lite Unlimited Truck added two more podiums to the list of successful accomplishments in the 2011 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series at the final race in Phoenix, Arizona at Firebird Raceway.  Finishing third in the 15^th race of the season on Saturday, Brandt secured the Second Place Championship for the 2011 season.  On Sunday, in a hard fought Challenge Cup battle including Pro Buggies, Brandt finished second taking home a $10,000 check.  “There is no doubt we tried everything to jump into that first place position, and although we didn’t get the checker flag first, we continued our streak of consistent podium finishes,” said Chris Brandt after the 14^th podium of the season.  “I would like to thank BFGoodrich, Toyota and all my family and friends that crew for me every weekend.  It works so well with the whole family being involved.  We know everyone’s going to get the job done and it’s in everyone’s heart to do it well.”

Chris Brandt started the final race of the season on the pole position and had to keep Brian Deegan two positions behind him to win the Championship.  “We had a hard battle with Casey Currie and then with Kyle Leduc.  I had to fight all the way through the event.  Unfortunately, through that, Brian Deegan got up front and was able to run up there.  We didn’t let him get away, but I just wasn’t able to get back to him,” said a disappointed Brandt who took a third place finish.

Standing on the podium for the 13^th time at this last race of the season did secure him a second place in the season points Championship battle.  “I started out leading the points from day one all the way up to the last race.  It was a hard fought battle between Brian Deegan and myself all year, he unfortunately came out on top.  We had less DNF’s, we only had one of those, but what can I say, if it wasn’t him it was me and if it wasn’t me it was him, we fought for the win at every race,” said Chris Brandt as he reflected on the year.  The Brandt Racing #82 team is looking forward to another very successful 2012 season.

The Challenge Cup Race on Sunday mixed Pro Lite Trucks and Pro Buggies, making Brandt one of the 27 drivers after the $20,000 first place purse.  Inverting the top 10 season points finishers put Brandt in the 5^th row at the back of the trucks, but ahead of the Pro Buggies.  By lap two, Brandt had already moved into a podium position.  After battling back and forth and having multiple caution flags, when the checker flag dropped after 20 laps, Brandt was the first Pro Lite Truck to cross the finish but was second to a Pro Buggy. “That was a heck of a race, it was all out, those buggies were crazy pushing up through the trucks like they did,” remembers Brandt.  The #82 National Concrete Cutting, BFGoodrich Toyota certainly helped put on an excellent show for the packed stadium in Arizona.

Chris Brandt has had an excellent 2011 season. Although the graphics on the truck have changed throughout this season, the talent behind the wheel and the desire to win has never faltered.  Chris Brandt was named the 2009 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing “Driver of the Year” and continues to prove his presence on the Pro Lite Track being coined as “Mr. Consistency” in 2011 with the 14 podiums during the season and a second place Season Championship.  Starting in ATV Racing, he moved into trucks with great success as the Great Plains Off-Road Racing Association Champion from 1994-1997 where he would win multiple classes during the same weekend, earning him the title “Ironman”.  With multiple championships in PACE and CORR “Rookie of the Year” in 1999, he came into the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series with a history of success and a winning nature behind the wheel.  Chris Brandt manages to race competitively while running one of the largest concrete cutting companies in the Midwest with his father and raising his young daughter, Macy. Chris Brandt and the entire Brandt #82 Racing Team is looking forward to continuing the excellence into the 2012 season.

Chris Brandt Website:  www.chrisbrandtracing.com

Chris Brandt Facebook Fan Page:  www.facebook.com/ChrisBrandtRacing

Chris Brandt at Firebird Raceway, Round 15 VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNxuUk-rrPY

December 10-11, 2011 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series

Saturday December 10th Final Round #15

-Gear UP2Go’s Kyle Hart driving his Duncan Racing Yamaha YFZ

450R powered kart finished the LOORRS Modified Trophy Kart final round in style, scoring his 3^rd win in only his first season of competition. Hart started from the second row and battled with teammate Mitchell DeJong throughout the race. The duo put on a tremendous race as they battled for the top spot on the podium.

Hart’s Victory propelled him to 4^th in Overall in trophy kart championship final point standings and earned him the honor of “Rookie of the Year”
 

Sunday December 11th CHALLENGE Cup

The Hart camp still floating on air after Saturdays heroics was about to be overwhelmed again with Kyle’s performance in the year end Challenge Cup race.

*The Lucas Oil Challenge Cup inverts the year’s point’s finishers into a 16 lap free for all.

Hart starting from the 4^th row, battled his way to the runner up spot by the mid way caution. On the restart Hart bolted to the front and proceeded to check out on the field. Leaving no doubt who the dominate driver in the dominate truck was for the day.

For famed ATV company Duncan Racing International is was their 11th victory of the season for their Modified Trophy Kart program consisting of DR Engine, Fat Boy 4 Exhaust and Vortex X10 ECU’s.

An impressive showing since DR only entered the kart racing since in the spring of 2010.

• Carl Renezeder chalks up eighth career championship at LOORRS finale.

Fort Mill, SC – (December 20, 2011) With championships, pride and the largest pay day in short-course history on the line, the 2011 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) season did not disappoint. Carl Renezeder led the Team GT contingency by winning the Pro-4 Unlimited championship, his eighth career championship title. Renezeder made his mark in the history annals logging in 14 podium finishes containing three wins, nine seconds and two thirds to finish out the 2011 LOORRS season. And for those keeping track, that’s 14 podium finishes out of 15 races. This is simply an amazing feat for the championship driver.

“Congratulations to Carl and all of Team Renezeder on an incredible season,” said Travis Roffler, director of marketing, General Tire. “General Tire is pleased to have a fierce competitor like Carl on our team. His consistency and tenacity are second-to-none and that is verified with his eight career championships. We’re proud to have him as a member of Team GT.

“Overall Team GT had a remarkable season in LOORRS racing and we’re looking forward to an even better 2012.”

To stay up to date with Team GT and our products check out www.generaltire.com

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

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

About General Tire

For more than 90 years General Tire has offered a complete quality line of ultra-high performance, passenger, light truck, off-road and commercial tires to meet all your needs. General Tire is a proud supporter of Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing, Chili Bowl, Pro-Pulling, Late- Model Dirt Series, Drag Boat Series, Boost Mobile FreestyleMx.com Tour, Spec Tire of Trophylite and Pro Truck. Team GT supports off-road and short course teams including BJ Baldwin, Carl Renezeder, Rick D. Johnson, Jerry Zaiden/Jason Campbell, Jason/Rich Voss, Scott Steinberger, Ed “Clyde” Stout, Marc Burnett, Kent Kroeker, Mikey Childress, Jim Riley, Carey Hart, Josh Merrell, Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg, Jason Ellis, Robby Woods, Casey Currie, Ryan Hagy and

Jeff “Ox” Kargola.

General Tire is part of Continental Tire the Americas, LLC. (www.generaltire.com). CTA, based in Fort Mill, South Carolina, is a company of Germany-based Continental AG. With sales of approximately €20 billion in 2009 Continental is among the leading automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers, Continental contributes enhanced driving safety and global climate protection. Continental is also a competent partner in networked automobile communication. Continental currently has close to 160,000 employees in 45 countries.

With 2012 just around the corner, the 2011 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) wrapped up its final races this past weekend at the Firebird Raceway in Chandler, AZ.  With the 2 biggest races of the year, for LOORRS, Saturday’s race would be round 15, the last point’s race of the year and the last chance for the LOORRS Championship hunt. Following this would be an all or nothing race to the checker, The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series CUP Race. Up and coming driver in Short Couse Justin “Bean” Smith would showcase his skills in the Pro-Buggy vs Pro-Lite race where top 3 finishers walk away with a combined purse of $35,000.

Last year was Justin “Bean” Smith’s first full year in short course racing. Running under Menzies Motorsports Team, Smith would win the Limited-Buggy Championship in his first year, as well as become the 2010 LOORRS Rookie of the Year and also take home the LOORRS CUP race win. Knowing he learned a lot his first year and wanting to move forward, Smith decided he needed to move up in class to further his carrier. After doing a few test sessions and numerous meetings about different options, he would work with good friends and team owners Steve & Bryce Menzies from Menzies Motorsports, to get him into the Pro-Buggy class for 2011. With this decision being made just a couple weeks before the start of the LOORRS season, Smith would only get a short amount of seat time before the first race. After talking with long time friend and mentor Cameron Steele, the 2010 Pro-Buggy Champion about the differences in racing the Pro-Buggy class compared to others. Justin realized what it would take to win races, as well as work towards a championship for the 2011 season.

Mid March would be the season opener for the 2011 Lucas Oil Series in Phoenix, AZ at Firebird Raceway and for the first time Smith would debut his new Metal Mulisha, Competitive Metals, BFGoodrich Tires Pro-Buggy. His first time hitting the track, he would set fastest lap in practice and would finish 2nd in Round 1 of the series opening weekend. As the year continued on, he consistently became faster as he got more experience in the car and around the other racers. Justin continued to stand upon the podium every weekend of racing in the first part of the year. After having some racing misfortunes that were out of the teams hands, he would end up with a few DNF’s and this would leave him sitting 4th in points going into the final weekend of racing for the year.

Feeling more confident than ever in the car, Smith geared up in attempt to add two more wins to his 7 podiums and 3 wins already for the 2011 LOORRS year. With many questions to be answered for the 2012 season, now was the most crucial time to finish on top of the podium.

As Round 15 started Justin knew he was a bit back in the points chase and needed every point possible to help him gain points positions.  Entering the weekend Mike Porter would be leading the point’s chase and this would make it impossible for Smith to catch him with just 1 point’s race left. Thursday was the first practice of the weekend where Smith would set fast lap by half of a second over 2nd quick. Knowing the car set up was good they would leave it for qualifying and go out to qualify 1st and receive the 1 point for top qualifier, where this would tie him with 3rd place in points, Steven Greinke. After the invert of the top 4 cars for starting positions on Saturdays race Justin would start round 15 in the 2^nd row, surrounded by the top 6 qualifiers. Smith knew he needed to finish ahead of Greinke and beat Jerry Welchel by a number of positions to get 2nd in points. As the green flag would drop battle begun not only for the race but also the points battle. Smith grabbed the lead within the first 5 laps of the race and would have Grieke right behind him.

He continued this lead to the halfway point of the race where he would receive another 1 point for leading at the mandatory caution that tightens the field up. As the green flag dropped for the last Pro-Buggy points race of 2011, Smith & Greinke would pull away from the field. With a number of cautions going on during the race, any gap Smith would put on the Greinke seemed to tighten up every time they came out of a caution. After 18 laps of clean battling Smith would come out on top to win the race over Greinke and Welchel, who would end up 5th. This tied Smith & Welchel in points, but Smith walked away taking the 2nd in points title for having the most race wins. With 4 this year in the point’s battle, it made it very clear that every race counts, right down to the last one.

Sunday’s Cup race came quick and this would be the largest pay out and largest car count race of the year. The Pro-Buggy vs. Pro-Lites Cup race race would be a combined purse of $35,000 and the pay out would be $20,000 to 1st, $10,000 to 2nd & $5,000 to 3rd. Pro-Lites started in front of the Pro-Buggy class where they would also invert the top 10 in points in each of the classes. Putting Smith in the 5th row of the Pro-Buggy class and the 11th row of the race, starting him in the 22nd position. With over 30 vehicles on the track and only 18 laps of green flag racing, Smith knew there wasn’t much time to work his way to the front. Wanting to further his career and get a start on next year he was hungrier than ever for the money. The trucks are able to bang and rub door to door while the buggies are 1000lbs lighter and had to be sure to stay clear of the trucks as they are at their mercy and were the weaker of the two.

Starting so far back, Justin knew that he would not be able to see the green flag drop and would have to rely on his mechanic and spotter Brian Martin to tell him when it was green to go. With Martin on the radio and Smith at the wheel the team would start working forward right away. Making a number of passes in the first few laps and on lap 5 Smith found himself getting pushed into the outside wall in turn 2 and would 50/50 grind the K-Rail. It was looking like his chances at $20,000 were slipping away. Smith managed to fight his way off the rail where he got passed by 6 to 7 cars and still did not know if his car was damaged. He would finish out the lap, felt the car out and could tell that everything still felt good. Wasting no time, he would charge as hard as ever in the fight, passing cars back and working his way forward. Smith knew that any wrong decision by him or another racer could take him out of contention so he made sure to not get impatient and take unnecessary chances while passing people.

Before they knew it, they were at the half way point of the race where officials would throw a caution lap out to regroup the field to keep the battles tight for the fans. Slowing down for the pace lap, they would notice that they had managed to work their way up into the 4th position overall. Knowing the race was only halfway over they had a bit of relief that they had made it this far and were the only buggy in the top 7 positions. With championship drivers Brian Deegan, Chris Brandt, Kyle Leduc and others around Smith, he knew that it wasn’t going to be an easy battle. The green flag would be waved once more and the battle would start back up just as fast as it fell. Smith continued to work his way forward and really watch the people that he was racing with. Keeping in mind that the trucks were use to rubbing against each other and pushing one another, Smith knew he didn’t have a chance if they were to do this on him. The race was nearing the end lap by lap and he would carefully watch his mirrors, listen to his spotter and many times open up his lines up as he felt he was being set up for a take out move. Just a lap and a half before the checkered flag, Smith would take the overall lead of the race. As the race neared the end, the battles became even fiercer and the fans would cheer louder and louder. Having the lead and knowing they had the fastest vehicle of the day, it was their time to hold the lead and fight to protect it. The Pro-Lites wouldn’t give up and kept trying to lean harder and harder on the buggy where Smith would not give in. At the checkered flag Smith would take the win followed by Pro-Lites of Chris Brandt in 2nd good friend Casey Currie in 3rd.

Smith quoted – ” Holy smokes!!! Is it over? I’ve battled to win a lot of short course and desert races, but man that was the craziest battle of my life. After I got on top of the wall in turn 2 in the beginning of the race I thought it was going to be over, we got really lucky this Alumi-Craft didn’t get damaged. After we got off the wall the car felt good and it was go time. I don’t think my spotter Brian’s finger ever came off the radio. It was nonstop chaos. I couldn’t be happier right now as this helps us get a huge start on next year and were now 3 for 3 CUP wins in Menzies Motorsports cars. A huge thanks to Metal Mulisha, Competitive Metals, BFGoodrich Tries and everyone that helped make this happen! ”

Justin “Bean” Smith would finish out the year in Pro-Buggy 2nd in Points, becoming Rookie of the Year, with 9 Podiums and 5 Wins, as well as become Rookie of the Year in class.

A huge thanks to all our sponsors and companies that build the best products out there. Thank you, Metal Mulisha, Competitive Metals, BFGoodrich Tires, FOX Racing Shox, JG Transworks, Kroyer Racing Engines, Mastercraft Saftey, IMPACT! Racing, Alumi-craft Race Cars, Racer X Motorsports, BTR Wheels, Prime Powdercoat, Osiris Shoes, Dailey Oil Pumps, Oakley and Menzies Motorsports.

Thanks to all the friends and families that have helped make this happen.

Steve, Bryce & Terri Menzies, Brian Martin, Cameron Steele, Randy

Smith, Brian Deegan, Toby Bost, Joe Giffen, Kevin Kroyer, Jeff Quinn,

Trevor Streetch, Greg Parker, John, Grindle & Geoffry Cooley, Todd

Tenbroek, Frank DeAngelo, Nate Hunt, Pat Dean, Kevin Miller, Pat

Dailey, Robbie Pierce, Kelli Willmore, Jamie Campbell, Mike Cohen,

Chris Faulkner, Matt Major and many others.

Follow Justin at -

www.facebook.com/JustinBeanSmith

www.twitter.com/JustinBeanSmith

Sponsors -

www.MetalMulisha.com

www.CompetitiveMetals.com

www.BFGoodrichTires.com

www.FOXRacingShox.com

www.AlumiCraft.info

www.KroyerRacingEngines.com

www.JGTranswerks.com

www.PatricksSigns.com

www.OsirisShoes.com

www.DaileyEngineering.com

www.PrimeFabrication.com

www.RacerXMS.com

Contact -

JustinBeanSmith@gmail.com

Photo credits -

Mad Media, HighRev & Ryan Divel

Now that the 2011 regular season is over, there is only one day of racing left this year for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, and for many, it’s the day they look forward to most. That’s right, it’s the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup, the day when points aren’t on offer, but cash and bragging rights are. With lots of money up for grabs, as well as the two unique, once-a-year “class vs. class” races, it was no wonder that fans flocked in and filled the stands here at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, AZ. These races are the ones which, perhaps more than any other, all the drivers want to win, and everyone has their own strategy on how to pull off a victory. One thing is for sure, though: nobody shows anyone any mercy in these races, and the infields and hot pits are invariably filled with broken, mangled, and immobile trucks and buggies by race’s end. These races are the hardest ones to win, and anyone who comes out on top can say they’ve accomplished something truly special.

UTV
The first of today’s Lucas Oil Challenge Cup races was the UTV race, and while it seems like the two classes, SR1 UTV and Unlimited UTV, have been racing each other all season long, this is the first and only race of the year in which the two classes were actually competing against one another for the same prize: gift certificates for driving instruction at the Cory Kruseman’s Sprint Car and Midget Driving School, the same school which has helped improve the skills of none other than 2011 dual class champion Brian Deegan. With a slight difference in average lap times between the two classes, the slower Unlimited UTVs were given a head start of approximately ten seconds over the SR1s, and with RJ Anderson being the only driver who decided to represent the Unlimited UTVs today, he had the track all to himself in his bid to hold off the SR1s. In the early laps, Anderson ran what amounted to a time trial out front in his #637 Walker Evans Racing/South Point Las Vegas Polaris, while the SR1s gradually closed in by a little under one second per lap, with Ryan Beat leading the charge from behind in his #851 Hart and Huntington/Black Rhino Kawasaki. Behind Beat, it was Doug Mittag who was up to third by lap three in his #848 Monster Energy/Custom Off Road Design Kawasaki, with Dan Kelly fourth in the #824 OffRoadMagnet.com/Muzzys Kawasaki, and Code Rahders fifth in the #816 SuperChips/K&N Yamaha. As the field closed in on the halfway mark, Beat was now really being hounded by Mittag for second place, and Mittag managed to get a nose on Beat into turn three, taking the lead as the two headed towards the step-up jump and turn four. Just after making the pass, though, smoke began puffing, then billowing out the back of Mittag’s machine, and as the field crossed the start/finish for the Competition Yellow, things weren’t looking good for Mittag. His crew was hoping it might be a shock that had gotten too hot, but when fire could be seem coming from his engine bay while the field paraded under yellow, it became evident that Mittag’s day was done. Mittag got out, and ran to the side of the track to give a big thumbs up to Anderson and Beat as they paraded by for another lap under yellow, and when racing resumed, it was Anderson who really had a challenge at hand to try and hold off the faster SR1s. Anderson managed to do so for a lap, but on lap 11, Beat used his SR1′s superior top speed up the long straight from turn one to turn two to get past Anderson and into the lead. On the next lap, Rahders slid into Anderson as the two entered turn two, forcing Anderson way high and up towards the wall, and dropping him back to last place. Rahders moved into second place, and really began hounding Beat for the lead. On the penultimate lap, Rahders got inside of Beat and briefly held the lead at turn three, but Beat managed to hold him off, and after losing some ground with a near-spin coming out of turn two on the final lap, Rahders’ run at the win was over, as Beat went clear on his way to his second consecutive Challenge Cup win. Second went to Rahders, but he was then penalized one spot for his incident with Anderson, which dropped him to third, and gave second to Kelly. Fourth went to Bryan Osborn in the #854 Black Rhino/Rigid Industries LED Lighting Yamaha, and Anderson rounded out the top five.

Modified Kart
Next up were the Modified Karts, a class that never fails to deliver great, exciting racing, and today was no different. These drivers, as were all the top three finishers in each kart class, had Cory Kruseman’s Sprint Car and Midget Driving School gift certificates on the line, and with the potential to up their skills on the line, these drivers were extra hungry for the win today. Class champion Mitchell DeJong was strangely absent from the race today, but Cole Mamer led what was still a tremendous field after the first lap in his #535 Full Tilt Trophy Karts/Simpson kart. In second, it was Kyle Hart in the #523 GearUp2Go.com/Duncan Racing truck, with Jeff Hoffman third in the #547 BRT Signs/Cactus Asphalt machine, Scotty Steele fourth in the #548 Steele Racing/CMI entry, and Mitch Guthrie Jr. fifth in the #555 Walker Evans Racing/Losi machine. Steele moved up to third on lap three, and contact between Hart and Mamer meant that Steele would pick up another spot on the same lap, as Hart dropped back just briefly. Guthrie Jr. took over fourth on the next lap, while up front, the battle for the lead was really heating up. On lap six, Mamer and Steele flew past the start/finish line side-by-side in mid-air, with Mamer just managing to hold Steele at bay. By the Competition Yellow, the running order was Mamer, Steele, Hart, Guthrie Jr., and Hoffman in the top five, all of whom were lucky to avoid the errant wheel that rolled across the track in front of them as they exited turn five. The wheel had come off of Jerett Brooks’ kart, and had rolled clear from turn three to cause a brief moment of extra worry for all the parents sitting in the stands, but fortunately, no damage was done. On the restart lap, Hart was the only driver to use the low line in the either/or section, and he put it to perfect use, swinging wide as the two lines re-joined to keep those with more momentum from the high line at bay. Hart took the lead, and quickly began to open up a lead. Behind him, Bradley Morris was now up to fifth in his #504 K&N/Trophy Kart machine, and Morris moved up another spot to fourth on the next lap. Two laps later, Morris got by yet another driver, as he moved ahead of Guthrie Jr. and into third place. The running order was now Hart, Steele, Morris, Guthrie Jr., and Mamer with just two laps left, and on the penultimate lap, Mamer lost a wheel, which rolled down to and across turn one, and right into the path of Myles Cheek. Cheek managed to run over the tire squarely without incurring any significant damage, and continued on while hardly missing a beat. On the final lap, Steele and Morris touched coming into turn three, which caused Steele to flatten a tire, and sent him into a near-crash. Steele kept his ride upright but his race was over, and in the midst of the whole incident, Guthrie Jr. squeaked by both drivers and into second. Up front, Hart was well clear as he raced home to victory, followed by Guthrie Jr., Morris, Blake Lenk in the #521 Walker Evans Racing/Redline Performance kart, and Cheek in the #557 CMI/Pro Circuit machine.

Junior 1 Kart
It was another exciting race in Junior 1 Kart today, with Travis PeCoy taking the early lead in his #211 K&N/RC10.com machine, followed by Gavin Harlien in the #232 Racer Services/Full Tilt Trophy Karts truck, Preston Roben in the #210 Duggins Construction/Canidae kart, Cole Dexheimer in the #226 King Off Road Racing Shocks/Hoosier entry, and Broc Dickerson in the #223 Dickerson Motorsports/Hoosier kart. Harlien leapfrogged PeCoy on lap two to take the lead, with Dickerson jumping up two spots to third. Roben then passed Dickerson back on lap three, and did it the hard way, as he held his line outside of Dickerson all the way from turn one into turn three. Roben picked up another spot coming into turn one on lap five, while Dickerson pushed PeCoy wide to make the pass in the same corner. Roben was then nearly spun coming out of turn five, which dropped him back to fourth, and at the Competition Yellow, it was Harlien, Dickerson, PeCoy, Roben, and Darren Hardesty in the #231 Bilstein Shock Absorbers/Lucas Oil truck in the top five. These drivers held their positions on the restart lap, but by the end of lap eight, Roben had passed Dickerson for third, while Dexheimer and PeCoy were up to fourth and fifth. Wolfgang Ries then got by PeCoy for fifth on lap nine, and Dickerson moved up to second again on the lap after that. Dickerson seemed determined to get to the front, and went inside of Harlien into turn one to snag the lead on the penultimate lap. Dickerson then got a little breathing room as he began his last lap, as it seemed like Harlien and Roben were briefly locked together bumper-to-bumper down the front straight, which slowed the two for a moment. In the end, Dickerson backed up his championship with a win in the Challenge Cup, with second going to Harlien, third to Roben, fourth to Dexheimer, and fifth to Ries.

Junior 2 Kart
In the final kids race of the season, it was Shelby Anderson who took full advantage of her shot at a restart after the first start ended in front row starter Jeremy Davis getting spun out, as she took the early lead in her #405 Walker Evans Racing/Anderson’s Nu Power kart. Preston Roben, fresh off of his podium finish in the Junior 1 Kart race, ran second, followed by Weston Schuck, Maxwell Ries, and Paige Porter in the #462 Redline Performance/T-Bird Lounge & Restaurant truck. The top five held their positions through the first four laps, but on lap five, Roben got a great run out of turn one and into turn two to take the lead away from Anderson, while further back, newly-crowned champion Myles Cheek was up to fifth in the #457 CMI/Lucas Oil machine after Porter got a little out of shape in turn three. At the Competition Yellow, the top five was made up of Roben, Anderson, Schuck in the #404 Fiberwerx/Hoosier entry, Ries in the #474 McQueen Prototype Design/Intensetees machine, and Cheek. The top five remained unchanged after the restart lap, but on lap eight, Cheek got a little too aggressive in turn four, and after getting into the side of Ries and Schuck, ended up off the track on the inside for a moment, which dropped him back a few spots, and gave fifth to Brock Heger in the #411 Driscoll’s Surf N Skate/Signpros truck. Jeremy Davis then snagged that spot on the next lap in his #485 Green Army/Jamar entry, but after running wide at turn four on lap eleven, Heger got the spot back. On the final lap, there was some substantial beating and banging going on between Schuck, Ries, and Heger from turn four to turn five, which ended up costing Schuck two spots as he dropped to fifth. Up front, Roben moved two spots up the podium from where he finished in Junior 1 Kart, taking the win and the 60-lap instructional certificate that came with it. Second went to Anderson, third to Ries, fourth place was Heger, and rounding out the top five was Schuck.

Limited Buggy
Following Opening Ceremonies, which included another great rendition of The National Anthem by Kids Rock Free singer Ariana Nieto, as well as some special words from Michelle Wilson-Huseman, wife of recently-fallen Lucas Oil Off Road legend Rick Huseman (Michelle brought along she and Rick’s son “Little Ricky,” and also gave the drivers their instructions to “start your engines”), it was time for the first money race of the day. The top ten drivers in regular season points were inverted to make up the top ten starting positions, leaving points champion Curt Geer to start tenth, and tenth place points finisher Greg Crew to start from the inside front row. Geoffrey Cooley had a great start, and coming from row three, managed to get to the front in his #322 Competitive Metals/MasterCraft Safety AlumiCraft. With other drivers getting caught up in traffic on the first lap, Cooley had a sizeable lead from the get-go, with John Fitzgerald, Bradley Morris, Quentin Tucker, and Geer running behind him in the top five. Morris and Geer collected in turn one and dropped well back on lap two, moving Tucker to third, Kevin McCullough to fourth, and Lindsay Geiser to fifth in her #395 Canidae/MasterCraft Safety Geiser. On lap four, Zac Hunt drove inside Geiser at turn one, and moved ahead to take fifth spot in his #334 Speed Energy/Fat Performance AlumiCraft. Hunt then began to close on McCullough for fourth, and was right on him by lap seven. Up front, Fitzgerald was catching Cooley just ever-so-slightly, but at the Competition Yellow, the running order was still Cooley, Fitzgerald, Tucker, McCullough, and Hunt in the top five. This order remained the same after the restart and through lap ten, with Cooley opening a gap over Fitzgerald once again. On lap eleven, Morris used the lower line in the either/or section to get by Hunt for fifth, but after contacting McCullough coming out of turn one on lap thirteen, Morris slowed briefly, and Dave Mason shot by and into fifth place. Up front, Fitzgerald was giving it everything to try and hunt down Cooley, and on the last few laps, made up substantial ground in turn three, only to give most of it back between turns four and five. On the last lap, Fitzgerald had a good run on Cooley coming into turn four, but the young driver was not to be denied his first win in the class any longer, as Cooley shut the door on Fitzgerald and zipped home for the victory. After so many near-misses over the past two seasons, this must have been a really sweet victory for Cooley, especially with it being the biggest race of the year, a race that saw him take home $4,000 for the win- congratulations Geoffrey! Second place, as well as a check for $2,000, went to Fitzgerald, while the $1,000 third place prize went to Tucker. Mason finished fourth in his #365 B&R Buggie/RSC Equipment Rental AlumiCraft, and McCullough finished up the race in fifth place.

Super Lite
Next up was the Super Lite cup race, and the money on offer was even more substantial than in Limited Buggy, with $10,000 going to the winner, $6,000 to second place, and $4,000 to third. As was the case in Limited Buggy, the top ten points finishers were inverted to make up the top ten starting positions, and it was Austin Kimbrell, coming from the outside of row three, who took the early lead in his #88 Xtreme Machine & Fabrication/Ivy Trucking and Grading truck. Kyle Lucas ran second in the #11 Lucas Oil/Howard Packaging entry, with Jessie Johnson third in the #15 A.M. Ortega/MasterCraft Safety machine, Mike McCarthy fourth in the #77 General Tire/K&N truck, and Jason Ellis fifth in the #41 Dethrone Racing/MavTV entry. McCarthy landed badly off the first jump on lap two, and crashed hard into turn one. This led to a full-course caution, and on the restart lap, it was Lucas who moved ahead of Kimbrell to take the lead. RJ Anderson was also on the move, and picked up several spots as he slotted into third in his #37 Dethrone Racing/SoCal Super Trucks machine. Anderson moved up another spot early in the next lap, and when Lucas bicycled in turn three and dropped to fifth, Anderson was right there to take over at the head of the field. On lap eight, both Ron Duncombe and Chad George got around Lucas, with George then moving past Duncombe and into fifth place. At the Competition Yellow, it was Anderson out front, followed by Kimbrell, Patrick Clark in the #25 BFGoodrich Tires/Method Race Wheels truck, Johnson, and George in the #42 Kawasaki/Yokohama machine in the top five. While under yellow, McCarthy emerged from the hot pits to re-join the fray, which was nice to see after his earlier crash. The green flag then waved again, and on the restart lap, George touched Johnson side to side off the ski jump out of turn two, and with no way to stop his momentum, Johnson landed and crashed into the k-rail. The accident wasn’t actually too bad, but Johnson’s truck was too damaged to continue. Just a few corners later, George, Lucas, Clark, and Kimbrell came through turn five in a big clump, and George was pushed wide and into the outside k-rail. As was the case with Johnson, George’s truck was too damaged to continue, and the running order was now Anderson, Kimbrell, Clark, Lucas, and Brent Fouch in the #21 Forgiven Energy/General Tire entry. Lucas pulled into the hot pits and out of the race on the next lap, and with Anderson leaving the rest of the field for dead, the fight for second between Kimbrell and Clark was the best race on the track. Kimbrell held off Clark through the checkered flag, but he was moved down to third by the officials for rough driving. In the end, the big win went to Anderson, with Clark taking second, Kimbrell third, Fouch fourth, and Duncombe fifth in the #4 Maverik/Jack Link’s truck.

Pro Lite Unlimited vs. Pro Buggy Unlimited
The excitement in the stands really ramped up now, as the first of our two “class vs. class” races was up next. A total of $35,000 was on offer here ($20,000 to first, $10,000 to second, and $5,000 to third), and with the two classes running such similar lap times here, the Pro Buggy Unlimiteds would simply start at the tail end of the Pro Lite Unlimited field, without the trucks having the traditional half lap head start. Again, the top ten point finishers in each class were inverted to make up the top ten starting positions within each class, which meant that Jacob Person and Matt Cook started up front in their trucks, while open wheel champion Mike Porter started way back in twentieth.

Corey Sisler grabbed the early lead in his #19 AEM Performance Electronics/BFGoodrich Tires Ford, and was followed by Kyle LeDuc, Jimmy Stephensen, Chris Brandt, and Austin Kimbrell. Brandt and Brian Deegan moved up to third and fourth on lap two, with Stephensen dropping to fifth, while the first buggy, Justin “Bean” Smith in the #19 Competitive Metals/Metal Mulisha AlumiCraft, was already up to eighth. LeDuc got the lead away from Sisler on lap three, while Casey Currie also picked up a spot as he moved into fifth in his #2 Monster Energy/Magnaflow Performance Exhaust Nissan. Smith picked up two more spots on lap four, and now ran in sixth, while up front, LeDuc was opening up a gap on the field. The running order back to Smith went unchanged through the end of lap seven, but after working on him for several laps, Smith finally got by Currie and up to fifth. Teammates Deegan and Smith both got by Brandt on lap nine, with Smith then going inside of Deegan in turn three to move into third on lap ten. At the Competition Yellow, LeDuc still led in his #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford, followed by Sisler, Smith, Deegan in the #38 Lucas Oil/Rockstar Ford, Brandt in the #82 BFGoodrich Tires/KarTek Toyota, Currie, Steven Greinke (second buggy driver), Rodrigo Ampudia, Doug Fortin (buggy), and Cameron Steele (filling in for teammate Brandon Bailey in Bailey’s buggy). On the restart lap, Deegan got caught up in some contact, which damaged his truck enough to force him to the sidelines. Brandt and Currie moved into fourth and fifth, just before a rollover in turn four by Kimbrell forced a full-course caution. On the restart lap, Greinke moved up to fifth in his #23 SC Fuels/Concourse Racer, and on the following lap, Sisler got by LeDuc to re-take the lead in turn one. LeDuc was then hit and pushed wide in turn four, and by lap’s end, he had dropped back to fifth. LeDuc rolled at turn one on lap 18, which ended his day, and forced another full-course caution. As a green-white-checkers finish was called for, the running order in the top five was Sisler, Smith, Brandt, Greinke, Fortin in the #96 Fortin Racing, Inc./McGrath Fiberglass Products Racer. On the restart lap, Ampudia and Greinke collected in turn one, ending both of their races, while at the head of the field, it was a cruel twist of fate as Sisler, who had less than two laps between himself and his first win in short course, saw his hopes dashed as his motor exploded in spectacular fashion, with huge billowing clouds of smoke pouring at behind him as his truck drifted to the sidelines. Smith took the lead kept it from there, as he poured it on all the way to the $20,000 that awaited him at the finish line. Smith’s win was one of remarkably measured strategy and patience, made all the more impressive by the fact that could’ve been sidelined on lap two, when other drivers forced him so high in turn one that he ended up sliding the bottom of his car across the top of the outside k-rail. Fortunately for Smith, his car survived, and his win capped a very successful first season in the Pro Buggy Unlimited ranks, and also ensured that the “buggy dorks” maintain a perfect 3-0 record against the trucks in this annual race. Second went to Brandt, who was the first truck finisher, and the recipient of $10,000, with Currie coming across the line third with his hood flipped back so far that he must’ve been struggling desperately to see; Currie picked up $5,000. Fourth place was Fortin, fifth Rich Ronco in the #99 Yokohama/FK Rod Ends Tatum (buggy), sixth Garrett George in the #71 Beard Seats/King Off Road Racing Shocks Funco (buggy), seventh Cameron Steele in the #17 RSC Equipment Rental/Stronghold Motorsports AlumiCraft (buggy), eighth Matt Loiodice in the #20 Competitive Metals/Maxxis Ford, ninth Malcolm Pointon in the #78 K&N/Southwest Processors Foddrill (buggy), and tenth Gregg Reichman in the #80 JointVenturePros.com/Redline Fuel Management Foddrill (buggy); Reichman was the final finisher on the lead lap.

Pro 2 Unlimited vs. Pro 4 Unlimited
The final race of the year would be the Pro 2 Unlimited vs. Pro 4 Unlimited cup race, and unlike the trucks vs. buggies shootout, this race’s slower class, Pro 2 Unlimited, would be given a half lap head start. After inverting the top ten in points to make up the first ten starting slots in each class, it would be Robby Woods and Jeff Geiser leading the charge for the 2wds, with Adrian Cenni and Curt LeDuc heading up the 4wd attack. Oh yeah, and there was $30,000 on offer for the winner, $15,000 for second, $7,500 for third, and $1,000 to the top finisher in whichever class didn’t win the race, so don’t think that these boys weren’t foaming at the mouth to see the green flag drop.

Woods led the field from the get go in his #99 Lucas Slick Mist/SuperChips Chevrolet, with Jeff Geiser in the #44 Canidae/BulletProofDiesel.com Chevrolet, Carl Renezeder (who chose to run his 2wd this year) in the #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire Ford, Rodrigo Ampudia in the #36 Tecate/Lucas Oil Ford, and Rob Naughton in the #54 ReadyLift/Maxxis Ford in tow. Jeremy McGrath moved up to fifth on lap two, then into fourth on lap three in his #2 Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Ford, with teammate Naughton just behind in fifth. The 4wds took a little longer to get into the top ten, but by lap five, Adrian Cenni was the first to do so, as his #11 Atrium Payroll/4 Wheel Parts truck ran ninth. Kyle LeDuc got by Cenni to become the leading Pro 4 Unlimited on the next lap, and by lap seven, he was up to fourth overall. With the Pro 4 Unlimiteds’ ability to use any line on the track, as well as accelerate so much quicker out of the corners, the 2wds seemed helpless to stop the 4wds’ onslaught, and it seemed inevitable that a 4wd would be the winner of this race for the third straight year.

A red flag of the race was thrown when Ampudia rolled hard in turn five and his truck caught fire. Ampudia was ok but his truck was damaged pretty badly, forcing him out of the race. When racing resumed, LeDuc and his #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford picked off the remaining two Pro 2 Unlimited drivers ahead of him, Geiser and then Woods, taking the lead into turn four. Suddenly, though, LeDuc lost a right rear wheel, and as quickly as the race seemed all wrapped up, the fight for the win was on again in earnest. The field ran several laps under yellow, allowing crews to clear both LeDuc’s and Evan Evans’ wrecks (Evans crashed in the same area where LeDuc lost his wheel; Evans was ok), then returned to green flag racing. After the restart lap, Woods still led, with Renezeder second, McGrath third, Cenni fourth, and Naughton fifth. Cenni picked off McGrath for third on lap 16, and on lap 17, Renezeder got by Woods to take the race lead. Behind this, Todd LeDuc was now making it two Pro 4 Unlimiteds in the top five, as he moved up to fourth in his #4 Rockstar/Makita Ford. On lap 18, Cenni spun Renezeder at turn four, and moved into the race lead as Renezeder dropped to fifth. LeDuc ran second now, and once again, victory seemed ensured for the 4wds. However, LeDuc then rolled in turn four on the next lap, and while the field bunched up under another full-course caution, officials gave Cenni the black flag for his incident with Renezeder. Cenni pulled into the hot pits and did not return, handing the lead now to Naughton, with Doug Fortin, driving Travis Coyne’s truck, left to try and defend the honors of the 4wds from clear back in fifth with just two laps left. As soon as the green flag dropped for the final time, Naughton was flying, and still headed the field at the white flag, with McGrath, Renezeder, Brian Deegan in the #38 Rockstar/Makita Ford, and Fortin in the #5 ProComp/Team Associated Ford, and Brian Deegan in the #38 Rockstar/Makita Ford behind him. On the final lap, Naughton soared off the ski jump after turn two, and with flames shooting from the top of the Rockstar arch, it was truly a magnificent spectacle. In the final corner, with Naughton still in the lead, Renezeder got into McGrath and spun him. Renezeder nearly stacked it up after catching his nose on the landing off the last roller out of the corner, and as his truck stuttered, Fortin swerved to avoid an accident, but ended up off the course on the inside and rolling over. The whole field stacked in behind all this, with Renezeder escaping to hold second. After the finish, though, Renezeder was moved to the back of the lead lap by officials for rough driving, which meant Deegan would take second and $15,000, while McGrath recovered well enough to take third and $7,500. Fourth went to Geiser, fifth to Nick Tyree in the #91 Competitive Metals/Method Race Wheels Ford, and sixth to Josh Merrell in the #22 Hart and Huntington/MavTV Ford; Merrell was the top Pro 4 Unlimited finisher, which earned him $1,000. Rob MacCachren took seventh in the #1 Rockstar/MasterCraft Safety Ford, with Curt LeDuc eighth in the #43 Rockstar/Makita Ford (4wd), Renezeder ninth, and Fortin tenth. Ahead of all these drivers, though, was Rob Naughton, who parked his truck in front of the main grandstands on the front straight, climbed atop it, fists in the air, pointing to his helmet in celebration of his terrific win. Naughton drove a calculated, intelligent race to get the win and its $30,000 bonus, and becomes the first Pro 2 Unlimited driver in the history of Lucas Oil Off Road to win the Pro 2 Unlimited vs. Pro 4 Unlimited Challenge Cup.

That wraps up the 2011 season of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. Don’t rest on your laurels too much, though, as we certainly won’t be. The 2012 season isn’t far away, and will begin right back here at Firebird, with Rounds 1 and 2 on March 31 and April 1, 2012. Until then, have a safe and joyous holiday season, and to get your fix of flying trucks and slinging mud, make sure you catch all the Lucas Oil Off Road racing that will be on tv during the off season; our television schedule can be found atlucasoiloffroad.com. See you in 2012!

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

8-Time National Champion: Carl Renezeder

(truck and team photos © HighRev Photography)

CHANDLER, AZ (December 12, 2011) – It’s only fitting that the guy who drives with the heart of a champion is not only the winningest driver in the short-course, off-road world, but now has the most national titles of any short-course driver in the history of the sport.  The 2011 Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing season hosted Carl Renezeder’s phenomenal run to his eighth championship, where he finished on the podium 14 out of 15 races, with three wins, nine seconds, two thirds and one fourth.

“I’d have to go back and look at the stats, but in all my years of doing this, I don’t think we’ve ever has such consistent finishes in one class,” explained Renezeder.  “We’re incredibly proud of all the podium finishes, but even more so with the fact that we had no DNFs in Pro-4 – that’s a huge accomplishment.”

But even all those stats and the garland of champions’ roses around his neck couldn’t lift the spirits of Renezeder and his team when an amazing second-place finish in his Pro-2 truck in the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup was taken away by the officials.  Renezeder, having had a lot of success in his history of Cup races, decided to take a chance in Sunday’s race by choosing his Pro-2 over the quicker lap-times of his Pro-4.

“We had a mechanical failure in the Pro-2 on Saturday early in the race, and I never got a chance to run it hard,” explained Renezeder.  “I just felt like the truck had something left to prove this season.”

He was right.  The truck was flawless throughout the race, giving Renezeder the opportunity to drive his race and cross the finish line in second place after some epic on-track battles.  From a fourth row start, he led the race at one time, held off some hard-charging Pro-4s, worked his way back forward after being spun out mid-race, and then made a phenomenal save on the last lap when he was part of a three-truck collision to come across the line in second.  The collision was reviewed by officials for several minutes while the drivers found their way to victory lane, then the finishing order was announced and television interviews were conducted, with Renezeder being congratulated by CBS, Versus, SPEED and MavTV for his second-place finish.  But before they paraded the drivers up onto the podium, the officials announced a change to the finishing order, black-flagging Renezeder, thus moving him back to a ninth-place finish.

“I honestly don’t understand it,” commented a dejected Renezeder.  “I feel bad for the team – we didn’t deserve to have that taken away from us.”

It’s a tough way to finish out a great season and a great race.  But no one can take away how amazing the truck worked on Sunday and how well Renezeder drove it.  He always drives with calculating skill and finesse, but more importantly, he drives with an overwhelming will to win and the heart to back it up.  He is simply a champion.

Follow the Team on Facebook and Twitter:

Facebook.com/TeamRenezeder

Twitter.com/TeamRenezeder

(photo courtesy of General Tire)

About Carl Renezeder

Birth date: April 16, 1964
Residence: Laguna Beach, CA
Home Town: Montebello, CA
Family: Wife: Kelley; 4 Children

97 Career Short Course Wins (21 in Lucas Oil Off Road Series, 65 in CORR, 10 in WSORR, 1 in RJORGP) (Pro-2 = 45 wins; Pro-4 = 52 wins)

8-time National Champion (LOORRS Pro-4 – 2011; LOORRS U4 – 2009; LOORRS U2 – 2009; CORR Pro-4 – 2003, 2007, 2008; CORR Pro-2 – 2005 & 2006) 

2011: LOORRS Pro-4 Champion with 3 Wins; 2 LOORRS Pro-2 Wins

2010: 2^nd in LOORRS Pro-2 Unlimited points with 3 wins; 3rd in LOORRS Pro-4 Unlimited points with 2 wins

2009: LOORRS Unlimited 4 Champion; LOORRS Unlimited 2 Champion; 8 Unlimited-4 wins including the inaugural Rockstar Energy Lucas Oil Challenge Cup; 3 Unlimited-2 wins; Dirtsports Magazine Short Course Driver of the Year

2008: CORR Pro-4 Champion; 4 CORR Pro-4 wins; 2 CORR Pro-2 wins; 2 WSORR Pro-4×4 wins; 2 WSORR Pro-2WD wins; 1 RJORGP GP4 win; Won Day 2 of SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge

2007: CORR Pro-4 Champion; 8 CORR Pro-4 wins including the Jason Baldwin Memorial Cup; 3rd in CORR Pro-2 points; 7 CORR Pro-2 wins; 3 WSORR Pro4x4 wins including the FCP Chairman’s Cup; 3 WSORR Pro2WD wins; Won 40th Annual SCORE Baja 1000 with Riviera Racing

2006: CORR Pro-2 Champion; 6 CORR Pro-2 wins; 2nd in CORR Pro-4 points; 4 CORR Pro-4 wins; Won SCORE Laughlin Leap (159’), Won Day 1, 2nd overall at the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge; 3rd in SCORE Las Vegas PRIMM 300; Dirtsports Magazine Driver of the Year

2005: CORR Pro-2 Champion; 9 CORR wins – 4 in Pro-2 and 5 in Pro-4, including the Nissan Nationals; 2nd in CORR Pro-4 points

2004: 8 CORR wins – 3 in Pro-2 and 5 in Pro-4, including the Governor’s Cup Championship; 2nd in CORR Pro-4 points; 3rd in CORR Pro-2 points

2003: CORR Pro-4 Champion; 8 CORR wins – 3 in Pro-2 and 5 in Pro-4, including the Borg Warner World Championship; 2nd in CORR Pro-2 points

1994-2002: 9 CORR wins (7 in Pro-2; 2 in Pro-4) and multiple podiums in CORR; Won SCORE Baja 1000 (Class 1 – 1994); 2 podium finishes in SCORE Baja 500

As the season comes full circle, the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, is back at Firebird International Raceway for the final weekend of the 2011 season. Only one regular season round was left to determine the 2011 champions of ten out of our eleven classes, so the drivers in those points battles had it all to do today. All the other drivers had their own motivation as well, as any driver worth anything would want to bring home a win in the last race of the regular season, and there was no denying the tension in the air or the ferocity of competition here today. This is a great track, with a couple of unique features that we don’t see anywhere else, like the challenging step-up jump into turn four (for the adult classes only), and the multi-line “either/or” section, where drivers have two lines to choose from, between turns four and five. The stands were packed and the weather was great, as was the racing, so if you couldn’t be here, you really missed out.

UTV
First out onto the full-length track were the UTVs, and on the opening lap, a scary moment led to what must have been a heart-in-her-throat race for SR1 points leader Corry Weller. While battling for the lead with Doug Mittag, Weller tried to make the step-up jump, caught her rear tires on the lip of the landing, and came down hard, bending her chassis and pushing her right front a-arm back. This made steering very difficult, and sent her straight towards the outside barrier at turn four. With a point gap of 19 points over John Dempsey coming into today’s finale, there weren’t enough starters to make a big enough points gap to allow Dempsey to catch Weller, but she continued to limp her wounded ride along, just to be safe. Up front, Mittag was leading in his #848 Monster Energy/Gear One Kawasaki, with Robert Vanbeekum second (and the leading Unlimited UTV) in his #664 Monster Energy/Muzzys Kawasaki. Dan Kelly ran third in the #824 OffRoadMagnet.com/Maxxis Kawasaki, followed by Tyler Winbury in the #894 4130 Clothing/Black Rhino Yamaha, and Ryan Beat in the #851 Hart and Huntington/Black Rhino Kawasaki. On lap four, Kelly bicycled in turn three and dropped back to fifth, and on lap seven, Winbury lost a front wheel, ending his first run in the SR1 class. At the Competition Yellow, Mittag was still out front, with Beat now second, Vanbeekum third, Kelly fourth, and John Dempsey fifth in the #855 Custom Off Road Design/Dempsey Construction Kawasaki. On the restart lap, Beat went for it over the step-up, a move that ended even worse for him than it did for Weller, as he clipped his rear tires on the landing lip and went for an ugly tumble, ending his race. Mittag maintained his lead, despite running at a reduced pace with a broken shock, as Vanbeekum, Chad George, Kelly, and Code Rahders were all in hot pursuit. Rahders fell away on lap eleven, but up front, with his spotters telling him to drive his machine for everything it was worth, George had now gotten around Vanbeekum and moved into second in his #1 Monster Energy/Funco Kawasaki. George and Vanbeekum were now closing on Mittag for the overall lead, and just short of the white flag, both drivers moved by and into the top two spots. Unfortunately for Vanbeekum, a heating issue dropped him out on the final lap, but up front, George came home the big winner in Unlimited UTV, and was the first Unlimited UTV driver to win the UTV race overall this season! Second overall and first in SR1 was Mittag, with Kelly taking third overall, second in SR1. Dempsey finished third in SR1, fourth overall after driving the entire race without power steering, while Vanbeekum and RJ Anderson rounded out the Unlimited UTV podium. In the championship chases, Weller’s incident wasn’t enough to deny her the title, as she improved on her runner-up spot last year to take the SR1 UTV championship this year- congratulations Corry! Anderson had a tough day today, but came in with enough of a cushion that the title couldn’t go to anyone else. Anderson managed a pretty tough feat, as he knocked off perennial Unlimited UTV champion Chad George to take the Unlimited UTV title this year- way to go RJ!

As far as championships go, Weller and Anderson were the big winners in their respective classes. Behind Weller in SR1, it was teammates Mittag and Dempsey (separated by just one point) in second and third, Rahders in fourth, and Bryan Osborn in fifth. In Unlimited UTV, Vanbeekum finished second, George third, Winbury fourth, and Hans Waage fifth.

Limited Buggy
The final race before Opening Ceremonies was Limited Buggy, and there was a pretty close points gap, 18 points to be exact, between leader Curt Geer and second-placed Dave Mason as the two entered the final round. Quentin Tucker was also in the running at 43 points back, but would have to hope for major issues for Geer and Mason if he wanted a shot at the title. Tucker did everything he could from the drop of the green flag, grabbing the early lead in his #377 General Tire/McKenzies buggy, with John Fitzgerald, Kevin McCullough, Bradley Morris, and Geoffrey Cooley in tow. Morris used the low line at the either/or to get by McCullough for third on lap three, and on the next lap, Fitzgerald got the lead away from Tucker, while McCullough dropped back to sixth. Morris then moved inside of Tucker and made the pass stick at turn three to take over second on lap five, with Tucker then losing two more spots to Cooley and Geer before the Competition Yellow. Fitzgerald still led in his #314 BFGoodrich Tires/Wiks Racing Engines buggy at this point, and was followed by the #304 Lucas Oil/K&N AlumiCraft of Morris, Cooley in the #322 Competitive Metals/MasterCraft Safety AlumiCraft, Geer in the #385 Green Army/Bowden Development, Inc. Lothringer, and Tucker. Geer had a slower getaway on the restart, and was passed by both Tucker and McCullough as he dropped to sixth. Geer’s closest championship rival, Mason, was still mired back around seventh or eighth after starting at the back due to an engine change, so Geer was just trying to keep clear of any incidents as the laps wound down. Meanwhile, Cooley re-took third from Tucker after losing that spot on the restart lap, and Geer got back into the top five after getting around McCullough. On the penultimate lap, Geer then moved past Tucker to take over fourth, and from there on in, the top five drivers held their positions, with the big win going to Fitzgerald. Second place was Morris, Cooley finished third, with Geer taking fourth and Tucker fifth; Mason wound up seventh. Geer’s fourth place was easily enough to garner him the championship, and a solid season that included three wins, three second places, one third place, and three poles means that he is the 2011 Lucas Oil Off Road Limited Buggy Champion- congratulations Curt! Behind Geer, Mason was the championship runner-up, with Tucker taking third, Fitzgerald fourth, and Morris fifth.

Pro 4 Unlimited  Following a resounding edition of Opening Ceremonies, during which young Kids Rock Free singer Ariana Nieto absolutely knocked it out of the park as she sang the National Anthem, it was time for Pro 4 Unlimited. The crowd was stunned by the performance of the young lady, and the cheers only grew louder as the drivers were given the command to “start your engines.”

Adrian Cenni, making his return after missing the last two rounds, grabbed the top spot early in his #11 Atrium Payroll/Maxxis truck, and had his mirrors full of Kyle LeDuc in the #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford. Kyle’s brother Todd LeDuc ran third in the #4 Rockstar/Makita Ford, with Johnny Greaves fourth in the #12 Monster Energy/ReadyLift Toyota, and Carl Renezeder fifth in the #17 Lucas Oil/Team Associated Ford. The top two drivers quickly began to pull away from the pack, and after Todd LeDuc, Greaves, and Renezeder collected in turn one on lap five, that gap only grew bigger. Greaves then slowed dramatically a few corner later, and pulled off the track and out of the race. Meanwhile, Kyle LeDuc made a pass on Cenni to take the lead, with Josh Merrell, Renezeder, and Todd LeDuc now running in third, fourth, and fifth. In the battle for third, Renezeder chased down Merrell over the course of several laps, and finally got by on lap eight. At the Competition Yellow, it was Kyle LeDuc out front, followed by Cenni, Renezeder, Merrell in the #22 Hart and Huntington/MavTV Ford, and Todd LeDuc in the top five. On the restart lap, Renezeder muscled his way by Cenni and into second place, and was looking like he might have something for the leading LeDuc. However, LeDuc quickly opened up a good gap, seemingly at will, to maintain the lead. Cenni then looped it in turn two on lap 14, dropping him back to ninth, and the running order up front was now Kyle LeDuc, Renezeder, Merrell, Liam Doran (X Games Rally Gold Medalist) in the #3 Stronghold Engineering/Toyo Tires Chevrolet, and Todd LeDuc. In the closing laps, the battle to watch was between Doran and Todd LeDuc, as the two raced fiercely over fourth place, with Doran nearly jumping OVER LeDuc at one point. In the end, the position went to LeDuc, whose brother picked up the race win. Kyle LeDuc got his sixth win of the season, his fourth in the last five races, and looks like he has the momentum heading into tomorrow to defend his Challenge Cup crown. Second went to Renezeder, third to Merrell, fourth to Todd LeDuc, and fifth to Doran.

Points wise, Renezeder had it wrapped up already, as mentioned before, but second goes to Kyle LeDuc, third to Todd LeDuc, fourth to Kent Brascho, and fifth to Jerry Daugherty. Congratulations Carl on your eighth championship in short course off-road racing, the most of any driver in the history of the sport!

Pro Buggy Unlimited
Today’s Pro Buggy Unlimited race was a weird and wild one, with major carnage and some strange goings on making this one of the most unique season finales of all-time. Doug Fortin was the early leader in his #96 Fortin Racing, Inc./Fox Racing Shox Racer, with Garrett George (driving his dad Greg’s ’09 Pro Lite Unlimited vs. Pro Buggy Unlimited Challenge Cup-winning buggy) second in the #71 Beard Seats/King Off Road Racing Shocks Funco. Justin “Bean” Smith ran third in the #19 Competitive Metals/Metal Mulisha AlumiCraft, with Eddie Tafoya fourth in the #51 Specialty Fasteners/VP Racing Fuels Lothringer, and Steven Greinke fifth in the #23 SC Fuels/Concourse Racer. A flat tire dropped Tafoya back in the running order, and the same issue cost Fortin his lead, as he fell to second behind Smith. Meanwhile, points leader Mike Porter was now up to fifth in the #8 Redline Performance/Mickey Thompson AlumiCraft, and really looked to try and keep his nose clean to lock up the title. Up front, Greinke got by Fortin in turn two on lap seven, taking over second place and setting his sights on the leader Smith. Porter then moved up to fourth after passing George into turn four, but tipped onto his side while trying to pass Fortin for third on the following lap- not exactly what he was hoping for in a potentially champion-clinching race. The Competition Yellow then came out, and in the top five, it was Smith, Greinke, Fortin, George, and Wade Wyman in the #56 Gear One/Racer X Motorsports buggy. Fortin ducked into the hot pits for a tire change under the yellow, and on the restart lap, a drivetrain issue left George was parked in turn five. The top two drivers were still the same, but it was now Cameron Steele, filling in for Stronghold Motorsports teammate Brandon Bailey, who ran third in the #17 RSC Equipment Rental/Lucas Oil AlumiCraft, with Wyman fourth in Jerry Whelchel fifth in the #5 Select Glass/BFGoodrich Tires Foddrill. Steele pulled off on lap 13, which moved Wyman, Whelchel, and Rich Ronco into third, fourth, and fifth, and with only eight cars left running, this was becoming a real race of attrition. Up front, Smith and Greinke were racing hard for the lead, but it was Smith who held off a great charge by Greinke to get the win. Greinke finished second, with Wyman taking third, Ronco fourth in the #99 Yokohama/FK Rod Ends Tatum, and Whelchel fifth.

Despite his woes in this race, Porter had a good cushion over his championship rivals coming into today, and simply needed to start the race and not get disqualified in order to wrap up the title. Porter lost the battle in the race today, but he did win the war, as he picks up the 2011 Lucas Oil Off Road Pro Buggy Unlimited Championship- congratulations Mike! Second in points was Smith, who was tied with Whelchel but noses ahead by virtue of having one more win than Whelchel (four vs. three). Whelchel took third, Greinke fourth, and Fortin fifth.

Pro Lite Unlimited
Putting his front row starting position to good use, Rodrigo Ampudia grabbed the early lead of the Pro Lite Unlimited race in his #36 Papas & Beer/Lucas Oil Ford. Behind Ampudia, it was Brian Deegan in the #38 Metal Mulisha/Gibson Performance Exhaust Ford, Chris Brandt in the #82 BFGoodrich Tires/KarTek Toyota, Kyle LeDuc in the #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford, and Casey Currie in the #2 Monster Energy/Magnaflow Performance Exhaust Nissan. Deegan grabbed the lead coming out of turn three on lap two, with Currie also moving up one spot to fourth on the same lap. Brandt then got by Ampudia on lap three, and looked like he’d have a straight fight to try and chase down Deegan, and the championship, as the top two drivers in points now ran one-two. Brandt wasn’t counting on Currie, though, who moved up to third on the same lap, then passed Brandt on lap four to move into second. Brandt was desperate to get by Currie, as he needed to finish two spots ahead of Deegan to even have a chance at the championship, but Currie wasn’t going to give it to Brandt by any means. As Currie and Brandt fought over second place, Deegan was pulling away up front, until Ampudia lost a right rear wheel coming out of turn one, leaving him in a very vulnerable spot, which forced a full-course caution. This yellow flag also served as the Competition Yellow, and as the field circled behind the Toyota Tundra pace truck, it was Deegan, Currie, Brandt, LeDuc, and Austin Kimbrell in the #88 Toyo Tires/Kroyer Racing Engines Ford in the top five. On the restart lap, the top five drivers held their positions, but on the next lap, both Brandt and LeDuc got around Currie using the either/or section of the track, but Brandt’s new problem was LeDuc, who then took over second place on lap eleven. Brandt was again left struggling to get by second place, now LeDuc, while Deegan was clear up front, and it was Deegan who got the win, his series-leading tenth of the season, ahead of LeDuc, Brandt, Currie, and Kimbrell.

As far as the championship goes, Deegan has finally wrapped it up after spending nearly the entire season battling back against an extremely-consistent Brandt after a poor performance early in the year.

Congratulations Brian, what a season! Brandt was a very close second place, just nine points back, with Cameron Steele third, Ampudia fourth, and Currie fifth.

Super Lite
Pro Buggy Unlimited was a really strange race, and so was Super Lite, as drivers diced and swapped places nearly nonstop throughout the race. Ryan Hagy grabbed the early lead in his #0X General Tire/Valli Construction truck, ahead of Austin Kimbrell in the #88 Xtreme Machine and Fabrication/Method Race Wheels entry, Kyle Lucas in the #11 Lucas Oil/Howard Packaging machine, Chad George in the #42 Kawasaki/Bull Outdoor Products, Inc. truck, and Jessie Johnson in the #15 MasterCraft Safety/A.M. Ortega machine. These top five drivers, as well as Drew Britt in the #7 Source Refrigeration and HVAC, Inc./San Tan Ford truck, were all trading places in the top five throughout the opening laps, and by lap four, it was Lucas out front, with Hagy second, Britt third, George fourth, and Kimbrell fifth. Several wrecks were scattered around the track, and in the confusion, gaps opened up as some drivers went by the crash sights more quickly than others. A full-course caution was thrown to allow officials to straighten out the running order, and when racing resumed, it was RJ Anderson who moved up to fourth on the restart lap, and was making a great charge after starting in last in his #37 Walker Evans Racing/Dethrone Racing machine. Kimbrell got by Anderson on lap nine, while up front, the battle for the lead got a little scary on lap ten, as Lucas and Hagy touched side-to-side in mid-air as they sailed off the big ski jump after turn two. The two went wide at turn three, opening the door for George to get by on the inside and take the lead. Kimbrell also got by before the end of the next lap, and it was now George, Kimbrell, Hagy, Anderson, and Lucas in the top five. Kimbrell got underneath George to take the lead at turn three on lap 12, with Anderson also moving up a spot to third. Lucas then charged forward, and managed to get by Anderson for third and then George for second, but didn’t have enough to catch the leader. Up front, Kimbrell got the big win, his first of the season and his first in Super Lite- way to go Austin! Second went to Lucas, third to Anderson, fourth to George, and fifth to Bubba Gray in the #22 Bull Outdoor Products, Inc./General Tire truck.

In the points race, George locked up the title with his fourth place today, as his closest championship rival, Patrick Clark, had what appeared to be a broken axle on the parade lap, and was never really in the fight today. Congratulations on your championship Chad, well done! Anderson’s strong finish, combined with Clark’s woes, nearly allowed him to take second for the season, but he wound up a close third. Fourth went to Kimbrell, and fifth to Brent Fouch.

Pro 2 Unlimited
The final race of the day was Pro 2 Unlimited, and with the warm Arizona sun now low in the sky, the drivers lined up for a real barn burner of a race. Jeremy McGrath took the early lead in his #2 Monster Energy/ReadyLift Ford, ahead of Rob MacCachren in the #1 Rockstar/MasterCraft Safety Ford, Rob Naughton in the #54 ReadyLift/LAMB Energy Ford, Greg Adler in the #10 4 Wheel Parts/Airaid Ford, and Carl Renezeder in the #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire Ford. MacCachren picked off McGrath to take the lead on lap two, while Renezeder got by Adler to move into fourth on the same lap. On lap four, a rollover and brief fire onboard the Scott Martenson machine led to a full-course caution, and when racing finally resumed, McGrath, Adler, and Renezeder all fell victim to a stack-up in turn one, which moved Brian Deegan into third, Robby Woods to fourth, and Rodrigo Ampudia to fifth. Two laps later, Deegan got inside Naughton at turn three to move into second, and at the Competition Yellow, the running order was MacCachren, Deegan in the #38 Rockstar/Makita Ford, Naughton, Woods in the #99 Lucas Slick Mist/SuperChips Chevrolet, and Ampudia in the #36 Tecate/BFGoodrich Tires Ford. On the restart, Naughton and Ampudia collected in turn one, dropping both drivers well back, and moving Woods, Adler, and Jeff Geiser into third, fourth, and fifth. Woods then rolled in turn three, which brought Adler up to third, Geiser to fourth in the #44 Canidae/BulletProofDiesel.com Chevrolet, and Nick Tyree to fifth in the #91 Competitive Metals/VP Racing Fuels Ford. The field was again under a full-course yellow due to Woods’ wreck, and on the restart lap, things didn’t get much better, as Deegan rear-ended MacCachren coming into turn three, then drove through him and rolled him. Deegan was black flagged for his actions, and MacCachren’s battered truck was able to continue, albeit at a reduced pace. The field went through yet another restart from a full course yellow, and this time it was Tyree and Phil Bollman who caught each other out in turn one, which led to yellow once again. A green-white-checkers finish was then called for, with Adler now leading Geiser, Evan Evans, Deegan, and Myan Spaccarelli in the top five. Adler had had many shots at his first win, but no race seemed as unlikely as this one for it to happen, as his battle-weathered truck now raced away from the field in the closing laps, fiberglass flapping and dangling, to pick up the win, his first ever in the class. A more deserving winner could not be found; Greg, you’ve paid your dues, and you deserve this one- way to go! Second went to Geiser, who also had a career-best finish, with Deegan taking third, Evans fourth in the hand-controlled #5 Evans Premium Lager/General Tire Chevrolet (in his first race of the season in this series no less), and Naughton fifth.

In the title fight, Deegan had enough cushion coming into today’s race that he simply needed to start the race in order to take the championship, and a third place was more than enough to secure the championship in Pro 2 Unlimited- congratulations Brian! Second went to defending champion MacCachren, third to Renezeder, fourth to Jeremy McGrath, and fifth to Adler.

Modified Kart
The weekend’s racing kicked off with the little monsters of Modified Kart, and the championship finale could hardly have been scripted more dramatically. Brock Heger started up front in his #511 Driscoll’s Surf N Skate/Signpros kart, and led the field after lap one, with Kyle Hart second, Mitch Guthrie Jr. third, Jeff Hoffman fourth, and Scotty Steele fifth. On lap two, defending champion Mitchell DeJong moved into fifth in his #1 Traxxas/Red Bull machine, while further up the order, Hart moved into the lead in his #523 GearUp2Go.com/Duncan Racing truck on the next lap. Guthrie Jr. and DeJong each picked up a spot on lap three, and after Heger put his truck on its side in turn four on the next lap, the two championship contenders, Guthrie Jr. and DeJong, were running second and third. DeJong then passed Guthrie Jr. on lap six, just ahead of the Competition Yellow, at which time the running order was Hart, DeJong, Guthrie Jr. in the #555 Losi/Pro Armor machine, Hoffman in the #547 KarTek Off Road/BRT Signs kart, and Blake Lenk in the #521 DASA/Revolt Metal Works Inc. truck. The field ran several laps under yellow while track officials cleared some stalled or crashed karts, and after the green flag waved again, it was Bradley Morris in the #504 Lucas Oil/K&N kart who moved up into the top five. On the final lap, Morris got up to fourth by turn two, and as the field barreled into turn four and the entrance to the either or, he came into the corner too hot and took out the championship leader, Guthrie Jr., who had had the championship in his grasp with just two corners to go. Several drivers sped by before Guthrie Jr. could get going again, and as Guthrie Jr. fell back to tenth, it was defending champion DeJong who now had enough drivers between himself and Guthrie Jr. to pick up the points he needed to grab the title. Hart picked up the race win, with DeJong second, Hoffman third, Jerett Brooks fourth in the #527 Synergy Electric Racing/Maxima Racing Oils kart, and Lenk fifth. For his rough driving, Morris was dropped to the last position on the lead lap by officials. Guthrie Jr. finished tenth.

In the championship, DeJong grabbed the title by a scant four points over Guthrie Jr., and although Guthrie Jr. would’ve been a deserving champion, DeJong’s six wins, four second places, one third place, and five pole positions don’t make for too shabby of championship credentials, either, and he is now the first-ever back-to-back championship winner in Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series history- congratulations Mitchell! Guthrie Jr. finished the season in second, with Morris third, Hart fourth, and Brooks fifth.

Junior 1 Kart
After the drama of Modified Kart, the Junior 1 Kart race was much more relaxed, if racing could ever be called that. Starting from the front row, Preston Roben took the early lead in his #210 Duggins Construction/Hoosier kart, followed by Gavin Harlien in the #232 Full Tilt Trophy Karts/Simpson machine, Broc Dickerson in the #223 Dickerson Motorsports/Eibach Springs truck, Darren Hardesty in the #231 Bilstein Shock Absorbers/AlumiCraft entry, and Travis PeCoy in the #211 K&N/King Off Road Racing Shocks truck. Though all the drivers in the top five were trying both lines in the either/or section of the track, the differences in speed and momentum became great equalizers, and while the running order would shuffle as the drivers converged onto the front straight, the order ended up the same by the time the drivers came by the start/finish line. The order remained unchanged for four laps, but just before the competition yellow, championship leader Dickerson finally used the slower, shorter low line to good effect, and remained just ahead of Roben as they crossed the start/finish line. As the young drivers lined up behind the Sanderson Tomcar pace vehicle, it was now Dickerson, Roben, Hardesty, Harlien, and PeCoy in the top five. On the restart lap, Hardesty got around Roben using the split line section, but Roben managed to re-take the position on the next lap. PeCoy had gotten by Harlien for fourth, but Harlien took the spot back on the final lap, while up front, it was Dickerson who stamped his authority on the championship by taking the win, his sixth of the season. Dickerson also got the pole yesterday, as well as the halfway point today; indeed Dickerson had the field well and truly covered today- congratulations on your championship, Broc! Second place went to Roben, with Hardesty third, Harlien fourth, and PeCoy fifth. Eliott Watson, the only other driver who came into today with a shot at the title, finished seventh.

In the championship, Dickerson was the big winner by 59 points over Watson, with Roben third, Wolfgang Ries fourth, and PeCoy fifth.

Junior 2 Kart
In the final kid’s race of the day, it was Shelby Anderson who took the early lead of the Junior 2 Kart fray in her #405 Walker Evans Racing/Anderson’s Nu Power truck. Championship leader Myles Cheek ran second in the #457 CMI/Streight Edje Custom Painting kart, followed by Weston Schuck in the #404 Fiberwerx/Foddrill Motorsports machine, championship challenger Chad Graham in the #410 MavTV/Hart and Huntington entry, and Brock Heger in the #411 Driscoll’s Surf N Skate/Hoosier truck. Heger moved up to fourth on lap two, and after a couple more laps, moved ahead again to take over third, just ahead of the Competition Yellow. As the field was “re-racked and re-stacked” under yellow, the top five drivers were Anderson, Cheek, Heger, Schuck, and Graham, and as the field circled under yellow for a few laps while crews worked to clear broken and stalled vehicles, the lap count wound down enough that as the officials prepared to drop the green flag, a green-white-checkered finish was called for. Anderson got a solid getaway and held her lead on the restart, as did all the top five drivers, but on the final lap, Cheek made a great move as he dove inside Anderson at turn four to take the lead in the best-looking pass of the day thus far. Cheek held on from there to get the win, his sixth of the season. Anderson finished the race in second place, with Heger taking third, Schuck fourth, and Graham fifth. Graham came into today with a decent chance at snagging the title from championship leader Cheek, but with Cheek taking the win and another eight points over Graham today, added to his previous lead of 21 points, the was no doubt that Cheek was a deserving Junior 2 Kart Champion here in 2011- congratulations Myles! Cheek has also made his family the first-ever multi-generation championship-winning family in the history of Lucas Oil Off Road, joining his dad Chuck Cheek, 2009 Lucas Oil Off Road Pro Buggy Unlimited Champion, in the family’s championship-winning ways.

Championship-wise, Cheek picked up the title, with Graham taking second, Heger third, Roben fourth, and Paige Porter fifth.

With that, the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series’ 2011 regular season has come to an end. Join us again for the final day of the 2011 Season, as money and other prizes, along with a whole lot of bragging rights, will all be on the line for the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup. Gates open to the public at 9:00am, with the first race getting underway at 11:30am. Included in tomorrow’s festivities will be the two once-a-year races, the thrilling Pro Lite Unlimited vs. Pro Buggy Unlimited race, and the highly-touted Pro 4 Unlimited vs. Pro 2 Unlimited. Trust me, these are two races you won’t want to miss!

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

• 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.

2011 was a big year for the Arizona Short Course Series, with the addition of the Kingman track and Firebird track, plus a record number of entries and more people attending each race. The points were tight and the rivalries growing, round eight was shaping up for great finale.

The final race of the season was no exception. With 109 entries, it was the biggest race in ASCC history. Race day was Saturday November 12^th, with cooler weather finally setting into Phoenix, racers were excited and eager to race. Even in the practice and heat races there was plenty of crashes and carnage. First up to kick off the final race was the utvs. The utv class has been growing and growing every race this year. In the end Jason Weller dominated the sr1 class and took the championship. In utv unlimited Ty Wolfskill took first and won the battle, but Adam Gruender won the war and took the championship. Next up was the desert buggy class. With the points battle coming down to the last race, it made for an exciting final race. In the end Ryan Therkildsen took the win, Kevin Streety took second and Austin McIntyre got third.

After that was the exciting finale to the trophy kart series, with four classes there was plenty of action. In junior 2, Parker Steele battled it out for the win. Isabella Naughton took second and Haylee Melton swept third. In outlaw trophy kart Orion Rodriguez got the win after Ryan Anderson was bumped down to second due to passing under a yellow flag. Mia Chapman took third and claimed the championship. Then the junior 1 trophy karts hit the track running and after a fierce battle, “Scooter” Gavin Harlen grabbed the win, with Conner McMullen taking second and the championship. Cole Dexheimer finished third. Last but not least was the modified trophy karts. High flying action and intense battles made for an awesome final race. Mitch Guthrie Jr, edged out Mitchell Dejong for the win. Jeff Hoffman got third.

Next was the stars of short course, the unlimited buggy and truck classes. The race started off with a roar, cars and truck launching through the air. In the end, Wade Wyman beat Eddie Tafoya by .410 of a second for the win a photo finish. Bradley Morris took third in his first time in his v-8 prolite. One of the most popular classes in the ASCC series took to the track next, the open v-8s. With the close points battle between Shaun Davis and Kevin Mcmurray coming down to the wire it was an awesome race. Kevin Mcmurray took the win and Shaun Davis got second with Kevin Ketchner taking third in his Dodge Diesel nicknamed the fumigator due to the massive amounts of black smoke the truck produces. In mini mod, Sheldon Creed got the win over Mike McCarthy, and Stacy Pike earned a hard fought third. In formula 4×4 Jack Adams took the win and the championship, after a great race with 7 entries in the class. The final buggy class to take the track was the limited buggy class, and every race it is always and awesome show. Always having at least eight entries in the class made for great wheel to wheel racing. Dillion Ayers arose victorious winning the race and the championship.

Finally the last race of the day the grassroots racing of the stock full size and mini division. With nine entries in each class, it was the biggest turnout in history and the racing would be nothing short of incredible. In the end, Jason Ladder took his first win in stock truck, beating out Will Munns in the race, however Munn did take the championship. Chad Hummer took third place. In stock mini, Neil Weaver won the battle and the war in his Toyota, taking first in the race and the championship. Shaun Davis took second only a few second behind Weaver in his first appearance in stock mini. Keith Brinbaum took a hard fought battle. That would conclude an amazing second season of the ASCC, with the announcement of the resurrection of the ADRA Arizona Desert Racing Association. Big things are going to come the racing world in 2012.

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Fort Mill, S.C. (Nov. 10, 2011) – Carl Renezeder hit an incredible 97 wins Sunday at the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series (LOORRS) Round 14 in Pro 4, securing his spot as number one, leading points for Pro 4.

Crandon, WI. The Crandon International Off Road Raceway (CIORA) is pleased to officially announce the date for the spring Brush Run. The second largest event in short course off road racing in the country will be held at the world famous ‘Big House’ in Crandon, Wisconsin on June 23 &24, 2012. Only to be outdone by the (CIORA) Labor Day World Championship, this spectacular event is experienced by over 15,000 fans who witness the most exciting racing on the 1.75 mile punishing track known as the ‘Big House’ in off road racing circles.
“The Brush Run is a featured event in the TORC Series and one of the two Big House venues; we have a strong fan base, long term sponsors, a great driver line up and 42 years of continuous racing history” said CIORA President, Cliff Flannery.
The 43rd annual Brush Run promises to be the biggest ever attracting fans from all over the Midwest and featuring the professional drivers of the TORC Series and the Sportsman Drivers of Midwest Off Road Racing group (MORR).
The Brush Run is a major event in The Off Road Championship Series (TORC Series) and one of two venues hosted at the ‘Big House’, long considered the Cornerstone Track of short course racing. Drivers from North America will once again showcase their skills as they compete for the coveted Forest County Potawatomi Chairman’s Cup, the featured race of the Brush Run. A record crowd was on hand in 2011 as local favorite Jeff Kincaid (FORD/ BFG) claimed the 18th annual championship grabbing the hole shot racing green to checkers to repeat for the second year in a row.
Action at Crandon International Off Road Raceway is featured on the Velocity Channel and is Sanctioned by USAC. For more information visit us at Crandonoffroad.com

Fans braved chilly conditions and the threat of rain as the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, returned for Round 14 of the 2011 season here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and why not? With just two rounds left in this year’s championship, the title chases are coming right down to the wire, and that means that the action and the excitement are elevated just that little bit further. Tensions were high here in the high desert, and despite the cold weather, the rain stayed away and the spectators packed the stands, rewarded with the treat of yet another terrific day of racing. Did you miss it? Hopefully not, but if so, read on and find out what happened.

Pro 2 Unlimited
It’s no coincidence that Rob MacCachren has the #1 plate on his truck in Pro 2 Unlimited, and with drives like the one he put in today, he continues to do that #1 proud. MacCachren got the lead by turn one, besting none other than fellow front row start Carl Renezeder in the process, and quickly opened a comfortable cushion despite some very slippery, tricky conditions. Once he had a bit of a buffer over second-placed Rob Naughton, MacCachren settled in to a quick, consistent rhythm, and he hardly turned a wheel wrong as he led a stellar field wire to wire to get his fifth win of the season. Behind MacCachren, a couple of other drivers also drove races that were all but mistake-free, which helped them to podium finishes. Rob Naughton took second in the #54 Losi/ReadyLift Ford, and Rodrigo Ampudia recovered from a very rough day yesterday to get third place today in his #36 Lucas Oil/Tecate Ford. Fourth place went to Jeff Kincaid in the #4 Traxxas/Goodwin Competition Ford, who just edged out Brian Deegan by a nose at the line as Deegan tried to recover and straighten out from a near-spin in the final corner. Deegan lost the drag race to the line to Kincaid, and had to settle for fifth place in his #38 Rockstar/Makita Ford.

Points wise, there are now just two drivers left with a chance at the championship, and despite dropping an extra spot on the final lap today, Deegan still leads comfortably with 632 points. MacCachren has done a great job in battling back from a rough opening weekend, but must hope for some bad luck for Deegan if he wants to defend his title, as he sits a distant 34 points back with 598.

Pro 4 Unlimited
Kyle LeDuc scored the big win in Pro 4 Unlimited yesterday, stealing the top spot from Carl Renezeder on the final lap, and today, Renezeder was out to make sure that this didn’t happen twice this weekend. Curt LeDuc led for the first four laps, but after dropping three spots in less than a lap, a rollover wasn’t exactly the cap he was looking for in today’s race, despite the fact that his son Kyle was now running up front in the #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford. After the competition yellow, Renezeder managed to get inside of LeDuc and take the lead at turn three in his #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire Ford, but a bicycle in turn five handed the lead right back just two laps later. Renezeder was determined to get the win, though, and on the penultimate lap, he drove it deep into turn eight to get alongside LeDuc. The two stayed side by side through turn two on the final lap, but a half spin caused LeDuc to stall there, and Renezeder walked away from there to take his 98th career off-road win. LeDuc recovered and managed to re-pass his brother Todd, who’d gotten by while Kyle was trying to get going after his stall, getting alongside in the final corner and edging his brother by a nose as the two jumped and collided door to door at the finish line. Todd LeDuc finished third in the #4 Rockstar/Makita Ford, with Greg Adler fourth in the #5 ProComp/Team Associated Ford, and Kent Brascho rounded out the top five in his #8 K&N/KMC Wheels Ford.

In the championship chase, Carl Renezeder becomes the first driver to wrap up a title this season, as his grand total of 674 points so far is mathematically enough to lock it up. Congratulations Carl on your eighth short course off-road championship, you are a deserving winner!

Pro Lite Unlimited
After taking the points lead yesterday, Brian Deegan’s recent dominance of Pro Lite Unlimited continued today, as Deegan again went right to the front from the outset in his #38 Lucas Oil/Gibson Performance Exhaust Ford. Chris Brandt, having lost the points lead yesterday, was still lurking close behind in the early going, with Corey Sisler running between them, and when Sisler’s machine came to a stop on lap four, it looked like a great battle for the win would break out between the top two points contenders. Unfortunately, Deegan was already well out in front by this time, and even though the competition yellow bunched the field back up and erased Deegan’s lead, “The General” again drove a flawless race, giving Brandt no daylight and no room to try and make a move. In the end, Brandt made some valiant dives into turn eight, but some mistakes in other parts of the track cost him dearly, as Deegan came home the winner, scoring more valuable points in the quest for his second points title in three years. Brandt is still seeking that elusive championship, and finished second today, with RJ Anderson third in the #37 Walker Evans Racing/Polaris Dodge, Cameron Steele fourth in the #16 Monster Energy/Yokohama Ford, and Casey Currie fifth in the #2 Monster Energy/Magnaflow Nissan.

In the points hunt, Deegan’s sweep of the weekend gave him the championship lead yesterday, and expanded that lead today. Deegan now has a six-point edge over Brandt in the championship, 659 to 653, with just one round left to go. These two are the only two drivers who are mathematically eligible for the title, and you can be sure that with so few points between them, nothing will be left on the table at Firebird in December.

Super Lite
In Super Lite, young Sheldon Creed again showed why he is certainly one of the stars of the future, grabbing the early lead in his #74 A.M. Ortega/Simpson truck. Creed lost the lead to Austin Kimbrell in the early going, and ran second for the middle of the race, waiting in the wings for a chance to re-take the lead. Creed’s chance came on the restart lap after the competition yellow, and he dove inside of Kimbrell in turn one to take the lead back. From there, Creed drove beautifully, and held his lines perfectly to keep Kimbrell at bay. Kimbrell tried hard to get the lead back, but it was to no avail, as Creed picked up the win in just his fourth race in this class- his fourth race ever in a pro class! On top of that, at just 14 years of age, Creed becomes the youngest-ever pro class winner in Lucas Oil Off Road history- congratulations Sheldon! Second went to Kimbrell in the #88 Kimbrell Racing/Xtreme Machine & Fabrication entry, with Chad George third in the #42 Yokohama/Lazer Star machine. Fourth place was Ryan Beat, who filled in terrifically for Jason Ellis in the #89 Dethrone Racing/MavTV truck, and fifth went to Patrick Clark in the #25 BFGoodrich Tires/Method Race Wheels machine.

In the title chase, George was the best finisher of those still mathematically eligible, and has padded his leading cushion by four points to take his lead to 12 over Clark, 626 to 614. RJ Anderson is also still in the running, but is now a real outside shot at 589.
With that, the weekend’s action has come to a close here in Las Vegas.

Join us again in just five weeks’ time, as the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series returns for its final weekend of action for 2011. The final regular season race, Round 15, will take place December 10th at Firebird International Raceway in the southern Phoenix suburb of Chandler, and will be followed on December 11th by the big money race: The Lucas Oil Off Road Challenge Cup! Get your tickets now, you won’t want to miss this one!

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

The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, is back in action this weekend, with Rounds 13 and 14 here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With just three races left in the regular season, the drivers at the top end of the field are sharpening their focus as they try to pick up every possible point in their pursuit of their class championships. Today’s Round 13 saw some great racing on the longest track of the series, and the weather held up well as folks packed the stands under pleasant late fall sunshine. Read on to find out how the day’s events unfolded.

Pro 2 Unlimited
The Pro 2 Unlimited race was really a good one, and it was Jeremy “Showtime” McGrath who put his pole starting position to good use, grabbing the early lead in his #2 Monster Energy/ReadyLift Ford. McGrath has had several strong runs this season, but today’s was his best yet, as he ran quick, clean, and smooth, and never left any room for those behind to even put a nose near him. Brian Deegan, Rob MacCachren, and Robby Woods all made various bids to get to the front, but none ever really presented a real challenge to the leader McGrath, who led the race wire to wire and picked up his first career Lucas Oil Off Road victory. McGrath is immensely popular with the fans, and they cheered in unison as one of the all-time greats of the dirt finally stood atop the box here today. MacCachren finished the race second in his #1 Rockstar/MasterCraft Safety Ford after edging by Deegan on the penultimate lap; Deegan finished third in his #38 Rockstar/Makita Ford. Fourth went to Carl Renezeder in the #17 Lucas Oil/Team Associated Ford, charged up to fourth through a rough and tumble field. Rounding out the top five was Rob Naughton, who survived multiple mishaps to pick up a strong finish in his #54 ReadyLift/Losi Ford.

In the points chase, Deegan continues to lead the field handily, and despite dropping a couple of points to second-placed MacCachren, Deegan is still up by 43 over MacCachren, 590 to 547. Renezeder lies third with 539, while McGrath’s win jumps him up to fourth at 515. Greg Adler rounds out the top five, and has 511 points.

Pro 4 Unlimited
The Pro 4 Unlimited race was in some ways a very somber one, as the field was without its defending champion, the crowd favorite, Rick Huseman, who along with his brother Jeff and their friend Danny Hicks, lost his life in a plane crash just three weekends ago. In a touching tribute, Rick’s brother Kevin brought the famous #36 Monster Energy/E3 Spark Plugs/Traxxas Toyota out on track one final time, pacing the field before the start of the race. With its engine singing one final time, #36 headed off the track to make way for the race’s start, and it was Josh Merrell who led the field in the early going. Merrell did a great job to hold the lead for several laps, moving clear of the field in his #22 Hart and Huntington/MavTV Ford, but a rollover on lap seven ended his first place run. Fortunately, Merrell landed on his wheels and continued in fourth place. From there, Carl Renezeder inherited the lead in his #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire Ford, and held off Kyle LeDuc and his #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford for all but a few corners.

Unfortunately for Renezeder, those few corners were the last few, as LeDuc drove deep into turn six, forced Renezeder way wide, and got the lead. Renezeder tried to battle back, but couldn’t quite get the lead back, and LeDuc went on to pick up the win. Renezeder took second, Merrell third (his first-ever podium), Todd LeDuc fourth in the #4 Rockstar/Makita Ford, and Mike Jenkins fifth in the #47 Traxxas/BFGoodrich Tires Ford.

With Huseman’s passing, Renezeder is now running pretty far out in front in the points chase. With a total of 624 points to date, Renezeder leads second-placed Kyle LeDuc, who has 557, by 67 points, and unless LeDuc is within 52 points of Renezeder by tomorrow’s end, Renezeder will lock up the 2011 championship. No other drivers are mathematically eligible for the title, but the battle for third place is pretty close. Todd LeDuc leads that battle with 503, with Kent Brascho fourth at 498, and Jerry Daugherty fifth with 488.

Pro Lite Unlimited
With a very close race between Chris Brandt and Brian Deegan in the championship chase, today’s race would be crucial, as every point would have big significance. Deegan ran in second for just a couple of laps, but by lap three, he drove deep into the final corner to grab the lead, a lead he would never relinquish. With all kinds of shuffling, bumping, and banging going on behind him, Deegan and his #38 Lucas Oil/Metal Mulisha Ford were once again untouchable, and for the eighth time this season, he came away with the win. Behind Deegan, young RJ Anderson had a great race in the #37 Walker Evans Racing/South Point Dodge, as he had what was easily the best finish of his career in this class, taking second place in a stacked field. Third went to Brandt in the #82 BFGoodrich Tires/KarTek Toyota, who almost certainly was hoping for a better finish as he continues to pursue that elusive title. Series newcomer Andrew Caddell had an impressive debut after taking fourth in his #43 Traxxas/AMSOil Dodge, and rounding out the top five was Justin “Bean” Smith, whose had his first run in this class in the #25 Jeff Carpenter Racing/Performance Utility Supply Ford.

Points-wise, things continue to swing in favor of Deegan, who has now taken the points lead by three points over Brandt, 608 to 605. These two are in a two-horse race for the title, as third place is Cameron Steele, way back at 522. Fourth is Jimmy Stephensen with 505, and just behind him is Rodrigo Ampudia, who lies fifth with 501.

Super Lite
Kyle Lucas made his Super Lite debut this weekend, and did a great job to lead the field for the first couple of laps. However, Lucas had a bad corner in turn one on the third lap, dropping three positions and handing the lead to Brent Fouch. Fouch’s lead was short-lived, though, as RJ Anderson moved into the lead before the competition yellow in his #37 Dethrone Racing/Goodyear truck. Racing in his third class of the day, Anderson did a great job to hold off another “third class of the day” driver, Chad George, as he went one better than he did in Pro Lite Unlimited to get the win here in Super Lite. George finished second in his #42 Kawasaki/Yokohama machine, with Fouch third in the #21 Forgiven Energy/General Tire entry, Patrick Clark fourth in the #25 BFGoodrich Tires/Method Race Wheels truck, and Sheldon Creed fifth in his #74 A.M. Ortega/BFGoodrich Tires machine.
As far as the championship goes, George has widened his lead to eight points over Clark, 580 to 572. Anderson’s big win brings him a little closer to the two drivers ahead of him, and he now sits 27 points out of first with 553. Fouch is fourth with 475, and Jessie Johnson is now fifth with 455.

That wraps up the day’s action from here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Join us again tomorrow for Round 14 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, with gates opening to the public at 9:00am. Racing kicks off at 11:00am with the Junior 2 Karts, and Opening Ceremonies will go off at 1:30pm. The championship chases are coming right down to the wire, and you won’t want to miss a minute of the action, so get here and get your front row seat for a great day of racing!

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

Here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, kicked off Round 13 with qualifying this afternoon. There were a lot of new things shaking up the drivers lineups, most notably the absence of defending Pro 4 Unlimited Champion Rick Huseman, who passed away along with his brother Jeff and their friend Danny Hicks less than three weeks ago. While we are all still reeling at this tragic loss, there have also been some bright moments this weekend, including the addition of eight new drivers to the Lucas Oil Off Road ranks, all of whom are racing this series for the first time this season. Seven of these eight are series rookies, racing the series for the first time ever, and we wish to say welcome to all of them, including our own lead television commentator, the one and only Mr. Ken Stout, who will be driving in Pro Buggy Unlimited this weekend. Also, there are four drivers, all of them highly notable (Justin “Bean” Smith, Chad George, Patrick Clark, and Kyle Lucas), who are moving up into new and faster ranks of vehicles this weekend. All except Lucas will continue to compete in their previous classes as well, and we wish these drivers success in their new endeavors. With all that in mind, here’s how qualifying shook out this afternoon.

Super Lite
The first class out on track for this afternoon’s qualifying session was Super Lite, and a big field of 17 trucks made their bid for pole position. At the head of the field, it was pretty much a two horse race for top honors, and the one point that goes with it, as RJ Anderson and Patrick Clark traded fastest lap with one another. Clark went fastest on the opening lap, turning a 1:17.568. Anderson then moved ahead with a 1:17.478 on lap two, but a 1:17.112 on lap three and a personal best of 1:16.984 on lap four meant Clark was back in front with just one lap to go. On the final lap, Anderson just managed to edge ahead again, taking pole position with a 1:16.853. Clark finished a close second, with Chad George third at 1:17.544, Brent Fouch fourth at 1:17.562, and Sheldon Creed fifth with a 1:18.454.

Pro 4 Unlimited
Next up was Pro 4 Unlimited, and following the recent tragic passing of reigning champion Rick Huseman, the field certainly felt a little empty this afternoon. Nonetheless, the drivers did the best thing they could in Huseman’s honor, as they suited up again and headed out on track. Kyle LeDuc picked up right where he left off after Round 12, and carried his two-race-win momentum into a dominating performance here this afternoon. LeDuc topped the field after an opening lap of 1:08.246 in his #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford, and improved his session-leading time to 1:06.833. No other driver was able to go quicker than LeDuc, who improved his time again on the final lap, taking the pole in a time of 1:06.805. Second place went to Carl Renezeder in the #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire, with a best lap of 1:07.059. Josh Merrell had a great run to take third with a 1:07.673 in his #22 Hart and Huntington/MavTV Ford, while Kyle LeDuc’s brother Todd was just eight thousandths slower at 1:07.681 in his #4 Rockstar/Makita Ford. Rounding out the top five was Greg Adler in the #5 ProComp/Team Associated Ford; Adler’s best lap was a 1:08.243.

Pro Lite Unlimited
The biggest field this afternoon, surprising as it may seem, was Pro Lite Unlimited, which saw 18 trucks take to the track. Fastest on the opening lap was Austin Kimbrell in the #88 Kimbrell Racing Ford, who turned a 1:16.970. Kimbrell continued to lead after improving to a 1:16.586 on lap two, and that lap held up through the end of lap three. However, it was then Brian Deegan who moved into the session’s lead with a 1:16.452 on lap four in his #38 Lucas Oil/Metal Mulisha Ford. Deegan’s lap was good enough to score him the pole, as well as the one point that goes with it, moving him within just two points of championship leader Chris Brandt, who was unable to finish a single lap in this afternoon’s session. Lap four must have been the lucky lap for several drivers, because as Deegan moved into the session lead, both Kyle LeDuc and RJ Anderson also moved past Kimbrell on the same lap, taking over second and third for the remainder of the session. LeDuc ended up second with a 1:16.504 in his #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford, while Anderson was third with a 1:16.547 in his #37 Walker Evans Racing/Goodyear truck. Kimbrell’s earlier time was good enough for fourth, and meant that the top four drivers were covered by just 0.136 seconds this afternoon! Rounding out the top five was the #43 Traxxas/AMSOil truck of Andrew Caddell; Caddell’s best lap was a 1:17.198.

Pro Buggy Unlimited
Reaching the halfway mark in this afternoon’s run of qualifying sessions, it was now time for Pro Buggy Unlimited. Jerry Whelchel came out firing, grabbing the early lead with a 1:14.270 in his #5 Select Glass/BFGoodrich Tires Foddrill, but on the next lap, it was Justin “Bean” Smith who turned the fastest lap of the session, a 1:13.454 in his #19 Metal Mulisha/Competitive Metals AlumiCraft. Smith took the pole, with Cody Freeman also eventually going quicker than Whelchel, and his 1:14.189 in the #2 Race Fuel Energy Drink/Freeman’s Carpet Service Racer was good enough for second place. Third went to Whelchel, fourth to John Holmes in the #3 Prolong Super Lubricants/DWT Racer (1:14.830), and fifth to Steven Greinke in the #23 SC Fuels/Concourse Racer (1:14.988).

Pro 2 Unlimited
Next up was Pro 2 Unlimited, and after the first lap, it was Rodrigo Ampudia who was on top in the #36 Papas & Beer/Lucas Oil Ford after turning a 1:10.791. On lap two, however, Robby Woods took over the top spot with a 1:10.766 in his #99 Lucas Slick Mist/General Tire Chevrolet. Woods then cemented his position with a 1:10.395 on the final lap, as he took his first career pole position- way to go Robby! Second place went to Ampudia, while third went to Greg Adler in the #10 4 Wheel Parts/Magnaflow Ford, whose best lap was a 1:10.838. Rob MacCachren finished fourth with a 1:11.037 in his #1 Rockstar/MasterCraft Safety Ford, and Brian Deegan rounded out the top five with a 1:11.538 in his #38 Rockstar/Makita Ford.

Limited Buggy
In Limited Buggy, the championship chase is closer than in any other class, which means that every point on offer is a big deal for the championship contenders, and that the one point for pole position this afternoon was one that many drivers were after. Bradley Morris was the session leader after lap one in his #304 K&N/Lucas Oil AlumiCraft. Morris’ time of 1:18.040 held up for nearly the entire session, but on the final lap, three other drivers managed to go quicker, and it was Quentin Tucker in the #377 General Tire/Sara Lee buggy who was fastest of all. Tucker’s 1:17.418 garnered him the pole (the first of his Lucas Oil Off Road career- congratulations Quentin!), and moved him up by one point in the standings, leaving him just two points behind championship leader Curt Geer, and one point behind second placed Dave Mason. That’s right, the top three drivers are now just two points apart! Geer finished second with a 1:17.746 in his #385 Green Army/Bowden Development, Inc. Lothringer, with John Fitzgerald (also in the championship hunt, just 23 points behind Geer) third at a 1:17.880 in his #314 Aero Motorsports/Simpson buggy. Morris’ time held up for fourth, and Geoffrey Cooley took fifth with a 1:18.225 in his #322 Competitive Metals/USA Wheel AlumiCraft; Mason finished sixth.

UTV
The final qualifying session of the afternoon was that of the UTVs, and today, it was all about Ryan Beat in the #851 Hart and Huntington/Black Rhino Kawasaki. Beat moved his SR1 to the top of the time sheets from the outset, turning a series of laps of 1:16.145, 1:15.712, and 1:14.269 on laps one, two, and four to eventually take the SR1 and overall poles; nobody was able to top him today. Second in SR1 and overall was Doug Mittag, whose #848 Monster Energy/Oakley Kawasaki did a 1:15.210 on lap four. Chad George topped the Unlimited UTVs and took third overall in his #1 Monster Energy/Funco Kawasaki after a best lap of 1:15.894, while Robert Vanbeekum finished second in Unlimited UTV, fourth overall with a 1:16.533 in the #664 Monster Energy/Muzzys Kawasaki. Rounding out the SR1 podium was Code Rahders, who was also fifth overall after a 1:17.199 in his #816 SuperChips/Black Rhino Yamaha. RJ Anderson filled out the Unlimited UTV top three in his #637 Walker Evans Racing/Holz Racing Products Polaris; his best lap of 1:17.492 gave him seventh overall.

Lucas officials seemed to have timed this afternoon’s qualifying proceedings to near perfections, as only moments after the UTVs cleared the track, the skies opened up with a heavy downpour of rain. Rain continued on into the evening, but the forecast for tomorrow looks good, as it is expected to be sunny and cool with a light breeze. Bring a sweater and head on out to Las Vegas Motor Speedway; gates open to the public at 9:00am, with racing kicking off at 11:30am, and Opening Ceremonies happening at 2:00pm. There are just three rounds left in the 2011 season, so the action will be frantic as our championship chases wind down- don’t miss out!

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

The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, will be bringing their thunder making, ground shaking and fly them through the air short course off road racing show to the motorsports Mecca of Las Vegas this Saturday and Sunday, November 5th and 6th.

For several days now the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series advance team has been busy turning the Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s dirt track into a challenging short course road racing venue complete with multiple high banked turns and jumps that is guaranteed to push the drivers and their vehicles to the limit.

Rounds 13 and 14 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series 2011 season will again feature their 11 racing divisions ranging from youngsters in custom built karts to full sized trucks churning out 800 plus horsepower.

With the conclusion of the current season a little over one month away, championship points are more important than ever and the drivers are expected to push a little harder to collect podium points, for finish positions one through three. Many of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series divisions are currently featuring championship battles that are still too close to call.

THE PRO 4 UNLIMITED DIVISION

This division is one of the reasons why the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series has so many hard core fans. It’s comprised of full sized, four wheel drive, trucks powered by V8 engines capable of producing 800 plus horsepower. The division is also where you will find the racing series’ high profile superstars.

It’s where you will get to see the legendary, multi time, champion Carl Renezeder who currently leads the division’s points standings. Renezeder’s 575 championship points is based on two feature wins and 11 podium finishes.

Sadly, it’s the name of the driver who is second in the Pro 4 standings that is going to garner the most attention this weekend. On the afternoon of October 15th, the short course racing world was stunned to learn that its 2010 champion Rick Huseman tragically perished in a private plane crash just outside of Barstow-California. Also losing his life was Jeff Huseman, a mechanic for his older brother’s team as well as a rising star driver in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Pro Lite division.

To this very minute the tragic loss of the 38 year old driver still leaves a painful void among Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series competitors and officials. There is no telling how many races and championships this driver would have won in his career had it not been for this terrible tragedy.

THE PRO 2 UNLIMITED DIVISION

This division for two wheel drive full sized trucks also features V8 powered engines producing 800 plus horsepower. Like their four wheel drive counterparts, the Pro 2 also has a huge fan base and a full roster of short course racing superstars.

Fan favorite Brian Deegan leads the division standings with 544 points based on two feature wins and seven podiums. Rob MacCachren, a four time winner, is 47 points away from the leader in second but is only two points ahead of Carl Renezeder in third who has won two features this year. This battle for second in the division standings could get very intense this weekend.

THE PRO LITE UNLIMITED DIVISION

This division features compact or mid sized two wheel drive trucks powered by four cylinder engines that produces 300 horsepower.

The division also features a skin tight points battle between two drivers. Chris Brandt leads the standings with 559 points based on a highly consistent three wins and ten podiums. But Brandt will have to keep Brian Deegan in his rear view mirror during the Las Vegas weekend. Deegan, with seven wins and nine podiums, is only six points away from taking the lead.

THE SUPER LITE DIVISION

The division is comprised of two wheel drive, mid sized trucks with two seats, and 200 horsepower engines. This division is a spec class and is considered to be a very affordable entry level into the world of Lucas Oil Off Road short course racing.

The Super Lites also has a skin tight championship profile. Chad George’s two wins and seven podiums has allowed him to accumulate 532 points. But it’s just a four point advantage over Patrick Clark who has a feature win and six podiums. Still involved in the points profile for this division is three time winner R J Anderson who is 29 points out of first.

THE PRO BUGGY UNLIMITED DIVISION

Desert buggy racing is extremely popular with the Lucas Oil Off Road fans. Because they are smaller and lighter than a truck the, buggys can spread out three and four wide on portions of the race course. They are powered by 1650 cc water cooled four cylinder engines. Volkswagen Type One engines are also allowed.

Mike Porter, a two time winner with nine podiums holds a 30 point lead over three time winner Justin Smith in the division’s points standings.

THE LIMITED BUGGY DIVISION

A slightly smaller version of Lucas Oil Off Road buggy racing, these cars operate on 1600cc Volkswagen Type One power plants.

This division is also hosting a too close to call championship battle. Veteran Curt Geer leads the standings with 540 points based on three wins and six podiums. 16 points away in second is Dave Mason with one feature and eight podiums. In third, also 16 points out, is Quentin Tucker with four wins and five podiums.

THE UTV SR1 AND UNLIMITED DIVISIONS

UTV racing is the most recently added addition to the Lucas Oil Off Road racing line up. The SR1 class are heavily modified UTV’s powered by engines up to 1000 cc displacement. The weapons of choice are the Yamaha Rhino or the Kawasaki Teryx. The unlimited class is also a heavily modified UTV with 800 cc engines.

Corry Weller leads the SR1 UTV Division with 555 points based on a feature win and nine podiums. John Dempsey, with a feature win and seven podiums, is 12 points behind him in second while three time winners Doug Mittag and Code Rahders are third and fourth 22 and 27 points behind the leader.

R J Anderson leads the Unlimited UTV class with 582 points based on a very consistent five wins and ten podiums. Three time winner Chad George is 18 points away in second while two time winner Robert Vanbeekum holds down third 27 points out.

THE JUNIOR 1, JUNIOR 2 AND MODIFIED KART DIVISIONS

The race vehicles in these three divisions are single seat, custom built, mini race trucks for young drivers eight to 15 years old. These divisions represents Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series’ efforts to develop their next crop of short course racing stars who will power the sport into the future for many years to come.

Broc Dickerson leads the Junior 1 Kart division with 561 points based on two wins and eight podiums and holds a 37 point advantage over six time winner Eliott Watson. A September 24th race that only netted ten points is the reason why Watson isn’t leading the standings. It’s an example of how important podium finishes are in the LUCAS OIL OFF ROAD RACING SERIES points structure. Feature winner Preston Roben is third in the standings only two points away from second.

In the Junior 2 Kart class Myles Cheek has 548 points based on five wins and nine podiums. He holds a 21 point advantage over two time winner Chad Graham.

In the Modified Kart class Mitchell Gutherie Jr’s 544 points are based on three wins and seven podiums. The young man is 16 points ahead of five time feature winner Mitchell DeJong.

In addition to all of this short course racing action, there will be plenty of special attractions that makes a Lucas Oil Off Road weekend so very special. The Las Vegas weekend will include special presentations by the Rockstar Energy Drink FMX as well as a Ready Lift Monster Truck demonstration.

Also filled with special activities will be the Lucas Oil Off Road fully loaded fan zone featuring special static displays, a large variety of food booths and vendors presenting everything from race trucks to T-shirts.

The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Las Vegas weekend is going to be packed with action and fun. But if you can’t make it to Las Vegas to see the show in person, there is another alternative. That would be the Lucas Oil Off Road television package. Highlights from rounds 13 and 14 from Las Vegas will be presented by CBS Sports on November 26 and on the SPEED Channel on December 3rd. Check your local listings orwww.LucasOilOffRoad.com for more information.

By all measures this has been a banner year for Valley Off Road Racing Association (VORRA).  In addition to their traditional Yerington desert race in northern Nevada they added a new 500 mile race between Fernley and Lovelock and a 24 hour endurance race in Fallon.  VORRA is somewhat unique in that they run both desert races and short course races in the same series.  They also use the same vehicles, which gives a rare opportunity for a few lucky people to co-drive in a short course race.  The season kicked off last March with short course racing at Prairie City SVRA near Sacramento, and it was at Prairie City where championships would be decided as teams pulled out all of the stops in an effort to add more trophies to their mantle.

Perennial champion Sam Berri had the Class 1 title locked up, but the overall title that Berri has made a habit of taking home was less certain.  Upstart Sam Cothrun has a similar commanding lead in Group T and the two were tied for season points, with Berri taking the overall win in Yerington and Fallon, and Cothrun taking the overall win at the MasterPull USA 500.  Points are weighted by class size in addition to finishing position, using the simple premise that a larger field is more difficult to beat.  This gave Cothrun a boost… until Sam Berri took matters into his own hands and showed up with three cars to Prairie City!  No one turns down an opportunity to drive, and Bobby Martin and Shannon Harwell were the lucky shoe men for Berri in the six cylinder Class 1 car he normally races in VORRA and his Class 10 car (respectively).

Berri also offered to pay Class 8 racer Don German’s entry fee if he raced in Class 1.  Don and his son Chris trade off driving duties and this gave them the opportunity to both get some track time and offer rides to friends.  Sam Berri drove the LS-powered single seater that he usually reserves for Best in the Desert, winning five out of six Prairie City Class 1 motos for the weekend.  Of particular interest was that Berri normally dominates with his six cylinder car, but the car was mid-pack with Bobby Martin behind the wheel, suggesting that it is Berri’s skills more than equipment that keep him at the front.

If Sam Berri’s buggy rental program was not enough to worry Sam Cothrun, “Mr. 1450” Dan Vance came up from Huntington Beach for a little North versus South Civil War in Group T.  Vance sponsor Total Chaos has been a loyal VORRA supporter and wanted to inject some excitement into the weekend, adding a second 4.0L-powered TC Toyota alongside VORRA regular Mike Koenig.  For those unfamiliar with Group T, it combines multiple truck classes like 7200, 1450, 8, and even Trophylite into one large class for a higher car count that results in more competition and bigger purses.  Surprisingly these different classes have been very competitive amongst each other in previous VORRA races, and Prairie City was no exception.  Competition between Vance’s 1450, Don German’s Class 8, Jake Hallenbeck’s modified Trophylite, and Cothrun’s 7200 truck was tight all weekend long.

Of course there was more going on that just Group T and Class 1, with 34 cars showing up to race.  VORRA has a class for just about everything, from Class 11 bugs and UTVs to Suzukis and a healthy number of Class 9s.  At one point the Suzukis and UTVs were even on the course at the same time, and we were finally able to put to rest the debate about which are faster (the UTVs).  Each class ran three “motos” on each Saturday and Sunday, with the combined finishing position used to declare a winner for each day.  The one mile course was changed up from Saturday to Sunday, with Sunday’s course favoring horsepower with a longer straight section and less jumps.  VORRA kept things fun for the whole team with pumpkin carving and a costume party on Saturday night, then Powder Puff and Mechanics races on Sunday afternoon.  And that overall series champ?  The points are so close after Prairie City that VORRA is still crunching the numbers on their super computer, “but I guarantee you that someone named Sam will be the winner,” quipped promoter Wes Harbor.  Check the VORRA and short course forums on RDC for all of the team stories for the weekend and the final points champions.

[Show as slideshow]

Saturday Results-

Class 1

Moto1- Sam Berri, Steve Sullivan, Don German

Moto2- Sam Berri, Steve Sullivan, Arden Dennington

Moto3- Sam Berri, Steve Sullivan, Bobby Martin

Group T

Moto1- Dan Vance, Jake Hallenbeck, John Manfroy

Moto2- Don German, Jake Hallenbeck, Sam Cothrun

Moto3- Don German, Dan Vance, Sam Cothrun

Class 9

Moto1- Jay Schroeder, Dave Oram, Russell Anderson

Moto2- Jay Schroeder, Russell Anderson, Dave Oram

Moto3- Russell Anderson, Scott Layton, Eric Steiger

Class 10

Moto1- Patrick Timmons, Red Team Racing, Mike Lehners

Moto2- Arden Dennington, Patrick Timmons, Shannon Harwell

Moto3- Patrick Timmons, Red Team Racing, Mike Lehners

Zukiworld

Moto1- Derek Anderson, Eric Bewley, Bud Bewley

Moto2- Dave Capell, Derek Anderson, Eric Bewley

Moto3- Dave Capell, Derek Anderson, Eric Bewley

UTV 1000

Moto1- Chris Willing, Bill Hermant

Moto2- Chris Willing, Bill Hermant

Moto3- Chris Willing, Bill Hermant

UTV 800

Moto1- Dennis Jean, Don Hamilton, Jake Greco

Moto2- Dennis Jean, Jake Greco, Don Hamilton

Moto3- Jake Greco, Dennis Jean, Don Hamilton

Sunday Results-

Class 1

Moto1- Sam Berri, Arden Dennington, Bobby Martin

Moto2- Arden Dennington, Sam Berri, Bobby Martin

Moto3- Sam Berri, Arden Dennington, Bobby Martin

Group T

Moto1- Dan Vance, Don German, Sam Cothrun

Moto2- Don German, Dan Vance, Jake Povey

Moto3- Sam Cothrun, Jake Povey, Bill Jarvis

Class 9

Moto1- Russell Anderson, Eric Steiger

Moto2- Eric Steiger, Russell Anderson

Moto3- Russell Anderson, Eric Steiger

Class 10

Moto1- Patrick Timmons, Red Team Racing, Jim McKay

Moto2- Arden Dennington, Mike Lehners, Patrick Timmons

Moto3- Scott Petersen, Arden Dennington, Patrick Timmons

Zukiworld

Moto1- Dave Capell, Eric Bewley, Derek Anderson

Moto2- Dave Capell, Eric Bewley, Derek Anderson

Moto3- Dave Capell, Eric Bewley, Derek Anderson

UTV 1000

Moto1- Chris Willing, Sean Cook, Bill Hermant

Moto2- Chris Willing, Bill Hermant, Sean Cook

Moto3- Chris Willing, Bill Hermant, Sean Cook

UTV 800

Moto1- Jake Greco, Dennis Jean, Richard Gildersleeve

Moto2- Jake Greco, Dennis Jean, Richard Gildersleeve

Moto3- Jake Greco, Dennis Jean, Richard Gildersleeve

Riverside, California (November 1, 2011) – While a number of tragic events have rocked the motorsports world in recent weeks, none has had a greater effect on the Stronghold Motorsports organization than the tragic loss of short course off road racing Pro4 Champion Rick Huseman and his brother Jeff. Sharing roots in Riverside, California as well as a home in the paddock, the Stronghold organization’s admiration and respect for Rick Huseman and the entire Huseman family extended well beyond the race track. As Rounds 13&14 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series approach, participants and spectators who attend the event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will honor Huseman’s legacy as the humble, soft spoken man of faith who made history as he dominated the off road racing world.

The Pro2 duo of Rob Naughton and Jeremy McGrath arrive in Las Vegas determined to stand on top in these crucial final rounds of racing. At Las Vegas, Naughton will be feature a very special livery to coincide with the introduction of the first 1/5th scale four wheel drive RC car produced by manufacturer, Losi. With three victories among his four podium results this season, he has firmly entrenched himself among the elite in the class. McGrath, who has shown that he has the skill and determination to run at the front while finishing on the podium in four rounds, now looks to capture the victory that has eluded him thus far this season.

Cameron Steele #16 ProLite

Having equaled his career best fourth place finish in ProBuggy in his last outing, Brandon Bailey continues to fight his way through the pack as he battles with the best in the class. In Las Vegas, Bailey seeks to parlay his progress into a trip to the podium as he continues to elevate his expectations each time he pulls up to the starting line.

Brandon Bailey #17 ProBuggy

Contributions to the Huseman family may be made through The Huseman Memorial Fund

 

Acct#012026019

c/o Premier Services Bank

3637 Arlington Ave.

Suite D

Riverside, Ca. 92506

 

The 2011 Stronghold Motorsports Team:

 

Jeremy McGrath - Monster Energy/ReadyLift Stronghold Motorsports Pro 2 Unlimited (Toyo Tires)

 

Rob Naughton - Stronghold Motorsports/ReadyLift/ Lucas Oil Pro 2 Unlimited (Maxxis Tires)

 

Cameron Steele - Monster Energy/ReadyLift/Stronghold Motorsports ProLite Unlimited (Yokohama Tires)

 

Brandon Bailey - Stronghold Motorsports/Yokohama/ LambEnergy Pro Buggy  (Yokohama Tires)

 

 

Media Inquiries: Please contact Patrick Wagenbrenner – Patrick@Strongholdmotorsports.com

 

Stronghold Motorsports is Sponsored by:

Monster Energy Drink · ReadyLIFT · Lucas Oil Products · Maxxis Tires (Rob Naughton) · Toyo Tires (Jeremy McGrath)· Yokohma Tires  (Cameron Steele/Brandon Bailey) · Lamb Renewable Energy · ProAm Racing Products · Fox Shox · Motive Gear ·  Fiberwerx · Multi Mechanical · Makita ·  MSD Ignition · LOSI R/C · Dart · K&N Filters · Eibach Springs · Spy Optic · Roush Yates Engines · GoPro · Alpinestars · KCHiLites · RSC Equipment Rental ·  Environmental Logistics

 

Starting Friday, November 4th, Las Vegas Motor Speedway will host rounds 13 & 14 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.  The
event guide gives you all the information needed to enjoy the event to the fullest including parking procedures, credentials being used and how to use them, track map, entry & exit points, media information, Race-day & Broadcast schedules, contact information and FanZone high lights.

Please find the event outline available for download here:
http://lucasoiloffroadracing.com/eventguide.pdf

We hope every one has a great time at the race track and enjoys the thrilling excitement of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.

Also do not forget about the Lucas Oil Off Road Xperience Event being held at the track on Wednesday November the 2nd starting at 6:00PM. This event is free to all to attend and there is a free shuttle service available all evening to and from the track. Please go tohttp://lucasoiloffroadracing.com/xperience/ for more information.

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

Adrian’s a veteran of short course racing in the Pro-4, and is always one of the fastest guys on the track. Racing in both the Lucas Oil Off-Road series and the TORC series, Adrian has collected a number of wins this year, including three straight wins at Crandon. Look for Adrian to finish the year strong as he aims for the podium at upcoming races in Las Vegas and Phoenix.

1. How did you get into off-road racing?

Was doing road course racing at the time at the club level and was wanting to turn pro in a race series. I saw off-road racing on TV and was fascinated by how the trucks absorbed the jumps. I called Walker Evans about helping me get involved, and he allowed me to fly out to LA and try his Pro-4. I went out to LA and tested his Pro-4 at Glen Helen on a super small test track. Was hooked on Pro-4 from then on.

2. Your nickname is ” The Wildman”, what earned you that nickname?

Got the nickname from Commentator Scott Rehn, who got it from a kid asking him when the Wildman was going to be racing next. The kid had seen a crash I had at Chicagoland in the Pro-4. My truck rolled and burst into flames. I had fully expected to die, so when I didn’t, I jumped out of the truck and ran to the audience and jumped over the catch fencing looking to hug some race fans because I was so happy to be alive. The race fans all stepped back scared like I was a crazed maniac. The Wildman was born.

3. You swept the weekend at Fall Crandon this year. Was that your best moment in racing to date?

It certainly was up there. Our team’s most dominating performance to date for sure. By the third win, it felt like a party that you didn’t want to end – You just want the party to keep going and going.

4. This is your first season as a member of the Maxxis team. How have the new tires been treating you?

Maxxis tires are impressive. They are a winning tire with excellent grip, sometimes almost too much grip – can you believe that – who ever said they have too much grip?

5. What’s your favorite track? Why?

Crandon is my favorite track. The Fans are excited and dedicated – they stayed through seven rain showers in one day. The speeds are high at that track, and you have to commit to turn one at top speed without knowing what is in front of you – nice pucker factor.

6. As a resident of New York City, do people look at you funny when you tell them you’re an off-road racer?

I am actually a resident of the Virgin Islands. I love the sun and would love to spend all my time there, but I spend a ton of time wearing a suit and tie in NYC. NYC is a town where most people don’t drive, so Off-Road Racing is very foreign to most people. If I walked around in my Neon Orange race suit, people would think it is Halloween or I am a fugitive from the law. Yeehaw!

The off-road community is putting together a special event to celebrate the life of racing superstar Rick Huseman and his brother Jeff who were killed in a plane crash on Oct. 16 near Barstow. The event will be held at Pole Position Raceway in Corona on October 27 beginning at 6:00PM and will raise money for his wife Michelle and two-year-old son Ricky.

The event will feature both silent and live auctions along with world-class indoor karting, food and drink. The nation’s best racers are expected to be in attendance including:

-Jeremy McGrath
-Kyle LeDuc
-Brian Deegan,
-Carl Renezeder
-Rob MacCachren
-Scott Douglas
-Johnny Greaves
-Mike Childress
-Ricky Johnson

-Ryan Vilopoto
-Kyle Loza
-Ryan Friedlinghaus
-Ken Block
-and more to be announced…

Donations and trust fund info to be posted soon
For directions or more information check out www.PolePositionRaceway.com

Silent & Live Auction product donations please send to:
Att: Rick Huseman Memorial Race & Fundraiser
1594 E. Bentley Dr. Corona, CA 92879

For more details please contact:
-Stephanie Johnson 949/230-3750

Industry and Celebrity Benefit Races

We are now accepting driver registrations for both the Industry and Celebrity races at the upcoming benefit at Pole Position in Corona, CA. Because there are only a limited amount of spaces available, we will be accepting entries on a first come first served basis. Please keep in mind that a $50 donation is required to enter either of these races and all donations will go directly to the Huseman Fund. The race categories are defined below:

Celebrity Race - This race is for well known professional drivers or very well known members of the off road industry only.

Industry Race - This is open to anyone who is an active member of the off road industry (mechanic, racer, fabricator, shop owner, web ,marketing, sales in the off road industry, etc).

Below is a schedule of how the races will run:

*6:00pm*

Public Racing – No coupons, credits or comps – $19.95 – Open to all

*7:30pm*

Industry Heat 1 time (top 4 to main event) – No coupons, credits or comps – $50

Industry Heat 2 time (top 4 to main event) – No coupons, credits or comps – $50

Industry Heat 3 time (top 4 to main event) – No coupons, credits or comps – $50

*8:00 pm*

Celebrity Heat 1 time (top 4 to main event) – No coupons, credits or comps – $50

Celebrity Heat 2 time (top 4 to main event) – No coupons, credits or comps – $50

Celebrity Heat 3 time (top 4 to main event) – No coupons, credits or comps – $50

*8:30pm*

Rick Huseman Memorial Video presented by Monster Energy produced by Mad Media

Silent Auction Ends

Live Auction

*9:30pm*

Industry Main (head to head racing scored by position)

Celebrity Main (head to head racing scored by position with trophies provided by Smithline)

Public Racing – No coupons, credits or comps – $19.95 – Open to all

If you are interested in participating in either of these events, please contact either myself or Sherry Vanillo (sherry@lucasoiloffroad.com) immediately to reserve your spot.

If anyone has any further questions, please contact Pole Position Raceway at 951-817-5032
Thank you for the support

Related Links:

Lucas Oil
Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series
Pole Position

Glenview, IL (October 25, 2011) - The Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL Sportsman Banquet was held this past Saturday at the Paper Valley Radisson in Appleton, Wisconsin. The banquet was hosted by MORR (Midwest Off-Road Racing) with 230 off-road enthusiasts in attendance. Before the fun and festivities began, MORR used much the day holding class meetings to discuss concerns and recommendations for the upcoming 2012 TORC Sportsman rule book.

Later in the afternoon, MORR held a General Meeting which included the introduction of the candidates for the 2012 MORR Board.  

Immediately following the meeting voting took place and here is the 2012 MORR Board of Directors.
President - Dan Vanden Heuvel
Vice President - Don Demeny
Treasurer - Greg Stingle
Secretary - Mike Vanden Heuvel
Directors @ Large - Jake Vande Voort, Scott Behnke, Jerry Conrad.

Before the banquet, the "Bench Racing" hour was sponsored by Crandon International Off-Road Raceway and Bark River Off-Road Raceway.

Once everyone found their table and enjoyed their dinner, the festivities began with the opening prayer from Jay Schafer. Then Scott Rehn and Amanda Fonferek put together a beautiful tribute to Rick and Jeff Huseman. The evening continued as the master of ceremonies Cheyne Statezny, kept the crowd entertained all night as the awards were being handed out.

In 2011, the TORC Sportsman Championship Points was funded by a portion of each racer's weekend entry fees, as well as donations from Crandon International Off-Road Raceway, Bark River Off-Road Raceway, and MORR. The Championship points fund awarded just over $20,000 to 31 Sportsman Competitors.

Light Buggy
1st - Greg Stingle
2nd - Matt Gerald
3rd - Todd Lemke
4th - Jaime Kleikamp
5th - Steve Oman
6th - C.Paitl/B. Holtger
Super Stock Truck
1st - Scott Beauchamp
2nd - Brent/Brock Smith
3rd - Justin Keehner
4th - Larry Maciosek
5th - Jerry Conrad

Stock Truck
1st - Matt Ives
2nd - Nick Baumgartner
3rd - Wayne Schunk
4th - Bob Birkholz
1600 Buggy
1st - Brad Erickson
2nd - Mark Steinhardt
3rd - Rob Kinner
4th - Bob Blaney
  Super Buggy
1st - CJ Greaves
2nd - Bob Klaus
3rd - Steve Krieman
Formula 4x4
1st - Brad Lamarche
2nd - Dave Miah
3rd - Charlie Bell
Classix
1st - Dale Chestnut
2nd - Rob Weiland
3rd - Mike Mischler
Super Truck
1st - Dan Baudoux
2nd - Bob Gremler
3rd - Dave Bayer

All the class champions received an Oakley Watch, a MORR commemorative plaque, and a USAC medallion honoring their accomplishments.

Jay Schafer led a contingent from Crandon International Off-Road Raceway that presented the World Championship rings to the winners in attendance.

Then the MORR awards were next on the agenda.
Driver of the Year - Matt Ives,
Team of the Year - Smith Brothers Motorsports,
Rookie of the Year - Nick Baumgartner,
Best Win - Nick Byng,
Hard Charger - Justin Keehner,
Most Improved Driver - Nick Byng,
Tough Luck Award - Don Demeny,
MORR Guy of the Year - Chuck Lund,
MORR Lifetime Achievement Award - Tom & Ruth Schwartzburg,
Farmer John Award - Dan Vanden Heuvel

Thanks to the efforts of Scott Rehn, the MORR Guy of the Year Award includes was also presented with a complimentary weekend stay at the South Point Casino in Las Vegas, compliments of the South Point Casino.

Mastercraft Safety and Impact Racing awarded a driving suit and helmet to Formula 4x4 Champion Brad Lamarche and Single Buggy Champion Greg Stingle.

FSD Designs award a $500 check and vinyl vehicle wrap to Super Stock Truck Champion Scott Beauchamp.
Teamtech Motorsports awarded a Driving suit and seat harness to Single Buggy Champion Greg Stingle and Classix Champion Dale Chestnut.

The first MORR Lifetime Achievement Award went to Tom and Ruth Schwartzburg. The Schwartzburgs have been involved in off-road racing for over 40 years. Early on you could find the Tom in his red two-seat Funco Bandido running at the front of the field, many times with Ruth in the co-driver's seat. Later on they would become involved on the organizational side of the sport; ensuring short-course off-road racing would continue to thrive in the Upper Midwest. Throughout all this time Tom has continued to campaign his VW-powered Super Buggy. In fact, at the final 2011 TORC Sportsman event in Oshkosh, Ruth took the Super Buggy for a spin during the eight-lap mechanics race. Thank you, Tom and Ruth Schwartzburg.

The final award of the night saw Don and Amy Demeny present the "Farmer John" Award.  John Konitzer was the ultimate Midwest off-road racer. His career began during the early days of Crandon. He made the name Konitzer synonymous with Midwest off-road racing. Not only for his ability on the track, but off the track as well. Farmer John would never hesitate to help out his fellow competitor no matter what the situation. This past summer John Konitzer passed away at home with his family.

In honor of "Farmer John" the inaugural award was presented to Dan Vanden Heuvel. Dan epitomizes those same values and has instilled them in his family as they work ensuring off-road racing continues to thrive throughout the Midwest.

Scott Rehn then introduced a video presentation commemorating John Konitzer.

Once the presentations were complete, socializing continued as the music began and many discussed plans for the 2012 season.

Don't forget to check out the MORR Facebook page and website for banquet photos that were taken by Chris Hord of Dirt-Productions.  

Thanks also goes out to Mike Roth Photography for the slide show showcasing the 2011 Sportsman season, Amanda Fonferek for the slideshow tribute to Rick and Jeff Huseman, Scott Rehn for his behind the scenes work on the Farmer John Award presentation, and Nancy Vanden Heuvel for the incredible edible table centerpieces.

2011 TORC Sportsman Total Payback
Race Purse Totals:
Championship Purse Totals:
Contingency Cash & Product Qualifying Totals:
Total 2010 TORC Sportsman Purse:
$81,000.00
$20,000.00
$71,000.00
$172,000.00

www.midwest-offroadracing.com

Colorado Springs, CO 10/20/2011 - The 2011 Traxxas TORC Season is in the bag. Brad Lovell had high hopes for the series finalie the Cycle Ranch near San Antonio, TX. The weekend not only featured two rounds of regular season racing, but also the inaugural $15,000 Traxxas Pro Light Cup. The newly constructed permanent track at the Cycle Ranch was alive with heavy equipment when the teams showed up. Over two dozen brutal jumps chopped up the zig zagging course challenging the nerve of Pro-Light drivers in particular.”The pro-lights are most sensetive to rough courses,” commented driver Brad Lovell, “We played it real safe in practice to protect the truck.” Lovell was back in the seat for the first time since a hair-raising rollover in Chicago only weeks before. The conserative plan worked well and Lovell avoided disaster to qualify in 3rd place. Saturday morning would bring bad luck however as the truck unexpectedly spit out a driveshaft in the last practice round. “Well, we were pretty puzzled,” crew cheif JT Taylor added, “We guessed the shaft was long and fixed it.” The team soon found out in harsh terms that they had not found the problem. On lap 6 of the race, the #44 AMSOIL /Torchmate Nissan again spit out the driveshaft and this time erupted in flames. Luckily the fire went out but the team had broken their only spare shaft and faced heavy repair work.

BRAD & ROGER LOVELL HEADED TO BAJA WITH BFGOODRICH TIRES

2011 TORC SERIES CRANDON VIDEO 

Traxxas TORC Series drivers and officials mourn the death of TORC champion Rick Huseman

“A fierce competitor that always strived to be on top,” said TORC racer Scott Douglas of the great Rick Huseman

By Pat Schutte

INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 20, 2011) – Back in 1996, when professional stadium off-road truck racing was happening in some of the major markets around the country, a then 30-year-old Johnny Greaves (Monster Energy/Toyota/Maxxis) ran into an upstart racer competing in the 7s class trucks – a support race to the headline USHRA Monster Trucks.

The two would hit it off that first quarter of ’96, battling hard and quickly becoming stern adversaries on the track – but at the same time good friends in the pits. Then after an invitation to race the granddaddy of all short course off-road events – TORC’s Crandon International Raceway – Rick Huseman’s (Monster Energy/Toyota/BFG) interest in the sport piqued and he would build a truck for the new Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) Series, which would start up a year or so later. And Greaves and his new buddy, Huseman, would meet up again.

“Rick was the only guy back then where I’d look down the line, see him, and knew for sure I had my hands full,” said Greaves, who tragically lost his friend in a plane crash this past weekend.

Wisconsin and California can be worlds away at times. Blaze orange deer hunters vs. black wetsuit surfers. But the sport of short course off-road racing, born on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, had a way of blurring those lines of difference and brought the off-road guys from the east and Midwest to the same unique playing field as the guys from California. TORC competitor from Wisconsin, Jeff Kincaid (Traxxas/AMSOIL/BFG), raced hard and often against Huseman in the early days of CORR, the two having an epic back-and-forth title shootout in 2001 at Crandon.

“I had more than one championship battle with Rick, dating back to our 7s class (subsequent called PRO Light) racing,” said Kincaid. “But yeah, 2001 on the CORR Series was memorable. Rick came into the final round at Crandon with a 19-point lead and ended up blowing a line on the first day, which put me within a point of him. Then we went into the first turn together on the second day and he wound up rolling, which gave me the championship. But yeah, he was great competitor, top notch and fast, along with being a great person. Didn’t take him long to move up the ladder.”

Michigan’s Chad Hord (BOSS Snowplows/Nissan/AMSOIL), who races TORC’s PRO 2 class, also went at it with Huseman on the track during the CORR era and considers Huseman one of the tougher competitors he’s ever faced.

“I had the privilege of competing against Rick Huseman in the Pro-Lite days of CORR,” said Hord. “Rick was a fierce competitor who always made you push yourself to do better and dig deeper. It was not surprising to see him excel in the PRO 4 class as well – he always strived to be the best. His presence at the track will be greatly missed, because any race involving Rick Huseman was an exciting race to either be in as a driver or watch as a spectator.”

In the mid-2000s Huseman, as Hord pointed out, moved up to the PRO 4 trucks, purchasing Greaves’ ‘slightly used’ (Haha) PRO 4 Toyota Tundra. Greaves was instrumental in delivering Huseman to Toyota, a sponsorship that would carry on through numerous championships for the Huseman Racing Team.

“Toyota was talking to me about adding another truck and I asked Rick if he’d be interested,” recalled Greaves. “So we got him hooked up and he brought along Fabtech and we worked together to get him into his first PR0 4 truck. Huseman would race that Greaves Toyota for a couple years before his brother, Danny Huseman, built Rick his own custom PRO 4.

“Danny is an extremely smart engineer,” said Greaves. “It took a season for them to get things sorted out, but in 2008 he (Rick Huseman) was the guy to beat again.” A major sponsor would again approach Greaves with interest in Huseman as Monster Energy was looking to add another PRO 4 driver to its ranks, which at the time, only included Greaves.

“So for two seasons we drove identical Toyota/Monster Energy trucks,” added Greaves. “Couldn’t tell us apart.”

Huseman would tie Carl Renezeder for the CORR championship that year (’08), after which CORR dissolved. The following season, TORC’s inaugural season, Huseman would capture that PRO 4 title and went on to add the LOORS title in 2010 – finishing second to Greaves for the prestigious overall 2010 TORC PRO 4 title.

Scott Douglas (AMSOIL/BFG/MasterCraft Safety), who lined up next to Huseman often, was most impressed with the California driver’s ability to focus on his racing – and not the ancillary goings on oft associated with motorsports.

“What impressed me the most about Rick was his ability to stay calm, cool and collected off the track and not be affected by the politics and unfortunate confrontation that’s involved with the sport,” said Douglas. “Rick was a stellar guy, never complained and always drove 150-percent. I’m proud to be connected with the same sport as him.”

From a SoCal standpoint 2011 TORC PRO 4 overall champion Rick Johnson (Red Bull/Mopar/Ram/KMC Wheels) was – and still is – a big fan of Huseman’s. A highly-anticipated Johnson/Huseman/Greaves PRO 4 matchup in TORC short course matchup at the sport’s premier tracks of Crandon or Bark River (Mich.) would have been epic had Huseman not been taken from us so early.

“Rick Huseman is one of my heroes and a huge reason why I wanted to race PRO 4,” said Johnson. “His style on and off the track was first class. His family approach to racing was so cool. I will miss him both on and off the track.”

And while Huseman’s rapport with the other drivers was outstanding, his relationship and professionalism with his sponsors formed an equally impressive union as told by BFGoodrich’s Nate Hunt.

“Rick’s talent and determination was obvious to anyone watching him on the race track,” said Hunt. “From a sponsor standpoint, the Huseman team was an absolute pleasure to have on board. Rick was never happy with a 2nd or 3rd. He wanted the top of the box and would drive the tires off the truck to get there. He never made excuses and always took any blame upon himself. If he didn’t win, he felt like he let his race team (family) down, as well as his sponsors. He always looked and spoke professionally, and represented his sponsors well at any given chance.”

Hunt continued: “On a personal note, the behind the scenes part of Rick, is what made him special to me and the BFGoodrich crew at the track. Most of the top drivers in racing have crew members that bring tires over to the truck to get mounted and grooved. On the Huseman team, Rick was that guy. He never failed to express his thanks for work, and for the tires that aided him in his championship runs. This past year was very special as his son Ricky was old enough to ride around on the cart with him and help roll tires. Seeing Rick as a father that loved, wanted to spend time, and involve his son in everything he did is something that I will remember every time I think of Rick Huseman.  To the off road racing community he was a great champion and competitor.  To those of us who had the honor of knowing him, he was a great father, son, husband, and friend.”

Fittingly, we’d like to give the final words from the TORC Series on Rick Huseman’s tragic passing to his friend and competitor, Johnny Greaves.

“I found out on Sunday night when I was packing to head back to Wisconsin,” said Greaves, chocking back the tears, on when he first got word of the plane crash that not only took Rick Huseman, but also Huseman’s brother Jeff and friend Daniel Hicks. “I decided to drive instead to California and see if there was anything I could do to help Rick’s family. During that drive it really started to sink in … many, many miles of thinking – and crying.”

Greaves did his best to gather himself. “I even called his phone just to hear his voice once more time … and obviously he wasn’t there.”

The TORC Series extends its heartfelt condolences to Rick Huseman Racing’s family and friends. A special event celebrating the life of Rick Huseman, and his brother Jeff, will be held at 6 p.m. on Oct. 27th at Pole Position Raceway in Corona, Calif.

About TORC

The Traxxas TORC Series, presented by AMSOIL, is the fastest, most punishing short course racing series on the planet! TORC events are packed with flag-to-flag fender banging as drivers push the limits over whoops and jump-filled natural terrain race tracks. Off-road racing fans come from far and wide to experience the most challenging form of high-octane competition. And once they taste TORC for the first time they’re hooked for life!

Mopar-First Features
Mopar has introduced numerous industry-first features including:

• Camper trailers: first to introduce off-road camper trailers
• Vehicle-information apps: first to introduce smartphone vehicle-information applications, a new channel of communication with consumers
• Electronic owner manuals: first to introduce traditional owner manuals in a DVD and brief user-guide format
• Electronic Vehicle Tracking System (EVTS): first to market with a new interactive vehicle tracking device that sends owner a text when vehicle is driven too fast or too far based on pre-set parameters
• 2011 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak: first to introduce a 500-plus cubic-inch V-10 drag-race package car
• Wi-Fi: first to offer customers the ability to make their vehicle a wireless hot spot
• WiTECH: first to support vehicle diagnosis and software updates leveraging off-the-shelf personal computers and a dedicated wireless tool network

About the Mopar Brand
Mopar is Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand.

Mopar distributes approximately 280,000 parts and accessories in more than 90 countries and is the source for all original-equipment parts for Chrysler, Jeep_®, Dodge and Ram Truck vehicles. Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram vehicles—a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at http://www.mopar.com.

More than 70 Years of Mopar
When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts manufacturer, supplier and distribution system to support the growing enterprise led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Corporation (CMPC) in 1929.

Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) was trademarked for a line of antifreeze products in 1937. It also was widely used as a moniker for the CMPC. The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s—the muscle-car era. The Chrysler Corporation built race-ready Dodge and Plymouth “package cars” equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of “special parts” for super-stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division called Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use.

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On The Internet
Visit Chrysler’s Media Services Web site at http://www.media.chrysler.com for additional Chrysler and Mopar news. For additional information about Mopar, log on to http://www.mopar.com or http://www.moparspeed.com.

For second year in a row  the “Bench Racing Hour”  at the  MORR Sportsman Banquet will be sponsored by Crandon International Off-Road Raceway and Bark River Off-Road Raceway.

“The Sportsman banquet is a great way to celebrate the season’s off-road racing in the Upper Midwest,” notes MORR president Dan Vanden Heuvel. “The Bench Racing Hour is a great way to get things started and thanks to Crandon and Bark River for their continued support of the MORR Sportsman banquet, as well as providing great places to race.”

In addition to the banquet pre-party sponsorship, Crandon and Bark River have once again added money to the TORC Sportsman Year End Championship fund.

Over two hundred fifty racers and supporters of Sportsman off-road racing will be on hand October 22 at the Paper Valley Radisson in Appleton, Wisconsin.

The honored Guests will include the top finishers in each TORC Sportsman class, World Championship presentations, as well as special year end award winners.

So if you have not sent in your reservation please go to:

http://www.midwest-offroadracing.com/2011banquetinvite.pdf  

to print out the form and send your money in asap.