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

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

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

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

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

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

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

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

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

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

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

Photos by Vincent Knakal of Mad Media

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One might assume that racers would try to preserve their vehicles for the big money on the line for Sunday’s Lucas Oil Challenge Cup races, but that was not the case on Saturday. Crews were burning the midnight oil getting their vehicles back together for the $100,000 that was on the line on Sunday. The first truck race was Super Lite, and with the normal car count (unlike the other cup races where classes were combined) they actually had a cleaner race than Saturday!

Austin Kimbrell started on the pole and jumped out to an early lead ahead of Kyle Lucas and RJ Anderson before Mike McCarthy ended up on his lid at Turn 1 on the second lap. They restarted the race and only one more lap went by before Kyle Lucas took the lead from Kimbrell, but he bicycled in Turn 3 and RJ Anderson capitalized in his Walker Evans Racing truck. Once he had a clean track RJ walked away from the rest of the chaos unfolding behind him on his way to a $10,000 pay day. Jesse Johnson rolled and was t-boned by Jason Ellis and Chad George got put into the fence when going three wide through the last turn on the truck. Despite getting bunched up no one had anything for RJ Anderson, and Austin Kimbrell battled with Patrick Clark but eventually had to settle for third.

The next race combined the Pro Lite and Pro Buggy classes. The trucks started in front of the buggies, and despite the disadvantage Cameron Steele showed his true colors running his buggy. The starting order inverted season standings for the top ten in each class and then put the remaining vehicles at the back of the pack. 27 vehicles took the track with Matt Cook and Jacob Pearson starting in the pressure cooker on the first row. Corey Sisler jumped out to an early lead ahead of Kyle LeDuc until the yellow came out when Austin Kimbrell rolled on the step up jump after Turn 3.

Kyle put some distance between the rest of the field and his Rockstar Energy Drink / Toyo Tires truck with Sisler, Brandt, Deegan, and Casey Currie following. It was looking like the trucks were going to walk away with all of the podium spots early on, but Justin “Bean” Smith was methodically working his way through the crowd. On Turns 4 and 5 in particular, Bean was able to carry speed in his Competitive Metals / Metal Mulisha AlumiCraft and pick off trucks like a short course assassin. Pro Lite Unlimiteds started dropping out at the race went on, first with Deegan, then LeDuc experience suspension failure after hard contact, and the engine in Sisler’s AEM Electronics truck going away with a huge James Bond-style smokescreen. This paved the way for Bean to take the $20,000 victory with Brandt in second and Casey Currie somehow finishing in third despite hood covering the entire windshield and blocking visibility out of his Monster Energy truck. On the podium Brandt had some words for Deegan, but the animosity on and off the track was not limited to just these two.

The grand finale of the season was the Pro2 Unlimited versus Pro4 Unlimited Lucas Oil Cup presented by Toyota. Robby Woods started on the pole next to Jeff Geiser. Carl Renezeder chose to drive his 2WD Lucas Oil / General Tires Ford, feeling that the starting position was a bigger advantage than 4WD. On Saturday, the Pro4 Unlimiteds ran about two seconds faster than the Pro2 Unlimiteds with lap times around 45 seconds. The Pro4s started half a lap back from the Pro2s, with Curt LeDuc starting next to rival Adrian Cenni.

Robby Woods jumped out to an early lead in the Lucas Slick Mist /Superchips Chevy and held it through the first half of the race ahead of Carl Renezeder. It took a few laps for the fastest Pro4s to catch the Pro2s, but the caution came out when Rodrigo Ampudia rolled the Papas and Beer Ford multiple times on Turn 4. While the tight right hand Turn 3 claimed most the victims on Saturday, Turn 5 was the killer on Sunday. It was the final turn on the track after the either / or section when the two lines converged before the main straight.

The caution bunched up the field, and Kyle LeDuc and Adrian Cenni were taking advantage of the situation and chewing through the Pro2s. Kyle seemed to pass a competitor in every corner in his Rockstar Energy Drink / Makita Tools Ford and set the fast lap for the race. Unfortunately right after taking the lead, Kyle lost a right rear wheel, ending his chances for victory and causing Evan Evans to roll in the same spot Ampudia has tossed his truck just a few laps prior. This put Robby Woods back up front until Todd LeDuc rolled Woods on Turn 3, causing him to get black flagged. That put Carl Renezeder and Adrian Cenni up front, but a questionable call saw Cenni black flagged for contact with Carl. Instead of going to the back of the field Cenni just drove off the track in disgust!

All of the drama opened the door for Robert “Fig” Naughton to take the lead late in the race in his Stronghold Motorsports Pro2. He was followed by Stronghold teammate Jeremy McGrath, Carl Renezeder, and Brian Deegan with one lap to go. On the final turn Carl got into the back of McGrath and unsettled his truck, but got by to finish second. McGrath was fuming and drove right up to Carl’s door while the officials scrambled to make a decision on the contact. Once the smoke had cleared Carl was pushed back to 9th and Deegan took second for $20,000 with McGrath in third for $10,000 and Naughton taking home the big $30,000 paycheck.

That wrapped up the 2011 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series with action and drama up to the very end. We don’t expect any of these guys to forgive or forget in the off season, so expect even more trash talking, banging, and wide open racing in 2012.

Words by Harry Wagner

Photos by Jason Zindroski at HighRev Photography

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Sunday’s Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) short course racing brought cooler temperatures that resulted in smaller crowd sizes, which is regrettable since the racing was intense.  Following the opening ceremonies the Pro4 Unlimited trucks took the course with Curt LeDuc on the pole next to Greg Adler driving Travis Coyne’s Pro Comp truck.  LeDuc lead early in his Makita Tools / Truxxx Ford with Carl Renezeder in second and Kyle and Todd LeDuc behind them.  Kyle got past Carl and his father gave him the lead, but Carl squeezed past Curt as well.  There is no love lost between Renezeder and the LeDucs, and Kyle’s last-lap pass of Carl during Saturday’s race had not been forgotten.  Carl was outnumbered by three LeDucs and Curt remodeled Carl’s truck early in the race.  The Pro4 racing looked more like the Tour de France than a short course event with many of the racers bicycling through turns.  Some, like Mike Jenkins and Greg Adler, managed to recover, while others, including Josh Merrell and Curt LeDuc, were not so lucky and went onto their lids.  Merrell’s crash was the worst of the weekend, flipping multiple times.    All of the yellow flags meant that the mandatory caution never came out, but the front of the field was still bunched up.  On the last lap Carl got his revenge and made a hard pass on Kyle in Turn 2 for the lead.  Kyle’s truck stalled and some of the field squeezed by him, but he managed to work his way back, passing his brother Todd on the final turn of the race to take second place.

Concerns about weather bumped the Super Buggies so next up was Pro Lite Unlimited, with Rodrigo Ampudia behind the wheel of Andrew Caddell’s V8 RAM after Ampudia hashed his truck on Saturday.  Brian Deegan started on the first row and jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.  Deegan had multiple truck-length lead on the field for most of the race, while Kyle LeDuc, Corey Sisler, Chris Brandt, and RJ Anderson battled for the remaining spots on the podium.  Brandt took second to keep the Pro Lite Unlimited season title closely contested with one race remaining in Phoenix next month.  RJ Anderson rounded out the podium with his V8 Pro Lite, putting the same three drivers on the podium as the previous day.

Instead of running last as they typically do, the Pro2 Unlimited class ran next before the sun went down as concerns of foul weather mounted.  Carl Renezeder and Rob MacCachren started on the front row in their 800 horsepower trucks after the track crew graded the ruts in the corners and watered down the track.  The cool air helped the trucks run good, but the water stayed on top of the cold dirt to limit traction for the competitors.  Carnage resulted early as Jeremy McGrath got into Robby Woods in the first turn, ended Woods’ day.  Up front Rob Mac lead Robert “Fig” Naughton in his newly-sponsored white Losi truck and Carl Renezeder in his Lucas Oil Pro2.  Carl lost power half way through the race and ended up at the back of the pack with a lot of ground to make up after he got the truck relit.  Ahead of him Jeff Geiser lost a rear wheel and Greg Adler rolled his truck in Turn 2, while two Robs made a right (MacCachren and Naughton) ahead of Rodrigo Ampudia and Brian Deegan.  MacCachren led flag to flag as Jeremy McGrath did the previous day in Pro2 Unlimited.  A rare mistake on the last turn allowed Jeff Kinkaid to sneak past Deegan on the last corner to take fourth, but Deegan still leads MacCachren in season points.

Only one race remains for the season, with championships decided at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix on December 10^th.  Carl Renezeder only has to show up to secure the Pro4 Unlimited title over Kyle LeDuc, but Renezeder sits further back in third place in Pro2 Unlimited behind Deegan and MacCachren.  Deegan is in second to Chris Brandt in Pro Lite Unlimited by the narrowest of margins, and the SuperLite title fight between Chad George and Patrick Clark will also come down to the final race of the season.

Words by Harry Wagner

Photos by Vincent Knakal

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Cloudy skies and cool temperatures set the stage for a somber and emotional opening ceremony at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, as race fans and competitors alike paid their final respects to Rick and Jeff Huseman.  Chaplain Steve Hanson led a prayer for the Husemans, who were taken from us in a small plane crash just a few weeks ago.  Kevin Huseman led the Pro4 Unlimited field around the track as the pack stands saw the No. 36 Monster Toyota on the course for the final time.  After visiting Las Vegas three times in 2010, LOORRS made their only stop at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend, following the automotive orgy that is the annual SEMA Show.  They raced on the 1.4-mile track featuring big table top jumps and sweeping 180-degree turns with multiple places to pass.  Ten trucks showed up to battle in Pro4 Unlimited, including Mark and Mike Jenkins.  With the TORC season complete and the SEMA Show in Vegas this week, the Jenkins brothers brought their TRAXXAS trucks out for some LOORRS racing.

Todd LeDuc and Josh Merrell started on the front row in the 4WD, 800 horsepower unlimited truck class.  Merrell jumped out for a quick lead in the Hart and Huntington truck, building a big lead while Todd, his brother Kyle, and Carl Renezeder battled for second through the mandatory caution.  Merrell slipped up after the field was bunched back up and much of the field got past him, putting Renezeder in the lead in the No. 17 Lucas Oil truck.   Then with only two turns left in the race Kyle LeDuc made an aggressive pass on the inside of Renezeder to take the checkered flag for his third race in a row.  Behind Renezeder, Josh Merrell came in third for his first Pro4 podium finish.

After the Pro Buggies ran, 19 Pro Lite Unlimited took the track for the most action-packed race of the day.  TORC Pro Lite champion Andrew Caddell was in the house with his V8 Pro Light, as was RJ Anderson to even up the field with the four cylinder trucks.  Caddell got spun after the first turn, pushing him way back in the pack right off the bat.  RJ Anderson was up front to represent the V8s though, until Brian Deegan managed to make a clean pass at the back of the track in his Metal Mulisha Rockstar truck.  Further back in the field the racing was less clean, with Kyle LeDuc rolling and Chad George shedding a tire.  Matt Loiodice was back first his first race since he shattered his leg at Miller Motorsports Park back in June, but he got mixed up with other trucks as well.   By the end, Deegan narrowed Brandt’s lead in the series points with only two races remaining.  The finishing order alternated four cylinders and V8s as Deegan cruised to victory ahead of RJ Anderson, Chris Brandt, Andrew Caddell, and Justin “Bean” Smith in his Pro Lite Unlimited debut.

Next up were the spec-class Super Lites, with 17 competitors hungry for the win in their Mazda-powered trucks.  14 year old Sheldon Creed started on the front row next to Kyle Lucas, and Lucas jumped out to an early lead before being overtaken by RJ Anderson, fresh off his podium finish in Pro Lite Unlimited.  The young, aggressive drivers in Super Lite often provide a lot of carnage, but even with the big car count there was less carnage than the preceding Pro Lite Unlimited race.  Anderson held his lead to beat out Chad George and Brent Fouch by a comfortable margin.

The sun was setting as the Pro2 Unlimited trucks took the track for the final race of the day.  Jeremy McGrath started next to Brian Deegan in a battle of the energy drinks, with Rockstar Energy’s Rob MacCachren on the second row next to Robby Woods in his specially-wrapped green and white graphics as a tribute to Rick Huseman.   Jeff Geiser’s roll on turn one brought out the red flag, then Robert “Fig” Naughton got into Rodrigo Ampudia after Ampudia bicycled the Papas and Beer Ford.  McGrath seemed comfortable up front while Deegan, MacCachren and Woods all battled for second.  Woods made a nice pass on Rob Mac to move into third, but gave it all back in the second half of the race when he blew through a turn.  MacCachren almost made a similar mistake on the last turn of the race as he bicycled his truck through the corner trying to pass McGrath for the win, almost giving away second place to Deegan.  McGrath led flag to flag to take home his first Pro2 Unlimited win of the season for the Stronghold Motorsports Monster Energy team.

Brian Deegan still has a comfortable lead in Pro2 Unlimited season points, while Carl Renezeder leads Pro4 Unlimited.   In Pro Lite Unlimited it is Chris Brandt up front and Funco’s Chad George is in first place in Super Lite.  Now teams work frantically through the night in order to prepare their trucks for Sunday’s racing as the season nears its end and championship points are more valuable than ever.

Story by Harry Wagner

Photos by Vincent Knakal

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Race-dezert.com brings you the Ride Along video of the 2011 LOORRS Las Vegas track with Carl Renezeder.

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

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

Ricky Johnson (PRO 4×4) and Jeff Kincaid (PRO 2) also victorious @ Chicagoland/Route 66’s oval track

Despite rain (imagine that), abnormally cold temperatures and an unusual Wednesday evening start time, thousands of race fans descended upon Chicagoland/Route 66’s dirt oval for the Traxxas TORC Series, presented by AMSOIL, for the NASCAR weekend-opening race tonight – and were treated to probably one of the most thrilling, crashed-filled PRO Light races in the history of short course Baja-style off-road racing.

TORC PRO Light

A spectacular start to the Traxxas TORC Series stop at Chicagoland Speedway/Route 66 Raceway’s dirt oval as 17-year old RJ Anderson (Walker Evans/Ram) ran it to the checkers against current PRO Lights point leader Andrew Caddell (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG), topping Caddell for his first-ever PRO class win on the TORC Series.

“We’ve struggled a bit lately, my rookie year, so I’m super-pumped with this win,” said Anderson, who’s only other TORC PRO Light podium finish came at the season-opener at RedBud MX (Mich.). “I lost radio contact with my dad (Randy Anderson, longtime chief mechanic to off-road race legend Walker Evans) and just clicked off laps. Congrats to Andrew (Caddell) for coming back. That’s why he’s the points leader.”

On lap two Caddell sent his truck north to south, front bumper to back bumper – without the tires or roof touching – and managed to keep going. Unreal. Following that a gnarly end over end rollover by defending PRO Light champion Casey Currie (Monster Energy/General Tire/Nissan) brought out the red flag in what’ll go down as the most exciting opening laps of PRO Light racing this year, maybe in the history of TORC.

On the restart CJ Greaves (Traxxas/Monster Energy/Maxxis) was out front, followed by Anderson, Brad Lovell (AMSOIL/BFG/Nissan) and Samuel Hubinette (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG). A couple laps later Lovell would put his Nissan on its lid and Hubinette moved into 3^rd. But a charging Keegan Kincaid (Traxxas/BFG), who would win the Traxxas Maxx Lap award for the fastest PRO Light lap on the night, would take the spot back from the drifting champion – after which Hubinette grabbed the spot back right before the competition yellow  – or so he though as Caddell came flying out of nowhere and caught Hubinette at the finish line. Hubinette then crashed in stunning fashion for the 4^th rollover of the race.

On the comp restart Caddell got a huge jump on CJ Greaves and into 2^nd place behind Anderson. Caddell and Anderson then battled all the way though the checkers – which ended with the caution yellow out after a Shawn Morris (Maxxis/Chevy) rollover – the race’s fifth rollover crash.

PRO Light results

1^st – RJ Anderson
2^nd – Andrew Caddell
3^rd – CJ Greaves
4^th – Keegan Kincaid
5^th – Luke Johnson
6^th – Todd Cunningham
7^th – Randy Eller
8^th – Ross Hoek
9^th – Mark Oberg
10^th – Eric Ruppel
11^th – Andy Zipperer
12^th – Shaun Morris
13^th – James Stewart
14^th – Jason Janusz
15^th – Mitch Dorr
16^th – Sam Hubinette
17^th – Brad Lovell
18^th – Casey Currie
19^th – Derry Peterson

TORC PRO 4

With an apparent holeshot by Johnny Greaves (Monster Energy/Toyota/Maxxis) being nullified by false start, the restart of the PRO 4 main went to Ricky Johnson (Red Bull/KMC Wheels/Mopar/Ram) – who would lead the remainder of the race to extend his series point lead over Greaves.

“We were fortunate to start where we did,” said Johnson, who won the pole in qualifying with a 47.6 lap. “Congrats to Johnny and Adrian (Cenni). But I give it up to my team. They gave me the best truck out there. Now we’ll invert the top six for tomorrow night and you guys are really gonna see some great racing!”

With the driving order remaining the same with the top five drivers, nearing the competition yellow Greaves lawn darted his truck into the black Illinois loam and, in the process, buckled his hood up in front of his wind screen. Unable to see, Greaves limped back around to the hot pits where his team tore off part of his hood – but not quite enough – and got him back out there.

“I stuck it right off that big plateau, hood folded up right in my face,” said Greaves, who won the Oakley Bomb Award for the fastest PRO 4 lap. “So for being in the hot pits – twice – I think we did pretty good.”

Starting last on the competition yellow Greaves went back to the hot pits for a second time and  had the remainder of his hood torn off, along with some other dangling bodywork. Johnson continued to dominate, though Cenni (Atrium Payroll/4 Wheel Parts) would show some teeth on a couple occasions – only to have Johnson shut the door and build his lead back to five-to-six truck lengths.

With Johnson and Cenni all but checked out over the rest of the field, Greaves and Scott Douglas (AMSOIL/BFG/MasterCraft Safety) put on a rowdy back and forth – and clean – show with Greaves eventually pulling ahead for the third and final podium spot with a slick move between some lapped trucks. Mark Jenkins (Traxxas/BFG/AMSOIL) was also flying late in the race, overcoming a flat tire with a trip to the hot pits and placing 5^th behind Douglas.

PRO 4 results

 1^st – Ricky Johnson
2^nd – Adrian Cenni
3^rd – Johnny Greaves
4^th – Scott Douglas
5^th – Mark Jenkins
6^th – Mike Jenkins
7^th – Steve Barlow
8^th – Milan Mazanec
PRO 2

Wisconsin’s Jeff Kincaid (Ford/BFG) put a high flying pass on Marty Hart (Monster Energy/Maxxis/Toyota) off the massive Chicagoland/Route 66 dirt oval table top jump – and made it stick – winning the battle to the finish against Hart for the Wednesday night PRO 2 class win. 

“We had a good run going, patient at the beginning, biding my time because there was a lot of a attrition out there,” said Kincaid. “BF Goodrich and Traxxas got me up here … hope to be up here again tomorrow night.”

By lap three Hart moved up to 2^nd after tapping Hord in a corner. Bryce Menzies (Red Bull/Mopar/Ram), who locked down the Oakley Bomb Award early in the race, was then stricken by mechanical issues, rendering his No. 7 Ram to a limp – and hand delivering the lead to Hart. At the competition yellow Hart led Hord, followed by Kincaid, NASCAR racer Brendan Gaughan (South Point/Walker Evans) and Mike Oberg (AMSOIL/BFG/King Shocks).

With eight laps to go – on the first turn of the restart and fastest turning portion of the track – Oberg bumped Hord after Hord let off the gas to avoid Kincaid, forcing Hord to roll 4.5 times and come to a rest on his roof. A flash tranny fire was quickly extinguished by the TORC safety crew, but the red flag was brought out as they righted Hord’s Nissan.

On the restart, with Oberg serving a quick stop-and-go penalty for rough driving, Hart led Kincaid, followed by Gaughan. Biding his time Kincaid blasted off the tabletop and past Hart, then opened up a two-to-three second lead. The order would stay the same through the last couple laps with Kincaid bringing home the victory.

PRO 2 results

1^st – Jeff Kincaid
2^nd – Marty Hart
3^rd – Brendan Gaughan
4^th – Keith Steele
5^th – Mike Oberg
6^th – Bryce Menzies
8^th – Chad Hord
9^th – Mikey Vanden Heuvel
10^th – Rob MacCachren
11^th – Scott Taylor

Words by Pat Schutte

Photos by Mike Roth

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JD Films is proud to have Team Ford Las Vegas join us as the new title sponsor for the upcoming, action packed, Dezert People 9 film.  Team Ford, along with our other Dezert People 9 sponsors—VORRA, Fox Racing Shox, MasterCraft Safety, Total Chaos Fabrication, PCI Race Radios, Vision X, Azunia Tequila, Off Road Warehouse, Baja Junkies and HighRev Photography—are geared up and ready for the arrival of yet another thrilling release in the Dezert People saga.

This years DVD release features intense racing action from Baja, California, Nevada and Texas with more event coverage than ever before, including SCORE, BITD, VORRA, CODE, Baja Racing of Texas, King of the Hammers and much more…

The Team Ford, Dezert People 9 Premiere Tour

The Team Ford, Dezert People 9 Premiere Tour will kick off Friday, September 16, 2011 at the Atrium Hotel in Irvine, CA.  Come hang out poolside at this outdoor movie event and be the first to witness the action packed coverage of the past year in off-road racing. Just as the previous premiere held at the Atrium, JD Films will be once again giving 50% of each paid admission to Fast-Aid, who will also be present to raffle off some exciting prizes.  Ticket pre-ordering is now online at www.dezertpeople.com with an option to buy the DVD and get in free.

We also have many other exciting premieres planned.  Join us once again at Norman Motorsports on Saturday, September 17, 2011 that will be benefiting multiple charities, including Navy SEAL Foundation, Fast-Aid, Castro-Limon Foundation and Chaplain Steve Hanson who’s house and belongings were recently lost in a fire.  Enjoy a margarita sponsored by Azunia Tequila and some street tacos provided by Locos Mocos and Baja Pits who will be there to help raise money for the Castro-Limon Foundation. Admission is $30 at the door and includes a Dezert People 9 DVD, poster and drinks.

To close out the weekend, Dezert People combined efforts again with All German Motorsports to put together another K1 Speed event in Carlsbad, CA.  Come check out the many race vehicles and prerunners on display in between challenging your friends to some high-speed go-kart racing.  Fast-Aid will be there raffling off many high-end prizes, and Locos Mocos and Baja Pits will also be grilling up more street tacos to help raise money for Castro Limon. The Dezert People 9 showing will start at 7:00 pm after all go-kart races are finished.

If you can’t make it to one of our SoCal events, don’t worry because the fun doesn’t stop there. Dezert People will be making stops in Las Vegas, Arizona, Baja, Texas and NorCal. See the full schedule for the Team Ford, Dezert People 9 premiere tour below:

The Team Ford, Dezert People 9 Premiere Tour schedule:

• Sept. 16^th – Atrium Hotel, Irvine, CA
• Sept. 17^th – Norman Motorsports, El Cajon, CA
• Sept. 17^th – Angels Roadhouse 2, Apple Valley, CA
• Sept. 17^th – Clubhouse 56, Sacramento, CA
• Sept. 17^th – SamCo Fabrication, Reno, NV
• Sept. 18^th – K1 Speed, Carlsbad, CA
• Sept. 19^th – Sierra Gold Tavern and Pole Position, Las Vegas, NV
• Sept, 20^th – Farrelli’s Cinema, Scottsdale, AZ
• Sept. 21^st – Mexicali, Baja (combined event with CODE race drawing)
• Sept. 22^nd – Irish O’Sullivan’s, Fresno, CA
• Sept. 22^nd – Brewers Sports Bar, Yuma, AZ
• Sept. 24^th – Austin Speed Shop, Austin, TX
• Sept. 25^th – The Saddle Rack, Fremont, CA
• Sept. 30th – Brothers Leagues Club, Australia
• Oct. 7th – Bones Roadhouse, Gualala, CA
• TBA – Ensenada. Check our web site www.dezertpeople.com for updates and full details about each location.

Watch the trailer at www.youtube.com/jdfilms

Pre-order Dezert People 9 on the web here.

Dezert People is pleased to introduce our title sponsor Team Ford. www.teamford.com

Team Ford, which opened in May of 2000, is the newest and most modern Ford dealership in Nevada.

If you are already familiar with Team Ford, the Las Vegas based Ford and Lincoln dealer, then you know they specialize and understand the needs of Racers and Crews as well as offering the highest discounts on Race and Chase vehicles.

With a low key and friendly greeting approach, customers arrive knowing right off the bat that they will be well taken care and given the service they deserve without the hassle of a pushy sales person.

Different than any other dealer, Team Ford offers incentives such as “Team Air,” a program with which buyers receive a one-way airfare from anywhere in the country in order to purchase their vehicle with someone who specializes in their needs. They have also been known to deliver needed parts to racers while in Primm, Beatty, and even Tonopah.  It is no surprise that they are the #1 volume Ford Dealer in Las Vegas going on 4 years since their success is obviously a direct result of the loyalty of the racers and race crews.

The Team Ford Trophy Truck driven by Team Ford owner/president Steve Olliges and John Swift, is currently competing in BITD and SNORE with plans to race SCORE as well. The truck is sponsored by BFGoodrich, Mastercraft, Fox Shox, Trail Ready, KC, Impact, Marathon Sod and, of course, Ford and Team Ford.

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

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

Directed by The Martelli Brothers. Produced by Mad Media.

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

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

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

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

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

Photos by Vincent Knakal of Mad Media

[Show as slideshow]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photos by Vincent Knakal of Mad Media

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

PROLITE

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

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

Top 5:

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

PRO2

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

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

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

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

Top 5:

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

PRO4

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

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

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

Top5:

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

Words by Klaus Rasch.

Photos by Jason Zindroski of HighRev Photography.

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

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

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

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

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

Photos by Vincent Knakal of Mad Media

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

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

ProLite

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

Top3:

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

Pro4

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

Top3:

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

Pro2

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

Top3:

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

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

[Show as slideshow]

PRO4

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

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

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

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

Top5:

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

PRO2

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

Top4:

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

PROLITE

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

Top5:

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

AMSOIL CUP

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

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

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

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

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

Top5:

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

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

[Show as slideshow]

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

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

Photos by Vincent Knakal of Mad Media

TORC Crandon live coverage

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

Click here Friday through Sunday for all the race action.

• Race results
• Live video
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Greaves and Johnson take it to the wire @ Sunday’s Bark River TORC PRO 4 final

Johnson and Greaves collide on the last turn of the last lap – Greaves can’t finish; Kincaid wins PRO 2, Hubinette PRO Light

This just in … Ricky Johnson fined two points by USAC/TORC for rough driving

By Pat Schutte

The thrilling rivalry between Johnny Greaves (Monster Energy/Toyota/Maxxis) and Ricky Johnson (Red Bull/KMC Wheels/Mopar/Ram) came to yet another crescendo this past weekend at Bark River Raceway. In front of another record crowd at the northern Michigan track, round eight of the 2011 Traxxas TORC Series, presented by AMSOIL, two of the world’s best short course off-road racers took it to the last turn of the last lap of the PRO 4 final where Johnson made hard-hitting pass on the then-leading Greaves, sending the PRO 4 points leader into a concrete barrier while Johnson raced to the checkers for the (unofficial) victory and Greaves was done.

At the victor’s podium Johnson received a rousing chorus of boos from the homeboy Greaves-friendly crowd in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

“I honestly didn’t think I took him (Greaves) out. I thought he was going to be right there with me at the finish line,” said Johnson. The 500-plus fans that packed around TORC podium let Johnson have it even more. The consummate pro, Johnson gathered himself and said: “You know, I like the fact that you hate me right now. That shows me you have passion for this sport. Well so do I … and nothing pleases me more than seeing your passion right now.”

The fans fell silent. “Again, I’m sorry to Johnny that I took you out – but I’m damn glad I beat you.” That passion also (again) came to a flashpoint between the camps as Johnson’s team and Greaves’ guys exchanged pleasantries in the spotter’s area just off the track.

And when asked of the nature of Johnson’s pass on Greaves, Rob MacCachren (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG Ram) put it this way: “You have to ask yourself, ‘is it OK to do that on any lap, in any place, at any time, on any corner and in any class?’

Aside from another Johnson/Greaves classic TORC ending there was more great racing going on between the green and checkers – enough of which to bring the record crowd to its feet on numerous occasions. Scott Douglas (AMSOIL/BFG/MasterCraft Safety) jumped out to an early lead past Steve Barlow (Maxxis/Ebay Motors/Metal Mulisha). Greaves then moved into 2^nd place and he and Douglas separated themselves from the rest of the pack. One lap later Greaves caught and passed Douglas on the BOSS Snowplows hill, straight off the Red Bull finish line jump.

With Johnson struggling early, Greaves and Douglas would put eight seconds on the next-closest racer (Johnson). At the Competition Yellow Douglas noticed he had a rear tire that was down on air, so he pulled into the hot pits. This would set up Johnson on Greaves during the Comp Yellow restart – to which Johnson foreshadowed things to come by bumping Greaves from behind (at a very slow rate of speed) right before the green flag flew for the second time.

With Douglas a lap back Traxxas’ Jenkins Brothers – Mark and Mike – put the chase on what looked to be the third and final podium spot … only to both land on the podium when Greaves left the race.

Late-breaking news on Monday night from Indianapolis … In the PRO 4×4 class, the number 48 team entry was penalized 2 points pursuant to the TORC Series General Class Rules, section 8.F.4 (Black Flag/Rough Driving Rules) for a last lap rough driving penalty near the conclusion of Sunday’s PRO 4×4 round 8 event. This penalty was assessed under the General Class Rules, Section 11.C.2a.

1^st – Ricky Johnson
2^nd – Mark Jenkins
3^rd – Mike Jenkins
4^th – Scott Douglas
5^th – Johnny Greaves
6^th – Milan Mazanec
7^th – Steve Barlow

PRO 2

In one of the stranger PRO 2 races in the history of TORC Series racing hometown hero Chad Hord (BOSS Snowplows/AMSOIL/Nissan) – out front after a great pass on

Marty Hart (Monster Energy/Toyota/Maxxis) – lost his steering and struck the backstretch wall after losing his steering, then collected Hart and 3^rd place Bryce Menzies (Red Bull/KMC Wheels/Mopar/Ram). So in a matter of second the entire podium was wiped out and, after a red flag delay, restarted with four trucks: Jeff Kincaid (Ford/BFG), Keith Steele (subbing for injured Rob MacCachren in Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG Ram truck, Mike Oberg (AMSOIL/BFG/King Shocks) and Mike Vanden Heuvel (Maxxis/ATD Trans/Boatec).

On the restart Kincaid and Steele shot out front, then Oberg got into it with Vanden Heuvel – to the point where the black flag came out for Oberg! Said Oberg: “It was real dusty out there. We were running tire-to-tire and Mike (Vanden Heuvel) took a stab at an outside line and we came together. Not sure if that warranted a black flag. (I) think they were a little ‘flag happy’ with that one.”

With Vanden Heuvel’s truck trashed, Oberg – after pitting for a mandatory stop – moved into 3^rd place and the field stayed put through the next two laps through the checkers: 1^st went to Kincaid and 2^nd – with highly valuable points – went to Steele/MacCachren.

“I’m happy for this team and happy I could help out,” said Steele – which drew a “Who are you kidding – he’s (pointing at MacCachren) out of a job” response from Kincaid on the podium. Steele continued: “We just tried to be safe and get a finish.”

The win for Kincaid was his first of the year and second podium at Bark River this weekend. He also blasted big with the race’s fastest lap, garnering the Oakley Bomb Award. “We didn’t get a very good start and it was hard to see what was happening out there. I just barely got by that wreck that gathered the first three guys – and here we are in 1^st place.”

1^st – Jeff Kincaid
2^nd – Keith Steele
3^rd – Mike Oberg
4^th – Mike Vanden Heuvel
5^th – Bryce Menzies
6^th – Chad Hord
7^th – Marty Hart
8^th – Scott Taylor

PRO Light

Two-time 2011 Traxxas TORC Series PRO Light winner Samuel Hubinette (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG) put his Ram pickup back on top of the podium on Sunday at Bark River, topping Lights points leader Andrew Caddell (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG) in a thrilling bumper-to-bumper, beginning-to-end clean-fought battle.

“I got behind Sam and he didn’t make any mistakes. Hat’s off to him,” said Caddell, who put up the Traxxas Maxx Lap (fastest lap) in PRO Lights.

Added Hubinette: “This is my favorite TORC track so far. This win puts us right back in the championship battle.”

Third place would come the hard way for CJ Greaves (Traxxas/Monster Energy/Maxxis) who stalled his Toyota on the parade lap – re-fired – and joined the rest of the pack in time for the green flag. Greaves would battle hard with RJ Anderson (Walker Evans Ent./Polaris/South Point) and Shawn Morris (Maxxis/Chevy), who rounded out the top five in 4^th and 5^th, respectively.

Also, defending TORC Series PRO Light champ Casey Currie (Monster Energy/General Tire/Nissan) suffered some awful luck when his truck pulled to the side of the track with a mechanical issue. And Saturday podium placer Luke Johnson (Red Bull/KMC Wheels/Mopar/Ram) suffered a flat tire right before the Competition Yellow and was able to make the hot pits and get his tire fixed – apparently on the lead lap. But race officials decided that Johnson took the incorrect route to enter the pits and docked him a lap, which put him in last place.

1^st – Samuel Hubinette
2^nd – Andrew Caddell
3^rd – CJ Greaves
4^th – RJ Anderson
5^th – Shawn Morris
6^th – Keegan Kincaid
7^th – Brad Lovell
8^th – Randy Eller
9^th – Eric Ruppel
10^th – Mitch Dorr
11^th – Luke Johnson
12^th – Todd Cunningham
13^th – Andy Zipperer
14^th – Michael Baker
15^th – Jason Janusz

Words by Pat Schutte

Photos by Jeff Nemecek

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Lucas Oil put on another great event tonight giving the fans not only a cool place to watch racing in the hot summer months, but also giving them an action packed night of racing. The crowds packed the stands and the racers gave them what they want, door to door action with great battles in all the classes. The usual suspects were on top in the three pro truck classes with Rick Huseman, Rob MacCachren, and Brian Deegan all taking the checkered flags. The night ended later then everyone expected, though everyone stayed in the stands till the very end regardless. In my opinion they shouldn’t put times on their schedule of events, just a start time for opening ceremonies and then another line saying “When people stop rolling and jumping the start is when we’ll finish.”

The night had a few good rollovers, most notable in the Superlite class where it seems like every lap someone went over. Maybe in the Superlite class you get additional points for rollovers. Justin “Bean” Smith did his best Jerry Whelchel impression when he ended up on top of a rolled over Jerry whelchel in the Pro Buggy class. Wasn’t his fault, when you race open wheel cars contact is bound to happen. It will be interesting to see how they both end up in points as that class is very tight and they both finished mid pack. The Pro 2 race had some great battles with many lead changes and a great overall show. And finally Casey Currie gets the style points of the night as he finished his race in reverse, similar to Armin Schwartz in the SCORE Laughlin race, only Casey didn’t almost take everyone out.

Limited Buggy
1 385 CURT GEER
2 377 QUENTIN TUCKER
3 365 DAVE MASON

Pro 2
1 1 ROB MACCACHREN
2 99 ROBBY WOODS
3 38 BRIAN DEEGAN

Pro 4
1 36 RICK HUSEMAN
2 17 CARL RENEZEDER
3 11 ADRIAN CENNI

Pro Buggy
1 2 CODY FREEMAN
2 8 MIKE PORTER
3 96 DOUG FORTIN

Prolite
1 38 BRIAN DEEGAN
2 19 COREY SISLER
3 82 CHRIS BRANDT

Superlite
1 16 DAWSON KIRCHNER
2 25 PATRICK CLARK
3 42 CHAD GEORGE

Photos by HighRev Photography

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Race-dezert.com spent the day at Glen Helen yesterday with Brian Deegan during his Pro 2 and Pro-lite practice laps.  Check it out as Brian explains the difference between racing the two trucks.

Limited Buggy
1 304 BRADLEY MORRIS 51.817
2 322 GEOFFREY COOLEY 51.922
3 385 CURT GEER 52.418
4 377 QUENTIN TUCKER 52.499
5 365 DAVE MASON 52.575

Pro 2
1 10 GREG ADLER 45.916
2 1 ROB MACCACHREN 45.961
3 99 ROBBY WOODS 46.166
4 2 JEREMY MCGRATH 46.361
5 54 ROBERT NAUGHTON 46.409

Pro 4
1 36 RICK HUSEMAN 44.507
2 17 CARL RENEZEDER 44.638
3 11 ADRIAN CENNI 45.006
4 4 TODD LEDUC 45.374
5 5 TRAVIS COYNE 45.956

Pro Buggy
1 23 STEVEN GREINKE 48.668
2 96 DOUG FORTIN 49.119
3 994 CODY FREEMAN 49.314
4 85 JUSTIN DAVIS 49.353
5 5 JERRY WHELCHEL 49.404

Prolite
1 38 BRIAN DEEGAN 48.073
2 16 CAMERON STEELE 48.831
3 82 CHRIS BRANDT 48.834
4 99 KYLE LEDUC 48.866
5 51 49.419

Superlite
1 15 JESSIE JOHNSON 51.966
2 25 PATRICK CLARK 52.126
3 16 DAWSON KIRCHNER 52.520
4 88 AUSTIN KIMBRELL 52.591
5 26 WYATT KIRCHNER 52.670

UTV
1 851 RYAN BEAT 51.433
2 637 RJ ANDERSON 51.905
3 810 CORRY WELLER 52.072
4 816 CODE RAHDERS 52.658
5 824 DAN KELLY 52.793

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In the best PRO 4 class finish in the history of the Traxxas TORC Series, presented by AMSOIL, Johnny Greaves (Monster Energy/Toyota/Maxxis) and Ricky Johnson (Red Bull/KMC Wheels/Mopar/Ram) made a whole mess of new TORC Series fans in the heart of NASCAR country, staging what amounted to a UFC fight in 4,000-pound, 900-horsepower PRO 4×4 short course off-road trucks on the Dirt Track @ Charlotte Motor Speedway – a battle ultimately won by Greaves.

But the battle wasn’t over once the checkers flew as Johnson, on his way to the podium, got into it with the Greaves clan, then Johnson’s camp exchanged pleasantries with Greaves while he was on the podium. And while no punches were thrown by either party, this was as close to an Allisons/Yarborough Daytona ’79 NASCAR moment for the TORC Series has experienced in its first three years of racing.

“Love me or hate me, that was a hell of a race,” said Johnson, who literally LANDED on the roof of Greaves’ truck as he was trying to overtake his new rival. “And I imagine you’ll see Johnny pissed off a few more times this year. He’s the defending champion and I’m coming after him.” Greaves survived the all-out attack by the former AMA motocross champ and went on to beat Johnson to the checkers – recording the first win of the season for the defending TORC PRO 4 champion.

“I started out a little too cautious, didn’t want to break like on Friday night,” said Greaves. “I’d picked out a few fast lines and made the pass for the lead – and he (Johnson) used me like a pogo stick! But I’ll get a chance to pay the favor back – I guarantee that!”

Great racing going on behind the No. 1 and No. 2 racer with Scott Douglas (AMSOIL/BFG/MasterCraft Safety) and Mark Jenkins (Traxxas/BFG/AMSOIL) battling it out fender-to-fender until Douglas got the upper hand and hammered out the final podium spot.

PRO 2

The student got the better of the mentor at Saturday night’s PRO 2 main event when Bryce Menzies (Red Bull/KMC Wheels/Mopar/Ram) took Rob MacCachren (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG) to the checkers, recording a wire-to-wire win – his first-ever win in his rookie year on the TORC Series – in the evening’s second contest on the Dirt Track @ Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Menzies, who broke while leading last night on the final corner prior to the last laps, was running a new motor after his team thrashed through an engine swap late last night and in the searing heat on Saturday. Menzies was pumped with his team’s effort and the overall performance of his Mopar-powered Ram 4×4. “Mopar and Ram got us out front and we were able to lead the whole race,” said Menzies, who won the Oakley Bomb award for the fastest PRO 2 lap on the night.

With Menzies well out front and in control of the race after the competition yellow, MacCachren and Chad Hord (BOSS Snowplows/AMSOIL/Nissan) locked into an epic PRO 2 battle for a number of laps before MacCachren caught Hord with a blitzing inside move at the end of the fastest portion of the track, slashing down the banked turn three corner into the infield and past Hord. Hord had foiled the move twice before, but on the third time with three laps to go MacCachren was able to make it stick.

“It was a pleasure racing with Chad,” said MacCachren from the podium. “We got together a couple times, door-to-door even, but I think we both raced clean. And I’m hoping the fans enjoyed it (to which the sizable Charlotte crowd answered with cheers).”

Friday night’s 2^nd place PRO 2 finisher, Scott Taylor (Miller Electric Welders), suffered some mechanical issues early and left the track. This left the door open for the third and final podium spot, which was snatched up easily by Hord.

PRO Light

For the second-straight night at Charlotte defending 2010 TORC PRO Light champion Casey Currie (Monster Energy/General Tire/Nissan) was on top of the Lights class, but a spectacular Triple Twisting Lindy/fireball crash by Samuel Hubinette (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG) coupled with a rollover, spinout and mid-race hot pits visit by Andrew Caddell (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG) had things about as interesting as they could in the night’s opening contest.

Caddell in particular put in one of the best performances of the year thus far in coming from dead last at the competition yellow to 2^nd place. “I got the lead, tried to set a pace. Tried to gap (the field) before the yellow and I hooked a rut there. Feel bad for my team … they gave me a great truck tonight.”

Even Currie was pumped for his rival: “For him to come back to second was a hard charger right there.”

But Currie was not to be caught, winning the Traxxas Maxx Lap award for the fastest PRO Light lap despite Caddell’s maniacal charge.

Rounding out Saturday night’s PRO Light podium was the #44 of Brad Lovell (AMSOIL/BFG/Torchmate), who scored his second podium of the season.

Words by Pat Schutte

Photos by Mike Roth

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The first-ever Traxxas TORC Series, presented by AMSOIL, held in the heart of NASCAR country – Charlotte, N.C. – went off big on the Dirt Track @ Charlotte Motor Speedway with two of the TORC PRO events coming down to the last few turns of the race, while the premier event was all Ricky Johnson (Red Bull/KMC Wheels/Mopar/Ram) – the driving force at bringing the TORC Series to Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Reiterated USAC/TORC President Kevin Miller on the Traxxas TORC Series’ historic move to Charlotte Motor Speedway: “In addition to its impressive yearly lineup of events including NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600, World of Outlaws battles, NHRA drag races and Late Model contests, Charlotte Motor Speedway’s TORC event positions short course off-road racing – the same racing as seen on TV in TORC’s Discovery HD program – right in the heart of motorsports central on the east coast.”

Traxxas TORC Series returns to action tomorrow (Saturday) night on the Dirt Track @ Charlotte Motor Speedway beginning at 7 p.m.

PRO 4

Johnson pretty much set the tone early on in qualifying that nobody was going to touch him in his adopted home state of Charlotte. The former multi-time AMA MX/SX champ ran the day’s only sub 42-second lap in qualifying, then parlayed that effort into the pole, holeshot, a second holeshot after the competition yellow, Oakley Bomb award (a blistering 40.19 second lap) for the fastest lap and – ultimately – the checkers.

“Man, we were killing it on our BFGs,” said Johnson. “We got every holeshot and went wherever I wanted to go. This was our first win and I hope it’s our first of many.”

Pushed early by Adrian Cenni (Maxxis/Atrium Payroll/MasterCraft Safety), the bright orange No. 11 truck would succumb to mechanical issues and bowed out just three laps into the race. Charging hard into 2^nd place in the first half of the PRO 4 main was Johnny Greaves (Monster Energy/Toyota/Maxxis), looking to set up a Monster vs. Red Bull second half battle. But Greaves’ bruising battle with longtime rival Scott Douglas (AMSOIL/BFG/MasterCraft Safety) would take a toll on the Wisconsin native and he as well suffered mechanical issues.

With Greaves down, Mark Jenkins (Traxxas/BFG/AMSOIL) would pursue Douglas with great fury and vengeance, forging what would be the best battle of the evening in the PRO 4 class. Torn up with bodywork hanging off like crippled WWII fighter plane, Jenkins gave it all he had, but would ultimately be slowed by a flat front tire in his pursuit of Douglas. Johnson rallied on strong to take victory, crossing the finish line to a chorus of applause that was soon lost below the din of a massive fireworks display with the Motor Speedway as the backdrop. Douglas would take 2^nd and Jenkins 3^rd.

PRO 2

For the first half of the Traxxas TORC PRO 2 main at Charlotte NOBODY was touching Bryce Menzies (Red Bull/KMC Wheels/Mopar/Ram). The 2011 SCORE Baja 500 winner and TORC/Crandon track lap record setter is having a rip roarin’ summer of racing. Menzies pulled the holeshot from the outside position of the front row – ahead of his mentor, Rob MacCachren (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG). Menzies would open up on MacCachren and the rest of the TORC PRO 2 field to the tune of a second-a-lap, leading MacCachren by more than ten seconds heading into the competition yellow.

And while the battle up front was joined by Scott Taylor (Miller Electric Welders), the first half of Friday’s PRO 2 main was highlighted by the battle between Chad Hord (BOSS Snowplows/AMSOIL/Nissan) and Greg Adler (4 Wheel Parts/Pro Comp) and their battle for 4^th place. But it would be Menzies that had the hammer down.

“Bryce got the holeshot and checked out. We didn’t have it for him,” said MacCachren.

Following the competition yellow at lap 11, Menzies again got out front, but MacCachren would keep him better in check. This would be key as the laps wound down and the two would separate from Taylor and the rest of the pack. By lap 19 MacCachren was all over Menzies. But to the younger racer’s credit, Menzies had an answer for every one of the veteran’s attempts to get by. And as Taylor held on strong to 3^rd,  several other racers exited the field – including Hord who lost a wheel.

Having shown Menzies his front bumper on the previous two turns, MacCachren pulled an outside/inside move going into the final turn and caught Menzies door-to-door in the corner. Menzies stalled, was unable to start and MacCachren cruised to victory – winning the Oakley Bomb award for the fastest PRO 2 lap in his hot pursuit of Menzies.

“Ultimately I got by because Bryce broke,” admitted MacCachren. “But we had to go as hard as we absolutely could to stay with him.”

With only four trucks running on the final lap, Taylor earned a well-deserved 2^nd and veteran Jeff Kincaid (Traxxas/Ford/BFG) won the battle of attrition for the third and final podium spot.

PRO Light

Defending 2010 TORC PRO Light champion Casey Currie (Monster Energy/General Tire/Nissan) stepped up and won his first event of the 2011 season, holding off a fast and furious charge from current PRO Light series points leader Samuel Hubinette (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG) the checkers in the 20-lap main event – the first-ever pro off-road race on the Dirt Track @ Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“This place is awesome,” exclaimed the California native Currie. “So stoked to be in Charlotte. We’re back to where we need to be – and that’s on top.”

Added Hubinette: “Fantastic fun! Casey did a great job and, for me, 2^nd place was better than flipping over.”

After locking down the fastest qualifying time earlier in the day RJ Anderson (Walker Evans/Polaris/South Point) pulled the holeshot from the pole position, but was soon caught and passed by Currie on the second turn. Hubinette tapped into his drifting skills and cut into Currie’s 2.5 second lead by lap five. Things started to come apart around lap nine when CJ Greaves (Traxxas/Monster Energy/Maxxis) lost a wheel and Shawn Morris (Maxxis/AMSOIL/Performance Auto) high sided on the banked World of Outlaws turn one – bringing the competition yellow out early.

Regrouped, the field – including Morris – bunched up for the second half start and it would be the same cast of characters up front, along with a hard-charging Andrew Caddell (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG) who would win the Traxxas Maxx lap award for the fastest Pro Light lap at Charlotte (without power steering after the fourth lap). And while Caddell and Anderson battled for the third and final podium spot, Currie did an excellent job holding off Hubinette for the win.

Words by Pat Schutte

Photos by Mike Roth

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