El Cajon, California – Eleven-time off-road racing champion Scott Douglas has signed a new multi-year contract with primary sponsor AMSOIL. The new AMSOIL Douglas Motorsports program is a five-year deal extending through the 2016 race season. Scott Douglas has been flying the AMSOIL colors since 2006.

“Year after year, Scott has proven to be one of the best drivers in all of off-road racing,” said Jeremy Meyer, Race Program Manager for AMSOIL.  “On top of that, Scott has become a great ambassador of AMSOIL and our products.  We have a high threshold for quality at AMSOIL, and Scott helps us meet those thresholds both on, and off the track. All of us love his passion for the sport and his desire to push off-road truck racing to the next level of exposure in the U.S.”

Scott Douglas races a PRO 4×4 pickup in the TRAXXAS TORC Series presented by AMSOIL. “PRO 4×4 is the fastest and most technologically advanced class in short course off-road racing,” stated Douglas. “I am thrilled with the new five-year sponsorship deal with AMSOIL. Primarily because the people at AMSOIL are great to work with and their products are second to none. The long-term stability allows us to move forward with R&D to make sure the AMSOIL BFGoodrich truck is the fastest on the race track.”

Douglas Motorsports is currently building an all-new state-of-the-art race truck to complement their current truck. “We are using computer aided design to optimize the chassis design and suspension geometry. The new truck takes PRO 4×4 design to the next level,” continued Douglas.

Scott Douglas finished the 2011 TORC season third in PRO 4×4 points. It was of a developmental year for Douglas Motorsports as the team focused on new combinations to make the truck even faster. At the final race of the year, that hard work paid off with the AMSOIL PRO 4×4 qualifying within a few1/100s of a second of the pole. The truck was very fast all weekend and a favorite to win, but a cut tire and broken transmission flex plate kept Douglas off the podium.

Scott Douglas’ racing career spans more than three decades. The veteran off-road racer has 87 career victories and a total of eleven season championships. The early part of Scott’s racing was in the desert where he racked up a total of three Baja 1000 wins. Douglas is also the only driver in SCORE history to take an overall win in a class 7 mid-size truck. At the San Felipe 250, Scott Douglas took the overall victory in a V-6 powered Ford Ranger, beating all the unlimited full-size trucks and Class 1 buggies to the finish line. Before forming his own team, Douglas was hired to drive for Walker Evans Racing and Herzog Motorsports.

In the mid-1990s Douglas Motorsports focused their efforts on short course off-road racing, building one of the most impressive teams in the history of the sport. During his short course career, Douglas has won three major Cup races. The first was a BorgWarner Manufacturer Challenge Cup win in 1997. In 2006, the team’s first season with AMSOIL as a title sponsor, Scott Dougas had a perfect weekend at Crandon International Raceway, winning both class 4 races and a second BorgWarner Cup. The BorgWarner Cup was retired after 2009 and AMSOIL stepped up to fill the void and continue the tradition with the AMSOIL Cup. In 2010, the first year of the AMSOIL Cup, Scott Douglas won his third Cup in decisive fashion, beating all the PRO 4x4s and passing the entire PRO 2WD field to take the checkered flag. Douglas nearly repeated with a fourth Cup in 2011, chasing down a very fast AMSOIL teammate, the Boss Snow Plow Nissan Titan driven by Chad Hord. It took a little longer to work through the PRO 4×4 field in 2011 but Douglas finished a close second, and first PRO 4×4 on the podium.

The 2012 TORC Series presented by AMSOIL is currently scheduled to kick-off April 28-29 at Cycle Ranch outside of San Antonio, Texas. From there the series will travel to Buchanan, Michigan and the Red Bud MX track, then Crandon International Raceway June 16-17 for the Spring Brush Run. The next two races are tied to the NASCAR schedule; the first is Charlotte, North Carolina on July 13-14, then on to Chicagoland Route 66 Raceway on July 19-20. Bark River, Michigan is on the schedule August 11-12. The 2012 TORC points season will wrap-up September 1-3 in Crandon, Wisconsin with the running of the 3^rd annual AMSOIL Cup.

The racing world lost a great champion, fierce competitor, and good friend this year when when a plane crash claimed the lives of Rick Huseman, his brother Jeff, and their pilot. It was a devastating loss for off-road racing and Douglas Motorsports would like to encourage everyone to support the Huseman family by making a donation at: http://www.fast-aid.org/donations.

Douglas Motorsports would like to thank all their great fans and sponsors, including; AMSOIL, BFGoodrich Tires, Baileigh Industrial, KC Hilites, MasterCraft Seats,  Fox Shox, Walker Evans Racing Wheels, Raceline Oil Pumps, Miller Electric, BorgWarner, VP Racing Fuels, Ringers Gloves, Hawk Performance, Howe Performance Power Steering, J&H Transmission, MSD, Peterson Fluid Systems, and Phil’s Inc.

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

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

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

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

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

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!

Floresville, Texas set the stage for an epic finale between the Ricky Johnson vs. Johnny Greaves saga.  The two have been battling, literally, all season for position, podiums, points and pride.  It was only fair that the two went in to the final race of the season all square.  “It’ll be two of the world’s best off-roaders going at it. No points are involved … there’ll be no ‘playing it safe’ … it’s on,” said Johnny.  After a false start that set the crowd off, Johnny hit the finish line jump to pass Ricky in the air to get the race going.  Unfortunately, afterward Johnny got spun on a table top and fell behind Ricky.  Leading at the competition yellow, Ricky pretty much sealed the deal with 2 points, as Johnny left the track with a broken front end.  Congratulations to Johnny Greaves for taking the season overall 2nd in the 2011 TORC Series.

Marty Hart finished the last two races with a 4th place finish on Saturday and a 6th place finish on Sunday, ending him in 5th place finish in the 2011 TORC season.

Pro Lights had an exciting season, as Casey Currie took an overall season 3rd finish.  Casey took 4th on Saturday and a podium 2nd place finish on Sunday.  Perhaps the highlight of the weekend was CJ Greaves.  After turning 16, CJ Greaves took home a $15,000 check as he won his first Pro Light race and the Traxxas Cup!  Currie lead most of the race, by as many as 5 seconds.  But Greaves proved that he’s going to be a force to reckon with as he cut to four, then three, then two and eventually took over the lead.  “It’s amazing. Awesome feeling,” said CJ Greaves. “Our whole team ran great. Couldn’t do it without my family … just awesome to be up here.”

Photos by Vincent Knakal of Mad Media

[Show as slideshow]

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.

# # #

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.

The opening PRO 4×4 laps of the final round of the Traxxas TORC Series, presented by AMSOIL, was indicative of the entire season; tumultuous door-to-door racing action at a feverous pitch between the class’ chief combatants – Ricky Johnson (Red Bull/KMC Wheels/Mopar/Ram) and Johnny Greaves (Monster Energy/Toyota/Maxxis). Then you had the latter PRO 4×4 laps, which pretty much mimicked, at least in Greaves’ case, the dark rain clouds that dogged the series for much of the summer as Greaves broke and sat motionless on the side of the track as Johnson powered home to the victory and overall PRO 4×4 title at Texas’ Cycle Ranch MX Park. Taking top honors in the TORC PRO 2 class, with his second win of the season and second Oakley Bomb Award for the fastest lap was Bryce Menzies (Red Bull/KMC Wheels/Mopar/Ram), who also wrapped up the overall TORC PRO 2 championship on Saturday. And in Traxxas PRO Light racing there were actually two winners; RJ Anderson (Walker Evans/Ram) taking top honors in the TORC season’s final race in that class, and CJ Greaves (Monster Energy/Toyota/Maxxis) winning the inaugural 15K Traxxas PRO Light Cup the 2011 TORC Series’ final contest.

TORC PRO 4×4

All sort of heck broke loose early in the TORC season’s final PRO 4×4 race. First off a false start added to the already crazy tension between Greaves and Johnson. Then came a scene where Greaves berzeked it off the Red Bull finish line jump, passing Johnson in the air and landing on the flats – well beyond the 150-foot base of the landing transition. With the crowd going absolutely bananas, Greaves then split Johnson and Scott Douglas (AMSOIL/BFG/MasterCraft Safety), only to get spun in a complete 360 – at about 80 mph – atop a table top jump in the middle of the track. And while this put the fans over the top, a short time later Greaves would leave the track with a broken front end. “The front differential locked up and the gear probably broke and just twisted it right off the chassis,” said Greaves, admitting the damage was already done to his truck prior to his spectacular mid-course 360. “I just went for it anyway. The truck swapped and I was grabbing gears, down-shifting while it was spinning.” While Greaves’ misfortune resonated throughout the crowd, Johnson didn’t waver in his methodical approach to taming the rugged, Truckcross-like track TORC officials built at Cycle Ranch MX. Johnson, who picked up two points on Greaves by leading at Sunday’s PRO 4×4 competition yellow, in essence won the title at the midway point of the race. “Thanks to my wife and family, and to Steve Menzies for believing in me,” said Johnson, holding back the tears on the TORC podium, while thanking a host of other sponsors including: Red Bull, Mopar, Ram, KMC Wheels and BFG. The rest of the final TORC PRO 4×4 podium would be made up of Mike Jenkins (Traxxas/Ford/BFG) in 2nd and Steve Barlow (Maxxis/Ebay Motors/Metal Mulisha) 3rd after Douglas gave up 2nd place by breaking with half a lap to go.

PRO 4×4 results

1st – Ricky Johnson*

2nd – Mike Jenkins

3rd – Steve Barlow

4th – Scott Douglas

5th – Mark Jenkins

6th – Adrian Cenni

7th – Johnny Greaves

*Oakley Bomb Award fastest TORC PRO 4×4 lap

TORC PRO 4×4 Final Overall

1st – Ricky Johnson, 288

2nd – Johnny Greaves, 273

3rd – Scott Douglas, 239

4th – Steve Barlow, 217

5th – Mark Jenkins, 214

6th – Mike Jenkins, 194

7th – Adrian Cenni, 188

8th – Milan Mazanec, 100

9th – Al Drews, 38

10th – Kyle Leduc, 34

TORC PRO 2

With Menzies out front to open the final TORC PRO 2 race at Cycle Ranch MX, Mopar/Ram/Traxxas racer Rob MacCachren put on a huge rush in the race’s first half, moving all the way up from 8th to 3rd by the competition yellow. MacCachren the put a slick pass on Monster Energy/Toyota/Maxxis’ Marty Hart where MacCachren faked to the inside and then railed the outside of the final turn berm – coming out towing Hart into the finish line jump. With four laps to go Menzies had all but checked out with more than a five-second lead on his mentor, MacCachren. Hart was then caught by Chad Hord (BOSS Snowplows/Nissan/AMSOIL). But what looked to be a great late race battle for 3rd heading into the checkers ended up with Hart dead in the water and Hord cruising easily to the third TORC PRO 2 podium spot. “Can’t say enough about my sponsors and this team,” said Menzies. “Our third win in a row and we can’t get any better than that.” Noteworthy: Menzies was rocking some ‘out there-looking’ yellow wheels for the final race, to which he added: “A lot of people ragged on me for these wheels. But hey, they got me up here on top of the podium!”

TORC PRO 2 results

1st – Bryce Menzies*

2nd – Rob MacCachren

3rd – Chad Hord

4th – Jeff Kincaid

5th – Corey Sisler

6th – Marty Hart

7th – Greg Adler

8th – Mike Oberg

*Oakley Bomb Award fastest TORC PRO 2 lap

TORC PRO 2 Final Overall

1st – Bryce Menzies, 297

2nd – Jeff Kincaid, 240

3rd – Chad Hord, 232

4th – Rob MacCachren, 224

5th – Marty Hart, 195

6th – Mike Oberg, 190

7th – Scott Taylor, 160

8th – Mikey Vanden Heuvel, 156

9th – Keith Steele, 60

9th – Greg Adler, 60

Traxxas PRO Light

Coming off the top six inverted start formation (based on Saturday’s results), privateer Shawn Morris (Chevy/Maxxis) grabbed the early lead with a huge jump. But thing soon went south (and north, east and west) for Morris as the flipped radically in the middle right hander on the track, bringing out the full-course yellow. On the restart CJ Greaves blasted into the top position, followed by his Monster Energy teammate, Casey Currie (Nissan/General Tire) and Randy Eller (Ford/Maxxis). 2011 Traxxas PRO Light overall champ Andrew Caddell (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG) then shot into the hot pits with a flat tire and soon after Eller had some mechanical troubles. This allowed Friday winner Anderson to catch CJ Greaves – and those two would go at it, hard, for the next several laps before Anderson took the lead for good. Currie would then catch CJ Greaves for 2nd, with Greaves holding on for a podium 3rd.

Traxxas PRO Light Results

1st – RJ Anderson*

2nd – Casey Currie

3rd – CJ Greaves

4th – Brad Lovell

5th – Luke Johnson

6th – Keegan Kincaid

7th – Todd Cunningham

8th – Randy Eller

9th – Samuel Hubinette

10th – Derry Peterson

*Traxxas Maxx Lap Award for fastest Traxxas PRO Light lap

TORC Traxxas PRO Light Final Overall

1st – Andrew Caddell, 249

2nd – RJ Anderson, 213

3rd – Casey Currie, 200

4th – Samuel Hubinette, 196

5th – Brad Lovell, 174

6th – CJ Greaves, 162

6th – Randy Eller, 162

8th – Todd Cunningham, 154

9th – Shawn Morris, 141

10th – Luke Johnson, 126

15K Traxxas PRO Light Cup

Traxxas’ Mike Jenkins dug into his pockets for the Traxxas PRO Light class, putting on one last cash prize race with a cool $15,000 on the line for the winner. Inverting Saturday’s top six in the starting order, Currie took the early lead and led much of the race – run without TORC’s customary mid-race mandatory caution. Up by more than five seconds at one point, a train of Traxxas PRO Light drivers including CJ Greaves, Anderson and Brad Lovell (AMSOIL/BFG/Torchmate) separated from the rest of the field in pursuit of leader Currie. As the three pursuers diced and traded spots, the also cut into Currie’s lead. Five seconds was cut to four, then three and two. CJ Greaves then broke free in the pursuit and caught Currie when the defending Traxxas PRO Light champ high sided in a turn, and blew up his rear tire. Anderson would put the hammer down chasing CJ Greaves, but would not be able to catch the 16-year-old as Greaves locked down his first Traxxas PRO Light class win of the season – and a check for 15K! Anderson would place 2nd and score a generous $3,000 check and Lovell would be awarded with $1,000 from Traxxas. “It’s amazing. Awesome feeling,” said CJ Greaves. “Our whole team ran great. Couldn’t do it without my family … just awesome to be up here.”

Words by Pat Schute

Photos by Vincent Knakal of Mad Media

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What looked like a rather conservative TORC Series PRO 4×4 main event  was actually world-class off-road racer Ricky Johnson doing everything he could to hold off rival and TORC points leader Johnny Greaves to take the win, tying up the overall TORC PRO 4×4 points with one race remaining on the schedule.

In TORC PRO 2 action Bryce Menzies wrapped up the overall title – in this his rookie campaign on the TORC tour – by winning Saturday’s PRO 2 main event over Jeff Kincaid. And in the PRO Light division multi-time TORC winner/Hollywood stunt/Dirifter driver Samuel Hubinette was back on top of the podium with a thrilling win over Chicagoland Speedway TORC PRO Light winner RJ Anderson.

TORC PRO 4×4

Johnson, who won qualifying on Friday, rallied past a late first half Greaves pass to move Greaves out of the way in the final corner before the finish line – leading the race at the competition yellow midway mark and gaining a point on Greaves for his effort.

The second half of the TORC PRO 4×4 race at Cycle Ranch was much of the same with Johnson and Greaves distancing themselves from the rest of the pack. But to the trained short course off-road eye – which pretty much meant everyone in attendance taking advantage of the wonderful all-course vistas at Cycle Ranch – the battle for the final podium spot between Mark Jenkins and Steve Barlow proved to be equally as exciting as the show put on by Johnson and Greaves, with Jenkins putting a second half pass on Barlow – and making it stick – for 3rd place.

Up front Greaves, who won the Oakley Bomb Award for the TORC PRO 4×4’s fastest lap on Saturday, could only get to within a couple seconds of Johnson. And while a wide turn, over-rotation and subsequent spinout of Greaves (by Johnson) would raise people’s eyebrows and have them looking around to see if the two teams were about to rumble, Greaves would acknowledge that there was no foul play in the pass.

Said Greaves on Sunday’s race: “It’ll be two of the world’s best off-roaders going at it. No points are involved … there’ll be no ‘playing it safe’ … it’s on.”

PRO 4 results

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

*Oakley Bomb Award fastest TORC PRO-4 lap

TORC PRO-2

Needing only a 7th place finish or better to wrap up the 2011 TORC PRO 2 overall championship, Menzies nonetheless put the hammer down much like he’s been doing all season, won his PRO 2-leading fifth Oakley Bomb Award and led veteran Kincaid to the checkers for his sixth win of the season and fourth consecutive win.

“Feels so good to be up here … to lock up the championship for all of these guys that put in all of the hours,” said Menzies from atop the TORC PRO 2 podium at Cycle Ranch, Oakley Bomb Award in hand. “I can’t thank everyone enough for this, but this one’s for my dad (Steve Menzies, who turned 50 today). I was either going to wreck this truck or win – and I’m glad I’m up here today with the win.”

With Chad Hord on the pole and taking the holeshot – and challenged early by Kincaid – Greg Adler, Rob MacCachren got locked together – literally – in the last corner of the first lap, breaking what appeared to be MacCachren’s front driver’s side A-arm and eliminating him from the race. Moments later Hord had something go wrong with his drive shaft and he ended up limping around the rest of the race.

So with only seven trucks running, the title at this point was already Menzies’. But that didn’t stop the Las Vegan from putting a charge on for the lead, passing Kincaid with a ton of corner speed that he used to launch for the lead down the middle lane – and well within the view of the inaugural TORC Cycle Ranch crowd.

At the mandatory TORC PRO 2 competition yellow Menzies made more of a statement, opening up a sizable lead between himself and the veteran Kincaid, while Adler got past Marty Hart for the third and final podium spot.

TORC PRO 2 results

1st – Bryce Menzies* 2nd – Jeff Kincaid 3rd – Greg Adler 4th – Marty Hart 5th – Michael Oberg 6th – Mike Vanden Heuvel 7th – Chad Hord 8th – Rob MacCachren

*Oakley Bomb Award fastest TORC PRO 2 lap

TORC Traxxas PRO Light results

With Andrew Caddell having already wrapped up the 2011 Traxxas TORC PRO Light title, nothing but bragging rights were on the line at Cycle Ranch. That said, the fastest driver as of late in the class has been 17-year-old TORC rookie RJ Anderson, who’d won the previous two PRO Light class wins in a row at Chicagoland Speedway/Route 66 Raceway’s dirt oval and won the pole on Friday leading into Saturday’s event.

But when the dust cleared on the first lap neither Anderson nor Caddell were up front. That spot would belong to rookie TORC racer Hubinette –  of the “Fast & Furious” movie franchise with his notable drifting and stunt driving skills. Hubinette shot up the middle of the track and led Anderson (2nd) and Caddell (3rd) early. And no sooner could you say “Lawn Dart” did Caddell drive the nose of his Ram truck into the tacky red Texas dirt, flipping north/south in spectacular fashion directly in front of the finish line jump. And while Caddell, who won the Traxxas Maxx Lap, has survived numerous impacts of this nature throughout the season – and, unbelievably, kept on racing – this one at Cycle Ranch wounded his truck to the point where he joined the fans to watch the rest of the contest.

At the competition restart Hubinette led CJ Greaves and Anderson in 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Then when the race started back up, Greaves caught a rut and high-sided, knocking himself temporarily out of the race. Casey Currie, the defending 2010 TORC Traxxas PRO Light champion, had worked his way up into podium contention – but then left the track on the Todd Cunningham induced full course caution for his rollover.

Noteworthy: At the time of this printing TORC officials were still deciding on where CJ Greaves got back into the race. So with the final Traxxas PRO Light podium spot in question, we’ll pick up the coverage for 1st and 2nd place – and will revisit TORC’s call on CJ Greaves when that information becomes available.

As Hubinette stayed on point through the final stages of the race, Anderson again found his speed and moved ahead for a solid 2nd place. The “unofficial”

PRO-Lite  results

1st – Samuel Hubinette 2nd – RJ Anderson 3rd – Casey Currie 4th – Shawn Morris 5th – CJ Greaves 6th – Randy Eller 7th – Corey Sisler 8th – Todd Cunningham 9th – Derry Peterson 10th – Andrew Caddell* 11th – Brad Lovell 12th – Keegan Kincaid

Photos by Vince Knakal of Mad Media

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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.

# # #

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.

New track, new city, new state, new challenges. Short course off-road continues to expand with the birth of a new dynamic track a Cycle Ranch in Floresville, Texas just outside of San Antonio. The track has tons of features packed into to make it a ultra technical course that will likely force the race action. Moguls, whoops, table top jumps and step up jumps are just a few of the features. The facility is awesome! Building truck tracks at already built moto facilities seems obvious, so hopefully we see more of this. Qualifying went down with a few casualties including a violent endo when young pro-lite rookie Luke Johnson nosed it off the finish line jump ending his season and totaling his truck. In Pro-2 Chad Hord went out and unrelentingly attacked the track to qualify first. In Pro-4 Ricky and Johnny have already started the war, as the duo exchanged top qualifying times. Ricky squeaked out in first with Johnny in second. In Pro-lite young rising star RJ Anderson took the top spot.

Pro-2:

1. Chad Hord

2. Bryce Menzies

3. Jeff Kincaid

4. Rob MacCachren

5. Greg Adler

Pr0-4

1. Rick Johnson

2. Johnny Greaves

3. Scott Douglas

4. Mark Jenkins

5. Adrian Cenni

Pr0-Lite

1. RJ Anderson

2. Samuel Hubinette

3. Brad Lovell

TORC PRO practice at Cycle Ranch begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday with racing beginning at 2 p.m.

Photos by Vince Knakal of Mad Media

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Abrams, WI (October 10, 2011) – The final weekend of the Traxxas TORC Sportsman Series presented by AMSOIL was at the Speedzone in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The Sportsman only weekend was organized and promoted by longtime off-road racer Dan Vanden Heuvel. Along with a bunch of volunteer help from other racers and fans, Vanden Heuvel put on a great event that served as the final event of the TORC Sportsman series. The Championship weekend saw all eight classes race once each day as well as three classes that raced twice on Saturday to make-up the Round 2 rainout at Red Bud. Then as an added bonus, the promoter added two mechanics races, one for buggies and one for trucks. Overall one hundred seven drivers took to the track at the Speedzone.

Here are some of the highlights.

The biggest highlight was the race track ran counterclockwise on Saturday, and then clockwise on Sunday. Then to throw another twist into the weekend, all the races on Saturday began with an old-fashioned LeMans style start and then a land rush start on Sunday. The mechanics races were a big hit as twenty seven drivers took the track between the two eight lap races.  Hats off to Dan Vanden Heuvel for his creativity!!

Dan Baudoux swept both Round 11 and 12 in the Super Truck division. Another highlight in the Super Truck class was Ken Hallgren returning to competition as he finished on the podium both days.

Matt Ives finished the season with two second and one third place finish to take the Stock Truck championship. Rookie Nick Baumgartner won all three races over the weekend, but finished second to Ives in the Stock Truck Championship.

Scott Beauchamp continued to finish on the podium as he clichéd the Super Stock Championship after Round 11. Brock Smith won his first race of the season, second for the team, as the Smith Brothers finished second in the championship.

Dan Baudoux won his eighth and ninth races of the year as he dominated all year to take the Super Truck Championship. After a two year absence from the sport, Ken Hallgren came back to finish both days on the podium.

Brad Lemarche won Round 11 and was able to take the Formula 4×4 Championship. A late season charge by Dave Miah saw the Michigan native win three of the final five rounds of racing, including Round 12, but came up short as he finished second in the championship.

CJ Greaves won all three rounds of racing at Oshkosh to win his second consecutive Super Buggy Championship.  Andy Zipperer had his best race of the season with a second place finish in Round 12.

Brad Erickson won 1600 Buggy Championship with two podium finishes. Mark Steinhardt finished the season with two second place finishes and a won, but fell seven points short of the championship.

Greg Stingle won his second Light Buggy Championship in a row with two second place finishes. Matt Gerald won two of the three rounds at Oshkosh, but couldn’t quite catch Stingle for the championship.

Thankfully Dale Chestnut had clinched the Classix Championship before the racing began at Oshkosh, because a first lap rollover during Round 11 ended his day early. Meanwhile Jeremy Forbes won his first race of the year in Round 11.

You can watch all the Oshkosh Sportsman Racing as it was recorded live and then archived on USTREAM.TVJust click on the link: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/usac—pitpass

View a great collection of photos taken by Mike Roth during the weekend:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teJmThFdhvU

The Class Champions for the 2011 Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL

Classix – Dale Chestnut -Verona, WI

Formula 4×4 – #471 – Brad Lemarche – Stanley, WI

Stock Truck – #587 – Matt Ives – Stephenson, MI

Light Buggy – #172 – Greg Stingle – Black Creek, WI

1600 Buggy – #308 – Brad Erickson – Wilson, MI

Super Buggy – #33 -CJ Greaves – Green Bay, WI

Super Stock Truck – #820 – Scott Beauchamp – Bark River, MI

Super Truck – #217 Dan Baudoux – Hemlock, MI

OSHKOSH, WI Race Results

Round 2 Make -up

 1600 Buggy

1. 1.       #195 – Matt Gerald
2. 2.       #172 – Greg Stingle
3. 3.       #109 – Todd Lemke
4. 4.       #117 – Barry Wahlen
5. 5.       #173 – Steve Oman

Super Buggy

1. 1.       #33 – CJ Greaves
2. 2.       #926 – Bob Klaus
3. 3.       #18 – Steve  Krieman
4. 4.       #29 – Scott Schwalbe
5. 5.       #990 – Jeff Sleegers

Stock Truck

1. 1.       #555 – Nick Baumgartner
2. 2.       #508 – Wayne Schunk
3. 3.       #587 – Matt Ives
4. 4.       #526 – Bob Birkholz
5. 5.       #520 – Tracee Peebles

midwestoffroadracing@yahoo.com 

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

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

Madison, WI (September 22, 2011) – The three weekend race program for Keith Steele and his #29 Race Team Gear Kumho Tire Chevy PRO-2WD race truck concluded with the midweek race at The Dirt Track @ Chicagoland Speedway in suburban Chicago.  Even though this might look like the end of the season to the team, it really is just the beginning.  Keith Steele ran a limited schedule on a limited budget and succeeded by competing at the highest level of professional off-road racing. This was especially evident at Chicagoland Speedway.

The Baja-style short course layout was built in and around the facility’s half-mile dirt oval. The seven tenth of a mile long track had single and double jumps throughout the course. It also included a high speed section and two suspension testing mogul fields. It was a textbook TORC stadium style layout that really suited the driving style of Keith Steele.

As in each TORC event this year, rain caused a change in the event schedule. The Wednesday afternoon practice sessions were cancelled due to the rain. Fortunately by early evening the skies cleared and the race track dried allowing for a combined practice and qualifying session for all three PRO classes.

The Wednesday night round of racing was actually considered the make-up round of racing from Red Bud. The seventeen lap race saw Keith start at the tail end of the starting grid, but when the green flag was waved, people took notice of the black #29 Race Team Gear Chevy.  After making a couple of heroic moves to avoid the spinning and wrecking trucks on the opening lap, Keith kept pace with the leaders in the race.  As the laps were counting down, so were Keith’s lap times. In fact as Keith crossed the finish in fourth place, he recorded the fastest final lap time.

Thursday night would be one the biggest night’s for TORC as all three PRO classes would have Round 11 broadcast live on the SPEED Channel. Keith Steele and his crew made a couple of chassis changes and checked everything twice making sure for a strong run for the live TV cameras.

Round 11 saw the #29 Race Team Gear Kumho Tire Chevy run a very competitive race.  After seventeen hard fought laps the black Chevy took the checkered flag in seventh place.

Afterwards Keith Steele commented about the Chicagoland event.

“Tonight we did our best to step up our game, but so did everyone else. Our team has limited resources so we can’t do some of the things other teams can. Throughout our season we made improvements to the truck and we showed some of our potential at Chicagoland. I’m really proud of our team with what we accomplished this year. Thanks again to our marketing partner Race Team Gear, without them we wouldn’t be racing at this level.”

Along with SPEED Channel’s broadcast of the Chicagoland event, you can watch the entire TORC race season unfold, every Wednesday night, on Discovery Channel’s HD Theatre.

Keith would like to thank all his supporters including:

Race Team Gear – Kumho Tire -Wolverine Performance

J & H Transmission – Mellum Construction

King Shocks – Yank Converters – Allstar Performance – Fastenal

R2C Competition Filters – MSD Ignition – Race One Online – Phil’s Inc.

For more information or schedule an interview please contact:

Izzy Steele, Administration Coordinator @ info@steeleoffroad.com

www.steeleoffroad.com

- Mike Reusche, race report

Fast & flowy with plenty of technical aspects, Cycle Ranch’s track is coming together nicely says Nordstrom

We’re less than a month away from the Traxxas TORC Series, presented by AMSOIL, final rounds at Cycle Ranch MX in Floresville, Texas. And according the USAC/TORC track builder Jeff Nordstrom the track is coming along nicely and will be ready for the Oct. 15-16 event.

Since November of 2010 Nordstrom has been a fixture at the Cycle Ranch property, working with the facility’s owners, USAC/TORC officials and numerous drivers in designing the optimal racing layout the will ultimately decide the 2011 TORC championships in PRO Light, PRO 2 and – what everybody’s waiting for – the final chapter in the epic Johnny Greaves (Monster Energy/Toyota/Maxxis) and

Ricky Johnson (Red Bull/KMC Wheels/Mopar/Ram) PRO 4×4 battles that spread from Michigan to Wisconsin, down to Charlotte, back to Michigan and Wisconsin again, over to Chicago – and will finally be decided in Texas.

So here’s Nordstrom’s dozer-eye take of the Cycle Ranch track, how things came together, where he’s at now with it and what fans can expect on the second weekend in October just outside San Antonio.

TORC Series: Jeff, talk about the general layout of the Cycle Ranch facility. What were some of the main things you had to contend with when you first set out to construct the TORC off-road track at Cycle Ranch MX.

Jeff Nordstrom: Starting with the pro pit area, we scouted a spot that was already used for MX – and we just expanded on it for the TORC Series’ needs. The camping area will be just behind the pro pits, separated by a line of trees. As for the track, much if it is on the property adjacent to the pits – an old MX track, part of which ran through the woods. So when we started out there was quite a bit of vegetation, including trees. And we used dozers to clean the entire piece of property.

TORC Series: When did this work begin?

Jeff Nordstrom: After the initial scouting reports on the track, which included a visit from Jason Smith (USAC/TORC official), we broke ground on January 4^th. Since then I’ve been back to Cycle Ranch four times, with each trip lasting two to three weeks.

TORC Series: So where do we stand now in terms of the track’s progression?

Jeff Nordstrom: We’ve got a LOT of stuff done, including a 550-foot long natural dirt grandstand. Specifically for the track, the general track is complete – along with the berms. What I have to do now is complete the features – multiple table tops, rhythm and mogul sections and multiple double jumps. I head back on the (Sept.) 28^th and will have the rest completed well before the week leading into the race.

TORC Series: Outstanding. In terms of the other tracks on the Traxxas TORC Series, which one(s) will Cycle Ranch resemble most?

Jeff Nordstrom: I’d have to say it’s like a bigger version – MUCH bigger version – of Charlotte and Chicago. Bigger and much longer. The track’s a mile long, and action-packed from one end to the other. And maybe the best part, from a fan’s perspective, is that there are two main viewing areas – and you can see the pretty much the entire track from both of them,

TORC Series: What features are really going to stand out?

Jeff Nordstrom: The multiple table tops. And the red clay makes the track pop. It’s a jump-filled track, but also a fast track. Lots of high-flying action. And again, from where we placed the grandstand, fans aren’t going to miss a thing.

TORC Series: Like RedBud, we’ll probably have a lot of curious motocrossers from the area out for the event. Will the track be more on the technical side, like a supercross, or fast and flowy like a MX National track?

Jeff Nordstrom: It’ll be a good mixture of both. Flowy fast, with a technical side seen in both Chicago and Charlotte. Kind of like a Troy (Kenworthy’s), Ohio, MX National track.

TORC Series: Has the drought affected your construction efforts at all?

Jeff Nordstrom: Fortunately not. Cycle Ranch has a 40,000 gallon water tank on a well, so we haven’t had an issue. If they didn’t have that we would have had some problems.

TORC Series: Right on. Finally, the Greaves vs. RJ battle’s coming to a head at Cycle Ranch. From your dozer are you seeing areas of the track where they might come together – areas especially suited for some door-to-door PRO 4×4 banger passing?

Jeff Nordstrom: I think this style of track caters to both of their driving styles. If you watch Johnny and Ricky, the more technical the tracks the closer they come together. They both have motocross heritage, and race a track in a truck like they’re on a motocross bike. Like turn three in Chicago – I opened that way up and they could come in three wide. Too confided, too closed up and they can’t race. So Cycle Ranch they’ll be able to bang a little, giving the fans an aggressive race, which is always the best show.

By Pat Schutte

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JOLIET, IL—Douglas Motorsports proudly honored the men and women of the U.S. Military at the Chicago TORC Series presented by AMSOIL race by running a special graphic treatment on the number 7 AMSOIL F-150. Live SPEED Channel television coverage provided an opportunity to make the tribute in front of a huge audience.

Earlier this year, TORC Series drivers Scott Douglas, Mike Jenkins, and Chad Hord made the rounds of U.S. military bases in the Middle East. Rob Powers from Armed Forces Entertainment with the support of TRAXXAS and AMSOIL coordinated the two-week goodwill trip. The Pro Off-Road Champions Tour was a life-changing trip for Scott Douglas and he decided to give something back with a tribute to the troops.

Douglas carried a backpack on the trip that contained a large sheet of automotive vinyl wrap material. At every opportunity, Scott had the soldiers sign the wrap and leave a personal note if they wanted to. Once back in the States, the wrap was transferred to the hood of one of Douglas Motorsports PRO 4X4 bodies. Douglas had the familiar AMSOIL silver and black paint scheme converted to a desert tan to match the hood. Stenciled on the hood along with the AFE logos are the words “Off-Road Champions Tour” and “Douglas Motorsports Proud To Support The Troops.” The special body also has “Support Our Troops” on the rear fenders. Scott Douglas and Mike Jenkins reminisced in the pits prior to the truck unveiling in the PRO 4X4 race, recalling the names, faces, and places they experienced on the Middle East tour.

The Chicagoland Speedway TORC Series races kicked-off NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup week of activities. In the live two hour SPEED Channel broadcast Douglas didn’t let the troops down, putting the AMSOIL Champions Tour truck and all those signatures on the podium with a third place finish.

The previous PRO 4X4 Round of PRO 4X4 action on Wednesday night was very intense. Douglas was shuffled back in the pack after the start and worked his way through the field into third. Scott was holding off a charging Johnny Greaves late in the race when the pair came up on slower traffic. Douglas went outside and the slower truck came up the track toward the AMSOIL Ford opening a hole on the inside for Greaves. Scott finished fourth, just off the podium.

NASCAR driver Brendan Gaughan debuted the new Douglas Motorsports PRO 2WD Ford Raptor in Chicago flying the South Point Casino and classic Walker Evans Racing Colors. It proved to be a potent package right out of the box. Brendan obviously hasn’t forgotten how to drive a short course off-road truck, finishing on the podium with a third after a ten year hiatus from the dirt. Gaughan backed up that impressive performance  with a forth the following night.

The final stop on the 2011 TORC Series schedule is Cycle Ranch outside San Antonio, Texas on October 15^th and 16^th.

Be sure to catch all the 2011 TORC Series race action on Discovery HD Theater.

Douglas Motorsports would like to thank all their great fans and sponsors, including; AMSOIL, BFGoodrich Tires, Baileigh Industrial, KC Hilites, MasterCraft Seats,  Fox Shox, Walker Evans Racing Wheels, Raceline Oil Pumps, Miller Electric, BorgWarner, VP Racing Fuels, Ringers Gloves, Hawk Performance, Howe Performance Power Steering, J&H Transmission, MSD, Peterson Fluid Systems, and Phil’s Inc.

Belvidere, IL  (September 19, 2011) – The midweek TORC event was the opening act for the NASCAR weekend at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. After having success at the Dirt Track in Charlotte, Scott Taylor and his #8 Miller Welders RoushYates Engines BFGoodrich Tire Ford F-150 was looking forward to competing on the similar track layout at Chicagoland.

The .7 mile long “Chunk of Baja” had a variety of high speed jumps, a demanding rhythm section, and a couple of tabletop  jumps  all within the confines of the half-mile banked dirt circle track. The race itself was sixteen laps with a mandatory caution lap at the halfway point of the race.

Wednesday afternoon had two practice sessions scheduled before early evening qualifying. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other plans. Once it again it rained at a TORC event. Luckily the rain ended around four o’clock in the afternoon, allowing USAC officials to schedule a combined six lap practice and qualifying session before the scheduled evening race program.

Scott Taylor went out for the session and was just getting settled in when steering issues sent the Miller Welders Ford back to the pit area for a new steering gear. The limited practice time saw Taylor qualify sixth fastest.

Quickly crew chief Mike Kasch and the rest of the team went to work replacing the steering unit. Even with only a few practice laps, Scott also made a slight suspension change looking for some extra speed when exiting the three tight infield corners.

When it came to go racing Wednesday night, the race was over almost before it started. As the field came around turns one and two of the circle track, one of the trucks spun causing a couple more to do the same. Scott Taylor was one of the those trucks, the contact bent the rear track arms bars and a shock shaft which left the axle housing well out of alignment . The Miller Welders RoushYates Engines BFGoodrich Tires Ford went back to the hauler to get ready for Thursday evening’s round of racing.

The damage from Wednesday was quickly repaired and Scott Taylor was ready for Round Eleven by noontime.

Thursday evening’s race went much better the blue Ford F-150. After starting at the back of the pack, Scott raced hard and a fourth place finish was in sight of the checkered flag when the truck was pushed into the wall. This cost the Miller Welders Ford two positions, finishing in sixth.

“What happened on Wednesday was just a racing thing,” remarked Scott Taylor. “Just in the wrong spot at the wrong time, but we got the Miller Welders Ford back together and running really well on Thursday. Our King Shocks were set-up great, and our BFGoodrich Tires really put the RoushYates horsepower to the ground. If we would have been able to complete Wednesday’s race we would have had more feedback from the truck which would give the chance to fine tune our set-up for Thursday. All in all it was a good run for Taylor Racing.”

Thursday night’s racing was broadcast live on the SPEED Channel and the two-hour program has received rave reviews from longtime fans as well as television viewers that are new to short-course off-road racing.

Final weekend of the 2011 Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL is October 15-16 at the Cycle Ranch in San Antonio, Texas.

Taylor Racing thanks all their supporters including:

Miller Electric – RoushYates Engines – BFGoodrich Tires – Automatic Transmission Designs

AMSOIL , Mastercraft Safety,  Ford Trucks, Russ Wernimont Designs, King Shocks, Walker Evans Racing, MSD Ignition, Autometer, K & N Filters, Justice Brothers, Boatec, and Phil’s Inc.

A special thanks goes out to Justin Evans and Kevin Probst for lending their support to Taylor Racing.

Taylor Racing has marketing opportunities available for the 2012 TORC season.

To contact Taylor Racing please email: kellietaylor8@comcast.net

www.taylorsofforoadracing.com

- Race Report – Mike  Reusche

JOLIET, Ill., (Sept. 15, 2011) – Traxxas TORC Series, presented by AMSOIL, premier PRO 4×4 class rivals Ricky Johnson (Red Bull/KMC Wheels/Mopar/Ram) and Johnny Greaves (Monster Energy/Toyota/Maxxis) hooked up in yet another amazing battle of short course off-road supremacy, torqueing every last ounce of power out of their fire-breathing Baja-style trucks in a door-to-door race that came right down to the final turn and mad dash for the finish line.

Who won? Weren’t you watching LIVE on SPEED? Certainly an entire new wave of motorsports fans that planned or happened on the 9-11 p.m. (EST) program were won over by epic Johnson/Greaves battle, not to mention some super racing in both the PRO 2 and PRO Light classes as well.

TORC PRO 4

The top two rungs on the TORC Series podium couldn’t go to two more deserving guys than Johnson (1st) and Greaves (2nd) on Thursday night at Chicagoland Speedway/Route 66 Raceway. TORC’s Year of Greaves versus Johnson, the blazing fast Midwestern veteran against the Californian first year PRO 4 racer with race resume that stretches from Ensenada to Cabo … American versus Japanese brand heritage … Monster Energy versus Red Bull … easily the best rivalry off-road racing’s got going, if not all of motorsports.

“Yeah, that was one of those close RJ/Johnny Greaves battles … fun to be part of,” said Greaves from the podium. Added Johnson: “Thanks, Johnny – we both raced like champions tonight.”

With the two night sweep of TORC/Chicago, Johnson cut Greaves’ PRO 4 class overall lead down to just four points, 238-234, with just one round/two races remaining (San Antonio, Texas, Oct. 15-16).

Taking the early TORC PRO 4 main lead away from Mark Jenkins (Traxxas/BFG/AMSOIL), Greaves – with Johnson in hot pursuit – would separate from the rest of the field. Taking the early TORC PRO 4 main lead away from Mark Jenkins (Traxxas/BFG/AMSOIL), Greaves – with Johnson in hot pursuit – would separate from the rest of the field. Scott Douglas (AMSOIL/BFG/MasterCraft Safety) and Adrian Cenni (Atrium Payroll/4 Wheel Parts), along with Mike Jenkins (Traxxas/BFG/AMSOIL) would battle for the third and final podium spot leading into the competition yellow.

On the last lap Johnson would grab the lead on the massive first turn, 80-mph sweeper – holding off multiple pass attempts by Greaves. Douglas would then beat Steve Barlow (Maxxis/Ebay Motors/Metal Mulisha) to the tape by a nanosecond for 3rd. Cenni would be awarded the coveted Oakley Bomb Award for the fastest PRO 4 spin around Chicagoland/Route 66’s dirt oval.

PRO 4 results

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

TORC PRO 2

About the only way to slow down TORC PRO 2 points leader Bryce Menzies (Red Bull/Mopar/Ram) has been to enact the aid of mechanical gremlins. The Las Vegan has been flat out sending it on the TORC Series tracks and last night was no different as Menzies won the Oakley Bomb Award (as he did on Thursday as well) – only to have a sheared-off drive shaft put an end to his podium run.

On Thursday at Chicagoland Menzies, based on his 6th place finish on Wednesday, would be handed the pole position – and he took full advantage of it, leading the race from green flag to checkers without much answer from the other great drivers in his class.

“We’ve been running up front, but had some problems on Wednesday,” said Menzies. “We knew we were coming out on the pole, ended up leading it wire-to-wire.”

On the opening turn of the opening lap Wednesday’s TORC PRO 2 2nd place finisher, Marty Hart (Monster Energy/Maxxis/Toyota), spun his truck and went from a podium spot early to the very back of the pack. This left the door open for Wednesday winner Jeff Kincaid (Ford/BFG) to move into 2nd place behind Menzies early in the contest.

By the second lap Menzies and Kincaid began to separate, with the highlight of the race’s first half being Chad Hord (BOSS Snowplows/Nissan/AMSOIL) tracking down and passing NASCAR racer Brendan Gaughan (South Point/Walker Evans) at the finish line – right as the competition yellow flew.

On the restart Menzies took off, which left Hord chasing down Kincaid for what turned out to be a photo finish at the line – won by Kincaid. Gaughan would hold off Hart for 5th in another exciting charge to the checkers for the SPEED Channel viewers at home.

Menzies would increase his overall points lead to 43 (243-200) over 2nd place Hord.

PRO 2 results

1st – Bryce Menzies 2nd – Jeff Kincaid 3rd – Chad Hord 4th – Brendan Gaughan 5th – Marty Hart 6th – Scott Taylor 7th – Keith Steele 8th – Mike Oberg 9th – Rob MacCachren 10th – Scott Taylor

TORC PRO Light

Seventeen-year old RJ Anderson (Walker Evans/Ram) made it two TORC PRO Light class wins in a row at Chicagoland Speedway/Route 66 Raceway’s dirt oval as the southern California native outlasted and early pursuit by Andrew Caddell (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG), who crashed out, and late race charges from both CJ Greaves (Traxxas/Monster Energy/Maxxis) and Keegan Kincaid (Traxxas/BFG).

With numerous lead changes early in the race, Caddell, Anderson, Luke Johnson (Red Bull/Mopar/Ram) and CJ Greaves – in that order – separated themselves from the field in a four-man train. And while the fans had one eye glued to the front runners, there was definitely a lot of looking back for the No. 7 Red Bull/Oakley/Traxxas truck of motocrosser James Stewart, who was doing his best to dice with the likes of Brad Lovell (AMSOIL/BFG/Torchmate) and Ross Hoek (Royal Purple/BFG/All Star Performance), and ultimately finished in a solid 6th place.

Just one lap after the competition restart Caddell was nowhere to be found. Anderson inherited the lead, with Johnson, CJ Greaves and Keegan Kincaid in pursuit. Several laps later Johnson was on the sidelines, smoldering, and pro drifter Samuel Hubinette (Traxxas/Mopar/AMSOIL/BFG) joined the fray up front. The, around four laps into the PRO Light main comp restart, CJ Greaves caught and passed Anderson, then Anderson quickly took back the top spot. The two would battle side-by-side until the lap before the white flag – when CJ Greaves cut a corner too close, clipped a giant tractor tire and rolled his truck.

At the white flag Anderson, Keegan Kincaid and Hubinette were all spaced out evenly – about eight truck lengths apart. They’d finish on the podium that way with Todd Cunningham (C&C Racefab/Mickey Thompson Tires/Vinyl Shop) and Randy Eller (Maxxis/PSC Steering/AMSOIL by Rooster) rounding out the top five in 4th and 5th, respectively, and CJ Greaves awarded the Traxxas Maxx Lap for the fastest PRO Light lap on Thursday.

PRO Light results

1st – RJ Anderson 2nd – Keegan Kincaid 3rd – Samuel Hubinette 4th – Todd Cunnigham 5th – Randy Eller 6th – James Stewart 7th – Ross Hoek 8th – Casey Currie 9th – CJ Greaves 10th – Eric Ruppel 11th – Shawn Morris 12th – Mark Oberg 13th – Andy Zipperer 14th – Brett Ellenson 15th – Luke Johnson 16th – Andrew Caddell 17th – Brad Lovell 18th- Mitch Dorr

Unofficial TORC season overall points

PRO 4

1 22 GREAVES JOHNNY TOYOTA/MAXXIS 238 4 2 48 JOHNSON RICKY RAM/BFG 234 2 3 7 DOUGLAS SCOTT FORD/BFG 204 1 4 83 BARLOW STEVE FORD/MAXXIS 179 0 5 25 JENKINS MARK FORD/BFG 178 0 6 11 CENNI ADRIAN FORD/MAXXIS 160 4 6 47 JENKINS MIKE FORD/BFG 160 0 8 69 MAZANEC MILAN 100 0 9 32 DREWS AL FORD/BFG 38 0 10 99 LEDUC KYLE FORD/TOYO 34 0 11 4 LEDUC TODD FORD/TOYO 23 0 11 43 LEDUC CURT FORD/TOYO 12 0 13 6 GUNDERSON CASE 12

PRO 2

1 7 MENZIES BRYCE RAM/BFG 243 4 2 9 HORD CHAD NISSAN MOTORSPORTS/BFG 200 3 3 4 KINCAID JEFF FORD/BFG 199 2 4 21 MACCACHREN ROB RAM/BFG 192 2 5 80 OBERG MIKE CHEVY/BFG 164 0 6 15 HART MARTY TOYOTA/MAXXIS 162 0 7 8 TAYLOR SCOTT FORD/BFG 160 0 8 77 VANDEN HEUVEL MIKEY CHEVY/MAXXIS 134 0 9 29 STEELE KEITH CHEVY/KUMHO 60 0 10 32 GAUGHN BRENDONFORD/BFG 38 0 11 10 ADLER GREG FORD/BFG 28 0 12 33 WOERNER DOW CHEVY/BFG 26 0 13 30 PIERCE ROBBY FORD/BFG 18

PRO Light

1 43 CADDELL ANDREW RAM/BFG 238 5 2 37 ANDERSON RJ RAM/GOODYEAR 164 0 3 77 HUBINETTE SAM RAM/BFG 161 1 4 1 CURRIE CASEY NISSAN MTRSPT/GNRL 160 0 5 44 LOVELL BRAD NISSAN MTRSPT/BFG 151 0 6 11 ELLER RANDY FORD/MAXXIS 138 0 7 5 CUNNINGHAM TODD CHEVY/MCK TMP 132 0 8 27 MORRIS SHAWN CHEVY/MAXXIS 121 0 9 33 GREAVES CJ TOYOTA/MAXXIS 120 2 10 14 JOHNSON LUKE RAM/BFG 110 0 11 21 HOEK ROSS FORD/BFG 71 0 12 73 RUPPEL ERIC FORD/BFG 68 0 13 76 ZIPPERER ANDY FORD/BFG 66 0 14 7 KINCAID KEEGAN FORD/BFG 64 1 15 38 DEEGAN BRIAN FORD/BFG 63 2 16 17 DORR MITCH FORD/GDYR 59 0 17 4 ELLENSON/JANUSZBRETT/JASONTOYOTA/TOYO 55 0 18 8 PORTER MIKE FORD/BFG 37 0 19 30 OBERG MARK 27 0 20 7s STEWART JAMES 17 0 21 18 BAKER MICHAEL FORD 7

TORC Chicagoland race photo by Mike Roth

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!

By Pat Schutte

[Show as slideshow]

• Ricky Johnson notches third win in PRO 4
• RJ Anderson claims first career triumph in PRO Light
• Andrew Caddell finishes on the podium in PRO Light

Joliet, Ill. (Sept. 14, 2011) —  Mopar® Ram Truck drivers Ricky Johnson and RJ Anderson were both victorious on Wednesday night in the opener of the two-day event for the Traxxas TORC (The Off-Road Championship) Series at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill.

“All of us at Mopar are proud of Ricky Johnson and RJ Anderson for their wins tonight in Chicago,” said Pietro Gorlier, COO of Mopar, Chrysler Group’s service, parts and customer-care brand.  “It has been an incredible inaugural season in the TORC series for Mopar and Ram, with 18 wins and counting.”

“This year’s TORC Series events have been incredibly competitive and has put the focus on reliable performance and driver talent,” said Fred Diaz, President and CEO, Ram Truck Brand and Chrysler de Mexico – Chrysler Group LLC. “With Ricky Johnson and RJ Anderson’s wins tonight, fans saw for themselves that Ram has the best trucks and the best drivers.”

Johnson, who was the fastest driver in qualifying in PRO 4, started on the pole in his Red Bull Mopar Ram and jumped to a quick lead over his rival Johnny Greaves. Johnson extended his lead over the first half of the race and had a comfortable advantage when the mandatory competition caution flag was waved on the ninth lap of the 17-lap contest. For the native of El Cajon, Calif., it was his third win of the season and eighth podium finish.

“This one is for my team,” said Johnson. “They gave me a great Red Bull Ram Truck with plenty of Mopar horsepower under the hood. I can’t thank everyone enough who helps us out. It feels great to be on the podium, though tomorrow we’ll start sixth, so it will be certainly be a battle. We have some great drivers in this class and the fans will see another great show tomorrow night.”

Johnson used a strong restart following the competition caution to open a lead on second-place runner Adrian Cenni, who made a bid for the top spot a couple of times over the final eight laps. The initial start of the race was called back by officials as was the restart on the ninth lap, with Johnson getting strong starts each time to jump to the lead en route to the victory.

“It’s good short track racing here at Chicago,” noted Johnson. “The entire crew from USAC did a great job putting this track together and it’s a very technical track. You can drive on it and you can pass on it. I think we’ll see guys coming from the back tomorrow night to challenge for the lead.”

Anderson scored his first career win in PRO Light, driving a Ram Truck with Mopar power for off-road legend Walker Evans. The rookie lined up second and battled C.J. Greaves in the early going for the top spot, before taking the lead coming off turn three of the oval portion of the track. Anderson quickly opened a sizeable gap once out front and was running in the top spot when the competition caution waved.

“It feels great to get my first win,” said Anderson. “I am so happy for my team. They have been working so hard all year and we have had some struggles and they just keep at it and keep working hard to give me a good Ram Truck with strong Mopar power each race. It shows that all of the hard work they put in pays off and is worth it.”

Over the second half of the race, Anderson had current PRO Light point leader and fellow Mopar Ram Truck driver Andrew Caddell to contend with. Caddell worked his way back to the front after rolling his machine and falling back to eighth early in the race. The native of Graham Wash. would end up second to earn his 10^th straight podium finish. Samuel Hübinette was running third near the halfway point of the 19-lapper, when he got upside on the front straightaway. The two-time Formula DRIFT champion was able to walk away uninjured under his own power. The victory for Anderson made him the fifth different driver to win in PRO Light this season.

“I did have to be patient with how muddy the track was early on,” explained Anderson. “I sat back a little bit and then I really started reeling in C.J. (Greaves) and just went for it. I actually lost my radio contact early in the race, so I never really knew if anyone was beside me or behind me. I was just trying to run as many laps as I could without making any mistakes. To pick up my first win in my rookie year in PRO Light is pretty amazing.”

In PRO 2, current point leader Bryce Menzies had mechanical trouble while leading, falling back to seventh at one point. He nursed his Red Bull Mopar Ram to the finish to gain valuable points, as he chases his first title. Fellow Mopar Ram driver Rob MacCachren, who is currently second in points, was caught up in an accident early on, suffering significant damage to his machine and ending his night.

The Traxxas TORC Series wraps up their stop at Route 66 Raceway on Thursday night, with feature events for each of the three PRO classes. All the action will air live on SPEED beginning at 9 p.m. (ET).

• 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.

# # #

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.

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

[Show as slideshow]

Watch the TORC Series Round 11 and the Exhibition Round in Chicago live here on RDC.

The live show should start around 5pm local time (3pm PST).

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED

Rockford, IL  (September 12, 2011) – The forty-second edition of the Crandon World Championship Off-Road Race Weekend saw Mitch Dorr in his Goodyear Tire ATD Ford Ranger get his best finishes of the season. The rookie PRO driver overcame some early adversity to get his first top ten finishes of the season.

The traditional Labor Day Weekend event had a few changes in 2011. One of which was the Friday afternoon of racing. The June weekend of racing held in Crandon saw torrential storms cancel Round 4, so race officials rescheduled the round as part of the Labor Weekend festivities.    Then as teams were preparing for Friday’s racing, once again the rain fell on the “Big House.” Somehow the rain was intermittent enough get the race program completed. In fact, rain fell off and on the entire weekend.

Mitch and his team were confident that they had corrected their season long suspension issues, and now were looking for greatly improved race results.   The three rounds of racing would be key for the development of the team as the 2012 season is already on their minds.

Friday’s round of racing had the Goodyear Ford running well within the top ten of the twenty truck field when the engine began to overheat.  In order to complete all ten laps, Mitch backed off of his race pace to finish thirteenth.

Overnight, the crew went work solving the overheating problem and by the next morning, the #17 Goodyear Ford was ready for the rest of the weekend.

The rest of the weekend continued to improve for Mitch. Saturday’s Round 9 had the Black #17 Goodyear Ford cross the finish in ninth place and he followed that finish with an eight place on Sunday.

“This weekend was a turning point for our team,” noted Mitch Dorr. “We still have some work to do with our shock set-up, but we made great strides this weekend. I believe we will really show our potential at Chicagoland and San Antonio.”

The next race on the 2011 TORC race schedule is September 14-15, 2011 at The Dirt Track @ Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL.

Don’t forget you can watch all the TORC race action from Chicagoland Speedway live on the Speed Channel  this Thursday evening beginning at 8pm EST.

Mitch would like to thank all Goodyear Tires and Auto Trans Design as lead marketing partners of Mitch Dorr Motorsports.
The team is has marketing opportunities available for the remainder of the 2011 TORC season. Interested parties can contact Mitch Dorr: mgdorr86@hotmail.com

-          www.mitchdorr.com

Race Report – Mike Reusche

CHICAGO, IL—NASCAR driver Brendan Gaughan will debut the new Douglas Motorsports PRO 2WD truck at the Chicagoland TRAXXAS TORC Series presented by AMSOIL race. Sponsored by South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the Ford Raptor carries the legendary Walker Evans Racing colors. Before graduating to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Gaughan honed his car control skills racing in the dirt, competing in both desert and short course. Brendan successfully campaigned a PRO2 truck driving for Walker Evans in the former SODA series and early days of the CORR series.

“Brendan is a very talented driver and fierce competitor. Everyone at Douglas Motorsports is thrilled he will be driving the South Point Walker Evans Racing PRO 2WD truck in Chicago,” commented Scott Douglas. “Walker Evans has had a huge influence on my off-road racing career. More than twenty years ago, he hired me as a full-time professional driver. I owe a great deal to Walker and the entire Walker Evans Racing organization,” continued Douglas.

The TRAXXAS TORC Series kicks off the Chase for the Cup NASCAR week at Chicagoland Speedway with racing scheduled for both Wednesday September 14^th and Thurday September 15^th. In addition to live internet video streaming on torcseries.com and coverage on Discovery HD Theater, the September 15^th race will be covered live on the Speed Channel.

• Rounds 11 and 12 set for Sept. 14–15 in Joliet, Ill.
• Bryce Menzies (PRO 2) and Andrew Caddell (PRO Light) chase fifth wins; Samuel Hübinette (PRO Light) and Rob MacCachren (PRO 2) seek fourth triumphs; Ricky Johnson (PRO 4) guns for third checkered flag
• Menzies leads points in PRO 2, Caddell holds top spot in PRO Light

Auburn Hills, Mich. — It’s getting down to crunch time for Mopar® Ram Truck drivers competing with the Traxxas TORC (The Off-Road Championship) Series, as just two events and four rounds of racing remain heading into the event at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., Sept. 14–15, with the finale on Thursday, Sept. 15 airing on SPEED beginning at 9 p.m. (ET).

Bryce Menzies and Andrew Caddell have each won four times for Mopar and Ram, while Samuel Hübinette and Rob MacCachren have scored three victories and Ricky Johnson has visited the winner’s circle twice to bring the brands’ win total to 16 in their inaugural TORC season.

Route 66 Raceway will host the TORC Series for the second consecutive year, though it will mark the first time the races have been run in conjunction with the NASCAR event at Chicagoland Speedway across the street.

“It’s always good to get to race in front of new fans,” said MacCachren, of visiting the Chicago area. “Earlier this year we went to Charlotte and that was the first time this type of racing had ever been there, and they had a lot of enthusiastic fans. We’ve been to Chicago before, but this year we are going the same week as NASCAR, so we are hoping to get a lot more motorsports enthusiasts there and introduce them to off-road racing.”

MacCachren is currently second in the standings in PRO 2, on the strength of three wins and five podium finishes. He ran third in the finale at Crandon (Wis.) International Off-Road Raceway in very muddy conditions on Sept. 4, which marked his best finish since breaking his collarbone last month. MacCachren is 26 points behind fellow Mopar Ram driver Bryce Menzies as they battle for the PRO 2 title.

“We’re going into Chicago on ‘kill mode,’” said MacCachren. “We have four more rounds and we’re going to go and try to win them all. We have nothing to lose and just have to go for it now. Our Mopar Ram Truck has been running great all year and my Jenkins Brothers Racing team has been working very hard, so we’ll see what we can do.”

Hübinette will be making his debut at Route 66 Raceway, as he continues his rookie TORC campaign in PRO Light. The two-time Formula DRIFT champion has won three times this season, opening the year with a pair of victories at RedBud MX in Buchanan, Mich. on Memorial Day weekend in his first two off-road starts. Hübinette is currently fourth in points, just nine markers out of the second position, having racked up five podium finishes thus far in 2011.

“It’s going to be a similar venue to Charlotte, which worked very well,” said Hübinette. “Chicago is a great location and I think we’ll have a good crowd there with NASCAR in town. It will be a very important event for me, after having trouble at Crandon. I have to really get the momentum going now and make it on the podium both days in my Mopar Ram Truck. I’m definitely focused to do well at Chicago.”

Menzies, the current championship leader in PRO 2 in his Red Bull Mopar Ram, was victorious in two of the three rounds at Crandon to score his third and fourth wins of the season. The native of Las Vegas has earned six podium finishes and has been among the top-five in all nine rounds of racing contested in PRO 2, as he continues his rookie season in the class.

Caddell also won twice at Crandon to bring his season tally in PRO Light to four, piloting a Mopar Ram for Jenkins Brothers Racing. The native of Graham, Wash. carries an impressive streak of nine straight podium finishes into the event at Joliet, as he looks to extend his 64-point lead in search of his first PRO Light title.

Ricky Johnson is second in the PRO 4 standings heading into battle this week, with a pair of wins to go along with a class-leading seven podium finishes. Johnson, one of the drivers who helped form the TORC Series in 2009, finished on the podium in two of the three rounds at Crandon over Labor Day weekend.

Also in action at Route 66 Raceway will be fellow Mopar Ram PRO Light drivers Luke Johnson and RJ Anderson. Johnson picked up his fourth top-five finish of the season in his Red Bull Mopar Ram in the opener at Crandon, as he continues his rookie season. Anderson, who drives for off-road legend Walker Evans, led the opening lap in the finale at Crandon en route to a fourth-place showing, which marked his fourth top-five finish of the season.

The event begins at Route 66 Raceway on Wednesday, Sept. 14, with a full racing program for PRO Light, PRO 2 and PRO 4, including practice, qualifying and feature races, and ends on Thursday, Sept. 15 with another full racing program. For more information on the Traxxas TORC Series, visitwww.torcseries.com.

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.