Championship Chases Push Action To The Limit at the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series
November 15, 2009
With just two rounds of competition left to determine the 2009 class champions in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by Geico Powersports, drivers were pushing the edge even further than usual at the Primm Valley Motorsports Complex here in Primm, NV today. Braving intermittent cold westerly winds, fans packed the stands to watch the stars of short course off-road racing slide, jump, bang, and crash their way around the course in their pursuit of both a race win and, perhaps, a championship crown.
Modified Kart
As has become customary, the kids of Modified Kart were the first drivers out on the track today. Connor Hart and Sheldon Creed came into this race exactly even on points, so every position would count in today’s race. Mitchell DeJong and Creed were on the front row for the start of the race, and it was DeJong who put his #524 Speed Technologies/Bully Dog kart into the lead early on. Creed slotted in second in his #522 The Fab School/Fox Racing Shox machine, followed by Dave Mason Jr., Zac Hunt, and Jerett Brooks. As DeJong pulled away up front, Hunt moved his #534 Makita/Creative Fabrication and Design machine into third place, while further back, usual frontrunner Hart was charging through the field after starting well back, and had moved up to fourth place.
After falling a bit behind the leader, Creed closed right up on DeJong, and soon got around DeJong to take the lead. Once out front, Creed did not relinquish the lead, setting the fastest lap of the race and bringing home yet another win to add to his already impressive résumé. DeJong took second, followed by Hunt, Hart in the #550 Addicted 2 Riding machine, and Mason Jr. in the #565 Eleven Western Builders/Labor Ready kart. With this win, Creed has also taken a narrow lead in the points, and with just one race left, he and Hart still have everything to race for. Bradley Morris and Mason Jr. are the only other drivers who are still mathematically alive in this championship.
Junior 2 Kart
The Junior 2 karts were up next, and it was Dustin Grabowski who jumped out to the early lead in his #472 ProAm/Team Associated kart, closely followed by Jerett Brooks in the #477 Synergy Electric Racing machine. Chad Graham ran third, ahead of Maxwell Ries in fourth and Paige Porter in fifth. With the top three drivers running nose-to-tail, Brooks moved to the lead. Grabowski then re-gained the lead, while Graham’s #410 Bulletproof Suspensions/Slime kart fell back into the clutches of Ries’ #474 ProAm/Hoosier machine as lapped traffic came into play. Further back, Eddie Tafoya Jr. had moved his #451 Victory Race Cars/Specialty Fasteners kart into fifth position, while up front, Brooks had once again taken the lead. Brooks and Grabowski battled for the lead through the entire race, and with one lap to go, it was once again Grabowski out in front. Grabowski held off a resilient Brooks to take a well-deserved win, while Brooks had to settle for second. Graham set the fastest lap of the race and moved clear of Ries once again, consolidating his third place finish. Ries took fourth, with Tafoya Jr. rounding out the top five. Grabowski’s third win in a row has helped him build a nearly unassailable lead in the championship, but Trent Williams and Ries are still in with a chance to take the title.
Junior 1 Kart
The final kart race of the day was that of the Junior 1 karts, and it was Brock Heger and Sheldon Creed on the front row for the start of this contest. At the end of the first lap, it was Heger, Creed, and Myles Cheek who were already well clear of the rest of the field in the first three places, followed by Riley Herbst and Bodie Richardson. After running three-wide down the back straight, Cheek took the lead in his #257 CMI Precision Machining/Jammin’ Products.com machine, with CMI teammate #212 Heger in second and Creed third in his #214 A.M. Ortega/Team Associated machine after nearly losing control following an off-track landing off the first jump. Out front, Cheek was untouchable, setting the fastest lap of the race in the early going, then using lapped traffic later on to further open his lead, all of which helped him move well clear of the field to take the win. Heger took second to make it a CMI one-two, and Creed took third for his second podium finish of the day. #272 Jack Grabowski and #208 Brooke Kawell moved up in the field late in the race, taking fourth and fifth places in their ProAm/Team Associated and Addicted 2 Riding/Damzl karts. Creed didn’t take the win today, but his lead in the championship is very comfortable; only Heger can take the championship from him tomorrow. Creed’s lead in the Modified Karts also means that he will be trying to be the first driver to take two LOORRS championships in the same year; superstar Carl Renezeder is the only other driver who has a chance of doing that this year.
UTV
Once the kids races had finished up, the first race on the full-length track was the UTV race. Austin Kimbrell and Robert Vanbeekum, the two race winners from the last two rounds back in Surprise, AZ, started on the front row, with Kimbrell taking the early lead in his #607 Xtreme Machine and Fabrication machine. Vanbeekum followed Kimbrell closely in second, ahead of the #624 Funco Kawasaki of Chad George, Roger Stokes in the #657 HRT Motorsports machine, and RJ Anderson in the #637 Walker Evans Racing Polaris. Up front, smoke was beginning to trail out of Kimbrell’s black Kawasaki, and he pulled off track as George snuck by Vanbeekum to take the lead. George held the lead as the competition yellow flag waved, ahead of Vanbeekum’s #664 R-N-R Steel Kawasaki, Anderson’s South Point/Goodyear teammate #681 Doug Mittag, John Dempsey in the #655 COD machine, and Anderson. Once green flag racing resumed, Mittag pulled off track, allowing Tyler Winbury into the top five. With one lap to go, Vanbeekum, Anderson, and Winbury all made mistakes in either the rhythm section or the following turn, which helped shake up the order in the top five. Up front, George was now comfortably clear of the field, and went on to take the win. Vanbeekum came home second despite setting the fastest lap of the race, while Anderson took the final step on the podium, ahead of Dempsey and Stokes in fourth and fifth. George has a big cushion in the Unlimited UTV championship, but Vanbeekum is still alive mathematically, as is Winbury, who would need to win, have George not start, and beat Vanbeekum by at least six places tomorrow to take the title. Pierre Perret was the winner in the Limited UTV division, and Dan Kelly won in the Modified UTV division. Hans Waage has wrapped up the title in the Limited UTV division, as has Kelly in the Modified UTV division.
Limited Buggy
With no inversions in starting positions in today’s races, yesterday’s pole winner John Fitzgerald and runner-up Bryan Freeman started on the front row in today’s Limited Buggy race. After a bunch up and some subsequent bumping and shuffling in turn two, Curt Geer and Bruce Fraley emerged in first and second spots at the end of the first lap. Fitzgerald sat in third in his #314 Hart & Huntington/Geico Powersports machine, ahead of Kyle Quinn in the #311 Bugpack Products/Rimco buggy and Sean Geiser in the #351 General Tires Geiser Bros machine. On lap two, points leader Fraley lost it while charging through the rhythm section, went off the side of the track, and re-joined at the back of the pack. Further up the order, both Geer and Quinn had near-spins, allowing for some shuffling in the top five running order. As the competition yellow came out, Fitzgerald sat in first, ahead of Geer, Freeman in the #318 Lone Kid Racing/Patrick’s High Performance Graphix buggy, Geiser, and Quinn. After the restart, Fraley, who’d been charging through the field, moved up to fifth as Geiser seemed to miss a shift. Fraley kept his momentum going, and got a good run out of turn three to pass both Quinn and Freeman, the latter of who then slowed and fell well back in the pack. On the final lap, Geer looped it in turn two and dropped to fifth, while up front, Fitzgerald took his third win in a row and his fourth win in the last five races. Fraley came home second in his #312 BFGoodrich/Freeman’s Carpet Service Fraley buggy, setting the fastest lap of the race as he chased down everyone but Fitzgerald after his early incident. Geiser took third, followed by Quinn in fourth and Geer in fifth in the #392 BDI Bowden Lothringer. With his second place finish, Fraley has locked up the Limited Buggy championship, and says he’ll be coming for Fitzgerald tomorrow.
Super Lite
The Bully Dog Super Lites were next out on track, and pole winner Chad George started alongside Ricky James, who’s had three wins and a second place in his four Super Lite starts so far. As racing got underway, George and James pulled clear early, ahead of points battlers John Harrah and Chad Leising in third and fourth, and Dawson Kirchner in fifth. Leising soon slowed, however, and pulled off the track and out of the race. George was consistently quicker through the rhythm section in his #42 Independent/Blanco Basura truck, allowing him to pull away from James’ #24 SoCal SuperTrucks/Icon machine. However, those same jumps then caught George out, and he had the first big crash of his career. George was ok, though he went to have x-rays taken later in the day after complaining of neck pain. A full course yellow was brought out following George’s crash, which also served as the mandatory competition yellow. As green flag racing resumed, James now led over Harrah, Joey Granatelli in the #20 Granatelli Motorsports/Verve! truck, Kirchner, and Brandon Ward. Granatelli allowed Kirchner to get by as he got up on two wheels in turn 1, and on the last lap, Harrah used a good run through the rhythm section to nearly take the lead from James. James held on, however, taking his fourth win in five LOORRS starts, and setting the fastest lap of the race as well. Harrah came home second, with Kirchner third in the #16 NOS Energy truck, Granatelli fourth, and Ward fifth in the #92 Fox Racing Shox truck. Harrah’s second place has helped him widen his lead in the championship, and Leising is the only other driver in with a shot of taking the title.
Unlimited Lite
By now the crowd in the stands had swelled considerably, and there was hardly a seat still open as the opening ceremonies ended. It was now time for the Unlimited Lites to take to the track, and with a three-way fight for the title in the works, this was bound to be a thriller. Title contenders Robert Naughton, Brian Deegan, and Chris Brandt crossed the start-finish line in the top three spots at the end of lap one, followed by Todd Cuffaro in the #46 Rockstar/Lucas Oil Nissan in fourth and Jeff Carpenter in the #25 Jeff Carpenter Racing/Goodyear Ford in fifth. Naughton, who was sitting third in the championship despite winning six races this season, was flying early on in his #54 Ready Lift/Lucas Oil, only to pull off track with what seemed to be motor troubles. Deegan inherited the lead in his #38 Etnies/Metal Mulisha Ford, ahead of Brandt in the #82 Rockstar/Geico Powersports Toyota, Carpenter, Leroy Loerwald, and Jacob Person in the #92 Geiser Bros Ford. This order remained the same through the competition yellow, but on the restart, Loerwald took over third in his #8 Lucas Oil/K&N Ford. Adam Wik also moved forward as Matt Loiodice rolled in turn one, bringing out a full course caution. Racing action restarted again, and Carpenter re-gained third place briefly before going over the outside burm in turn one. Up front, Deegan and Brandt were tearing around the track, and though Brandt was putting some pressure on Deegan, Deegan handled it well. “The General” set the fastest lap of the race and held off Brandt to take the win as the two were otherwise unchallenged. Brandt took second, Loerwald third, Person fourth, and Wik fifth in the #11 Green Army/Gatorwraps.com Chevrolet. Deegan’s third win of the season, along with his leading the race at the halfway mark, have helped him move to within six points of championship leader Brandt with just tomorrow’s race left in the championship. Naughton is also still alive in the championship, though his odds are much longer.
Unlimited 2
The big dogs of Unlimited 2 were next out on track, and as a class with one of the closest title chases in all of LOORRS competition, as well as the addition of several star drivers to the field, this race was an explosive one. The crowd was at “standing room only” status as Bryce Menzies took the early lead in his #7 Super Clean/Fox Racing Shox Ford, ahead of pole winner Todd LeDuc in the #8 Rockstar/Makita Ford. These two were racing hard up front, and soon moved clear of the rest of the field. Behind, Jeff Ward, Greg Adler, and Carl Renezeder filled out the top five. Rodrigo Ampudia soon got by Renezeder, and a bobble by Ward allowed Adler to take over third spot in his #10 4 Wheel Parts/BFGoodrich Ford. As the competition yellow flew, Menzies and LeDuc still sat in the top two spots, with Adler third, Ward fourth, and Ampudia fifth. Ampudia muscled by Ward on the restart to take fourth, while Renezeder, who came into this weekend with a narrow three point lead over Ward, dropped to the back of the field after an incident unseen by this reporter. A fire onboard the #9 E3 Spark Plugs Chevrolet of Kevin Probst brought out another full course caution, and the restart allowed LeDuc to take the lead from Menzies. Menzies wasn’t giving up, though, and he and LeDuc were side by side as they passed the white flag. In the end, LeDuc held off Menzies for the win, setting the fastest lap of the race on the final lap. Menzies had to settle for second, and Ampudia took third in his #36 Papas & Beer/Lucas Oil Ford. Adler came home fourth, and Evan Evans rounded out the top five in his #5 Speedco Truck Lube and Tires Chevrolet. Renezeder, who rallied in the second half of the race to pass a faltering Ward, finished one spot ahead of Ward to open his points lead to five points. Renezeder’s #17 Lucas Oil/Team Associated Ford will have to battle Ward’s #3X Speed Technologies/Bully Dog Chevrolet again tomorrow as Renezeder bids to become the first LOORRS driver to win two championships in the same year (he is also leading the Unlimited 4 points battle). Ward is looking for his first short off-road championship, as is Greg Adler , who also has a shot, albeit a very long one, of winning the Unlimited 2 title.
Unlimited 4
After a disappointing run in Unlimited 2, Carl Renezeder started alongside Adrian Cenni in the Unlimited 4 race. Renezeder led the field past the start-finish line at the end of the first lap, followed by Kyle LeDuc in the #99 GoPro/Toyo Tires Ford, Cenni in the #11 Atrium Staffing Services/King Shocks Chevrolet, Curt LeDuc (Kyle and Todd’s dad) in the #43 Rockstar/Kal Gard Ford, and Tim Herbst in the #18 Terrible Herbst/Miller Lite Chevrolet. Curt LeDuc went over the outside barriers in turn two, grinding along the top of them for long enough to put him out of commission shortly afterwards. Up front, his son Kyle made a nice outside-inside pass on Renezeder to take the lead. LeDuc (Kyle) pulled a small gap on Renezeder’s #1 Lucas Oil/General Tires Ford, but Renezeder came charging back, and he and Cenni were lying in a close second and third behind LeDuc as the competition yellow came out. Brothers Tim and Troy Herbst ran fourth and fifth at this point, but after green flag racing had resumed, Alan Pflueger had brought his #71 K&N/Alpinestars up to fifth after passing Troy Herbst. Renezeder was really pressuring LeDuc at the sharp end of the field, and after getting a little out of shape in turn two, LeDuc got a small “nudge” from Renezeder as Renezeder moved to the lead. LeDuc’s throttle was now starting to stick, yet he hung close behind Renezeder, with Cenni and Tim Herbst also close behind in third and fourth. Renezeder was too strong, however, and he brought home the fastest lap of the race and took yet another win, followed by LeDuc, Cenni, Tim Herbst, and Pflueger. Renezeder’s pole yesterday and win today have helped him open his points lead to 17 points over Pflueger, who must finish well ahead of teammate Renezeder to take the title. Renezeder dedicated his win today to a seven-year-old Leukemia patient named Derek, to whom he gave a ride in a two seat race truck yesterday, saying that “this was all for you.”
Unlimited Buggy
The final race of the day was the Unlimited Buggy race. As the sun set behind the mountains to the west, the top two drivers in points, leader Chuck Cheek and second place Mike Halliday, led the field at the drop of the green flag. Cheek took the early lead in his #957 CMI Precision Machining/Kronik Energy Alumicraft, ahead of Cody Freeman in the #994 FCS Flooring Racer Engineering buggy, Cameron Steele, Halliday, and Joe Morgan. Cheek and Freeman pulled a gap on the rest of the field in the early going, but Freeman’s motor soon began to sputter and pop, and he pulled out of the race. The competition yellow flag was soon waving, and Cheek still led, followed by Morgan in the #944 Redline/Goodyear Alumicraft, Halliday in the #904 Green Army/Web Cam Alumicraft, Rich Ronco in the #999 Goodyear Tatum, and Larry Job in the #907 Menzies Motorsports/BFGoodrich Alumicraft. Morgan took the lead on the restart lap, and just behind, Halliday was coming to life and was now challenging Cheek for second. Halliday passed Cheek in the rhythm section, and Job slid inside Cheek coming out of turn two to move into third just a few seconds later. Cheek rallied, however, and moved back past Job for third shortly afterwards. Morgan then spun in turn two, handing the lead to Halliday with just one lap to go. Halliday drove brilliantly in the second half of the race, setting the fastest lap of the race and taking the win. Morgan took second, followed by Cheek, Job, and Ronco. Cheek had added two more points to his points lead with his pole position and his having led at the halfway point of today’s race, but ended up losing four points to Halliday when Halliday won today’s race while Cheek took third. The two are now separated by just five points, with Cheek taking the championship lead into the final round tomorrow. Job is the only other driver with a chance of taking the title in this class.
Written by Scott Neth for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by Geico Powersports.
Category: Event Recap
