Rough LOORRS Round 5 for Radar Tires Racing and Bronson Motorsports

UTV Weekly | May 22, 2013

Bronson Motorsports and Radar Tires Racing had high hopes heading into this weekend’s Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park. The ‘home team’ aspired to a podium finish on Saturday, but settled with 20th place and its second consecutive DNF.

Bronson Motorsports, based in Murietta, California, approximately 15 miles from Lake Elsinore, knows the four-turn, 0.9-mile dirt track quite well, but the unknown variable that has literally impacted the team all season – the competition.

In preparation of the two-day event, the team made major driveline changes in the No. 31 Bronson Motorsports Toyota Tacoma sponsored by Radar Tires. On Saturday afternoon, driver/owner Mike Johnson qualified in 15th position of the 28 Pro Lite vehicles, while adjusting to the changes to the truck.

Under wet track conditions, the green flag flew and Johnson avoided any incidents during the first segment of the race. Johnson gained several positions and had advanced to the 11th position by the fourth lap – and then the bad luck started.

The field checked-up in Turn Four of the fourth lap. Johnson slowed, but a competitor behind him did not. The competitor then hit Johnson in the left rear and spun him. After regaining control of the truck, Johnson rejoined the fray in 22nd position, put his head down and went back to work catching the competition.

Johnson steadily advanced through the back of the pack, picking off cars lap after lap and reached the 13th position. Then on the lap final lap of the 14-lap race, the truck sputtered and stopped between Turns Three and Four. The team brought the truck back to the pits and diagnosed the problem as a fuel pickup issue. At the end of the day, Johnson was awarded a 20th place finish, despite suffering his second consecutive DNF.

“It was another frustrating day for the Radar Tires Racing Toyota,” Mike Johnson said. “We are making improvements, but the rest of the field is advancing as well. Although our race pace was good, we are still not qualifying as high in the order as we should. I was able to get through the melee at the start and was going very well until the contact on the fourth lap. Once again, we were able to reel in the cars in front of us due to excellent traction of our Radar Renegade R5s only to sputter and stop with the checkered flag nearly in sight.”

The ProLite Unlimited race truck was repaired overnight in preparation for LOORRS Round 6 at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park on Sunday, May 19. LOORRS ProLite Round 4 qualifying is Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m., with the race scheduled to start at 3:45 p.m.

The two-day event at Lake Elsinore takes place on the four-turn, 0.9-mile dirt track and features off-road racing on both Saturday and Sunday. Radar Tires, Bronson Motorsports and Johnson will compete in both races this weekend.

The size 32X11.50R15 Radar Renegade R5 tires this weekend will feature the Breast Cancer Research Foundation pink ribbon logo. For every Radar tire sold, Omni United will donate $5 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) with a minimum annual donation of $200,000 and a maximum donation of $250,000.

Off-road motorsports was chosen by the newly-formed Radar Racing team to showcase the Renegade R5 M/T tire, which features open blocks for mud dispersion, deep tread blocks, and reinforced shoulders. This tread pattern and rigorous construction is ideal for the surfaces encountered on short course tracks such as Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California and Firebird Raceway in Chandler, Arizona as well as the open desert of Baja California in the legendary SCORE Baja 1000, the most iconic of all off-road races.