Heat Pushes Drivers to the Limit in Round 12
With no racing to worry about tomorrow, it was time to put it all on the line today, as the drivers of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, returned to the Speedworld Off Road Park here in Surprise, AZ for Round 12 of the 2011 championship. While some points gaps were tightened right up yesterday, others were blown wide open, and the only drivers more desperate to gain ground than those who had a good day yesterday were the ones whose day went upside-down in Round 11. The resilient Arizona fans once again packed the stands despite the high temperatures and unabated sun, and they were treated to a full day of thrilling races. We hope you were part of the scene today, but if not, read on to see what you missed.
Modified Kart
As they are so often, the drivers of Modified Kart were called upon to get things kicked off with a shout. Sheldon Creed started on the pole, and jumped into the early lead in his #522 Camburg/The Fab School kart. Running behind Creed in the top five, it was Kyle Hart in the #523 GearUp2Go.com/Duncan Racing truck, Jerett Brooks in the #527 Synergy Electric Racing/Maxima Racing Oils machine, Scotty Steele in the #548 Steele Racing/Foddrill Motorsports entry, and Mitch Guthrie Jr. in the #555 Pro Armor/Walker Evans Racing kart. Steele and Guthrie Jr. swapped positions twice in the first three laps, while up front, smoke was coming from the back of the leader Creed's machine. Creed kept his foot in it, though, and still led at the competition yellow, ahead of Hart, Brooks, Steele, and Guthrie Jr. After the restart, Creed continued in the lead, but as he crossed the line at the end of lap eight, his kart suddenly slowed dramatically, and he pulled to the infield, race over. Hart inherited the lead, with Guthrie Jr. second, Brooks third, DeJong fourth, and Heger fifth. DeJong then suffered an uncharacteristic roll coming out of turn three on lap ten, dropping him well back, and moving Heger to fourth and Cole Mamer to fifth in the #535 Mamer Motorsports/Full Tilt Trophy Karts machine. On the final lap, Mamer got by Heger for fourth, while up front, it was Hart who drove a fantastic race to get his second win of the season, ahead of Guthrie Jr., Brooks, Mamer, and Heger.
Junior 1 Kart
Darren Hardesty and Travis PeCoy started up front in Junior 1 Kart, and it was PeCoy in the #211 K&N/Hoosier kart who led Hardesty's #231 Bilstein Shock Absorbers/AlumiCraft truck after the first lap. Preston Roben ran third, with Dylan Winbury fourth and Maxwell Ries fifth. Roben was the big mover in the early going, using turn one better than any of the other top drivers as he made his way past Hardesty and then PeCoy on successive laps to take the lead. PeCoy then stopped briefly on lap four, dropping him well back in the field. At the competition yellow, Roben still led in the #210 Duggins Construction/Ultra Custom Boats entry, with Hardesty second, Watson third in the #203 Fox Racing Shox/Eibach Springs truck, Winbury fourth in the #299 Magnum Off Road/Deviate Films machine, and Broc Dickerson fifth in the #223 Dickerson Motorsports/Fight For The Cure kart. On the restart lap, Dickerson got a good run through the moguls to pass Winbury for fourth, then had a better drive than Watson out of turn two to take over third on the following lap. Dickerson continued to move up, passing Hardesty for second on the penultimate lap, and saved his most important move for the final lap, when he got a great drive out of turn three, pulled past Roben, and took the lead for good with just the last turn to go. Dickerson moved clear of Roben by the checkered flag to get the win, as well as some valuable points to help pad his lead over Watson in the title chase. Roben finished in second, with Hardesty third, Watson fourth, and Christopher Polvoorde fifth in the #294 HorizonSolarPower.com/Racer X Motorsports kart.
Junior 2 Kart
Preston Roben grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the Junior 2 Kart race this morning, and was followed by Chad Graham, Paige Porter, Brock Heger, and Isabella Naughton. Heger moved up to third on lap two in his #411 Hoosier Racing Tire/Signpros Custom Lettering kart, but the big mover in the middle laps was Jeremy Davis in the #485 Green Army/Gatorwraps.com truck. After narrowly missing out on the win yesterday, Davis was again on a charge towards the front today, as he picked up fifth spot on lap four, then fourth place on lap five, just ahead of the competition yellow. At this point, Roben still led in the #414 Duggins Construction/ Mad Graphix machine, ahead of Graham in the #410 Hart and Huntington/MavTV entry, Heger, Davis, and Porter in the #462 Redline Performance/T-Bird Lounge & Restaurant entry. On the restart lap, Davis was on the move again, taking over third from Heger. A great race was now going off for second, with Graham trying to hold off both Davis and Heger. Despite a lot of line changes and a little bumping and banging, these three couldn't get past one another, and stayed in order all the way to the checkered flag. None of them, however, could catch Roben, who made up for his narrowly-missed win in Junior 1 by picking up his third win of the season here in Junior 2, ahead of Graham, Davis, Heger, and Porter.
UTV
In the first race of the day on the full-length track, it was John Dempsey in the #855 Dempsey Construction/Custom Off Road Design Kawasaki who got the early lead in UTV. Corry Weller ran in second in the #810 Tilted Kilt/Maxxis Tires Yamaha, with Robert Vanbeekum third in the #664 Monster Energy/Muzzys Kawasaki, Doug Mittag fourth in the #848 Monster Energy/Oakley Kawasaki, and Ryan Beat fifth in the #851 Hart and Huntington/Black Rhino Kawasaki. Beat moved up to fourth on lap two, while a rollover by Weller in turn four dropped her all the way back to last place. Beat continued to move up, and was second by the end of lap three, before pulling inside of Dempsey in the long sweeper, turn six, and moving ahead and into the lead at the end of lap four. Unlike previous races, someone actually challenged Beat's lead once he was up front, and that someone was Dempsey, who was on Beat's back bumper at the competition yellow. The running order was now Beat, Dempsey, Dan Kelly in the #824 OffRoadMagnet.com/Muzzys Kawasaki, Vanbeekum, and Mittag in the top five, but on the restart, both Dempsey and Kelly got great jumps to get around Beat. Beat wasn't having any of it, though, and got back by both of them before the end of the lap, and was once again out front. Beat had a three-race win streak coming into this morning, but his luck ran out on lap eight, and both he and Mittag suddenly pulled off between turns five and six with what appeared to be blown engines. This put Dempsey back out front, with Kelly second, RJ Anderson third in the #637 Walker Evans Racing/Holz Racing Products Polaris, Tyler Winbury fourth in the #694 Magnum Off Road/Summers Brothers Racing Kawasaki, and Weller fifth, having made a commendable recovery after her early rollover. Winbury got by Anderson for the Unlimited UTV lead on the penultimate lap, but Anderson recovered the position on the final lap to get the Unlimited UTV win, finishing third overall. At the overall head of the field, it was Dempsey who picked up his first-ever win in the SR1 class- way to go John! Second in SR1 and overall was Kelly, followed by Anderson, Winbury (second in Unlimited UTV), Weller (third in SR1), and Hans Waage in the #623 Dragonfire Racing/UTVUnderground.com Kawasaki (third in Unlimited).
Limited Buggy
Geoffrey Cooley started from the pole position in today's Limited Buggy race, and turned that good fortune into an early race lead in his #322 Competitive Metals/USA Wheel AlumiCraft. Quentin Tucker ran second in his #377 General Tire/Fox Racing Shox buggy, with John Fitzgerald third in the #314 Aero Motorsports/BFGoodrich Tires machine, Curt Geer in the #385 Gatorwraps.com/Lakeshore Homes and Stables Lothringer, and Bradley Morris fifth in the #304 Lucas Oil/K&N AlumiCraft. Dave Mason moved up to fifth on lap two in his #365 SR Performance/RSC Equipment Rental AlumiCraft, but the order in the top five then went unchanged for a few laps. Cooley then broke up that order when he cut turn four too tight, forcing him to climb the inside barrier, which cost him that oh-so-valuable momentum. By the next corner, Tucker was alongside, and with a better drive out of that turn, Tucker was up into the lead. Cooley lost another spot to Fitzgerald just one corner later, and by the competition yellow, Geer had gone by him for third as well. With the field now bunched up behind the Toyota Tundra pace truck, it was Tucker, Fitzgerald, Geer, Cooley, and Mason in the top five. On the restart lap, Geer and Mason each moved up one spot to take over second and fourth places, respectively, while overall, the top five were now virtually chained together. Cooley got back by Mason on lap thirteen to take over fourth, while further forward, Geer's motor suddenly let go coming out of turn six, and continued to implode until he was forced to the sidelines between turns one and two. This gave Tucker a bit of breathing room, and he went on to get the big win, ahead of Fitzgerald, Mason, Morris, and Cooley.
Pro Buggy Unlimited
With the day's racing already halfway through, it was now time for Pro Buggy Unlimited, and it was Jerry Whelchel who put his front row starting position to good use by taking the early lead in his #5 Select Glass/BFGoodrich Tires Foddrill. Chasing Whelchel in the top five were John Holmes (who had a birthday today- Happy Birthday John!) in the #3 Prolong Super Lubricants/DWT Racer, Doug Fortin in the #96 Fortin Racing, Inc./McGrath Fiberglass Racer, Mike Porter in the #8 Redline Performance/Mickey Thompson AlumiCraft, and Steven Greinke in the #23 SC Fuels/Concourse Racer. On lap two, Justin "Bean" Smith was up to fifth in his #19 Metal Mulisha/Competitive Metals AlumiCraft, and on the following lap, Fortin got by Holmes for second spot. Smith moved up again, taking fourth from Porter, and despite smoke now lightly streaming from the back of his buggy, Smith then got by Holmes to move into a provisional podium position. Up front, Fortin was eating into Whelchel's lead, and was just starting to get close enough to be a threat to the leader when Whelchel seemed to pick up the pace just enough to keep his lead a little more padded. Behind these two, Smith's smoking engine suddenly let go, and he was forced to the sidelines, race over; needless to say, this wasn't what Smith was hoping for while running second in the championship chase. At the competition yellow, Whelchel still ran up front, followed by Fortin, Porter, Holmes, and Greinke. These guys all held their positions after the restart, but a few laps later, a bobble by Holmes coming out of turn four gave Greinke the chance he needed to make a pass and move up to fourth. Two corners later, Holmes slid a bit wide in the long turn six, giving Justin Davis room to sneak alongside on the inside, and he took over fifth by turn one in his #85 Green Army/General Tire Racer. At the white flag, it was still Whelchel, Fortin, Porter, Greinke, and Davis in the top five, but in the final corner, Davis hooked a rut and lost a little momentum, and with Rich Ronco right there to take advantage, Ronco seized his opportunity and just edged past to grab fifth spot at the line in his #99 Yokohama/King Off Road Racing Shocks Tatum. Up front, a very happy Whelchel got the win, with Fortin taking second, Porter third, and Greinke fourth.
Pro 4 Unlimited
In the most action-packed race of the weekend thus far, it was Todd LeDuc who turned his pole starting position into the Pro 4 Unlimited race lead on lap one in his #4 Rockstar/Makita Ford. Behind LeDuc, it was Adrian Cenni in the #11 Atrium Payroll/Maxxis Tires truck, Rick Huseman in the #36 Monster Energy/E3 Spark Plugs Toyota, Doug Fortin (filling in for Kent Brascho) in the #8 K&N/KMC Wheels Ford, and Carl Renezeder in the #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire Ford. Huseman moved up to second on lap two, while Kyle LeDuc got by Renezeder and Fortin to take over fourth in his #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford. Huseman then slowed dramatically and suddenly on lap four, and as Cenni and Kyle LeDuc nearly stacked into each other as they tried to avoid hitting Huseman, LeDuc got by better and was up to second (Huseman was able to continue, but was definitely slowed by what looked like a front suspension issue). Fortin was now third, Cenni fourth, and Renezeder fifth, but on the next lap, Fortin went wide and into the outside marbles in turn six, and ended up drifting over the outside burm. Fortin kept his foot in it, though, and roared back on track in fifth spot, having given up two spots to Cenni and Renezeder. Up front, it was all about the battle of the LeDuc brothers, and as Kyle closed down on Todd, one had to wonder if or how Kyle would try to make a pass.
At the competition yellow, all the trucks were still running, which is surprising when one considers how relatively fragile these trucks can be. Todd LeDuc still led his brother Kyle, with Cenni third, Renezeder fourth, and Fortin fifth as the green waved again, but the question of how the two brothers would handle each other was answered in a less-than-satisfying way almost immediately. Todd bicycled in turn two, which was enough for both Kyle and Cenni to get by. Kyle got by his brother cleanly, and after Cenni managed to muscle by as well, Todd had lost some momentum, which gave Renezeder a chance to make a run at him as well. Renezeder pulled alongside and then past LeDuc out of turn three, and just like that, the young driver had gone from first to fourth thanks to one little mistake. LeDuc must've been frustrated, because he then turned too tight and was forced to drive up the inside barrier at turn four on the next lap. LeDuc ended up having to back down before he could get going, and that dropped him back to last place. Meanwhile, Renezeder was now up to second, with Josh Merrell now running fifth in the #22 Hart and Huntington/MavTV Ford. Cenni then went around in turn five, collecting Fortin in the process on lap thirteen, and the running order in the top five was now Kyle LeDuc, Renezeder, Merrell, Greg Adler (again filling in for Travis Coyne) in the #5 ProComp/Team Associated Ford, and Curt LeDuc (Kyle and Todd's dad) in the #43 Rockstar/Makita Ford. On lap 15, the senior LeDuc got by Adler on the front straight, but did so just as flames erupted from his right rear tire area. It looked as though is brakes had gotten so hot that he'd caught his tire on fire, and although the fire seemed to be dying down after a couple of serious flare-ups, track officials took no chances and red flagged the race. LeDuc ended up being towed off the track, which moved Adler up to fourth again, with Todd LeDuc now fifth. When green flag racing resumed, there were just two laps to go, and drivers were getting desperate. On the penultimate lap, Adler hit Merrell coming into turn four, but only stopped himself, which dropped him back to seventh. Todd LeDuc and Fortin moved into fourth and fifth with just one lap to go, and on the final lap, Merrell's right rear tire let go, allowing LeDuc and Fortin to move up again, and dropping Merrell down to seventh. Up front, Kyle LeDuc held off a late-race charge from Renezeder to get the weekend sweep, racking up his fourth win of the season in the process. Second went to Renezeder, third to Todd LeDuc, fourth to Fortin (a great drive considering this was just his second-ever race in this class), and fifth to Adler.
Super Lite
Following a great Pro 4 Unlimited race was another great race, this time in Super Lite. Yesterday's winner RJ Anderson was once again out front today, leading the field in his #37 Dethrone Racing/Walker Evans Racing machine after the first lap. Chad George ran second in the #42 Kawasaki/Bull Outdoor Products truck, with Patrick Clark third in the #25 BFGoodrich Tires/Method Race Wheels entry, Austin Kimbrell fourth in the #88 Kimbrell Racing truck, and Brent Fouch fifth in the #21 Forgiven Energy/Method Race Wheels machine. On the second lap, Kimbrell went wide and off the track coming out of turn four, and nearly collected Fouch in the process. Kimbrell and Fouch swapped places, but otherwise, the running order in the top five went unchanged through the competition yellow. Anderson, George, and Clark had been well clear out front, while Fouch and Kimbrell were in a close scrap for fourth in the first half of the race, but as the green waved again to signify that the second half was now underway, things changed quickly. On the restart lap, Clark got into Anderson and spun him off track as they exited turn four, and George and Fouch were right there to take advantage. George and Fouch zipped by and into the top two spots, with Sheldon Creed now third in the #74 A.M. Ortega/Trench Shoring truck, Drew Britt fourth in the #7 Source Refrigeration and HVAC/Mickey Thompson entry, and Clark now down in fifth. Fouch then pulled off the track on lap nine, moving Creed up to second, Britt to third, Clark to fourth, and Jason Ellis to fifth in his #89 Dethrone Racing/MavTV machine. Clark got up to third on the next lap, while Anderson was now up to fifth after charging back towards the front of the field. On the penultimate lap, Clark was finally given the black flag for having spun Anderson earlier on, which moved Britt to third once again, ahead of Anderson in fourth and Ryan Hagy in fifth. The top five held their places on the last lap, with George getting the win, his second of the season in this class. The most impressive story of the day, and probably the entire weekend, though, was 14-year-old Sheldon Creed, who made his full-size class debut yesterday, finished fifth, and backed that up with an unbelievable second place today! There has always been a lot of talk that this kid will be a future star of this sport, and if he keeps putting in drives like he did today, there's no doubt that the talk will become a reality. Third went to Britt, who also made a great debut weekend in Lucas Oil Off Road, showing great speed as he picked up third place. Anderson finished up the race in fourth, with Hagy rounding out the top five in his #0X Metal Mulisha/General Tire truck.
Pro Lite Unlimited
Pro 4 Unlimited had been a great race. Super Lite was good, too. So what could the drivers of Pro Lite Unlimited do? Jimmy Stephensen put himself at the head of the field after the first lap in his #33 Ironclad Energy/JS Pest Control Nissan, ahead of Casey Currie, Rodrigo Ampudia, Cameron Steele, and Brian Deegan. The top five drivers held their positions for the first three laps, although the top three really bunched up in a battle for the lead. On lap four, Steele hit Ampudia side-to-side in turn four, forcing Ampudia wide and moving Steele up to third. Deegan closed down on Ampudia in the process, and also made the pass on Ampudia to take over fourth on the same lap. Ampudia lost yet another spot on lap five, this one to Corey Sisler in the #19 AEM Performance Electronics/BFGoodrich Tires Ford. The top five then went unchanged for a few more laps, until Steele got a slow exit out of turn four on lap eight, allowing Deegan to get alongside and make the pass coming out of the next corner. Sisler then spun in turn six, dropping him to last place just before the competition yellow. The running order was now Stephensen, Currie, Deegan, Steele, and Brandt as the field lined up behind the pace truck, and after one restart which the officials didn't like, the green flag waved again for restart number two. Steele's truck was obviously wounded for some reason, and he was quickly passed up by the field on the restart, while up front, Deegan went from third to first on the restart lap. Stephensen dropped to second, then slid down four more spots on the next lap, while Sisler made a great comeback after his earlier spin to get up to second spot. The running order was now Deegan, Sisler, Brandt, Ampudia, and Currie with one lap to go, and on the final lap, Brandt and Ampudia battled door-to-door over third place, with Ampudia eventually getting the spot in the final corner. Ahead of him, Deegan picked up his fourth straight win, now just one shy of the all-time Lucas Oil Off Road record for most consecutive wins in this class. Sisler finished second, Ampudia third, Brandt fourth, and Currie fifth.
Pro 2 Unlimited
In what some might call a great stroke of luck, the last race of the weekend was perhaps the best race of the weekend as well. Rodrigo Ampudia started on the pole in Pro 2 Unlimited, and rocketed into the early lead in his #36 Tecate/BFGoodrich Tires Ford, with Greg Adler, Carl Renezeder, Brian Deegan, and Nick Tyree in hot pursuit. On the second lap, Renezeder lost a spot to Deegan in turn two, then spun in turn four, which dropped him all the way back to last place, promoting Tyree to fourth in his #91 Method Race Wheels/Competitive Metals Ford, and Rob MacCachren to fifth in his #1 Rockstar/MasterCraft Safety Ford. Deegan then ducked into the hot pits with a flat tire, just before a big accident, which forced a red flag of the race. In the accident, Robbie Pierce landed way wide to the left off the jump out of turn three, went off track, and drove right into Myan Spaccarelli as he tried to re-join the track. Both trucks were heavily damaged and forced to retire, while Renezeder and Jeremy McGrath, also caught out by the accident, had lesser damage and were able to continue (Renezeder did pull off at the halfway mark, though). When the race finally resumed, Ampudia still led, with MacCachren now second, Tyree third, Jeff Geiser fourth in the #44 Canidae/Geiser Bros Design and Development Chevrolet, and Rob Naughton fifth in the #54 Stronghold Motorsports/ReadyLift Ford; Ampudia's truck still looked nearly pristine, but was the only truck in the field that did.
On the restart lap, Naughton moved up to third, while Deegan was all the way back up to fourth in his #38 Rockstar/Makita Ford, and McGrath was up to fifth in the #2 Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Ford. The competition yellow came out soon afterwards, with Ampudia still leading MacCachren, Naughton, Deegan, and McGrath in the top five. McGrath pulled into the hot pits under yellow, handing fifth to Geiser, and on the restart lap, Adler got that spot for himself in the #10 4 Wheel Parts/Magnaflow Performance Exhaust Ford. Up front, MacCachren was immediately putting the pressure on Ampudia from the re-dropping of the green flag, but Ampudia was driving very well in defense of his lead, holding his lines and leaving no doors too far open. Adler then got into Deegan in turn four, and while Deegan got away with no more than some lost ground, Adler lost a position to Geiser. Ampudia and MacCachren were still at it, as well, and after a bicycle in turn four cost MacCachren some ground, he was soon all over Ampudia's tail again, and with just two laps left, he was finally able to make a serious run on Ampudia. MacCachren got the inside line through turn one, and held the line all the way into turn two, his best corner, where he used his preferred inside line to finally make the pass on Ampudia, proving that patience can pay off, even in short course, and that clean passes are still possible. From there, MacCachren went on to get the win, his fourth of the season, while Ampudia, as he had yesterday, suffered an apparent fuel pump issue on the last lap today, and gave up two spots to Naughton and Deegan, who finished second and third, respectively. Ampudia still managed fourth place, though he must've been very frustrated; Geiser filled out the top five.
With that, Round 12 comes to a close here in Surprise. The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series will return in just six weeks' time, as we make our only visit of the season to Las Vegas, and the world-famous Las Vegas Motor Speedway, for Rounds 13 and 14 of the 2011 season. Only three rounds remain, and the drivers will be sure to give their all in pursuit of those all-important championships, so you won't want to miss out on the spectacle that is Lucas Oil Off Road. Get your tickets now for Rounds 13 and 14, November 5-6 in Vegas!
About the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series:
The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series is the evolution of the long standing support of short course racing by Forrest Lucas and Lucas Oil Products. Steeped in the Midwest tradition of short course off road racing infused with a West Coast influence, Lucas Oil Off Road Racing brings intense four wheel door to door action to challenging, fan friendly tracks. Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series: This is Short Course. For more information please visit
www.LucasOilOffRoad.com.
Written by Scott Neth for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series
