Thrilling Battles Galore in Round 6
Following a great group of races yesterday, the drivers and crews pulled out all the stops to put on an unbelievable batch of races today. The big truck classes went four for four in terms of exciting races today, as early hazy skies gave way to another beautiful day here at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, CA. Round 8 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by Geico Powersports, was on in earnest, and fans spent more time standing and cheering than they did sitting. If you missed it, you really missed out!
Junior 2 Kart
First out on track were the Junior 2 Karts, and wow, the young lady drivers certainly made their presence known. Riley Herbst and Shelby Anderson started up front, with Anderson leading the way in her #405 Walker Evans Racing/Anderson's Nu Power machine at the end of the first lap. In second it was Paige Porter in the #462 Redline Performance/Advantage Boats entry, with Myles Cheek third in the #457 CMI/JamminProducts.com truck, Carlye Lenk fourth in the #421 Fox Racing Shox/McKenzies kart, and Brock Heger fifth in the #411 Racer X Motorsports/Hoosier truck. Girls had three of the top four spots, with Cheek doing his best to defend the honor for the boys' side. Cheek moved up to second on lap two, then had a great drive out of turn one to move past Anderson and up to first on lap four. On the next lap, Maxwell Ries managed to nose ahead of Heger by inches to move into fifth spot, just at the dropping of the competition yellow. The running order was now Cheek, Anderson, Porter, Lenk, Ries in the top five, with these drivers all holding their positions on the restart lap. Ries then moved up to fourth on lap eight, but as he then got into Lenk later on the same lap, Heger went down the inside of the two of them to move into fourth in turn three. Behind him, Weston Schuck also got by to move up to fifth in his #404 NTV/Eibach Springs kart. At the white flag, the top three drivers were checking out a bit, with Cheek and Anderson locked in a close race for the lead. Anderson gave it her all on the final lap, but Cheek managed to hold her off to pick up his third win of the season. Anderson finished second, with Porter third, Heger fourth, and Schuck fifth.
Junior 1 Kart
Next up were our youngest drivers, those of Junior 1 Kart. Broc Dickerson took the early lead in his #223 Dickerson Motorsports/Rockstar kart, with Travis PeCoy second in the #211 Hoosier/K&N machine, Eliott Watson third in the #203 RC10.com/UPR Racing Supply entry, Wolfgang Ries fourth in the #273 ProAm/Kar Tek Off Road truck, and Preston Roben fifth in the #210 DCI Duggins Construction/Mad Graphix kart. Lots of shuffling went on in the opening laps, with Dickerson dropping from first to fourth, handing first and second to PeCoy and Watson, and third to Roben; Dean Duro was now fifth in the #222 Hart and Huntington/MavTV truck. Roben then spun out and dropped to ninth, and with Dickerson back up to second, it was now Watson third, Duro fourth, and Ries fifth. Darren Hardesty then moved up to fifth in his #231 Hardesty Motorsports/King Shocks machine, while up ahead, the top three were now pulling away in a battle for the lead. Watson picked off Dickerson for second on lap five, and at the competition yellow, it was PeCoy, Watson, Dickerson, Duro, and Hardesty in the top five. On the restart lap, Dickerson moved back into the lead, with Roben jumping up to fourth further back. With one lap to go it was Dickerson, PeCoy, Watson, Roben, and Hardesty up front, but on the final lap, Dickerson dropped to third behind PeCoy and Watson. Dickerson then got into Watson coming out of turn four, causing Watson to spin and fall back several spots. Dickerson regained second spot, but didn't have enough time left to try and make a run for the lead. PeCoy stayed clear at the head of the pack to pick up the win, ahead of Dickerson, Roben, Hardesty, and Ries.
Modified Kart
The Modified Karts came swarming out next, with Mitchell DeJong and Mitch Guthrie Jr. taking the start from row one. After a big pile-up coming out of turn four forced a full restart of the race, it was Guthrie Jr. in his #555 Walker Evans Racing/Pro Armor truck who led DeJong and his #1 Traxxas/Red Bull machine after the first lap on the restart. Blake Lenk ran in third, with Scotty Steele fourth and Kyle Hart fifth. Guthrie Jr. and DeJong were quickly pulling away up front, and on lap four, DeJong found his way around Guthrie Jr. to take the lead. The top five drivers continued to hold their positions through the competition yellow, at which point their running order was DeJong, Guthrie Jr., Lenk, Steele, and Hart. On the restart lap, Lenk went wide and out into the fluff in turn three, which slowed both he and Steele, he was running right behind. Hart took full advantage of the gap that had suddenly opened on the inside, as he shot past and up two spots to third in his #523GearUp2Go.com/Duncan Racing International truck. Steele also got his #548 DeJong Off-Road Cars/SDHQ Off Road Racing entry by Lenk, as did Sheldon Creed, who was now up to fifth in the #522 A.M. Ortega/Team Associated kart. On the next lap, Hart got crossed up coming into the slight turn five after the long rhythm section, and had a nasty-looking rollover which put him out of the race. Fortunately, Hart was ok, and his stricken truck was quickly moved out of harm's way as racing continued, with DeJong, Guthrie Jr., Creed, Lenk, and Bradley Morris now running in the top five. From there on in, these five held their positions, with DeJong getting the win over Guthrie Jr. to maintain their record of one win for each of these two boys at each race weekend so far this year. Third went to Creed, fourth to Lenk in the #521 Mascar Auto Body/Dirt Bagz kart, and fifth to Morris in the #504 K&N/Tri-State Materials machine.
UTV
After having to come from dead last to take the win yesterday, Code Rahders was undoubtedly looking to turn his pole starting position into an easier win today. Rahders led after the first lap in his #816 SuperChips/Frostyburger Yamaha, with Doug Mittag second in the #848 K&N/Long Travel Industries Yamaha, Dan Kelly third in the #824 OffRoadMagnet.com/Xtreme Machine and Fabrication Kawasaki, Chad George fourth in the #1 Monster Energy/C&G Performance Kawasaki, and Tyler Winbury fifth in the #694 Deviate Films/Magnum Off Road Kawasaki. Corry Weller moved up to fifth on lap two in her #810 Tilted Kilt/Magnaflow Yamaha, while up front, the top three were running pretty close in a good race for the lead. Kelly's bid for the win ended early, though, as he pulled off track with a mechanical issue on lap four, moving George up to third, Weller to fourth, and Robert Vanbeekum to fifth in the #664 Monster Energy/Muzzys Kawasaki. Weller then got around George to get into third place, and with the top two running well clear up front, she must've been glad to see the competition yellow. At this point, the running order was Rahders, Mittag, Weller, George, and Vanbeekum in the top five, and on the restart lap, it was John Dempsey who moved up to fifth in his #855 Dempsey Construction/Custom Off Road Design Kawasaki. Vanbeekum quickly re-gained the position, though, as Dempsey went wide in turn one and nearly off the track on the following lap, an incident which dropped him down to last place. On the next lap, Weller lost a left front tire and wheel between turns one and two, and as George admitted after the race, "she had nowhere to go" as she ran into him and took him out of the race as well. This incident brought out a full course caution, and once green flag racing resumed, smoke was becoming increasingly visible from the back of Mittag's machine. There had been a few intermittent puffs out of Mittag's motor in the previous laps, but now the issue was looking bad for the young driver, and unfortunately, he forced to sidelines on the final lap after putting up such a strong race. Meanwhile, Rahders was now well clear up front, and he took his second consecutive win, both in the SR1 class and overall. Second in SR1 and overall was Bryan Osborn in the #854 Black Rhino/Gear One Yamaha, with Dempsey third in SR1 and overall. RJ Anderson grabbed the win in Unlimited UTV in his #637 Walker Evans Racing/HolzRacingProducts.com Polaris; he finished fourth overall. Second in Unlimited UTV and fifth overall was Vanbeekum, and rounding out the Unlimited UTV podium was George.
Limited Buggy
Next on the docket were the Limited Buggies, and it was Dave Mason who put his pole starting position to good use as he moved into the lead at the end of lap one in his #365 B&R Buggie/SR Performance AlumiCraft. John Fitzgerald ran second in his #314 BFGoodrich Tires/Simpson buggy, with Quentin Tucker third in the #377 General Tire/P.C.I. Race Radios machine, Curt Geer fourth in the #385 Green Army/BDI Bowden Development Inc. Lothringer, and Bradley Morris fifth in the #304 Lucas Oil/A.O.K. AlumiCraft. Fitzgerald made a nice move down the inside of Mason in turn four to take the lead on lap two, and on the same lap, Geer got by Tucker to move up to third. Geer then had a great run through the rhythm section, and he used his momentum to power by Mason and take over second spot on lap four. Tucker also got around Mason, and at the competition yellow, the running order was Fitzgerald, Geer, Tucker, Mason, and Morris in the top five. After the restart, the running order up front went unchanged for several laps, but a close battle was developing for fifth place between Morris and Geoffrey Cooley. Smoke was starting to come from Morris' motor, and it puffed more and more frequently as the laps closed down. With less than two laps to go, Cooley finally got by Morris' ailing buggy to take over fifth spot, with this being the last change in the top five. Up front, Fitzgerald comfortably cruised home for the win, ahead of Geer, Tucker, Mason, and Cooley.
Super Lite
Following Opening Ceremonies, the drivers of Super Lite took to the field, and in a demonstration of thanks to the military, fire fighting, and law enforcement personnel who help to protect our freedoms and preserve democracy, they drove in unison while carrying American flags. Once the parade lap was completed, the drivers turned in their flags, tightened their belts, and braced themselves for the green flag start.
An eventful start saw John Gable and Mike McCarthy go off the track and down the embankment into the rocks that line the drainage wash outside of turns one and two, a scary sight which both drivers came away relatively unharmed from. Despite superficial damage, both drivers were able to continue, though a full restart of the race was called for. On the restart, it was Dawson Kirchner who grabbed the early lead in his #16 Torchmate/General Tire truck, ahead of RJ Anderson in the #37 Walker Evans Racing/So Cal Super Trucks entry, Chad George in the #42 Kawasaki/Yokohama machine, Jessie Johnson in the #15 Lowe's/A.M. Ortega truck, and Wyatt Kirchner in the #26 Bull Outdoor Products Inc./Speed Racing LLC machine. On lap two, George literally jumped past Anderson coming into turn five, and made the move stick to take over second spot. For the next several laps, George then found himself in the center of a three-way battle for the lead, with Dawson Kirchner ahead and Anderson behind. There was a lot of close racing in that battle for the lead, but clear through the competition yellow, the three held their places, though further back, Wyatt Kirchner wasn't quite as lucky. The young driver got out of shop at the end of the rhythm section, and wound up crashing with a wicked barrel roll. However, Kirchner seemed relatively un-phased as he was righted by track officials, and he quickly continued on his merry way, though his fifth place had been inherited by Luke Johnson in the #48 Freshpark Portable Obstacles/BFGoodrich Tires entry. Under yellow, George dropped into the hot pits for an unknown reason, and though he was able to continue, the running order up front was Dawson Kirchner, Anderson, Jessie Johnson, Austin Kimbrell, and Brent Fouch after the restart. A couple of laps later, the leader got a bit ragged through turn two, which allowed Anderson to scoot by on the inside to take the lead. Anderson's lead was short-lived, however, as he suffered a big rollover in the landing area coming into turn one just a few laps after getting by Kirchner, who re-assumed the lead. Anderson was out of the truck and ok, but his day was done. Meanwhile, Kirchner had just one lap left between himself and victory, and he maintained his lead through the checkered flag en route to his first win of the season, and just the second win of his young career. Second place went to Jessie Johnson, who grabbed his second consecutive podium finish; having finished third and second this weekend, there's only one step more that Johnson can climb... Kimbrell grabbed a career-best Super Lite finish with a fine third place in his #88 Yokohama/Kimbrell Racing truck, while Fouch took fourth in the #21 Forgiven Energy/BionicCigs.com entry. Rounding out the top five was Luke Johnson, who made it back to back fifth place finishes in just his second ever weekend of Super Lite racing.
Pro 4 Unlimited
In Pro 4 Unlimited, it was Adrian Cenni who came from a row two staring position to grab the lead on the first lap in his #11 Atrium Payroll/Maxxis truck. Behind Cenni came Kyle LeDuc in the #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford, Carl Renezeder in the #17 Lucas Oil/Team Associated Ford, Todd LeDuc in the #4 Rockstar/Makita Ford, and Rick Huseman in the #36 Monster Energy/E3 Spark Plugs Toyota. On lap two, Huseman suffered a self-induced spin in turn two, which quickly dropped back to last in the running order, promoting Curt LeDuc to fifth in his #43 Rockstar/Makita Ford. The leader, Cenni, then hit trouble when his truck suddenly slowed at the end of lap three; sadly for "The Wildman," his race was over. Kyle LeDuc inherited the lead, and had to hold off a persistent Renezeder as the two quickly clicked off several while running one-two. Behind them, Huseman had worked his way back up to third, and with Todd LeDuc fourth, the top four had tightened right up in a great race up front. At the competition yellow, it was Kyle LeDuc, Renezeder, Huseman, Todd LeDuc, and Curt LeDuc in the top five, with Kent Brascho moving past Curt LeDuc to take over fifth in his #8 K&N/KMC Wheels Ford on the restart lap. The top three then began to separate themselves from the rest of the pack, developing a very close and very exciting battle for the lead. As leader, Renezeder had the perfect choice of lines, leaving LeDuc and Huseman to try every other option in their efforts to get past. To the delight of a large segment of the audience, LeDuc was driving phenomenally to not only hold off Huseman, but to take the fight to Renezeder at the same time. LeDuc made headway and had several looks at making a pass, and as the white flag waved, he and Renezeder were suddenly side by side at the start/finish line. LeDuc was on the inside line for turn one, and he made the pass stick to take the lead on the final lap, but Renezeder wasn't done yet. Renezeder charged back, and was starting to make a run going into turn four, but when Huseman bicycled and nearly drove into Renezeder, Renezeder was forced to back out of it. However, at the final turn, LeDuc ran way wide, leaving the door open for Renezeder, who tried to take advantage as he closed right back in. The win was tantalizingly close for LeDuc, and he must've had his foot through the floor as he tried to hold off Renezeder in a drag race to the finish. As the crowd was screaming for LeDuc, he managed to pull ahead by half a truck length and hold off Renezeder for the win. Renezeder gave him a fight the whole way, but had to settle for second today, with Huseman third, Todd LeDuc fourth, and Brascho fifth. As the winner LeDuc put it on the podium after the race, "This was a great race because nobody was online sidelines. We were all up here battling, giving it everything." Truly, this was an epic short course race!
Pro Lite Unlimited
Cameron Steele and Chris Brandt started at the head of the field in today's Pro Lite Unlimited race, and it was Brandt's #82 National Concrete Cutting / BFGoodrich Tires Toyota ahead of Steele's #Ox Yokohama/Lucas Oil Ford after the first lap. Close behind came Rodrigo Ampudia in the #36 Papas & Beer/Mexicana Logistics Ford, Brian Deegan in the #38 Metal Mulisha/Makita Ford, and Kyle LeDuc in the #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford. Deegan moved up to third on lap two, and after three more laps in which he, Ampudia, and LeDuc were all hounding Steele for second place, Deegan finally got by to take over second spot. Ampudia and LeDuc also got by on the following lap, and on the lap after that, with the competition yellow less than a lap away, Jacob Person put Steele down to sixth as he moved his #92 San Tan Ford/Quick Lane Ford up to fifth. Before he could get to the competition yellow, Steele pulled into the hot pits, and though he was able to re-join with what appeared to be a new left rear tire, he had been dropped to the back of the pack. On the restart lap, Person spun after landing awkwardly off the jump between turns four and five, which dropped him back several spots, and allowed Jimmy Stephensen up into fifth in his #33 Ironclad Energy/JS Pest Control Nissan. Up front, Deegan was now really putting the pressure on Brandt, and on the following lap, he pushed Brandt wide to take the lead in turn four. Just behind, Ampudia went wide himself on the next lap, and before he could get himself straightened out, he hit the outside k rail at turn one and launched over the barrier and into the rocks below; he was ok, but his truck: not so much. This moved LeDuc to third, Stephensen to fourth, and RJ Anderson to fifth in the #37 Polaris/South Point Ford. On the restart lap, LeDuc suddenly made his intentions of moving up the order well-known, as he pulled alongside Brandt as the two went three-wide with Deegan out of turn three. LeDuc got the better of Brandt to grab second spot by the next corner, but on the following lap, Brandt had managed to take the spot back. Brandt and LeDuc were really battling now, and after LeDuc just touched Brandt on the backside as the two pounded through the rhythm section, it took an incredible save by Brandt to avert what would've been a certain rollover. Brandt kept it wheels down, and even maintained his position heading towards the white flag, but on the final lap, he drove way too wide in turn three, and opened the door for an easy pass by LeDuc. Up front, Deegan now had some breathing room, and he stayed clear to take back to back wins this weekend, ahead of LeDuc, Brandt, Anderson (who picked up the first top five finish by a V8 in Lucas Oil Off Road Pro Lite Unlimited competition, and did so in just his second race inside the class), and Stephensen.
Pro Buggy Unlimited
A stacked field of Pro Buggy Unlimiteds took to the track next, with John Holmes and Steven Greinke leading the way from the front row at the start. However, Jerry Whelchel was the man on a mission, trying his best to fulfill his wish, which he stated on the podium yesterday, of putting his car and his team on top of the box today. Whelchel jumped out to the early lead in the #5 ProAm/BFGoodrich Tires Foddrill, with Greinke second in the #23 SC Fuels/Concourse Racer, Holmes third in the #3 Prolong Super Lubricants/Eibach Springs Racer, Mike Porter fourth in the #8 Redline Performance/Mickey Thompson Tires AlumiCraft, and Justin "Bean" Smith fifth in the #19 Metal Mulisha/Competitive Metals AlumiCraft. Porter jumped up to third on lap two, and after Holmes was a little slow out of turn two, Smith also got by to pick up fourth spot on lap four. Smith then had a great run through the rhythm section on the next lap, and he used his momentum to close down on Porter and make the pass in turn three. On lap six, Doug Fortin moved up to fifth in his #96 Fortin Racing, Inc./McGrath Fiberglass Products Racer. Just ahead of the competition yellow, Greinke picked up a left rear flat, forcing him into the hot pits for a tire change. This meant that as the field bunched up behind the Blanco Basura/4 Wheel Parts Toyota Tundra pace truck, the running order up front was now Whelchel, Smith, Porter, Fortin, and Holmes. After the restart, Holmes charged like a madman through the rhythm section, and barged headfirst into the battle for third between Porter and Fortin. Holmes got by both drivers, as they briefly hooked together and dropped to sixth (Fortin) and ninth (Porter) places. Behind Holmes, Justin Davis was now fourth in the #85 Jamar/General Tire Racer, and Brandon Bailey ran fifth in the #17 Stronghold Engineering/Yokohama AlumiCraft. The field then sailed towards the checkered flag, with the big battle being the one for second between Smith and Holmes. Holmes, who had discovered that he could rip through the rhythm section, used his new-found trick to make up ground on Smith and get close into turn three, but Smith managed to keep him at bay and pull away during the rest of each lap, thus maintaining his position. At the white flag, it was Whelchel, Smith, Holmes, Davis, and Bailey in the top five, with Davis having just lost his right rear tire. Davis was running on the rim, and unfortunately for him, was unable to hold off Bailey, who got by to take over fourth place on the final lap. Meanwhile, at the head of the field, it was Whelchel who did indeed carry out his hope of moving one step up from his second place finish yesterday, as he sped home to pick up the big win, ahead of Smith, Holmes, Bailey, and Davis.
Pro 2 Unlimited
Rounding out the weekend's racing was Pro 2 Unlimited, and it was Brian Deegan in the #38 Rockstar/Makita Ford starting alongside Carl Renezeder in the #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire Ford on the front row. Renezeder and Deegan ran one-two at the end of lap one, followed by Rodrigo Ampudia in the #36 Tecate/Lucas Oil Ford, Robby Woods in the #99 Lucas Slick Mist/SuperChips Chevrolet, and Greg Adler in the #10 4 Wheel Parts/Airaid Ford. Ampudia got by Deegan for second place on lap two, but it was Adler who was on a real charge, jumping past Woods into turn five to grab fourth, before simply driving past both Deegan and Ampudia to go from fourth to second on lap three! Adler was going like a man possessed, and with this being the 4 Wheel Parts Off Road Nationals Weekend, and his being the head of 4 Wheel Parts, it was easy to understand his motivation. Within moments of moving into second, Adler was now making his presence known to Renezeder, whose mirrors were full of Adler. Meanwhile, Ampudia suffered major damage to the rear of his truck after a collision with another driver, and he was soon forced to the sidelines. This moved Woods up to third, Jeremy McGrath to fourth in the #2 ReadyLift/Toyo Tires Ford, and Deegan to fifth. With the top two just beginning to pull away, it was McGrath who then moved up to third on lap nine. Woods briefly got the spot back on the next lap, but McGrath made the pass again on the same lap, just ahead of the competition yellow. At this point, the running order was Renezeder, Adler, McGrath, Woods, and Deegan in the top five.
On the restart lap, Rob MacCachren made his bid for a top five spot, having spun himself out in the early going, which forced him back to last place. MacCachren dove down the inside of Deegan and forced him wide at turn two, which helped Deegan bump side to side with Woods. As those two collected, a pile-up ensued as several other drivers were caught up in their collision. MacCachren stayed clear of the whole mess to move up to fourth place, with Phil Bollman now fifth in his #65 PB Racing/Toyo Tires Ford. Jeff Geiser moved into fifth in his #44 Canidae/BulletProofDiesel.com Chevrolet on the next lap, while ahead, the top four were well clear and battling for the lead. McGrath then dropped out of that race for the lead on lap 14, forced to the sidelines with a mechanical issue, which moved MacCachren to third, Geiser to fourth, and Bollman to fifth. The battle for first was now between Renezeder, Adler, and MacCachren, and MacCachren got by Adler for second on lap 15, but bicycled in turn three and gave the spot right back. MacCachren re-grouped, and made a clean pass down the inside of Adler to take over second again on the following lap, but with all the in-fighting he and Adler had been through, Renezeder now seemed out of reach. MacCachren charged hard for a few laps, but slowed on the final lap with a bad vibration in his driveshaft. MacCachren did his best to nurse his truck home, but the driveshaft broke as he approached the finish line, and Adler managed to pip him on the line for second as MacCachren coasted in. Up front, Renezeder made it back to back wins in Pro 2 Unlimited for the first time since Rounds 1 and 2 of 2009, extending his points lead in the process. Adler finished second to the delight of his many 4 Wheel Parts family members and friends, with MacCachren taking third. Fourth went to a resilient Deegan, who charged back through the pack after his earlier collision with Woods, and fifth went to Geiser.
That wraps it up for this weekend's action here at Glen Helen. As summer sets in, be sure to include our next race weekend in your plans. The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series will resume in five weeks' time at Miller Motorsports Park in the Salt Lake City, UT suburb of Tooele. The backdrop will be beautiful as the teams make the trek north for Rounds 7 and 8, so get your tickets and be sure to check out the all-new track that'll be showcased for the very first time.
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 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.
Written by Scott Neth for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series
