Title Races Rage in Round 14

[Dirty]

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Another beautiful day greeted the drivers, crews, and fans of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by Geico Powersports here in Las Vegas today, as racing action resumed for Round 14. This weekend's racing at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway has been proudly sponsored by the good people of E3 Spark Plugs, and with fast and furious action all day yesterday, today would see much more of the same. With some drivers itching to put the proverbial nail in the coffin to secure their championships, others were doing everything they could to keep their title hopes alive. In case you weren't on hand, here's how the events unfolded.


Modified Kart
In the opening race of Round 14, Modified Kart points leader Mitchell DeJong started his #524 Speed Technologies/Ultra Custom Boats kart alongside Zac Hunt, his closest championship rival, and Hunt's #534 Creative Fabrication and Design/Speed Energy machine. Clearly there was a lot at stake here, as Hunt needed to close down the points gap between himself and DeJong by quite a bit in order to maintain a realistic shot at the title, but it was DeJong who made the better start, taking the lead after lap one. In second it was Jerett Brooks in the #527 Synergy Electric Racing/Caspers Concrete Busters truck, followed by Brandon Vermillion in the #585 mavTV/Hart and Huntington kart, Connor Pankratz in the #511 Fiberwerx Racing Bodies/MasterCraft Safety machine, and Hunt. Hunt's luck went from bad to worse in the opening lap, as what sounded like a dying engine began to plague him, forcing Hunt to a crawl in an effort to salvage some points for the rest of the race. Meanwhile, Bradley Morris moved past Hunt and Pankratz to take over fourth spot in the #504 K&N Filters/BME Motorsports truck, with Sheldon Creed then moving into fifth in his #522 A.M. Ortega/Patrick's High Performance Graphix kart. Up ahead, Brooks was really keeping the hammer down and trying to force DeJong into a mistake, with Brooks finally getting by DeJong shortly before the competition yellow. At this point, the running order was Brooks, DeJong, Vermillion, Morris, and Creed in the top five, with Morris and Creed moving up to second and third on the restart lap. The running order was Brooks, Morris, Creed, Vermillion, and DeJong with one lap to go, and on the final lap, Creed spun in turn three and fell to the very back of the pack, a tough break for the reigning class champion. Up front, Brooks had a great run, and he came home the winner, followed by Morris, Vermillion, DeJong, and Blake Lenk in the #521 Missing Lenk Motorsports/Sunoco Race Fuels truck. With two more solid runs this weekend, DeJong has scored enough points to secure his first championship in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, earning the title of 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Modified Kart Champion. DeJong is also the first driver to secure a championship this season- way to go Mitchell!


Junior 2 Kart
After an unprecedented day that saw four girls finish in the top five in yesterday's Junior 2 Kart race, all eyes were on these young drivers for another great race today, and the kids didn't disappoint. Yesterday's top two finishers, Paige Porter and Chad Graham, started first and second today, with Graham taking the early lead in his #410 Hart and Huntington/Liquid Graphics truck, followed by Porter in the #462 Redline Performance/Advantage Boats machine, Micaela Cheek in the #457 CMI/Fox Racing Shox kart, Isabella Naughton in the #454 Stronghold Motorsports/Eibach Springs machine, and Eddie Tafoya Jr. in the #451 Specialty Fasteners/Racer X Motorsports truck. Naughton picked off Cheek for third spot in the early going, while up the road, Graham was gradually opening a gap over the rest of the field. Just ahead of the competition yellow, Hailie Deegan popped up to fifth in the #438 Metal Mulisha/Rockstar kart, and as the yellow came out, it was Graham, Porter, Naughton, Cheek, and Deegan in the top five. On the restart lap, big contact in turn one caught out and re-shuffled many drivers, most notably Porter, who dropped well back. This left a new running order in the top five: Graham, Naughton, Maxwell Ries in the #474 ProAm truck, Cheek, and Deegan. Points leader Sheldon Creed was trying to stop his run of bad luck this weekend, and moved up to fourth in his #422 Lucas Oil/RC10.com machine, with Jeff Hoffman in tow and taking over fifth in his #447 BRT Designs/Cactus Transport Inc. kart. From here on in, the order remained the same in the top five, with Graham coming across the line first for the fifth time this season. In the battle for second, Ries really put the pressure on Naughton in the closing laps, but Naughton held tough to fend off Ries and take second. Ries rounded out the podium, with Creed and Hoffman taking the final two spots in the top five.


Junior 1 Kart
Rounding out the weekend's events on the shorter "kids" track were the young boys and girls of Junior 1 Kart, and today's start line featured Dylan Winbury and his #299 Wagon Burners Racing/Simpson kart next to Chad Graham's #235 Hoosier/KarTek truck on the front row. Yesterday's winner Jack Yeiser moved up from a row two starting spot to grab the lead on the opening lap, with Mamer, Isabella Naughton, Preston Roben, and Winbury running behind him in the top five. Travis PeCoy soon moved up to fifth in his #211 downloadactionvideo.com/Parker Pumper machine, with points leader Heger also moving up to take over third in his #212 Patrick's High Performance Graphix/UPR kart. Up front, Yeiser had opened a sizeable gap over the rest of the field by the time the competition yellow came out, which the other drivers must've hoped would give them a second shot at challenging Yeiser's lead. On the restart lap, the top five drivers held their positions, with the running order still Yeiser, Mamer, Heger, Naughton, and PeCoy. Heger then passed Mamer to take over second, with Naughton also making a move past Mamer to take over third in her #254 ReadyLift Suspension/LAMB Energy truck in the closing laps. Eliott Watson also moved into the top five for the first time this race, taking over fifth in his #203 Tom Watson Inc./Fiberwerx machine. With one lap to go, Yeiser had again opened a good gap over the rest of the field, and he came home first to make it back-to-back wins this weekend- not bad considering that his first career Lucas Oil win was yesterday! Heger came home second, followed by Naughton, Mamer, and Watson.


UTV
The two-class race of SR1 and Unlimited UTV was again first out onto the full-length track today, with Robert Vanbeekum in the #664 Xtreme Machine and Fabrication/Muzzys Kawasaki starting alongside Doug Mittag in the #848 North County Yamaha/Custom Off Road Design Yamaha on the front row. On the opening lap, it was yesterday's SR1 and overall winner Corry Weller in the #801 Walker Evans Racing/Maxxis Tires Yamaha who vaulted into the early lead, with Mittag second, Vanbeekum third, Tyler Herzog fourth in the #844 Kronik Energy/Ivy Trucking and Grading Yamaha, and Austin Kimbrell fifth in the #607 Monster Energy/Weller Racing Kawasaki. Herzog and Ryan Beat both got around Vanbeekum to take over third and fourth spots in the early going, while up front, it was a very close race for the lead between Weller and Mittag. The top five drivers held their positions through the yellow flag, though Mittag showed some brief puffs of smoke just before the yellow waved. Mittag elected to stay on track however, running behind Weller, and ahead of Herzog, Beat in the #851 Osborn Racing/Black Rhino Yamaha, and Vanbeekum in the top five. Whether coming to the pits would've helped Mittag or not is unclear, but what is clear is that his luck ran out in turn two on the restart, where his machine came to a stop, race over; a real shame after his strong run. Beat had a better restart lap, moving past Herzog to take over second spot after Mittag's demise, and he was now giving Weller a real run for her money in the battle for first. The top three drivers closed up, and as Beat set the fast lap of the race thus far, he was right on Weller's back bumper with just one lap to go. Beat briefly grabbed the lead between turns two and three, but Weller braked later into the turn and had a better drive out of it to re-take the lead and keep it. Weller held off a great charge by Beat, who will be a driver to watch in this class (this is only his second weekend of competition in his new ride), and made it a clean sweep of the weekend with back to back wins. Beat was happy to take second, admitting that he's still learning his UTV. In third it was Herzog, followed by Gary Thompson in the #802 Thompson Roofing/P.C.I. Race Radios Yamaha, and Vanbeekum, who took top honors in the Unlimited UTV class. Second in Unlimited UTV was Chad George in the #642 Monster Energy/King Shocks Kawasaki, and rounding out the Unlimited UTV podium was John Dempsey in the #655 Custom Off Road Design/Simpson Kawasaki; George and Dempsey finished sixth and seventh overall. Another solid finish by George has given him a 12-point margin over Kimbrell in the battle for the Unlimited UTV title, with Vanbeekum a further 27 points back in third. Herzog still leads Weller in the SR1 class, now with a 27-point gap heading to Firebird.


Limited Buggy
The final race before the "halftime" of opening ceremonies was Limited Buggy. This ultra-competitive class has once again produced a very close points battle, with just seven points separating points leader Justin "Bean" Smith from second place John Fitzgerald coming into today's race. Kyle Quinn started his #311 Bugpack/Lucas Oil buggy alongside the #382 RC10.com/RADesigns Penhall of LJ Kennedy on the front row, but it was points leader Smith who launched into the early lead in his #319 Bully Dog/Metal Mulisha Fraley. In second it was Bruce Fraley in the #312 Fox Racing Shox/MSD Ignition Fraley, with Quinn third, Curt Geer fourth in his newly-numbered #385 Green Army/BDI Bowden Development Inc. Lothringer, and Sammy Ehrenberg fifth in the #381 Wilson Motorsports/Yokohama Tires Penhall. Fitzgerald had a disastrous opening lap, falling victim to contact in turn two and dropping to stone dead last. Up ahead, Kyle Lucas moved up to fifth in his #325 Lucas Oil/mavTV buggy, while at the head of the field, Smith was opening up a noticeable gap over the rest of the pack. Geer was hounding Quinn for third place for the entire first half of the race, with Quinn finally succumbing to the pressure and spinning out between turns seven and eight, falling well back just before the competition yellow. At this point, it was still Smith up front, with Fraley, Geer, Lucas, and Kevin McCullough, driving the #389 Gear One/General Tire machine, filling out the top five positions. McCullough, who'd started well back in the field, was having a great run so far, and picked up two more spots on the restart, moving up to third. Kenny Freeman was also coming up the ranks, taking over fifth place in his #302 Freeman's Carpet Service buggy. McCullough then hit a spot of trouble, with what looked like a possible stall coming out of turn three, which caused him to drop several positions and well out of the top five. This moved Geer into the top three again, with Freeman now fourth and Fitzgerald all the way up to fifth after his earlier rotten luck. Fitzgerald chased a resilient Freeman for fourth in the closing laps, and just managed to squeak his #314 Hart and Huntington/mavTV buggy past Freeman on the final lap to grab two extra valuable points. Up front, however, it was Smith who took maximum points on the day, doubling his lead in the championship from seven to fourteen points with just one regular season race left. Second went to Fraley, with Geer finishing third, Fitzgerald fourth, and Freeman fifth.

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Pro Buggy Unlimited
The title race is still well and truly on in the Pro Buggy Unlimited category, with Larry Job, Cameron Steele, and Doug Fortin all still in with a shout of grabbing the championship. Following a three-row inversion of yesterday's finishing results, it would be Steven Greinke in the #923 SC Fuels/Concourse Racer and Steele in the #916 Bully Dog/Super Clean AlumiCraft on the front row for the start, with Steele grabbing the early lead. Greinke sat in second after the first lap, followed by Steele's teammate Job in the #907 Blanco Basura/BFGoodrich Tires AlumiCraft, Justin Davis in the #985 TCS/Hoosier Racer, and Myan Spaccarelli in the #969 Spartan/Lee Power Steering AlumiCraft. Job and Davis both got by Greinke to take over second and third spots, and as Greinke slowed slightly, Spaccarelli and Cody Freeman were also able to get by and move up to fourth and fifth. Freeman then got his #994 Wik's Racing Engines/Goodyear Racer by Spaccarelli for fourth, but then pulled off the course briefly, losing all kinds of positions, though he was able to continue shortly afterwards. Davis then fell well back with an unknown issue, and as the competition yellow came out, it was still Steele up front, followed by Job , Spaccarelli, Jerry Whelchel in the #901 ProAm/Madrid Motorsports Foddrill, and Chuck Cheek in the #957 Maxxis Tires/CMI AlumiCraft. After the restart, the top five drivers held their positions, but it was Fortin, driving the #996 Fortin Racing Inc./McGrath Fiberglass Racer, who was on a charge after a less than ideal first half of the race. Fortin picked off Cheek to grab fifth spot, and was closing fast on Whelchel to try and grab fourth. Fortin was able to get the job done on Whelchel in turn four, but he could do no better than fourth, and was forced to watch his two championship rivals take a one-two finish today. Steele picked up his second win of the season to close within 10 points of championship leader Job, who finished second. Third went to an elated Spaccarelli, who drove at least some of the race sans third gear. Fourth went to Fortin, who now sits 24 points out in the title chase, and rounding out the top five was Whelchel.

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Super Lite
Super Lite saw a championship lead change in yesterday's race, and with many drivers still well within reach of the title, anything was possible in today's Super Lite race. After an inversion of the top six finishing positions from yesterday's race, it was RJ Anderson in the #37 Walker Evans Racing/VP Racing Fuels truck who started next to CJ Greaves in the #33 Traxxas/Oakley machine on the front row, but it was new championship leader Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg who grabbed the lead at the end of lap one. Greaves and Anderson followed in second and third, with Kyle LeDuc fourth in the #24 So Cal SuperTrucks/Bully Dog truck, and Jeff "Ox" Kargola fifth in the #2 General Tire/Lost machine. Anderson was caught out by contact in turn two on the second lap, dropping him to the back of the pack. This moved LeDuc to third, Kargola to fourth, and Dawson Kirchner up to fifth in the #16 Speed Technologies/Method Race Wheels truck. Up front, Stenberg was starting to open up a gap on the rest of the field, while behind him, Greaves dropped from second to fourth, just before the competition yellow. At this point, Stenberg still led the field, with LeDuc, Kargola, Greaves, and Kirchner following in second through fifth. On the restart lap, Kirchner made some nice moves to go from fifth to third, and just ahead, it was LeDuc who made a beautiful pass on Stenberg in turn three to take the lead. Stenberg wasn't having any of it, however, as he re-took the lead in turn two on the next lap, and with LeDuc bobbling in turn three, both Kirchner and Kargola were able to get by and take over second and third. Kargola's time in a podium position was short-lived, though, as he rolled coming off the jump out of turn six, ending his race. The field roared by and headed for the white flag, with Stenberg, Kirchner, LeDuc, Greaves, and Chad George holding the top five spots with one lap to go. On the final lap, LeDuc rolled in turn two, which allowed Jacob Person into the top five. Up front, Stenberg kept his nose clean and took the win, further extending his championship lead in his #88 Rockstar/Metal Mulisha machine. Second went to Kirchner, with Greaves taking third, George fourth in the #42 Funco/Beard Seats truck, and Person fifth in the #29 Stand-Up MRI of Arizona/Canidae truck. Stenberg's fourth place yesterday and his win today have vaulted him into the championship lead, and he'll take a 22 point lead over George into the final round at Firebird. Greaves sits a further three points back, with Person fourth, 23 behind Greaves, and Kirchner still mathematically in it, 50 points behind first place Stenberg.

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Pro Lite Unlimited
With the points battle having tightened up considerably after yesterday's race, it was time for the drivers of Pro Lite Unlimited to see what kind of impression they could make on the championship standings today. Corey Sisler, driving the #19 Twisted Beverage Company/CBR Ford, and championship leader Chris Brandt, driving the #82 BFGoodrich Tires/mavTV Toyota, started from the front row. Brandt led the field at the end of lap one, followed by yesterday's winner Brian Deegan in the #38 Rockstar Energy/Lucas Oil Ford, Marty Hart in the #15 Stronghold Motorsports/Maxxis Tires Ford, Sisler, and Jimmy Stephensen in the #33 Discount Tire/Ironclad Energy Nissan. After nearly taking the lead on lap one, Deegan again dove deep into turn eight and swung his tail wide to protect his position, thus snagging the lead from Brandt. Brandt then slowed briefly, dropping back to fifth place. Brandt soon slowed again, this time much more significantly, and as the competition yellow was set to wave, Brandt pulled into the hot pits; his race was over, a disastrous turn of luck for the championship leader. Meanwhile, Deegan was leading the field behind the Toyota Tacoma pace truck, followed by Hart, Sisler, Stephensen, and Adam Wik in the #11 Wik's Racing Engines/Raceline Wheels Chevrolet. On the restart lap, Matt Loiodice jumped up to fifth in the #20 MasterCraft Safety/KCHiLites Ford, while further forward, Deegan was again able to pull out a small gap over the rest of the field. Loiodice moved up again, grabbing fourth spot after a brief issue for Stephensen, and Sean Geiser was able to take advantage as well, moving up to fifth in the #16 ReadyLift/Bully Dog Toyota. From there on in, the top five drivers held their positions, and it was Deegan taking back to back wins this weekend in front of young Baydon Yundt, who came here from Canada to meet Deegan as part of his Make-A-Wish Foundation wish. Second went to Hart, with third going to first time podium finisher Sisler, fourth to Loiodice, and fifth to Geiser. Following Brandt's misfortunes today, Hart is the new championship leader. Hart leads Brandt by 13 points with just one round to go, with Deegan a further 14 points back, and Loiodice still alive in fourth, 17 behind Deegan.

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Pro 2 Unlimited
The final race of the weekend brought the rolling thunder of Pro 2 Unlimited to the track. With the stadium lights shining bright as the sunset was giving way to early evening, the stacked field of 17 trucks filed out behind the pace truck, with Robert Naughton in the #54 ReadyLift Suspension/Maxxis Tires Ford starting alongside points leader Rob MacCachren in the #21 Rockstar/MasterCraft Safety Ford from row one. As the green waved, Naughton had jumped the gun and was well clear of the field, and after several warnings to all drivers about jumping the start, it was Naughton who was the unfortunate driver who got sent to the back of the field for his misdeed. On the restart, MacCachren took the lead and held it after the first lap, with Brian Deegan second in the #38 Rockstar/Metal Mulisha Ford, Carl Renezeder third in the #17 Lucas Oil/Team Associated Ford, Rodrigo Ampudia fourth in the #36 Papas & Beer/Tecate Ford, and Robby Woods fifth in the #99 Lucas Slick Mist/General Tire Chevrolet. As the race progressed, MacCachren opened a good cushion over the competition, with Deegan and Renezeder locked in a close race for second, and Ampudia, Woods, and Bryce Menzies, driving the #7 Super Clean/Blanco Basura Ford, racing nose-to-tail over fourth spot. MacCachren continued to lead through the competition yellow, with Deegan and Renezeder still second and third, followed by Woods, who'd just managed to out-jump Ampudia across the start/finish line as the yellow came out, and Ampudia in fifth. On the restart lap, contact in turn one shuffled Ampudia back a few spots, and moved Jeff Geiser up to fifth in the #44 Canidae All Natural Pet Foods/Geiser Bros Design and Development Chevrolet. Up ahead, Deegan made a mistake and dropped two spots after sliding from the outside to the inside of the track through turn eight, which dropped him down to fourth. In the lead, MacCachren was simply untouchable, opening a safe gap again and holding it all the way to the checkered flag. MacCachren picked up his eighth win of the year, crossing the line in front of a fantastic fireworks display that closed out the weekend. Second went to Renezeder, with Woods finishing third and taking his second consecutive podium. Fourth went to Deegan, who has transitioned nicely into Pro 2 Unlimited, and rounding out the top five was Geiser. With his win today, MacCachren has built in insurmountable lead in the points, making him the 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Pro 2 Unlimited Champion. This is MacCachren's first Lucas Oil Off Road title- well done Rob!
That's all from Las Vegas. Be sure to join us again as the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series makes its debut at Firebird Raceway in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, AZ for the final weekend of racing in 2010. The final round of the regular season, Round 15, will happen December 11, with the season-ending Lucas Oil Challenge Cup to follow on December 12. Until then, stay tuned to lucasoiloffroad.com for all the latest in the world of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.


Pro 4 Unlimited
Following Opening Ceremonies, it was time to return to racing action. A nice cover of clouds had rolled in overhead, and combined with a light breeze, temperatures were as enjoyable as they could be, just in time for Pro 4 Unlimited. Today's Pro 4 Unlimited race saw a level of attrition that is usually reserved for races like The Dakar Rally, and it was Jerry Daugherty in the #23 Magnaflow/Racin' Dirty Chevrolet and Kyle LeDuc in the #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford who got things started from the front row. After a series of incidents in the first lap, it was Daugherty who led the field past the start/finish line at the end of lap one, followed by points leader Rick Huseman in the #36 Traxxas/Monster Energy Toyota, Carl Renezeder in the #1 Lucas Oil/General Tire Ford, John Harrah in the #13 Speed Technologies/Stop Tech Chevrolet, and Adrian Cenni in the #11 Atrium Payroll/BFGoodrich Tires Chevrolet. Huseman soon found his way by Daugherty to take over the lead, with Renezeder quickly following suit to slot in second. Cenni also moved up, taking over third after Daugherty pulled into the hot pits with an unknown issue. Mike Johnson's truck briefly caught fire in a big way out of turn three, which brought an immediate red flag of the race. Johnson, a stunt man by trade, was out of his truck in a hurry, and as the drivers stopped on track to wait for emergency crews to get Johnson's truck put out and off the track, it was Huseman up front, followed by Renezeder, Cenni, Harrah, and LeDuc. On the restart lap, LeDuc briefly got by Harrah out of turn two, but Harrah refused to concede his line coming towards turn three and spun LeDuc, shredding LeDuc's left rear tire in the process. Harrah didn't get away easily, though, as he rolled his own truck just two turns later, and as both he and LeDuc watched much of the field pass, it was Travis Coyne in the #5 ProComp/KMC Wheels Ford and Josh Merrell in the #22 Liquid Graphics/Hart and Huntington Ford, now running with just rear wheel drive, who took over fourth and fifth.
With Harrah and LeDuc just recovering from their woes, it was now time for the leader to hit trouble. Huseman spit his rear driveshaft, leaving his truck stricken with only front wheel drive. Huseman was able to continue at a much reduced pace, allowing Renezeder, Cenni, and Coyne to all get by before the white flag. Only seven trucks were even running at this point, with only five of them on the lead lap, so it was apparent that nobody was immune to having problems, not even the leader, as Renezeder would learn in a heartbreaking way. As Renezeder came out of turn five on the final lap, his truck slowed briefly, allowing Cenni to get alongside. As the two came down to turn six, smoke and steam began billowing out of the back of Renezeder's truck, and Cenni shot by over the jump into turn seven, taking the lead with just two turns to go. Renezeder slowed dramatically, and was forced to pull to the outside of the track in turn eight, stopping within sight of the finish line, a cruel twist for the reigning champion. Ahead, Cenni stayed clear to pick up his first win since Round 10 of last season, with Coyne finishing a season-high second, and Huseman taking third, despite still being stuck in front wheel drive. Fourth went to Harrah, and rounding out the top five was Merrell, who's fifth place must've been a nice reward after struggling almost the entire race with only rear wheel drive. Huseman's third place gave him more than enough points to secure his first Lucas Oil Off Road championship; with the dominant season he's had so far, there can be no doubt that Huseman has really earned the title of 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Pro 4 Unlimited Champion- congratulations Rick!

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 LucasOilOffRoadRacing.com
Written by Scott Neth for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.