Redemption and excitement in Round 6
Round 5 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, presented one of the best afternoons of short course off-road racing in recent memory. Every race had something special, and astounding battles abounded throughout the fields in each class. Today, the drivers would have their work cut out for them if they hoped to repeat that excitement of yesterday, but as true professionals so often do, they made that job look easy, as the racing here at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park was once again outstanding. Not every race was a door-to-door, wheel-to-wheel race for the lead, but each race had something uniquely enjoyable, and the cheers from the packed grandstands reflected the emotion evoked by the events on the track. In case you couldn't see it for yourself, read on and find out why this weekend was so good.
Junior 2 Kart
The Junior 2 Kart drivers gave us a thrilling race to kick off the afternoon's events, but the race got off to a bit of an auspicious start, as an incident in turn two involving several karts forced a full restart. On the second go-around, it was yesterday's winner Ricky Gutierrez who got out front once again in his #478 G Brothers/B&D Performance truck, followed by Hailie Deegan in the #438 Dirt Princess/4 Wheel Parts kart, Parker Steele in the #449 Steele Racing/SDHQ Off Road Racing machine, Parker Porter in the #461 Redline Performance/Morgan Racing entry, and Broc Dickerson in the #423 Legacy Motorsports/LGE/CTS Motorsports kart. Ryan Carey got by Dickerson on the inside at turn one on lap two, and moved his #422 Mother's/Lawrence Equipment truck up to fifth in the process. Shortly afterwards, Porter got by Steele and up to third between turns one and two, with Deegan then passing Gutierrez for the lead coming out of turn three. Gutierrez then quickly dropped back several positions to sixth for some odd reason, so it was now Deegan, Porter, Steele, Carey, and Dickerson in the top five. Dickerson got back by Carey and up to fourth at turn four on lap four, and through the next lap, the running was consistently and irregularly close from first all the way back to ninth, with each of those drivers still running nose-to-tail. On that lap, Steele got into Porter coming out of turn four; both drivers spun, and after a few other drivers "ran into" the scene, Porter came away with broken right front suspension, which brought him to a halt down in turn one. The field was now circulating under the Competition Yellow, and it was Deegan, Dickerson, Carey, Gutierrez, and Dylan Winbury in the top five. On the restart lap, Winbury pulled off coming out of turn one, which briefly moved Alyssa Fortin up to fifth. Fortin was quickly passed by Hayden Cling, though, while further forward, Carey had gotten by Dickerson for second. At the white flag, it was still Deegan out front, with Carey, Dickerson, Gutierrez, and Cling in-tow. On the final lap, Carey just got into Deegan's back bumper, which upset her kart enough to force her to back out of the throttle for a second. This gave Carey and Dickerson an opening, and they both went by her down the straight between turns one and two. Deegan kept her cool, though, and battled back down to and through turn four. Exiting the final corner, she pulled alongside and between the two boys, with Carey to her right and Dickerson to her left. It was a drag race to the end, which quickly became a two-horse race between Carey and Deegan. Deegan just got even with Carey with less than 100 feet to go, and had just enough momentum to get Carey at the stripe, taking a thrilling win by just four hundredths of a second! Carey was an oh-so-close second, with Dickerson third, Gutierrez fourth, and Cling fifth in the #418 Cling's Manufacturing/KyleGreenFab.com machine.
Junior 1 Kart
In Junior 1 Kart, Madix Bailey got the early lead in his #217 Loctite/Madix Racing Carburetion machine, ahead of Blaze Nunley in the #230 P.C.I. Race Radios/Sunoco Race Fuels kart, Daely Pentico in the #218 LEX/Hexis truck, Kali Kinsman in the #236 7 Heaven Racing/Hoosier entry, and Ricky Gutierrez in the #278 G Brothers/Wilson Motorsports Inc. truck. On lap two, Nunley got by Bailey coming out of turn two to take the lead, with Gutierrez also picking up a position to fourth on the same lap. Kinsman pulled off the track and out of the race coming out of turn one on the next lap, and this moved Connor Barry up to fifth in the #228 CBR Performance Products/Racer X Motorsports kart. Barry's time in fifth was short-lived, though, as Bear Nunley then got by him coming out of turn three to take over that position. Up ahead, the top four drivers were still running very close, and at the Competition Yellow, it was Blaze Nunley leading Bailey, Pentico, Gutierrez, and Bear Nunley in the #215 Black Rhino/King Off-Road Racing Shocks entry in the top five. On the restart lap, Bailey got by Blaze Nunley on the inside at turn one to take back the lead, and on the next lap, Gutierrez got around Pentico out of turn three to move up to third. On that same lap, Bailey and Blaze Nunley started to pull away from those behind, but Gutierrez and Pentico closed right back down on the two leaders on the following lap, and as they went into the final lap, the top four were once again running nose-to-tail. Behind these four, fifth placed Barry was also fending off some major pressure from Kamrin Dickerson and Justin Wilson, but all the drivers in the top five managed to maintain their positions to the checkers. At the head of the field, it was Bailey who picked up the win, with Blaze Nunley taking second, Gutierrez third, Pentico fourth, and Barry fifth.
Modified Kart
After a three-kart incident in turn one forced Lucas Oil Off Road officials to call for a full restart, it was defending champion Myles Cheek who got out in front on the second attempt. Behind Cheek, Preston Roben ran in second, with Travis PeCoy third, Jeff Hoffman fourth, and Gavin Harlien fifth. A crash by Isabella Naughton in turn one on lap two forced a full course caution (Naughton was able to get going again), and after a botched restart, the field got back to green flag racing on lap five. On lap six, PeCoy went wide in the rhythm section between turns three and four, which allowed Hoffman to move past and up to third in his #547 Kar Tek Off Road/Fox Racing Shox machine. At the end of this lap, the Competition Yellow came out, and out front it was still Cheek in the #1 Metal Mulisha/ThyssenKrupp Motorsports entry, with Roben, Hoffman, PeCoy, and Harlien in-tow. On the restart lap, PeCoy and Harlien both got by Hoffman on the inside at turn one, which moved these two up to third and fourth places, respectively. Hoffman got back around Harlien before the end of the lap, but Harlien and his #555 Team Associated/Smith Optics kart were back by once again at turn one on the following lap. On lap ten, another full course caution came out after Naughton spun and stalled at the exit of turn three, and when the green flag came back out, Harlien got by PeCoy at turn one, and moved himself up to a provisional podium in the process. On the final lap, Trisha Wright had a big end-over-end crash over the first jump, which brought out a full course caution, and with the leaders already halfway around the final lap, Lucas Oil Off Road officials made the decision to throw the checkers on this race; Wright was ok, despite the scary looks of her wreck. Cheek got the win, his first behind the wheel this season, while Roben had by far his best showing of the season as he picked up second place in the #514 Duggins Construction/Boost Composites machine. Third went to Harlien, fourth to PeCoy in the #573 FMF/Oakley truck, and fifth to Hoffman.
Pro 4 Unlimited
The first Pro class race of the afternoon was Pro 4 Unlimited, and at the end of the first lap, it was Carl Renezeder out front once again, trying to extend his undefeated streak to six in a row this season. Behind Renezeder's #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire Nissan, it was Kyle LeDuc in the #99 Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Ford, Rob MacCachren in the #21 Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita Power Tools Ford, Todd LeDuc in the #7 Rockstar Energy Drink/Maxxis Ford, and Eric Barron in the #32 Mickey Thompson/LAT Racing Oils Toyota. Barron slowed to a stop in the rhythm section with onboard smoke on lap two, and the obviously frustrated driver quickly climbed out as the field packed up under a full course yellow. Barron's truck was dealt with without serious damage, and it was now Greg Adler who'd moved up to fifth in the #10 ProComp/4 Wheel Parts Ford. After the restart, Kyle LeDuc was slow out of turn two on lap six, and he dropped to fifth spot by lap's end. LeDuc then nearly spun in the final corner of the next lap, which put him back another spot, and it was now quite obvious that something wasn't 100% with his truck. On lap eight, Todd LeDuc then slowed out of turn two, and pulled off the track and out of the race just afterwards. Ryan Beat, driving for Josh Merrell today, came to a stop in turn two on the next lap, which brought out a full course yellow (Beat was able to re-fire and continue), and as the field bunched up yet again, it was now Renezeder, MacCachren, Adler, Brandon Bailey in the #77 Loctite/Madix Racing Carburetion Ford, and Kyle LeDuc in the top five. After the restart, Bailey slowed coming out of turn one with a flat tire on lap twelve. The tire came right off the wheel up in turn two, making for an even slower trip back to the hot pits for Bailey, and this now put Kyle LeDuc up to fourth and his dad Curt into fifth in his #43 Ultra Xtreme Motorsports/K&N Ford. Both Curt LeDuc and Corry Weller got around Kyle on the next lap, with Weller then passing Curt coming out of turn one and moving up to fourth on the following lap. Up front, the race for first was still very close between Renezeder and MacCachren, with MacCachren continually pressing Renezeder, while at the same time appearing as though he was doing all he could to stay that close. Starting the final lap, though, MacCachren was closer than he'd been so far, and he even managed to give Renezeder a little tap on the back bumper coming out of turn one, but Renezeder was simply too strong today. Having won the first five races of this season, Renezeder extended his 2013 streak to six today, and when added to his wins in Round 15 and the Challenge Cup last season (something this reporter forgot to do until reminded of those today), Renezeder's streak now stands at eight, two more than Kyle LeDuc's old record of six from last season. Moreover, Renezeder also won Rounds 12 and 13 in 2012, which gives him 10 wins in the last 11 Pro 4 Unlimited races- unbelievable! Congratulations Carl! MacCachren was a close second today, with Adler also making the podium in third. Fourth place was Weller in the #18 Optima Batteries/Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery Ford, and fifth went to Curt LeDuc.
Pro Buggy Unlimited
The open wheel fiends of Pro Buggy Unlimited were up next, and after a very disappointing run yesterday, Bradley Morris was out for redemption this afternoon, as he grabbed the early lead in the #24 K&N/Tri-State Materials Alumi Craft. Right behind Morris, Steven Greinke ran second in the #1 SC Fuels/Fox Racing Shox Racer, with John Fitzgerald third in the #14 BFGoodrich Tires/Simpson Racer, Dave Mason Jr. fourth in the #65 Competitive Metals/B&R Buggie Alumi Craft, and Robb Harvey fifth in the #18 Interstate Batteries/BFGoodrich Tires Alumi Craft. On lap four, Geoffrey Cooley brought out a full course caution after coming to a stop in turn three, and on the restart lap, there was a change at the front. Morris got fairly sideways over the big tabletop jump into turn three, and when he paired that with a slight over-rotation in turn three, Greinke was able to get by and into the lead. Larry Job moved his #7 Loctite/Toyo Tires Alumi Craft up to fifth on the same lap, and two laps later, there was more action at the head of the field. This time, Morris flew big over the step-up jump into turn two, and when Greinke took his turn getting somewhat sideways over the tabletop jump into turn three, Morris was there to capitalize, as he went by and into the lead coming out of the corner. A great battle for the lead ensued between Morris and Greinke, with two other positions (third place and fifth place) also being quite closely contested (Fitzgerald vs. Mason Jr. for third, Job, Eric Fitch, and Harvey for fifth). Greinke got alongside Morris multiple times on lap eleven, but couldn't quite get himself ahead, as Morris held the lead each time. Morris then began to open up the gap just a bit over the next couple of laps after Greinke developed a rear suspension issue, while further back, Fitch was up to fifth in the #97 Mickey Thompson/VP Racing Fuels Racer after Job had slowed substantially. At the white flag, it was now Morris, Greinke, Fitzgerald, Mason Jr., and Fitch in the top five. On the final lap, Mason Jr. closed right in on Fitzgerald, and when "Fitz" missed a shift at turn three, Mason Jr. quickly capitalized, as he moved by and up to third. Up front, Morris did indeed redeem himself from yesterday, and he pumped his fist out the window down the final straightaway as he picked up his third win of the season, followed by Greinke, Mason Jr., Fitzgerald, and Fitch.
Pro Lite Unlimited
Wow, when are we going to have a boring, uneventful Pro Lite Unlimited race? Hopefully not any time soon, and with the nature of this class and its huge entry numbers, it's unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future. Here this afternoon, it was defending champion RJ Anderson who jumped out to the early lead in his #1 LoanMart/Maxxis Dodge, with Sheldon Creed in the #74 BFGoodrich Tires/A.M. Ortega Dodge, Ray Griffith in the #53 General Tire/King Off-Road Racing Shocks Nissan, Kyle Lucas in the #25 Lucas Oil/Speedco Truck Lube & Tires Ford, and Bradley Morris in the #24 K&N/Kicker Ford in-tow. Paul Hoffman came to a stop at turn three on lap two, which forced a full course caution (Hoffman was able to re-fire and continue), and after the return to green, the top five drivers held their positions through the end of lap five. On lap six, Morris got by Lucas for fourth spot, just ahead of another full course caution (someone else had been stopped on the track). On the restart lap, Morris moved up again after passing Griffith on the inside at turn two, and that took Morris up to a provisional podium in third. On the same lap, Creed got by Anderson with a terrific pass at turn four, while Andrew Caddell, again pulling stand-in duty for Brian Deegan, got by Lucas for fifth in the #38 Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita Power Tools Ford. Just after this, yet another full course caution came out, and on the restart, Anderson was right on Creed in a bid to re-take the lead. On lap 12, Anderson got inside Creed at turn four, forced him wide, and the two then ran side-by-side up to the start/finish line. Anderson nosed ahead in turn one, but Creed battled back alongside into turn two, where he ran wide and brought both he and Anderson to a near-stop. The battle was then unfortunately interrupted by Eric Hunter's rollover in turn four, which brought out another full course caution, and under yellow, Anderson was moved back to the lead under the "last completed lap" rule (he must have been ahead by just inches at the stripe at the end of lap 12). After several laps under yellow, racing finally resumed, and the battle between Anderson and Creed was on again. Behind them, Noah Fouch got by Caddell on the inside at turn one, and after Griffith spun in turn two and dropped all the way back to last place in the running order, Fouch and Caddell moved up to fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Two laps later, the battle for the lead dissolved somewhat, as Creed bicycled at turn three and lost ground to Anderson, but still managed to hold onto second place. Two laps after that, Creed had gotten fairly close to Anderson again, but would have to do something very special if he was to get the win. Creed raced as hard as he could, but could only get to Anderson's back bumper, as the #1 plate holder stayed strong out front to pick up the win, his third of the season. Creed had to settle for second today, with Morris backing up his win in Pro Buggy Unlimited with another podium here, this time a third place. Fouch had a good run to finish fourth despite some mangled bodywork, and Caddell did another nice stand-in job for Deegan, as he rounded out the top five.
Pro 2 Unlimited
The final race of the weekend was Pro 2 Unlimited, and after finishing behind Carl Renezeder in Pro 4 Unlimited earlier this afternoon, it was Rob MacCachren in the #21 Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita Power Tools Ford who led Renezeder in the #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire Nissan in the early going here. Behind these two, it was Kyle LeDuc third in the #98 Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Ford, Kyle's brother Todd LeDuc(filling in for Brian Deegan again) in the #38 Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita Power Tools Ford, and Robby Woods in the #99 Lucas Slick Mist/General Tire Chevrolet. Up front, MacCachren quickly opened up a comfortable gap over his pursuers, and those behind in the top five settled into fairly consistent spots, with fairly even gaps between them, over the first six laps. On lap seven, a fire onboard Mike Porter's truck brought out a red flag. Safety crews were on the scene in an instant, pulling Porter to safety and getting the fire subdued; Porter was ok, but his day was done. Once Porter's truck was cleared from the track, racing resumed on lap nine, and it was Kyle LeDuc who pushed out wide at turn four, leaving the door open for his brother Todd to get by on the inside. Kyle battled back to get alongside Todd again early on the next lap, but over-rotated in turn two, allowing Todd to hold on to his third spot. Todd then seemed to develop an issue, which became more apparent later on; something was wrong with his front suspension and steering, but he was able to maintain a reasonable pace, though he began to drop back down the order. Kyle was the first to get past, making the move on lap 11. Meanwhile, MacCachren was again pulling away out front, and had already opened up a gap similar to the one he'd had in the early laps. On lap twelve, Woods was the next driver to pick Todd LeDuc off, and with Greg Adler then getting by LeDuc on lap 13, Todd was out of the top five and looking ever more vulnerable to the hungry pack behind him. Four laps later, a full course caution was thrown when Austin Kimbrell's truck came to a stop just out of turn three, and as the field backed up behind the Pace Truck, officials called for a green-white-checkers finish. On the restart lap, Kyle LeDuc over-rotated as he exited turn two, coming across the nose of Woods and around to the inside wall, where he became very precariously-placed relative to the gaggle of horsepower bearing down on him from above in the corner. Woods stormed by as LeDuc got straightened out, with a little help from those around him, but LeDuc then ended up wide and up against the outside k rail at turn three, with a huge pack of drivers rushing in to pass him up. Several of those drivers got by, and at the white flag, it was now MacCachren, Renezeder, Woods, Jeremy McGrath in the #2 The Water Warden/Loctite Ford, and Adler in the #10 4 Wheel Parts/Magnaflow Performance Exhaust Ford in the top five. At the head of the field, MacCachren was simply untouchable today; as he put it on the podium, "I didn't want to play today," and the rest of the field just didn't have an answer for his pace. Renezeder picked up second place, while Woods earned a measure of redemption after a very difficult spell as of recent, as he picked up a long-overdue podium finish in third. Fourth went to McGrath, who survived from very rough mid-pack racing earlier on, and rounding out the top five was Adler, who bicycled twice on the final lap, yet somehow managed to keep those behind him at bay.
It has been a fantastic and eventful weekend of competition here at the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Complex, and things are looking quite promising for the series' return here in October, when this track will become the third track in series history to host the season finale, as well as the "post season" Challenge Cup events. However, there is a lot of racing to be done between now and then, and that all starts when the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, resumes action in five weeks' time. The fantastic Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, just west of Salt Lake City, will host Rounds 7 and 8 of this year's championship, June 21-23. This facility is unparalleled in off-road racing, and the beauty of the surrounding scenery makes this one of the can't miss events of the season, so be sure to make your plans to make the trek north to see how the next chapter of this saga unfolds.
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
