Under the warm swathe of Arizona sun circling low in the winter sky here at Firebird International Raceway, it was truly a beautiful day to be outside at the races for Round 15, the final round of 2010, for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by Geico Powersports. The locals from Chandler and the Phoenix valley took time from their holiday shopping to pack the stands for some of the best racing of the season, as champions would be crowned at the day's end. No more talk, no more "next times," no more excuses: it was now or never for those in the hunt for a title, and a great opportunity for those out of the championship hunt to throw caution to the wind and go for a race win. I hope you were here to see it, but in case you weren't, here's what happened.
Modified Kart
First out onto the track were the mini monsters of Modified Kart, and the track laid out for the kart drivers was by far the best kids track all season. With high speed sections, big jumps, long sweeping turns and tighter, more technical turns, as well as their own unique multi-line section, these kids had a great track to work with, and they used it to full effect in putting on a thrilling race. 2009 Champion Sheldon Creed started alongside newly-crowned 2010 Champion Mitchell DeJong on the front row, and as the field swept through turn two in a uniform, rehearsed-looking sideways drift, it was truly a beautiful spectacle to see these kids driving so clean and so fast. If anyone doesn't think that these young drivers are the future stars of our great sport, those folks are sadly mistaken, because these kids looked as good as their professional grown-up counterparts. DeJong led the way from the outset in his #524 Speed Technologies/Kartek truck, with Creed second in the #522 Lucas Oil/A.M. Ortega machine. In third it was Mitch Guthrie in the #555 Racin' Dirty/Performance Construction entry, followed by Zac Hunt in the #534 Speed Energy/Creative Fabrication and Design machine and Brandon Vermillion in the #585 MavTV/San Manuel Band of Mission Indians truck. Most drivers elected to take the higher line in the either/or section of the track on lap one, but it was Creed who put the shorter, more technical lower line to use on lap two as he made up good ground on DeJong and moved past him as the lines re-joined one another coming onto the front straight. Hunt also used the lower line quite well, moving up to third shortly afterwards. DeJong then spun as he tried to take the lower line, dropping him to the back of the pack. At the competition yellow, Creed still led, with Hunt second, Vermillion third, Guthrie fourth, and Bradley Morris fifth in the #504 K&N/Kicker kart. After the restart, Guthrie moved up to third, with Jerett Brooks also jumping up to take over fifth in his #527 Synergy Electric Racing/Casper's Concrete Busters machine. At the white flag, Creed was still in control up front, and was followed by Hunt, Guthrie, Vermillion, and a close battle for fifth between Morris and Brooks. Morris held tough to win the scrap for fifth, while up front, Creed took a textbook-performance win. Second went to Hunt, third to Guthrie, and fourth to Vermillion. DeJong recovered well from his early misfortune to finish the race in tenth, and was brought up on the podium to be officially crowned as the 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Modified Kart Champion (even though he wrapped up the title in Round 14). Congratulations Mitchell, you are the Champion!
Maxwell Ries and Sheldon Creed started on the front row in Junior 2 Kart, and after the two got together on the first lap, a full restart was called for. On the second try at a green flag, it was Ries who took the lead in his #474 ProAm/Hoosier kart, with Chad Graham second in the #410 Grenade/Liquid Graphics machine, Creed third in the #422 Fox Racing Shox/The Fab School truck, Jeff Hoffman fourth in his #447 Venture Four Racing/BRT Signs entry, and Shelby Anderson fifth in her #405 Walker Evans Racing/Anderson's Nu Power truck. As Ries pulled a slight gap on those behind, it was Graham, Creed, and Hoffman who were locked in a close battle for second place. Graham came into this race just ten points behind Creed in the race for the championship, and would need Creed to drop back four more spots to have a shot at the title. At this point, however, luck was tending to favor Creed more than Graham, as the order in the top five remained the same through the competition yellow, with Ries leading Graham, Creed, Hoffman, and Anderson. Anderson moved up to fourth on the restart lap, while up front, Ries was again pulling out a lead, which was now bigger than it was in the first half of the race. Ries continued to pull away in the closing laps, and ran hard through the checkers to take the win. Graham held off the constant pressure from Creed to take second, while Creed rounded out the podium. Fourth went to Anderson, and fifth went to Hoffman. In the championship chase, Creed was able to maintain just enough of a gap over Graham to win the championship, taking the title by just eight points. Congratulations to Sheldon Creed, the first driver in Lucas Oil Off Road history to take championships in three different classes (he won Junior 1 and Modified Karts in '09), and the first Lucas Oil Off Road driver to win a championship in back to back seasons!
Junior 1 Kart
Carlye Lenk and Eliott Watson started from the front row in Junior 1 Kart, but it was Brock Heger who took the early lead in his #212 Streight Edje Custom Painting/Patrick's High Performance Graphix machine, followed by Watson in the #203 iTi Performance Motorsports/AlumiCraft entry, Isabella Naughton in the #254 Stronghold Motorsports/ReadyLift truck, Conner McMullen in the #288 Monster Energy/Kevin McMullen Fabrication & Transaxles kart, and Dylan Winbury in the #299 Wagon Burners Racing machine. The top five held their positions for a few laps, but eventually Jack Yeiser moved up to fifth in the #244 Fiberwerx Racing Bodies/Aeromotive truck. At the competition yellow, the running order was Heger, Watson, Naughton, McMullen, and Yeiser in first through fifth, but as the green flag waved again, it was time for some significant shuffling. As Heger and Watson moved clear up front (thanks to lapped traffic), McMullen was up to third, with Naughton now fourth and Cole Mamer up to fifth in the #235 Cousin's Hay Harvesting/Racer X Motorsports truck. The lapped traffic drivers were actually Lenk and Dean Duro, two quick drivers who were unfortunate to get tangled up on the opening lap, so the drivers coming up to lap them were finding it very tough to get past. This forced a lot of shuffling amongst many drivers vying for third, fourth, and fifth spots, and as the white flag waved, it was now Travis PeCoy in the #211 downloadactionvideo.com/K&N Filters truck in third, McMullen in fourth, and Mamer in fifth, with Heger and Watson still well clear up front. Heger and Watson went on to finish one-two, with Mamer taking third, Preston Roben fourth in the #210 DCI Duggins Construction/Ultra Custom Boats machine, and PeCoy rounding out the top five. Heger had an almost untouchable run this season, including nine race wins, and was crowned the class champion after Round 14. Congratulations Brock, you are the 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Junior 1 Kart Champion!
With the kids racing wrapped up, it was time to move out to the full-sized track, and after Ryan Beat put on a clinic during yesterday's qualifying session, the crowd was eagerly anticipating another mesmerizing performance from the short course newbie. Beat started on the pole in his #851 Maxima Racing Oils/Black Rhino Yamaha, next to the #655 Simpson/FineLineTShirts.com Kawasaki of John Dempsey. Beat jumped out to the early lead with a blistering opening lap, four seconds faster than the rest of the field according to the track announcers. In second it was Austin Kimbrell in the #607 Monster Energy/SouthernCaliWraps.com Kawasaki, with Dempsey third, Robert Vanbeekum fourth in the #664 Muzzys/Xtreme Machine and Fabrication Kawasaki, and Chad George fifth in the #642 Monster Energy/King Off Road Racing Shocks Kawasaki. Vanbeekum shot up to second on lap two, with Kimbrell dropping to third, George moving up to fourth, and Tyler Herzog now fifth in the #844 Ivy Trucking and Grading/Goodyear Yamaha. Up front, Beat was the only driver in either class who was able to clear the step up double jump between turns three and four, and seemed to simply be hooked in better than anyone else as he left the rest of the field in his dust.
The next five or six drivers behind Beat were battling fiercely, and as Kimbrell nearly lost it where the either/or came back together, several drivers were almost caught out as Kimbrell careened across the track. With the order substantially shuffled, it was Beat, Vanbeekum, Herzog, Code Rahders in the #816 Frostyburger/Deviate Films Yamaha, and Doug Mittag in the #848 North County Yamaha/Custom Off Road Design Yamaha who ran in the top five. Kimbrell and Greg Frantz then lost a wheel each on the last lap before the competition yellow, forcing them to the sidelines with RJ Anderson, who had the same issue on the opening lap. As the drivers bunched up behind the chase truck, Beat still led, with Rahders now second, Vanbeekum third, Corry Weller fourth in the #801 Magnaflow Performance Exhaust/Tilted Kilt Yamaha, and Herzog fifth (some drivers were shuffled around under yellow, as officials corrected the running order after some drivers had made passes under local yellow flags on the lap leading up to the competition yellow). As the drivers resumed green flag racing, there was a certain sense that someone else besides Beat would have to try and clear the step up double jump if they were to have any chance of catching him, as everyone else was checking up a lot in order to avoid jumping too short to clear the jump but long enough to crash into the takeoff for the second jump. Rahders was the first to try, and he didn't do so completely convincingly, and Vanbeekum's attempt wasn't much more successful (or graceful). Mittag was next to try, and he actually cleared the jump as well as Beat had been doing. Mittag jumped his way up to third, literally, then up to second, and was now becoming a real threat to Beat. Further back, Weller slowed in the closing moments of the race, forced to the side of the track with a mechanical failure, which moved George up to fifth once again. In the final laps, Mittag was now flying, but Beat was still up front and fast enough to stay there, as he picked up his first career Lucas Oil Off Road win. Mittag finished second, and should be a real challenge to Beat in tomorrow's cup race. Third went to Rahders, with fourth going to Herzog and fifth to George, who was the winner in Unlimited UTV; Dempsey and Vanbeekum rounded out the Unlimited UTV podium. Herzog's fourth place was more than enough to wrap up the inaugural SR1 UTV Championship, and a consistent season filled with strong races has made him the 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road SR1 UTV Champion- congratulations Tyler! George had a consistent challenger in Kimbrell throughout the season, with both drivers having their fair shares of ups and down, but in the end it was George who wrapped up his second consecutive Unlimited UTV Championship- congratulations Chad, you are the 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Unlimited UTV Champion!
Limited Buggy
In one of the closest championship battles of the season, Justin "Bean" Smith and John Fitzgerald have battled terrifically throughout the season, and came into today's final round separated by just 13 points, with Smith having the upper hand on Fitzgerald. Neither driver started on the front row, however, as it was Bruce Fraley in the #312 Freeman's Carpet Service Motorsports/ProAm Fraley and Kyle Lucas in the #325 Lucas Oil/MavTV buggy who led the field away at the drop of the green flag. Lucas and Fraley came across the line still neck and neck at the end of the first lap, followed by Smith, Geoffrey Cooley in the #322 Competitive Metals/PB Plumbing AlumiCraft, and Curt Geer in the #385 Lakeshore Homes & Stables/Gatorwraps.com Lothringer. Fraley edged past Lucas and into the lead at the outset of lap two, and for the next several laps, the top five drivers held their places, with Fitzgerald creeping up from ninth to sixth in his #314 Hart and Huntington/BFGoodrich Tires buggy. Geer then jumped up to fourth, while at the head of the field, Fraley was pulling clear of the pack as the competition yellow came out. At this point, Lucas still held second, with Smith holding third despite intermittent puffs of smoke coming from the back of his car. Geer and Cooley filled out the top five, and Fitzgerald still sat sixth as the green flag waved again. The top five continued to hold their places after the restart, but after consistent, increasingly heavy smoke began to pour out the back of Cooley's car, the young driver was forced to the sidelines and out of the race, promoting Fitzgerald to fifth. From there on in, the order in the top five was unchanged, with Fraley coming home the winner in his final race as reigning class champion. Second went to Lucas, with Smith finishing third, Geer fourth, and Fitzgerald fifth. Third was more than enough for Smith to secure the championship in his #319 Menzies Motorsports/Metal Mulisha Fraley, and a hard-fought season has rewarded him with the 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Limited Buggy Championship- congratulations Justin!
Pro 4 Unlimited
Once again taking its traditional spot following Opening Ceremonies, it was now time for Pro 4 Unlimited. If there's one class that the fans can always count on for an exciting race, it's Pro 4 Unlimited, and the drivers didn't disappoint today. With Rick Huseman having already been crowned the class champion for 2010, it would be interesting to see if drivers would race hard for a race win, or take it easy to preserve their trucks for tomorrow's cup race. Mike Johnson led the field in his #31 Ironclad/Swaghouse.com Ford at the end of lap one, followed by Carl Renezeder in the #1 Lucas Oil/General Tire Ford, Travis Coyne in the #5 ProComp/Team Associated Ford, Kyle LeDuc in the #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford, and Kyle's dad Curt in the other Rockstar/Makita Ford, #43. Renezeder quickly moved past Johnson to take the lead on lap two, and soon began to put some distance between himself and those in pursuit. The top five drivers then held position for a few laps, with Huseman finally moving his #36 Traxxas/Monster Energy up to fifth after getting pushed off track by Adrian Cenni and dropping way down the order on the first lap. Kyle LeDuc then passed Coyne for third, just before getting halfway spun by Coyne. LeDuc held his position, though, and Huseman soon moved past Coyne as well, picking up fourth place. As Renezeder checked out up front, it was a very heated race between Johnson, Kyle LeDuc, Huseman, Coyne, and Curt LeDuc, as these five guys all battled as one big wrecking ball in second through sixth. Kyle LeDuc eventually made his way past Johnson for second, but the spot was only his for a brief moment before Huseman grabbed that position for himself, just ahead of the competition yellow. At this point, Renezeder was still up front, followed by Huseman, Kyle LeDuc, Johnson, and Coyne. LeDuc nearly spun in turn two on the restart, and as those behind him bunched up as they tried to avoid him, Johnson, Coyne, and Curt LeDuc were able to get past Kyle. All this was good news for Renezeder and Huseman, who moved clear of the field to set up a great one-on-one battle for the win between the '09 and '10 Champions; indeed the earlier question of whether drivers would race hard or hold back was being answered with a resounding "pin it to win it" from every driver. The battle was short-lived, however, as Renezeder pulled to the side of the track with what appeared to be an engine failure. Huseman assumed the lead, with LeDuc now second, Cenni third in the #11 Atrium Payroll/King Off Road Racing Shocks Chevrolet, Johnson fourth, and Coyne fifth. Cenni appeared to lose drive from his front tires, and was quickly caught up by Johnson and Coyne, before pulling off the track and out of the race. Up front, Huseman went on to take the win, well clear of LeDuc in second, who himself was well ahead of Coyne, who picked off Johnson for third. Johnson came home fourth, and Curt LeDuc held off a strong charge by Marty Hart on the final lap (which resulted in a rollover by Hart) to take fifth. Huseman's win was his tenth of the season, which gives him sole possession of the all-tine short course off-road record, for any and all series, for most wins in a season in Pro 4 Unlimited, which was previously held by none other than Rob MacCachren. Huseman's phenomenal season saw him dominate this class, and it's no surprise that he is the 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Pro 4 Unlimited Champion- congratulations Rick!
Pro Buggy Unlimited
As far as points are concerned, the closest championship battle was up next: Pro Buggy Unlimited. Larry Job, Cameron Steele, and Doug Fortin were all still mathematically alive in the championship, with Job leading Steele by just eight points and Fortin by 22. A four-spot inversion of yesterday's qualifying results put Mike Porter and the #900 Speed Energy/McKenzie's AlumiCraft on the pole for the start, but it was Bobby PeCoy in the #973 downloadactionvideo.com/K&N Filters AlumiCraft who was at the head of the field after lap one. In second it was Porter, followed by Steele in the #916 Menzies Motorsports/Bully Dog AlumiCraft, Justin Davis in the #985 TCS/Kroyer Racing Engines Racer, and Fortin in the #996 Fortin Racing, Inc./Fox Racing Shox Racer. Job was clear down in tenth at this point, making Steele the virtual championship winner by six points at this juncture. Davis had a brief issue that dropped him to the back of the pack on lap two, which helped move Jerry Whelchel up to fourth in the #901 BFGoodrich Tires/FAT Performance Foddrill. Further forward, Steele was seizing his opportunity to grab the championship, and driving like a champion, he moved past Porter to take over second. Steele then set his sights on the leader PeCoy and began to reel him in, while at the same time, his championship rival and teammate Job had moved up to eighth. As Steele got up to PeCoy's back bumper and began to apply some mental pressure, PeCoy oddly chose to take the high line at the either/or, the obviously worse of the two lines, and Steele easily went by and into the lead by taking the low line. Meanwhile, Job was up to sixth, where he sat behind Steele, PeCoy, Porter, Whelchel, and Fortin at the competition yellow. Steele picked up one point for leading at the halfway point, and was now the virtual champion by just three points as the drivers returned to green flag racing. Whelchel moved up to third on the restart lap, ahead of another full-course caution, which was brought out to allow track crews to clear wrecks in turns one and two. On the restart lap, a big pile-up in turn two caught out Porter, Fortin, and Job, among others, and virtually ended Fortin's and Job's chances in the title race. As the white flag waved, it was still Steele up front, with Whelchel now second, PeCoy third, Chuck Cheek fourth in the #957 Lucas Oil/CMI AlumiCraft, and Phil Bollman fifth in the #965 PB Racing/Toyo Tires AlumiCraft. The top five drivers held their positions on the final lap, with Steele taking the win as he came from behind to overhaul his teammate Job to win the championship by 13 points; contenders Fortin and Job finished eighth and eleventh. Steele's season saw him remain a consistent threat for race wins throughout the year, and after picking up his first career short course win back in Round 11, it seemed that there was no stopping him. Congratulations Cameron on your 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Pro Buggy Unlimited Championship!
Pro Lite Unlimited
In perhaps the most anticipated championship battle of the day, four drivers would take to the track in one final battle to determine the 2010 Pro Lite Unlimited championship. Brian Deegan and Matt Loiodice were longer shots at 27 and 44 points back, respectively, but Chris Brandt was just 13 points behind leader Marty Hart coming into this final race, leaving both drivers with a reasonable shot at the title. Jacob Person started his #92 San Tan Ford/Stand-Up MRI of Arizona Ford next to the #20 Impact! Racing/BFGoodrich Tires Ford of Matt Loiodice on the front row, and it was Loiodice who launched like a rocket into the lead on lap one. Person ran in second at this point, with Deegan third in the #38 Rockstar/Lucas Oil Ford, with Hart fourth in the #15 ReadyLift/LAMB Energy Ford, and Brandt fifth in the #82 Hart and Huntington/MavTV Toyota. Loiodice opened a small gap on the field on the first lap, and the drivers behind held their positions for several laps, despite some hard racing throughout the pack. The first driver to break rank was Person, who unfortunately lost it coming into the split at the either/or section of the track, causing him to slide wide and hit the outside wall nose-first. Person was stuck there for what must've seemed like an eternity as most of the field went past, and it was now Deegan in second, Brandt third, Hart fourth, and Rodrigo Ampudia fifth in the #36 Papas & Beer/Tecate Ford. As the first half of the race wound down, Deegan closed the gap on Loiodice a bit, but it was Loiodice who still led at the competition yellow, followed by Deegan, Brandt, Hart, and Ampudia. On the restart lap, it was a determined Brandt, who needed to put more positions between himself and Hart, that got past Deegan and Loiodice to take over the lead, with Ampudia also jumping up to take over fourth spot. Deegan then also got by Loiodice, with Ampudia now creeping up from fourth to try and make a run as well. Alas, Ampudia's luck ran out in turn two, where he dug in and rolled over three times before coming to a stop on his side; Ampudia was able to continue, albeit a lap down. Up front, Deegan got alongside Brandt coming out of turn three, and pushed his way by on the inside as the two turned into the lower line at the either/or in turn four. Brandt was determined to get the position back, and had his front bumper right on Deegan's back bumper as they came through the rhythm section, trying everything to get back past as his championship chances were slipping away. Sadly for Brandt, however, it just wasn't his day, and with flames shooting from the top of the Rockstar arch out of turn two to signal that a Rockstar driver was in the lead on the final lap, it was Deegan who flashed by under the arch and streaked home to victory. Brandt finished second, Loiodice third, Hart fourth, and Corey Sisler fifth in the #19 Twisted Beverage Company/CBR Ford. Hart said that it wasn't much fun to have to race cautiously in order to ensure his championship chances, but he is the champion nonetheless, taking the title by just nine points over Brandt. Congratulations Marty, you are the 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Pro Lite Unlimited Champion!
Super Lite
The penultimate race of the day was Super Lite, which featured five drivers who were still mathematically eligible for the championship; more drivers than in any other class. Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg still led the title fight coming into today's final round, with Chad George as his closest competition, 21 points back. CJ Greaves, Jacob Person, and Dawson Kirchner were all in the hunt as well, and came into today at 25, 48, and 50 points back, respectively. Greaves led the race after lap one in his #33 Traxxas/Oakley truck, followed by Jeff "Ox" Kargola in the #2 General Tire/Lost machine, Kirchner in the #16 Speed Technologies/Method Race Wheels truck, Person in the #29 Majerle's Sports Grill/defywear.com entry, and Kyle LeDuc in the #24 So Cal SuperTrucks/Rockwell machine. LeDuc and George moved up to fourth and fifth in quick succession, with LeDuc taking third soon afterwards. Kirchner then got by George to grab fourth spot, and as the competition yellow came out, it was still Greaves up front, followed by Kargola, LeDuc, Kirchner, and George in the top five, with the other two championship contenders, Stenberg and Person, sitting sixth and seventh. After the restart, LeDuc became one of the only drivers in any class to make the higher line work in the either/or section, using it to move ahead of Greaves and take the lead. Greaves then stopped in turn two, out of sight of the crowd, moving Kirchner up to second, George to third in the #42 Beard Seats/Yokohama Tires entry, Stenberg to fourth in the #88 Rockstar/Maxxis Tires machine, and Brandon Ward to fifth in the #92 Kicker/BFGoodrich Tires truck. Ward then nearly rolled over, which allowed RJ Anderson to take over fifth spot in the #37 Walker Evans Racing/VP Racing Fuel machine. From that point on, the top five drivers held their positions, with Rockstar driver LeDuc setting off a huge flame as he passed the Rockstar arch on the last lap, on the way to picking up his first Super Lite win. Second went to Kirchner, third to George, fourth to Stenberg, and fifth to Anderson. Stenberg would've needed to have a pretty bad day to lose out on the championship, and a smooth, trouble-free run to fourth place today was more than enough to help him secure his first short course off-road championship. Congratulations to the 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Super Lite Champion, Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg!
Pro 2 Unlimited
The final race of the day, and indeed of the 2010 regular season, was the Pro 2 Unlimited race, and this one was a doozy. As was the case in Pro 4 Unlimited, the class champion had already been crowned back in Las Vegas, with Rob MacCachren taking home the title, so it would be interesting to see if drivers would run hard to pick up a race win, or lay back and preserve their trucks for the big showdown with the Pro 4 Unlimiteds tomorrow. From the drop of the green flag, however, the answer was clear: these guys were going for broke. Robby Woods started his #99 Lucas Slick Mist/SuperChips Chevrolet alongside the #36 Papas & Beer/Lucas Oil Ford of Rodrigo Ampudia on the front row, and after some battling between these two, it was Ampudia who led the field across the stripe after the first lap. Woods was in hot pursuit, slotting in second, ahead of the #38 Rockstar/Metal Mulisha Ford of Brian Deegan, Bryce Menzies and his #7 Super Clean/Blanco Basura Ford, and the #21 MasterCraft Safety/BFGoodrich Tires Ford of Rob MacCachren. The top five drivers stayed in order for a few laps, until Deegan slowed to a stop coming into the either/or section, race over. MacCachren had just moved up to fourth, and Deegan's demise promoted MacCachren to third, with Menzies now fourth and Carl Renezeder fifth in the #17 General Tire/Team Associated Ford. The top three drivers were now bunched up very closely, with Menzies and Renezeder soon tacking on to the frontrunning train as well. Woods then nearly spun out as he dropped back onto the front straight at the exit of the split line section, sliding across the track and just missing Renezeder and Menzies, and briefly catching the tail of MacCachren's truck as it raced past. MacCachren got away without any real damage and assumed second, and was in hot pursuit of the leader Ampudia, who drove very maturely as he held tough under immense pressure from "Rob Mac." Suddenly, however, Ampudia pulled off the track with a mechanical issue, much to the disappointment of the massive crowd, which always seems to get behind this high flying young driver. MacCachren now assumed the lead, and with Renezeder close behind, the competition yellow seemed like it would set up a great race between the '09 Champion, Renezeder, and the newly-crowned '10 Champion, MacCachren.
At this point, Woods, Robert Naughton and his #54 Maxxis Tires/ReadyLift Ford, and Greg Adler and his #10 4 Wheel Parts/Airaid Ford filled out the top five behind MacCachren and Renezeder. Naughton and Adler went wide in turn three on the restart lap, dropping Naughton back a few spots and moving Menzies up to fourth, just ahead of Adler. Adler then pulled off the track and out of the race, so it was now Mike Johnson in fifth in the #31 K&N Filters/Alpinestars Ford. Just ahead, Menzies was really putting the pressure on Woods, but then bicycled in turn two and lost a lot of ground, despite maintaining his position. Up front, the race that should have been between MacCachren and Renezeder wasn't quite as close as everyone was hoping, as a rock that had jammed in Renezeder's shifter prevented him from shifting into third gear at times. This helped MacCachren have his run of the place, and with the Rockstar arch belching out flames for the third race in succession, it was another Rockstar driver, MacCachren, who came home the winner again, for the ninth time this season! Renezeder finished the race in second place, ahead of Woods, Menzies, and Johnson in the top five. A great fireworks display closed out the day's events, and on the podium, MacCachren was officially crowned the 2010 Champion, though he'd already locked up the title back in Round 14. Congratulations Rob, you are the 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Pro 2 Unlimited Champion!
That's it for the 2010 regular season in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. The final day of action will come tomorrow as drivers will take a crack at big money and big prizes in the 2010 Rockstar Energy Challenge Cup, right back here at Firebird. Racing starts at 11:30am, so be sure not to miss this once-a-season races, including the epic Pro Lite Unlimited vs. Pro Buggy Unlimited and Pro 2 Unlimited vs. Pro 4 Unlimited showdowns. Also, congratulations to all 11 of the 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series class champions, and thank you to all the drivers who've raced in our great series this season; you've helped create some of the best racing in short course off-road history.
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
LucasOilOffRoad.com
Written by Scott Neth for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series
Photos courtesy of
www.racemarkerphoto.photoreflect.com
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