Another beautiful day played host to Round 7 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series here at the Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT. Some of the usual winners were again victorious, but there were also several drivers who took their first trips to the podium’s top step. A great crowd was on hand to experience excitement, action, and history first hand, and this terrific facility has been everything this off-road traveling circus could ever ask for. In case you weren’t here to enjoy it in person, here’s how the action broke down.
Pro 4 Unlimited
This weekend has seen the return of one of the all-time great off-road drivers, Rob MacCachren, to the Pro 4 Unlimited ranks, this time with the newly-formed Stronghold Motorsports team. MacCachren’s #21 Rockstar/Stronghold Motorsports Chevrolet started outside of Travis Coyne’s #5 ProComp/Toyo Tires Ford on the front row, and it was Coyne ahead of MacCachren in the top two spots at the end of lap one. Behind these two came Curt LeDuc in the #43 Rockstar/Kal-Gard Ford, Kent Brascho in the #8 BFGoodrich Tires Chevrolet, and Josh Merrell in the #22 mavTV/Hart and Huntington Ford. Rick Huseman, who’d started well back and been slowed while avoiding an early spin out that happened ahead of him, moved up to fifth on lap two. Huseman soon moved up to fourth, then third in fairly quick order, while ahead, MacCachren had gotten around Coyne to take the lead. Huseman then got around Coyne for second, and was quickly up to MacCachren’s back bumper to challenge for the lead. With the competition yellow now out, it was MacCachren and Huseman nose-to-tail in first and second, followed by Coyne, LeDuc, and the #1 Lucas Oil/General Tire Ford of Carl Renezeder.
Huseman quickly got around MacCachren on the restart, while Renezeder had an even better lap, getting from fifth to second and putting himself in with a real chance of grabbing the win. Further back, Adrian Cenni was now fourth in the #11 BFGoodrich Tires/Atrium Payroll Chevrolet, while Coyne had dropped to fifth. Coyne and Brascho then got around Cenni for fourth and fifth, and although Cenni was able to re-grab fifth briefly, he soon pulled off the track and out the race. Up front, Renezeder was doing everything he could to put pressure on Huseman, but Huseman eventually opened a small gap on Renezeder, and with one lap to go, Renezeder’s luck got a whole bunch worse. His truck caught fire briefly and continued to smoke as he crossed the start/finish line to begin the final lap, and he pulled off in turn one, climbing out of the truck as it sat, still smoking. Huseman was now in the clear, and his battered truck came home victorious for the fifth time in seven races this season, taking the fast lap as well with a 1:03.824. MacCachren had a good re-introduction to Pro 4 Unlimited action with a second place finish, followed by Coyne, whose luck seems to finally be turning around a little. Fourth went to Brascho, and rounding out the top five was the #31 K&N Filters/Alpinestars Ford of Mike Johnson.
Pro 2 Unlimited
The final race of the day was certainly one of the best. Todd LeDuc in the #8 Rockstar Energy/Airforce Ford and Rodrigo Ampudia in the #36 Papas & Beer/Lucas Oil Ford started on the front row of the Pro 2 Unlimited race, and it was LeDuc who led Ampudia at the end of lap one. In third was Ricky Johnson in the #48 Traxxas/Red Bull Ford, followed by Rob MacCachren in the #21 Rockstar/MasterCraft Safety Ford, and Rob Naughton in the #54 Stronghold Motorsports/Maxxis Tires Ford. As Johnson, MacCachren, and Naughton all hounded Ampudia for second place, LeDuc was able to edge out a little bit of an advantage, but Ampudia soon found a little breathing room from those behind, and quickly closed down on LeDuc again. Soon after, Johnson closed back in on Ampudia, then passed him and took over second place. Further back, Carl Renezeder was on a charge in his #17 Lucas Oil/Team Associated Ford after being caught out by a crowded turn one. Renezeder passed Naughton for fifth, then got by MacCachren for fourth, where he sat behind LeDuc, Johnson, and Ampudia at the competition yellow, with MacCachren still fifth. On the restart lap, however, Renezeder again got into a swarm of trucks, and this time it went even worse. Renezeder endo’d his truck in the big rollers after turn three, thus ending his run. After his fire in Pro 4 Unlimited and now his first big crash in recent memory, this just wasn’t Renezeder’s day.
Renezeder’s accident was cleared without the need for a yellow flag, and soon afterwards, Johnson finally found his way around LeDuc to take the lead. His lead was short-lived, however, as he pulled off the track coming into turn one, leaving the race with unknown issues. LeDuc re-assumed the lead, with Ampudia now hot on his heels. Naughton was up to third, with Bryce Menzies now fourth in the #7 Bully Dog/Super Clean Ford, and MacCachren fifth as his battle-beaten truck seemed to be slowing a little bit. Ampudia put solid pressure on LeDuc, and he eventually found his way by and into the lead. Further back, MacCachren was now out, putting Greg Adler into fifth in his #10 4 Wheel Parts/Magnaflow Ford. From here on out the top five held their positions, and at race’s end it was Ampudia who took his first career Pro 2 Unlimited win, finally getting the monkey off his back after countless near-misses. Second went to LeDuc, third to Naughton, fourth to Menzies, and fifth to Adler. The always-quick Adler grabbed the fast lap with a 1:06.561.
Pro Lite Unlimited
The always exciting Pro Lite Unlimiteds would be the penultimate race of the day, and it was Stephan Papadakis in the #4 Magnaflow Exhaust Nissan and Sean Geiser in the #16 ReadyLift/Slednecks Toyota who started on the front row. Neither driver, however, was able to hold the lead, as both Chris Brandt and Jimmy Stephensen slotted in first and second at the end of lap one, ahead of Papadakis, Geiser, and Marty Hart in the #15 Stronghold Motorsports/Maxxis Tires Ford. Lap two and three saw more shuffling, with Hart moving right up to second, Jacob Person into fourth in the #92 Stand-Up-MRI of Arizona/BFGoodrich Tires Ford, and Brian Deegan into fifth in the #38 Rockstar Energy/Etnies Ford. Person then got around Stephensen, and at the competition yellow, Brandt still led in the #82 mavTV/Lucas Oil Toyota, followed closely by Hart. Person sat in third, with Stephensen fourth and Deegan fifth. On the restart lap, Person rolled in turn one, while Deegan came to a stop on the outside of the turn. Both drivers were able to continue, but with Geiser also crashing out near turn three, a full-course yellow was brought out. Once action resumed, Brandt and Hart continued their battle for the lead, with Stephensen third, Adam Wik now fourth in the #11 Wik’s Racing Engines/King Off Road Racing Shocks Chevrolet, and Matt Loiodice now fifth in the #20 MasterCraft Safety/Competitive Metals Ford. Brandt and Hart were well clear up front, and although Hart was really putting the pressure on Brandt (he set the fast lap at a 1:11.469 on the penultimate lap), he couldn’t force Brandt into a mistake. Brandt came home the winner, followed by Hart, Stephensen in the #33 Yokohama Tires/Racin’ Dirty Nissan, Person, and Wik.
With the sun still hi in the sky at racing’s end, there was plenty of time for the team’s to savor their victories and ponder their misfortunes. Of course there will be a whole second day of action here in Tooele, so be sure to get to here and see it for yourself.
