Ricky Johnson (PRO 2WD) and Johnny Greaves (PRO 4WD) also ended their Saturdays on top of the Winner’s Circle podium.
“(Caddell and I) had some great side-by-side battles and in the last turn, I went to the inside because I thought he was going to try to bonsai me on the inside, because I had been running on the outside every turn,” Currie said after the race. “He wants to win as bad as I do. It’s all good between us, but you know, it’s racing. We’ve got a championship we hopefully wrap up tomorrow and game on!”
After talking to both drivers, TORC Series officials determined Caddell was overly aggressive and awarded the win to Currie, extending the California native’s points lead. “He’d been running the high side the whole time…I came in there and I knew it was really slick down there because I tried it before,” Caddell said. “He got a little sideways. We’re both going for a championship, you know. I hit him in the right rear tire and he went over.“Like (Currie) said, it’s hard racing and it is what it is.”
Marty Hart’s season continued to spiral downward Saturday as mechanical issues struck yet again, relegating him to a finish of 13th. After a run of five straight wins, Hart’s lead began to falter with a seventh-place finish at Bark River. His bad luck continued at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., with finishes of 10th and 12th, respectively.
After dominating PRO Lights for years, Jeff Kincaid made his mark in PRO 2 in June at the “Big House,” winning the Crandon Cup to kick off the season. It appeared he would repeat his domination at Crandon with a strong run Saturday after starting fifth, taking the holeshot, and leading most of the laps. Unfortunately for the Traxxas-sponsored Kincaid, mechanical issues forced him off the track late in the race, setting up a duel between the top two in points, Ricky Johnson and Rob MacCachren.
MacCachren inherited the lead when Kincaid went out, but it didn’t last long as the two were side-by-side off the Traxxas Launch Zone going into the final turn before the white flag at the line. In a remarkable display of skill, he made a clean crossover pass of Rob Mac taking the lead at the stripe. Johnson would hold that lead until the checkers with MacCachren finishing second and Jeremy McGrath wrapping up another podium finish.
“It’s funny,” Johnson said atop the podium. “Right before the race, I looked over at Rob and said, ‘What the hell have we been doing all year, fighting back and forth and now it comes down to this, our Super Bowl moment.’ To race with somebody like him and Jeff Kincaid and also Jeremy, he was right on my tail the whole time…it’s just awesome. It’s what we live for.”
Johnson dedicated his win to Jake Mullins, a local young man who passed away earlier this year and has been memorialized by Johnson with a decal on his truck.
NASCAR star and off road veteran Robby Gordon decided to forego a weekend of Sprint Cup Series racing in Atlanta for a chance to win the AMSOIL Cup on Sunday. Due to weather conditions cancelling practice and qualifying both Friday and Saturday morning, forced the versatile racer to the back of the pack. He was able to finish the day in sixth and is preparing for Sunday’s races.
PRO 4 started slow and clean with Steve Barlow taking the holeshot at the opening green, but Greaves quickly reeled him in for the lead. It was Greaves, Barlow, and Scott Douglas 1-2-3 going to the mandatory caution.
The excitement kicked off on the restart as the trucks were bunched up tight, leading to a close five-truck pack of Greaves, Barlow, Douglas, Huseman, and eventual third-place finisher Adrian Cenni. Barlow quickly fell back to fourth with Huseman and Douglas fighting for second.
The carnage began when Mark Jenkins rolled hard in the last turn, going over the retaining wall. Coming to the white flag lap, Barlow rolled in almost the exact same place while Douglas, just after taking the white flag, pulled his truck off the track and bailed quickly as his AMSOIL machine caught fire. Greaves was able to hold on for the win.
“My spotters were able to keep me informed to what was going on (behind me),” Greaves said during his post-race interview. “I was able to get a really good jump off the start and just held on to it.
“I can go to bed tonight with a little bit of a cushion against (Huseman) because I know he can sneak up and bite me anytime. Hopefully, me and Rick take this to the end.”
Taking home awards for fast laps were Caddell with the Traxxas Maxx Cash Award with a lap of 1:25.527 and earning Oakley Bomb Awards were Johnson with a fast time of 1:21.450 and Huseman with his lap of 1:19.865.
Saturday’s Sportsman winners were: Matt Gerald (1600 Light Buggy), Mitch Dorr (Super Stock), Mark Steinhardt (1600 Buggy), Ben Wandahsega (Limited 2), CJ Greaves (Super Buggy), Randy Pennings (Classix), Milan Mazanec (Formula 4x4), and Chris Bowser (Enduro).
