Jay, Okla. ~ AMSOIL Championship Off-Road, presented by the U.S. Air Force, drove deep into the plains of Oklahoma for the final two rounds of what has been a historic 2023 season. The series embarked on the massive Mid America Outdoors facility in the rural outpost of Jay, Oklahoma, for the first time in the sports existence, and the massive MAO track would be one of the biggest challenges competitors have seen all year.
The week started with a dumping of rain, which washed out Friday’s practice, and it may end the season on Sunday under similar conditions. But the track was race-ready on Saturday, and points leaders were preaching patience as contenders were not prepared to go quietly into the night. As long as the track was, it was remarkably tight and didn’t allow for a whole lot of passing opportunities, and when they came up, fenders flared.
Greaves Gets Late Lead for Seventh Pro 4 Win
CJ Greaves came into the weekend with a 32-point lead over Jimmy Henderson in Pro 4, and even with a class-leading six wins, he wasn’t about to jeopardize his championship lead. He was calm from the get-go and sat back and watched a lot of bumping and banging play out in front of him.
Johnny Greaves gave it a go up front to start the race, with Kyle Chaney following closely behind. But Greaves would suffer a flat front tire and then put Chaney into the second lap. He was untouched for the race’s first half but then dealt with some hard chargers over the second half of the contest. Henderson put together a charge after the mid-race restart but stalled out while trying to sneak under the race leader.
The pressure would eventually come from CJ Greaves over the final three laps. Greaves had weathered the storm and found clean opportunities to move up the leaderboard before getting around Henderson when he stalled and then road the rear bumper of Chaney for the last three laps. Greaves pulled even on several occasions, but Chaney always held the preferred line. With just a few turns left, Chaney got too far inside on a left-handed turn and spun, which put Greaves into the lead. He would drive to his seventh win of the year and possibly a lock on his eighth career Pro 4 title.
“I started figuring out my lines and picking them off one by one, and a couple of guys got a flat, and we’re getting into each other, and we were just making smart decisions,” said Greaves. “As it came down to the end, I was just cheering for Kyle in my helmet. I was pulling for him, but I wasn’t going to let him have it either. On that last turn, I knew the wall would come quickly, and we went in side by side. And I checked up and let him back in, and he just so happened to spin out and make a mistake and gave it to me.”
It was bittersweet for Chaney, who had his first career Pro 4 win in sight, but his runner-up finish continued a strong late-season push where he now has three podiums in his past five races. Henderson finished third, his third straight podium.
Anderson Answers Pro 2 Call with First Champ Win
Mickey Thomas and Cory Winner traveled to Oklahoma in a close battle for the Pro 2 points title. Winner held the advantage by 12 points, and Ryan Beat was just behind Thomas by an additional three points. Saturday was going to be the signature race of the season.
Thomas took advantage early, getting out front and pulling away from the field. But he suffered a flat tire just before the halfway point, a blow that would significantly affect the race and points lead. Thomas kept the tire together and held onto the lead for the next lap and a half, but the tire finally disintegrated, moving Thomas into the hot pit and Ronnie Anderson into the lead. Anderson kept charging forward and pulled away from Winner on his way to his first Champ Pro 2 win.
“The track just kind of jelled with me right from the get-go,” said Anderson. “And to have an older truck, she really loves the rougher tracks and boy, it was rough out there today. My entire team works their butts off to get us here for these last couple of rounds and to bring home a win, and my first-ever pro-two win is so special.”
Winner wanted to find the right opportunities to move up during the race but was also patient enough to read the challenges the tight racing quarters brought forth. Winner, who entered the day with a 12-point lead, finished second behind Anderson. With Thomas finishing in eighth, Winner’s lead increased to 21, and 28 over Beat. Johnny Holtger finished third on Saturday.
Eggleston Earns Win in Pro Lite
Brody Eggleston has been one of the fastest Pro Lite drivers on the circuit the past month, and he is looking to finish in a flash as the 2023 season comes to a close.
Eggleston took control of the race once the green flag dropped on Saturday. He was pressured early by Trey Gibbs and then by Madix Bailey and Kyle Greaves late. He held off Greaves on the final lap by a truck length for his fourth win of the season.
Greaves was back in the pack (fifth) to start the race and kept finding smart opportunities to move through the field as the race wore on. The points leader entered the day with a 29-point lead over Trey Gibbs and finished one spot ahead of Gibbs in second, giving him an extra point heading into Sunday.
Bootle Brings Home First Pro Turbo Win
Jeb Bootle has been on the edge of breaking through for his first career Pro Turbo SxS win all season long, and he finally put it all together on Saturday.
It was a simple equation for Bootle in the Oklahoma opener. He grabbed the lead off the start and never looked back. It wasn’t easy, but with top contenders jockeying for position beyond his roost, Bootle was a tough beat as he drove to career win number one.
“We’ve been working on it for two years straight, and we’ve had good runs, but every time, we either had a mechanical problem or a talent problem,” said Bootle. “But I’m finally glad to be up here after all our team’s hard work. It’s a little team, and we have big hearts, so I’m finally glad to get up here on the first place.”
In the points race, Kyle Chaney came into the weekend with a seven-point lead. He extended that to nine by finishing second behind Bootle but one spot ahead of his main competitor, CJ Greaves.
VanEperen Returns to Top of Pro Stock
CJ Greaves came into the weekend with a 57-point lead in Pro Stock SxS, but his championship celebration will have to wait another day as he was unable to finish Saturday’s race, exiting after lap five.
But Owen VanEperen kept charging all day and maneuvered his way into the race lead with two laps to go. He held off a speedy Jeb Bootle on the last lap, finishing .919secs ahead of the runner-up for his third win of the year.
Jake Jorgenson, who sits fifth overall behind VanEperen, finished third. It was his second podium of the season.
Steinhardt Gets Boost in Championship Chase
The closest points race of the season was in the highly-talented Pro Buggy class. Billy Buth held a slim, three-point lead over Mark Steinhardt coming into Oklahoma, and it was a tightly contested affair on Saturday for the first three laps.
With Steinhardt out front, Buth had nestled behind the race leader on the second lap. But Buth never made it off the third lap, coming to a rest in one of the track’s bottom turns and ending his day early.
Steinhardt would stay out front for the duration, but Mike Kirkham was a worthy challenger. Kirkham pushed Steinhardt to the very end, finishing .328sec behind the race winner. Cole Bernloehr finished third.
It was Steinhardt’s fifth win of the season, and he will enter the final day with a 24-point lead over Buth.
Visser Vaults To The Top in Pro Spec
Chad Rayford has held the top spot in Pro Spec for the past few months, entering the weekend with a 14-point lead. But Nick Visser isn’t letting him run away with it, and on Saturday, Visser tightened things up even more with a hard-charging, nearly impossible comeback win.
It was a race of everyone taking a crack at the top spot, with Visser being the last truck to get out front. He got tangled up with Gray Leadbetter on the first lap and then got stuck in one of the track’s mud holes, but he kept pushing and won his third race in the past four contests to cut Rayford’s points lead to seven.
“I got tangled up with Gray and got us stuck in the mud, as you can see, and that kind of sucked,” said Visser. “But sometimes the best races are the ones that start out the worst, and we just kept pushing forward and just wait for my opportunity.”
Dylan Parsons finished second to Visser, and Chris Van Den Elzen was third.
The final round of Pro racing is scheduled for Sunday, September 24, at MidAmerica Outdoors in Jay, Oklahoma. There is a threat of severe weather in the region, and a decision on racing will be made early on Sunday morning.
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