Champ Off-Road Celebrates Pro Champions
Jay, Okla. ~ The 2023 AMSOIL Championship Off-Road, presented by the U.S. Air Force season came to a quiet end on Sunday morning as heavy rains washed away the series finale in Jay, Okla.
The 2023 campaign may have ended a round earlier than expected, but for the past four months, the competition was in full-tilt mode. No class championship in the seven pro divisions was 100% guaranteed coming into the day thanks to a sensational Saturday at the spacious Mid America Outdoors facility.
AMSOIL Championship Off-Road is pleased to present your 2023 Pro Class Champions:
Eighth Pro 4 Title for CJ Greaves
In the off-season, CJ Greaves went to work on building a new Monster Energy/Toyota Pro 4 in his quest to win a tie-breaking eighth-class championship. The new build was a work in progress as the season progressed, but Greaves still found success in 2023. He won seven races this season, including the finale in Oklahoma, primarily due to his belief that the new truck would get to the front by the end of the race.
Greaves wrapped up his third straight Pro 4 title, leading a confident Jimmy Henderson by 40 points after the 12th round wrapped up at MAO. Henderson drove to his best career finish and showed up big early in the season when he swept Crandon’s Brush Run weekend in June. The Georgia driver would tally three wins and eight total podiums.
Adrian Cenni and Kyle Chaney would tie in points, but Cenni slotted into the third spot thanks to his win at Dirt City. Chaney finished the season strong with three podiums over the final four races and just missing out on his first Pro 4 win at MAO.
Winner Wraps Up Pro 2 Championship
In 2021, Cory Winner missed the Pro 2 championship by a single point. Then, in 2022, the title came down to the final weekend, with Winner coming up seven points shy of Jerett Brooks on Labor Day weekend.
This season, Winner was in the catbird seat for most of the year but had heavy pressure from Mickey Thomas and Ryan Beat throughout the year. Winner used a sensational second half of the season, and a crazy finale in Oklahoma to win the 2023 title
Winner won three races this year, the first coming in round five at ERX. After that, he was on top of his game and didn’t miss the podium over the final seven rounds.
Thomas and Beat also won three races in 2023, and Thomas nearly won his fourth in the last race of the year. But a flat tire knocked him into the hot pits, and Winner finished second to secure the title. A win by Thomas would have made it very close math for Winner again, but Thomas would finish 17 points back and second overall. Beat started the year with two wins and four straight podiums before finishing the season third overall.
Kyle Greaves Pro Lite Title Defense a Success
In the past three seasons, the Pro Lite title came down to the last weekend and even the last laps of the final race to be decided. This year, Kyle Greaves defended his championship by taking care of business early and often.
Greaves picked up seven wins in 2023 and only missed two podiums. One was a nasty crash in Dirt City that left doubt if the truck would be safe to run the next day. His team cobbled together the truck overnight, and Greaves came out the next day and won.
Runner-up Trey Gibbs put together another successful season. A round-four win at Crandon capped off his eight podium finishes. Brody Eggleston found a winning formula four times in 2023 and another five podiums along the way to finish third overall.
Rookie Rayford Reigns in Pro Spec
Chad Rayford has found success in various forms of motorsports over the years, from snocross to Pro Lite. Rayford may be an off-road veteran, but he garnered rookie status in Pro Spec in 2023. Still, though, he drove with experience and speed all season long.
He tied Nick Visser with five class wins. He won three straight, starting in round two and five of seven through round eight. His 11 podiums also tied Visser, who finished second overall.
As good as Rayford was in the first half of the season, Visser was equally as good over the final rounds. Four of his wins came over the last six races, including a win at MAO that put him just six points behind Rayford in the final standings.
Defending champion Gray Leadbetter was victorious twice in 2023, finishing third overall.
Pro Turbo SxS Championship for Chaney
Last season, Kyle Chaney was storming to his first Champ Pro Turbo SxS championship. But an early exit in Dirt City where he only scored two points undid his three straight wins and points lead. He nearly regained all he had lost, only to come up four points short in the end.
There was no such blip in 2023, as Chaney gathered up race wins and consistent finishes to secure the title. The CanAM driver picked up wins in Crandon, Dirt City, and Bark River but also totaled eight podiums on his way to the championship.
CJ Greaves (Polaris) sat 11 points behind Chaney in the final standings. He garnered three wins, including a weekend sweep at the opener in Antigo. Rodney VanEperen’s (Yamaha) round nine win at Bark River helped lead him to a third-place overall finish.
Greaves Returns to Top of Pro Stock SxS
CJ Greaves won the inaugural Championship Off-Road Pro Stock SxS championship in 2020. The Polaris driver returned to the top of the class in 2023 thanks to a dominant run of eight race wins, including six straight, starting with round five at ERX.
Tyson Marquardt drove a consistent season to second overall, finishing the year with four podium finishes. Jeb Bootle moved into third overall, three points ahead of Owen VanEperen, on the heels of six podiums.
Steinhardt Secures Pro Buggy Title
Mark Steinhardt came up 17 points short of the Pro Buggy championship in 2022, but the veteran kept a hard-charging Billy Buth at bay to flip the script and win the 2023 title by 22 points.
Steinhardt was consistent all season and paced the Pro Buggy class with six wins, including the season finale in Oklahoma. Buth had a pair of wins, including the World Championship race in Crandon on Labor Day weekend. His eight podiums topped the class, and he finished second overall.
Mike Kirkham ran a consistent season, ending with six podiums and finishing third overall.
The 2023 AMSOIL Championship Off-Road, presented by the U.S. Air Force, aired live on www.FloRacing.com. All rounds, including Sportsman classes, can be watched via replay on the subscription-based site. For more information on Champ Off-Road, go to www.champoffroad.com.