Championship Off Road Racing CORR brought their UTV shortcourse series to Glen Helen Raceway on April 12-14. Formed in 2022 the series is based in Surprise, AZ and this was CORR’s first time at Glen Helen. The event drew 121 contestants racing in 14 different classes, which was a notable field considering the weekend weather forecast called for rain. Fortunately, the rain held off for most of the event. On Saturday a few light rain clouds dropped moisture on a couple of the later races but on Sunday the last three events had to be canceled due to the fear of lightning in the area.
This series is not to be confused with Championship Off-Road Racing CORR founded in 1998 and dissolved in 2008 during the country’s financial breakdown. This CORR series was originally launched in 2022 by a small group of off-road racers and enthusiasts wanting a dedicated UTV and short track-focused racing series, so they created the new Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) racing series.
The Glen Helen event was round 4 for the series which is scheduled for six rounds in 2024. The campaign got underway at the newly renamed Firebird Motor Sports Park, followed by Shorty’s Sports Park in Blythe, California on February 10-11. Subsequent stops range from the desert Southwest to beautiful Southern California. The next rounds are set Oct 12-13 at Twisted Lizard with the season final in Nov TBD at Firebird Motor Sports Park.
Now that you know about the new CORR let’s get into the weekend racing. There was a lot of tight competition but four racers went home as repeat winners in their classes. Dylan Llamosas, 170 Limited Beginner, Jaxon Witherow, 800 Open/Modified, Carson Greco, Youth NA Restricted and Mason Carter, Youth NA Open.
The fast qualifier for the 170 Limited Expert class was Jake Hill who struggled in the race Saturday that saw Jaxon Witherow take the win over Alixandra Esaton. Logan Menster was third and Hill finished fourth. On Sunday the front positions got swapped around as Alixandra Easton drove under the checkers first with Jaxon Withrow second. Jake Hill was third.
In the 170 Limited Intermediate class, Kyler Mendoza took the win Saturday over yesterday’s fast qualifier Hudson Doyle. Blaine Proctor finished third. Hudson Doyle showed his earlier fast qualifying time was no fluke as he captured the win Sunday with yesterday’s winner Kyler Mendoza finishing second. Blaine Proctor again finished out the podium.
Dylan Llamosas, fast class qualifier, saw the checkers first on Saturday in the 170 Limited Beginner class. Cooper Hogenes was second and Carter Hogenes third. On Sunday all three crossed the finish line in the same order as the day before.
Samuel Gibbs set a fast time Friday then came back on Saturday to dominate the 170 Modified class with Alixandra Easton crossing over second and Bryce Rimer finishing third. The following day Gibbs took off as the early leader with Easton second and Krew Hart third. As the race settled in Easton glued herself to the rear bumper of Gibbs. That is until he had a problem dropping back into the pack which then saw Easton trying to fend off Krew Hart. The two had a good race but when the checkers came out it was Hart taking the win over Easton. Ryder Foerster was third.
There were six entries in the 800 Open/Modified class and at the end of qualifying it was Jaxon Witherow setting quick time. Olivia Woods would jump out the early leader on Saturday but shortly after Witherow found his way around to take the checkers over Woods. Third place was Kaya Sain. On Sunday Jaxon Withrow again proved unstoppable. Olivia Woods finished second and Kaya Sain was again third.
Declan Shields saw Landon Morrow set a quicker lap time than he on Friday but when the racing started Saturday Shields took charge of the 250 Open class. Shields had pulled a comfortable lead until a caution brought the pack back together. Once Green came out again Shields quickly established his lead and went on to capture the win over Morrow. Maggie Flores was third. In the next race Shields again looked in control as the early leader with Landon Morrow and Luke Torres trailing. Then before the race could get settled in Shields pulled off giving the race to Morrow. Landon Morrow would go on for the win with Luke Torres second and Ryder Forester third.
After setting the quickest class lap time Carson Greco came out in Round 4 to win the Youth NA Restricted class over Zoe Easton. Landon Morrow crossed over third. In the next race, Carson Greco again topped the podium with Wyatt Cotter second and Jake Hill third.
After setting the Amateur NA class fastest lap Friday Ryder Chapman DNS Saturday. The second quickest qualifier, Ryder Vanbeekum, took charge of the race early as a three-way battle for second raged behind him. This took the pressure off of Vanbeekum while the others battled for the runner-up spot. In the heat of the battle was Alex Young, Terry Mcbroom, and Andrew Cotter. Young and McBroom swapped positions at several corners but at the finish when it counts most it was Alex Young second behind Vanbeekum. Terry Mcbroom was third. On Sunday it was again Vanbeekum taking the win with Alex Young second and Andrew Cotter third.
Mason Cotter was fastest on Friday in the Youth NA Open class and once the green came out for Round 4 Cotter pulled a comfortable lead over the pack. Then a rollover in Turn 5 caused a full course yellow bringing them back together. During the yellow Brian Willett pulled into the pits. On the restart, Willett came charging back on just as the green came out and tried to regain his position but CORR rules state once into the pits contestant loses four positions so while he appeared to get back his spot he actually was moved back. Cotter would take the win and Willett would fight back to second and third was Jesse Johnson. The next race Willett found himself behind Mason Cotter as Cotter quickly distanced himself from Willett. Cotter would go on for the win with Willett second and Mark Lii Queen taking third.
On Saturday the Pro NA class saw Robert Vanbeekum as the early leader but in tight company with a couple of other racers. Later on Chase Mankin was able to grab second place and close in on Vanbeekum. Just before the white came out Vanbeekum and Mankin tangled in the final turn spinning Vanbeekum but he was able to continue only to drop out shortly after with a bad axle and sway bar. Bryaden Baker ended up winning the race with Chase Mankin second and Trenton Ouellette third. On Sunday it was Chase Mankin jumping out early with Robert Vanbeekum challenging. The two quickly distanced themselves from third-pace Trenton Ouellette. A light rain began and Vanbeekum said later the roost from Mankin wouldn’t allow him to stay with Mankin. Chase Mankin took the win with Robert Vanbeekum second and Trenton Ouellette finished on the podium.
The Amateur Turbo class saw Ryder Vanbeekum the early leader with Ryder Chapman second. Rhyan Denney was in third. The front three were spread apart until the competition yellow brought them back together. On the restart, the front three quickly distanced themselves from the pack, and again Vanbeekum was able to stay out front as Ryan Chapman had his hands full trying to hold off Denney. That is until Denney got past him with a couple of laps to go and was able to clear for second. Ryder Vanbeekum took the win with Rhyan Denney second and Ryder Chapman third. Race two was canceled due to lightning in the area.
In the Youth NA Limited class, 16 cars lined up. Once racing began the early leader lost power giving Carson Greco the lead. Back in the pack, several positions changed and one was Brian Willet settling into third behind Mikey Childress. Then on the last lap, Brian Willet rolled. Carson Greco finished first with Mikey Childress second and Mason Cotter third. Race two was canceled due to lightning in the area.