Elk River, Minn. ~ It was another action-filled weekend of AMSOIL Championship Off-Road at ERX Motor Park in Elk River, Minn. The first half of the 2022 season was electric, and Saturday’s racing was equally stimulating from the first green flag to the final checkers. Any pent up energy was exhausted in round six. The top Pro classes saw fiberglass flopping and a physicality that promises race fans a dramatic second half championship chase. Epic battles across the pro classes were supported by a sensational day of sportsman racing.
Greaves Gets Fifth Win
It took eight laps for CJ Greaves to get into the mix on Saturday, but once he was able to catch the leaders, one of the better battles of the Pro 4 season ensued between him and fellow Monster Energy driver Kyle LeDuc.
Class rookie Cole Mamer found his Pro 4 grove early, taking the lead off the rolling start. He would hold off the field for seven laps before LeDuc, who had a great race with RJ Anderson to get into position, took the lead and was focused on picking up his first win of the season.
The pressure from Greaves, however, wouldn’t make the final several laps an easy quest for the former class champion. Greaves, who ended the first lap seventh after getting collected with a stalled truck, had once again worked his way through the field and was ready to challenge LeDuc for the lead. As they have done so frequently over the past few seasons, Greaves and LeDuc put on an amazing show for the ERX die-hards. They would swap positions, and a bit of fiberglass, over the next few rounds, with two laps to go, LeDuc pulled to the side of the track with a mechanical issue, ending his day. That left Greaves alone out front, but the defending champion had to keep his own truck together as he was noticeably fighting the truck’s handling has, he completed the final two circuits. It marked Greaves class-leading fifth and second podium of the weekend.
Round three winner RJ Anderson completed his four race swing by crossing the line in second. Saturday winner Johnny Greaves, who also got caught up in the first race fracas, worked his way into the final podium spot, his third trip to the winner’s circle this season.
Winner Wins with Late Race Pass for Second Win, Points Lead
Only a fool would part with his money by betting on who would win a Pro 2 race this season. There were five different winners through the first five rounds, and Saturday’s race could have gone several directions, but in the end the class saw its first two-time winner, and one with a fitting name.
Jerett Brooks took the first swing at becoming the first Pro 2 driver to win a second race in 2022. The round one winner led the field from the start and controlled the first two laps, but a scrum ensued, and Brooks was unable to keep the lead. That put Ryan Beat out front. Beat was still looking for his first win of the season and has proven in the past to be a tough catch once he gets clean air.
But Cory Winner had a different plan on Saturday. Winner was in the mix from the start but showed great patience throughout the race as he waited for his chance to move into contention. With three laps to go, Winner put the throttle down, first getting around Ronnie Anderson and one lap later he powered his way around Beat and into the lead. Beat didn’t let him go easy as the pair crossed the finish line just 6/10ths of a second apart.
It was the second win for Winner this season, and he leaves the weekend with the overall points lead. For Beat, he returned to the podium for the third time this year, and his first since round three. Ronnie Anderson put together his best Pro 2 race of the season, finishing in third.
Holtger Holds off Gibbs, Heger in Tight Pro Lite Finish
The action in Pro Lite is getting intense, and on Saturday, it was a race-long, three-way shootout for the win, one that saw all three trucks finish within tenths of a second.
Trey Gibbs has been sneaky good in 2022. The Pro Lite driver sits third overall and entered round six with a pair of podium finishes. He was squarely in the mix on Saturday, as he went bar-to-bar with the past two class champions in an epic showdown.
Gibbs got the lead right from the start, leading the field through the first several turns as the rest of the drivers bumped and banged for position. As the race settled, he stayed out front for the next five laps, but he had both Johnny Holtger and Brock Heger on his tail.
What would ensue was a race for the ages as all three drivers found themselves with opportunities for the win. On the sixth lap, Holtger was able to take advantage of Gibbs and Heger fighting for position and shot into the lead. From there, Holtger answered every challenge from both Gibbs and Heger, continuously countering any move from the hard-charging pair. When the checkered flags came out, it was a drag race for all three to the finish line, with Holtger holding on for his first win of the year, besting Gibbs by 3/10ths of a second and Heger by just 7/10ths.
Loire Stays Clean, Grabs Pro Turbo Victory
Robert Loire didn’t waste any time to pick up his first Pro Turbo SxS win of the 2022 season. Loire mashed the throttle off the rolling start and used the clear vision to his advantage throughout the 13-lap final
Loire was pressed heavily by his fellow podium finishers. Kyle Chaney was looking for his fourth win of the season, and he threw everything he had at Loire for the lead. While Loire found some breathing room, it was due to the intense battle Chaney found himself in with Owen VanEperen over the final two laps. The two would rub tires several times fighting for position, with Chaney gaining the final edge.
Hamish Kelsey would find his way around VanEperen for the final podium spot, but VanEperen leaves ERX with the overall points lead.
PRO STOCK SXS Goes to Greaves
As expected, Brock Heger made his usual late race charge for the win, but it was CJ Greaves who broke through for his first Pro Stock SxS win this season.
The final results may have been decided off the start as Greaves got a great jump for the early lead. He was nearly flawless inside his Polaris, finding speed throughout the race and was able to keep the defending class champion Heger in his rearview for his first class win of the season.
Heger was equally quick in round six. The four time win in 2022 set the fastest lap time on Saturday, but was unable to get around Greaves, trailing the race winner by just half-a-second at the line. Owen VanEperen put together a solid race weekend at ERX, finishing third both days.
PRO SPEC: Nick Visser took home a hard-fought win in Pro Spec on Saturday. Visser battled with Chris Van Den Elzen for the early lead but was able to find wide open spaces late in the race for his third win of the season.
Gray Leadbetter and Van Den Elzen would duke it out for the runner-up spot, with Leadbetter taking the position on lap three and holding off Van Den Elzen for her fifth podium of the season.
With the win, Visser and Leadbetter head into the second half of the season tied for the overall points lead.
SPORTSMAN SATURDAY
SUPER BUGGY: It’s a dead heat for the overall points lead in Super Buggy after Michael Meister took home his third win of the season on Saturday. Meister and Mark Steinhardt are now tied in the standings. Michael Hester took the runner-up spot as Larry Job worked his way into third, his first trip to the podium in 2022.
PRO AM SXS: It was Derek Liebergen’s turn atop the podium in Pro Am SXS at ERX. Liebergen worked his way up from an eighth place start to snatch his first win in 2022. Matt Boerschinger took home his first podium finish in 2022 by crossing the line in second. Chase Kleist also earned his first trip to the winner’s circle by finishing third.
1600 LIGHT BUGGY: One day after making his 1600 Single Buggy debut on the podium, Colin Schulz took the win in 1600 Light Buggy. Friday’s winner Connor Schulz finished second and Taylor Roloff nabbed his first podium of the season in third.
STOCK TRUCK: Cory Holtger is putting his stamp on the Stock Truck class this season, Holtger swept the weekend at ERX for his third straight victory. Diesel Shanek finished in the runner-up spot, ahead of third place finisher TJ Ewert
SHORT COURSE KARTS: Reed LeDuc broke through with his first win of the 2022 season as he held off a number of competitors in Short Course Karts. The win broke a streak of four straight runner-up finishes. Gavin Plummer was second, finishing ahead of Carter Zahara.
170 SXS: Kody Krantz became a first time winner in 170 SXS on Saturday as he reached the podium for the third straight race. Points leader Wyatt Olson crossed the line in second, ahead of Harper Hughes.
MOD KART: Porter Iglesias won the first three rounds to start the season and was able to return to the winners circle for a fourth time on Saturday. Chase Moeller crossed the line in second with Zach Wirhanowicz finishing third.
1600 SINGLE BUGGY: Tony Keepers has won two of the last three 1600 Single Buggy races thanks to an exceptional effort at ERX. Dylan Parsons edged out current points leader John Fitzgerald for second.
SUPER STOCK TRUCK: Ben Holtger found his way to the top of the box thanks to a well-earned victory in Super Stock Truck. It was Holtger’s second win of the season, and he extended his overall points lead. After a horrific crash in Crandon last month, Joe Maciosek picked up a pair of second place finishes at ERX. Maciosek was one spot better than Braden Beauchamp on Saturday.
SPORTSMAN SXS: Matt Vanderheyden went wire-to-wire for his third Sportsman SX win of the year. Ben Berger’s second place finish on Saturday was enough for Berger to take over the overall points lead. Cody Jones nabbed his second podium of the weekend in third.
570 SXS: Chase Braun snapped Ryker Remington’s three race win streak with a strong run in Saturday’s 570 SXS final. Remington was able to hold on to his points lead with a second place finish. Ethan Dresel finished third.
570 SXS: It was a wire-to-wire win for Ryker Remington, but it was anything but easy for Remington as Chase Braun was on the attack from the very start.
With Remington out front, Braun seemed tethered to the race leader and when the checkered flag came out, Remington kept the advantage. He finished just .023 of a second ahead of Braun for his third straight win. Ellah Holtger ran alone for most of the races, finishing third.
It will be a quick turnaround for AMSOIL Championship Off-Road competitors as the series returns to action on July 30th-31stat the Dirt City Motorplex in Lena, Wis. Each race weekend features PRO Truck classes, various sportsman classes including open-wheel buggies and both sportsman and PRO side-by-side classes. Every round of racing is aired via live stream exclusively on FloRacing.com.
About ISOC: AMSOIL Championship Off-Road and AMSOIL Championship Snocross are owned and operated by the International Series of Champions (ISOC) out of Albertville, Minn. For more information on its events and schedules, go to www.champoffroad.com.