Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series LOORS pounded the earth at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park the weekend of May 18-19 before an excited crowd. The two day event was blessed with nice weather and some tight competition. This event was rounds five and six of the 16 race series and after the dust had settled the season championship points in most of the classes promised the series will be a close, hard fought battle.
Pro 2 Unlimited
The Pro 2 Unlimited class consisted of 19 trucks for round five of the Lucas Oil series. Marty Hart had set quick time with his best lap turned in 49.825 seconds over Rob MacCachren’s time of 49.840. With Brian Deegan in Barcelona, Spain competing in the X Games he hired Todd LeDuc to drive in his place.
Once the green flag waved it was Todd LeDuc charging to the front. Third qualifier, Carl Renezeder, grabbed the second slot and MacCachren was third and Hart was fourth. The front runners stayed in order for several laps as LeDuc had pulled away from Renezeder. Renezeder however had MacCachren on his tail. Moving through the pack was Robby Woods. After hounding Renezeder for most of the race MacCachren finally made a pass using the low line in turn three. Before MacCachren could enjoy his hard earned effort a caution came out as Kyle LeDuc had stopped in turn one. With the last completed lap rule during a caution MacCachren was moved back to third on the restart. On the restart Woods was in fourth but came into turn three to hot and collected several others in the turn. Todd LeDuc missed the mayhem and the rest were able to get going but now MacCachren had moved to second and Marty Hart was third, Woods was fourth and Renezeder fifth. Woods would get a black flag for his part in the incident but refused to pull in for the penalty pit. He kept racing but the officials didn’t score him after he ignored the penalty flag. Rob MacCachren had pulled up on Todd LeDuc and excited the crowd with his last turn attempt but at the checkers Todd LeDuc gave the Deegan entry the win. Rob MacCachren crossed over second and Carl Renezeder was able to move up to third. Marty Hart finished fourth.
Round six was held on Sunday with Carl Renezeder and Rob MacCachren sharing the front row for the 16 lap main event. When the 16 fire breathing Pro 2 Unlimited were unleashed MacCachren took the front position. Carl Renezeder was second and Kyle LeDuc third. The first six laps was pretty much follow the very fast leaders. Rob MacCachren had pulled away from Renezeder and Kyle LeDuc had distanced himself from Todd LeDuc in Brian Deegan’s truck. Matt Cook had a flat but was able to limp into the pits so racing continued until Mike Porter rolled to a stop in turn four and his truck was on fire. It took the fire crew a couple of attempts before getting the fire out. In the meantime Porter had exited the truck unharmed. When racing resumed MacCachren was quick at distancing himself from Renezeder. Kyle LeDuc had moved into third and Robby Woods held fourth. With just a couple of laps left Austin Kimbrell stalled in turn three bringing out a caution. On the restart MacCachren wasn’t able to pull much from Renezeder but still had enough distance to take the win. Carl Renezeder was second and Robby Woods had moved into third. Jeremy McGrath finished fourth.
After six rounds of racing Rob MacCachren leads the series with 274 points. Carl Renezeder is a close second with 272 and Brian Deegan sets in third with 257 points.
Pro 4 Unlimited
The Pro 4 class saw Greg Adler set quick time for Saturday’s event. Rob MacCachren was second and Carl Renezeder qualified third. With an inversion the sixth quickest qualifier, Todd LeDuc, sat on the pole with Eric Barron outside. Once racing got underway Barron led the pack out of turn one. Todd LeDuc was second with his brother Kyle in third. The racing order remained the same for several laps until Todd LeDuc got loose in the whoop section. This allowed Barron to pull some much needed breathing room over now second place Kyle LeDuc. A lap later Carl Renezeder took third and soon after Jerry Daugherty had stalled against the wall in turn three causing a caution. On the restart Renezeder was able to get past Kyle LeDuc for second as LeDuc suffered a left rear flat. Once again the race was under caution and when things got going again Rob MacCachren made his way into third place. The front three ran fairly close together but Renezeder had MacCachren real close. Then MacCachren pulled off in turn two with mechanical issues. On the following lap Barron had to give up his lead to Renezeder due to a flat tire. Barron would pit for a tire and Greg Adler took over second and Brandon Bailey was moved up to third. Carl Renezeder was able to distance himself from Adler for the win. Greg Adler held second and Brandon Bailey held off a hard charging Cory Weller for third.
The line up for Sunday’s round six had no inversion and Carl Renezeder and Rob MacCachren shared the front row. As expected Renezeder took the early lead but second row starter Kyle LeDuc jumped ahead of MacCachren on the start. A lap later a caution was out for Eric Barron as he stalled on track. On the restart Corry Weller and Josh Merrell tangled in turn two but both were able to go before a caution was thrown. Out front Renezeder had pulled a good lead. Rob MacCachren had moved into second and Greg Adler also passed Kyle LeDuc. A caution did come out when Josh Merrill got hung up in turn three. On the restart MacCachren did not allow Renezeder to enjoy a comfortable Sunday drive as the two were nose to tail for several laps. The front two kept the crowd entertained but at the checkers it was Carl Renezeder taking the win and Rob MacCachren second. Greg Adler finished third and Corry Weller came across fourth. On the podium when it was brought up about how close the racing was MacCachren said he was gonna have to get some pointers from Carl on how to get around him.
Carl Renezeder leads the Pro 4 series points battle with a total of 304 and Rob MacCachren is second overall with 258. Kyle LeDuc is third with 249 points earned.
Pro Lite Unlimited
With 28 Pro Lite’s entered qualifying was split into two groups. Coming out quickest was Sheldon Creed (51.751) with Ryan Beat (52.144) second. No surprise on the start when Creed took the lead. Ryan Beat was shuffled to fourth as RJ Anderson and Bradley Morris found a quicker way around turn one. In fifth was Andrew Caddell who was filling in for Brian Deegan. On the second lap Jimmy Fishback moved past Caddell. A full course caution slowed the action down after Jason McNeil sat in turn two and had to be towed. On the restart Creed still had the lead with Anderson second and Caddell was third. A lap earlier Fishback was pushed wide out of turn one and lost a few spots but was making progress through the pack. In challenging for second Caddell was able to cut inside turn one to get around Anderson. Anderson would then suffer front suspension failure bringing out another yellow. Once racing again, Caddell applied some pressure onto Creed but Creed was able to pull some breathing room from Caddell. After shaking loose from Caddell’s attempt Sheldon Creed went on to take his first Pro Lite Unlimited class win. Crossing over for second was Andrew Caddell and Jimmy Fishback had recovered from his earlier issues to take third. Ryan Beat was fourth.
Brian Deegan is the current points leader after his season accumulation of 271 points. Casey Currie holds onto 232 points for second and Sheldon Creed has 215 for third.
Pro Buggy
Geoffrey Cooley set quick time in round five of the Pro Buggy class over Bradley Morris. Those two shared the front starting grid spots and when racing started Cooley went wide in turn one and Morris took charge of the event. While out front Morris was able to pull some distance from the current class champ, Steven Greinke. As the early laps went by Greinke had pulled some real estate ahead of Dave Mason, who was now third. With Cooley pressuring Mason the front two were running out front in the clear. The pack would bunch up again as a couple of cautions occurred in a row. On the restart Morris had Greinke glued to his tail then a lap later Morris spun in turn four and Greinke came around the new leader. Dave Mason was now second and John Fitzgerald third. The race order remained until the finish line with Steve Greinke taking the win over Dave Mason. John Fitzgerald held onto third and missing the podium was Geoffrey Cooley.
The Sunday 14 lap Pro Buggy main held 14 buggies with Bradley Morris and the winner of yesterday’s winner, Steven Greinke, sharing the front row. Coming around turn one first was Morris with Greinke second and John Fitzgerald third. The racing order didn’t change for three laps. A caution came out as Geoffrey Cooley broke down in turn three. On the start Greinke managed to slip underneath Morris for the lead. A couple of laps later Morris out jumped Greinke into turn two and the two came over the ski jump side by side. Exiting turn three Morris had taken the lead. For the remaining laps Morris held on for the win with Steven Greinke second. Dave Mason made a move on the last lap to capture third putting John Fitzgerald fourth.
The championship battle for Pro Buggy for 2013 so far this year is led by Dave Mason who has earned 283 points. Last year’s champ Steven Greinke is running second on pints with 278. Bradley Morris is keeping the war tight in third place with his 271 points.
Modified Kart
Qualifying for the Modified Karts of 22 contestants was tight as Brock Heger turned in a 37.888 lap that was quicker than Jeff Hoffman’s 38.130 for second. His quick time set Heger on the pole where he became the early leader once racing. Jeff Hoffman lined up behind Heger with Scotty Steele in third. The race order remained the same for several laps until Hoffman was able to get around turn one quicker than Heger. But Heger was able to come back a few laps later to recapture what he felt was his. However Hoffman wasn’t quite through as he retook the lead with a couple of laps to go. Before he could get settled in Hoffman spun in turn two and Heger again took charge. This time Heger had some serious challenges from Travis PeCoy. When the checkers were waved Brock Heger had held on for the win and Travis PeCoy was a close second. After starting last, Myles Cheek worked his way through the pack to finish third.
Round six brought out a 20-car field with the current champ Myles Cheek on the pole and yesterday’s main winner Brock Heger alongside. Once racing Isabella Naughton got her truck upside down in turn one causing a restart. When the green flag came out again Cheek grabbed the lead with Preston Roben trailing him and Travis PeCoy was third. With Cheek out front and dominating, the race for position was for second. and that position was held by Roben the entire way. Third place PeCoy would loose his podium spot on the last lap to Gavin Harlien and PeCoy finished fourth. At the end of the race Trisha Wright nosed her car into the track after the finish line and flipped several times. She was OK and finished 19th.
Travis PeCoy is leading the Modified Kart series with 277 points earned. Jeff Hoffman is second with 260 and third is last year’s champ Myles Cheek with 250.
Junior 2 Kart
At the start of Saturday’s event Parker Porter managed to grab the early lead from his second row starting position. Hayden Cling, who had started on the pole, had slipped in behind Porter. In third was Ricky Gutierrez. The order remained the same for next three laps when Cling, trying to pass Porter in turn one got together and spun. While those two wrestled Ricky Gutierrez took charge. Once out front Gutierrez was able to hold off Parker Steele for the win and Ryan Carey crossed over third. Porter and cling ended the event ninth and tenth.
In Sunday’s race Ricky Gutierrez shared the front row with Hailie Deegan and once racing started Gutierrez jumped out the early leader. However by lap two Gutierrez had shuffled back in the pack and Deegan was in charge. Behind Deegan was Ryan Carey, Broc Dickerson then Gutierrez. They ran in order until the last lap and Carey bumped into Deegan and got around in turn one. Deegan pressured him throughout the lap and in the final corner she was able to pull alongside and win by a fraction of a second at the finish line. Broc Dickerson held for third and early leader Gutierrez finished fourth.
Parker Steele is currently leading the series with 262 points while his closest competition is Hailie Deegan with 257 points. Ryan Carey is third with 256.
Junior Kart 1
Round five of the Junior Kart 1 division had Ricky Gutierrez set fast qualifying time so he and Madix Bailey shared the front row starting grid. When the green flag came out Gutierrez set the pace with second row starter Daley Pentico trailing him and in third was Bailey. By lap two Gutierrez had pulled some breathing room from Pentico but behind Pentico, Blaze Nunley was attacking Bailey for position. The following lap Nunley moved to third. Just before the mid-race caution Nunley was able to cut inside of turn one to take second. On the restart Gutierrez pulled off with mechanical problems giving the lead to Nunley. So Daely Pentico was still in second and kali Kinsman had moved to third. They remained in the running order to the finish line. Nunley had to earn the race although as Pentico was able to stay within striking distance the entire way.
In round six the 13 Karts lined up with Blaze Nunley and Kali Kinsman sharing the front row. When they got to racing it was second row starter Madix Bailey that took the early lead then on the second lap Nunley made a pass for the lead with Bailey holding second as Daely Pentico pressured him for his position. A caution brought the pack back together and Bailey was able to slip under Nunley in turn one and from here on out Bailey would remain the leader but had Nunley dogging his every move. Madix Bailey took the win with Blaze Nunley second. Ricky Gutierrez had ran fourth most of the race but soon after Bailey took the lead Gutierrez got past Pentico and both held their positions until the checkers.
Having totaled 285 points so far this season puts Blaze Nunley on top of the Junior Kart 1 division. Madix Bailey is second with 266 and holding onto 259 points is Daely Pentico.