Wreckage and mayhem were the orders of the day during Round 3 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by Geico Powersports. A sellout crowd was treated to gentle breezes and warm temperatures at the Speedworld Off Road Park here in Surprise, AZ, and the fans watched in awe as race after race of action-packed madness took over the racetrack. Surprise was true to its name, providing countless unforeseen incidents that kepts fans and crew members alike on the edges of their seats.
Unlimited 2
As the full-size vehicle classes took to the track, chaos began to rule the races. After a four row inversion, Jeff Ward sat on the pole for the Unlimited 2 race in his #18 Speed Technologies Ford. At the start, Mike Johnson in the #31 KMC Wheels Ford got a good jump and took the lead, ahead of Jerry Whelchel in the #2 Dragonfire Racing Ford, Ward, Rodrigo Ampudia in the #36 Papas and Beer Ford, and Greg Adler in the #10 4 Wheel Parts Ford. In the early going, Ampudia and Whelchel both had near-spins, and dropped back to fourth and fifth, where they battled each other furiously. Action continued as Carl Renezeder's #17 General Tires Ford and Bryce Menzies' #7 Super Clean Ford mixed into the top five, while Ward took a brief lead only to fall back to third after getting crossed up on the main straightaway. After much jostling and jockeying for position, the competition yellow found Whelchel in the lead, ahead of Johnson, Ward, Adler, and Menzies. Adler got a good jump on the restart and moved to third, and an issue for Johnson dropped him out of the race. As the top three drivers, Whelchel, Adler, and Menzies, began to gap the field, a resurgent Renezeder was now fourth after falling back earlier, and Ward was fifth after tangling with Ampudia. Menzies charged hard on the final lap but didn't have enough to pass Adler, and they slotted in second and third behind a cruising Whelchel. Renezeder took fourth and Ward fifth, but Ward will be docked six points for his incident with Ampudia.
Unlimited Buggy
In perhaps the wildest race of the day, a three row inversion put the #904 Green Army AlumiCraft of Mike Halliday on the pole for the Unlimited Buggy race. As the green flag dropped, fifth starter Mike Porter in the #900 Redline Performance AlumiCraft rocketed through the field and into the lead through the moguls, only to have his left front suspension break at the end of that same section. That put Halliday back in front, ahead of round two winner Chuck Cheek, Porter's teammate #944 Joe Morgan, pole winner Greg George, and the #901 of Larry Foddrill. George's #933 Montclair Motors Funco moved quickly through the field, taking the lead ahead of Cheek, Halliday, Cody Freeman's #994 Racer Engineering buggy, and the #973 of Bobby PeCoy. A horrific crash by Phil Bollman saw his #965 machine do a midair barrel roll, which brought out a red flag and a complete stoppage of the race. Bollman climbed from his buggy and waved to the crowd, and as the action resumed, George got a flat rear tire and relinquished the lead to Cheek. Freeman also got a rear flat, helping the #999 Tatum of Rich Ronco and the #907 of round one winner Larry Job into fourth and fifth behind Cheek, Halliday, and PeCoy at the competition yellow. As green waved again, early leader Porter was the fastest car on the track after miraculously getting his suspension fixed under the earlier red flag. Porter, two laps behind the lead lap cars, physically passed all but the lead two cars, putting on a spectacular show of what might have been. George was also charging, only to be sent flying off a mogul and backwards through the air in yet another bizarre event. In the end, the real win went to Cheek in his Lucas Oil-sponsored machine, ahead of PeCoy, Job, Halliday, and Ronco.
Limited Buggy
#312 Bruce Fraley surged quickly at the start and slotted in first ahead of #392 Curt Geer, #314 John Fitzgerald, #311 Kyle Quinn, and #313 Rino Navera. Navera did a wild barrel roll and flip in the mogul section on lap two, but got re-fired and continued on at a reduced pace. Fraley then had a small bobble which let Geer take the lead, while #302 Kenny Freeman, Quinn, and #351 Sean Geiser filled out the top five at the competition yellow. Fraley quietly re-took the lead from Geer after the green came out again, while Geiser, Freeman, Quinn, and Fitzgerald all shuffled repeatedly amongst each other. Geer pulled off the track and out of the battle late in the race, allowing Fraley to cruise home for the win in his BFGoodrich-shod machine. Fitzgerald put his Geico Powersports buggy on the podium in second, and Quinn took third spot on his Goodyear Tires. Fourth and fifth went to Freeman and the #385 Green Army car of Justin Davis.
Unlimited Lite
Certainly Robert Naughton must be beatable, right? If he is, he wasn't showing it today as he continued his winning ways in the Unlimited Lite division, though he got a great run for his money along the way. After a four row inversion, the #82 Geico Powersports Toyota of Chris Brandt moved from seventh to second in the first three turns! Behind Brandt and pole starter #33 Jimmy Stephenson, a great battle for third developed between rookie Kyle Conlon in his #99 Kacon-sponsored Ford, Brian Deegan in his #38 Rockstar Ford, and Casey Currie in his #2 Team Associated Nissan. Meanwhile, Naughton's Lucas Oil Ford began to move steadily through the field, taking fifth, then fourth, then third, where he sat behind Brandt and Conlon at the competition yellow. Lurking close behind were Deegan in his Metal Mulisha machine and Stephenson in his JS Pest Control Nissan in fourth and fifth. On the restart, experience overcame youth as a near-spin by Conlon allowed Naughton to get by him for second. Chuck Dempsey brought out a full-course yellow with a crash in the moguls, and a roll by Conlon on the restart brought the yellow right back out. The green came out again, and Naughton surged into the lead as a green-white-checkers finish was being called for. However, rolls by #9 John Harrah and #40 Bobby Altimirano brought out another full-course caution. Once again a green-white-checkers was called for, and this time it stuck. Naughton got a great restart and earned himself his third win in as many races in his #54 Ready Lift truck. Naughton's broken right foot is now to the point where he can use it to hit the gas and brakes, but how much better will he be once he's healed up? Second went to Brandt in his Lucas Oil machine, ahead of Currie, Deegan, and a determined Conlon who fought his way back to his first top five finish in short course competition.
UTV
A three row inversion placed the #694 of 16-year-old Tyler Winbury on the pole for the start of the UTV race. Winbury and the #664 of Robert Vanbeekum slotted into first and second off the start, and built a sizeable lead on the rest of the field, while Jacob Person, Austin Kimbrell, and Todd Romano led the charge for the final spot on the podium. Qualifying pole winner Chad George didn't make a lap after losing a fuel pump. Up front, Vanbeekum kept Winbury honest, even taking the lead briefly. However, as the race wound down, Winbury showed great maturity for a young driver by putting together an impressive string of quick, consistent laps to build a big lead and take the win over Vanbeekum. Romano made up two spots on the restart after the competition yellow to take third, ahead of Kimbrell and a hard-charging John Dempsey.
Super Lite
The Bully Dog Super Lite race was also an action-packed battle, with pole winner John Harrah jumping up from sixth to second on the first lap after the three row inverted start. Pole starter Corry Weller held Harrah off for the first lap in her #61 XDP-sponsored machine, but relinquished the lead shortly after, as Harrah, then Harrah's son Johnny, Chuck Dempsey, Brandon Bailey, and Chad Leising all gradually got around her. A father-son battle developed as the hard-charging Johnny Harrah tried to move past his more consistent dad. By the competition yellow, dad still held the lead after a spin had cost Johnny the lead. Leising was third in his Geico Powersports truck, ahead of Dempsey and Bailey. After the re-start, the #20 of Joey Granatelli did a nosedive at the end of the mogul section, which brought out a full-course yellow. Granatelli was taken away in an ambulance, but gave the crowd a big thumbs up as he was wheeled away. Racing resumed, and Johnny Harrah's aggression finally paid off as he took the lead back from his dad. The younger Harrah held on to beat his dad to first place in their twin, Speed Technologies trucks. Bailey's Lamb Energy machine rounded out the podium, while Weller and Leising finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Unlimited 4
The final race of the day brought out the thundering monsters of Unlimited 4, along with five Unlimited 2s who mixed it in with the Unlimited 4s in hopes of some extra glory and the extra incentive prize money offered by K&N. After a three row inversion, #8 Kent Brascho jumped out to a sizeable early lead at the start as the rest of the field bunched up behind second place #71 Alan Pflueger in his K&N Chevy. As the race progressed, Pflueger and the #1 Lucas Oil Ford of Carl Renezeder began to close on Brascho, and after Renezeder took second from Pflueger, he went one better by taking the lead outright. Pflueger then took second, and #5 Travis Coyne followed him past Brascho and into third in his ProComp Ford. As the competition yellow came out, Renezeder's General Tires-shod truck led Pflueger, Coyne, Brascho, and round two winner Jerry Daugherty. Jeff Ward was the best of the Unlimited 2s in sixth. After green flag racing resumed, Coyne pulled off the track with issues, and Renezeder and Pflueger pulled away from the rest of the field in a one-on-one battle for the lead. Renezeder protected his lines well and held off Pflueger for the win, while Daugherty moved up to third in his #23 Dixie Choppers Chevy. Fourth and fifth went to Brascho and Ward, respectively.
Modified Karts
Action kicked off with the modified karts, and an early battle ensued between the #550 Addicted to Riding kart of Connor Hart and the #524 Speed Technologies machine of Mitchell DeJong. After several lead changes between these two in the opening laps, DeJong began to drop back and was eventually passed by the #556 HRT Motorsports kart of Brandon Arthur. Up front, Hart pulled away and snagged the win, followed by Arthur, DeJong, Dave Mason, and Sheldon Creed.
Junior 1 Karts
The younger drivers of the Junior 1 Kart division are still learning the ins and outs of wheel to wheel racing, and a parade-like race seemed to be developing in the early going. All that changed as the #272 ProAm kart of Jack Grabowski moved from fourth to second in a single lap. Grabowski challenged the #214 A.M. Ortega kart of Sheldon Creed for the lead, only to get collected up with another kart and fall well back. Creed went on to win, ahead of the #277 Synergy Electric kart of Jerett Brooks, the #212 Racer Engineering kart of Brock Heger, Hunter Williams in the #278 and Jake Williams in the #252.
Junior 2 Karts
In the Junior 2 Kart division, the #425 Victory Race Cars kart of Trent Williams took an early lead, only to spin and drop back four positions. The #472 ProAm kart of Dustin Grabowski grabbed the lead ahead of the #411 of Connor Pankratz. These two began to gap the rest of the field, and Grabowski even pulled a gap of his own on Pankratz. Williams really knuckled down and began to bridge the gap to Pankratz, and lit the afterburners on the final lap to snag second away from Pankratz. An unfaltering Grabowski won, and fourth and fifth went to Troy French and Maxwell Ries, respectively.
