As the Lucas Oil Off Road Series left Las Vegas Motor Speedway with only one round of the 2011 season to go, a Pro 4 champion was remembered, a former Pro 4 champion was crowned again, a new Pro 2 winner emerged and a Pro 2 rookie all but sealed the title.

The first race after the death of 2010 Pro 4 champion Rick Huseman, his brother Jeff and Dan Hicks in a plane crash near Barstow on Oct. 16, many of the racers and fans took the opportunity to honor Huseman in their own way. Pro 2 competitor Robby Woods had a special green paint scheme with Huseman's name and number splashed all over (BELOW). Shelby Anderson had her kart painted with the livery that Huseman ran (ABOVE), and invited every racer to sign it with a special message. Nearly every vehicle, driver suit and a large number of the fans were emblazoned with Huseman's name or number.

Rick's brother Kevin took one final lap around the track in the No. 36 Toyota before the number was retired from Pro 4 for good.

If it was Huseman's fellow Pro 4 drivers' collective intent to pay tribute by putting on some spectacular racing, they certainly succeeded. Friday evening rains canceled Saturday morning practice, but left the track tacky and dust-free. The cushions that developed on the outside of the turns were fluffy and sticky. While that narrowed the line choices somewhat and left a few drivers puzzled as to how to get their trucks sliding around the turns effectively, it made for fast lap times and close competition.

Todd LeDuc and Josh Merrell started on the front row on Saturday after a top-four inversion from qualifying. Merrell had one of his best races, jumping out front and building up a big lead in his Hart & Huntingon Ford before it all went wrong.

“I started rolling and I was like, ‘No! Not now!'” said Merrell, who has had some pretty spectacular crashes this season. “My last two races I had rolls in the last inning of the race. This one I knew I was going to keep going no matter what.”

He did, but farther back in the pack. That left Carl Renezeder out front, with Kyle LeDuc chasing him down.

“I thought I was good because I saw the white flag and I heard you've got three, you've got four [truck lengths] on the radio. So I knew I had it. Then, coming through Turn 4, something snapped in the front of the truck. I lost my right front corner again and here comes Kyle,” said Renezeder, who later found out it was a CV joint that went.

Kyle caught him, and pushed his Rockstar Energy/Makita Ford inside him with a nudge in the tight and tricky Turn 6. The battle continued through the fast chicane and into Turn 8, where Kyle asserted the lead for good on his way to the checkers.

“I don't know about you guys, but that was so much fun!” said LeDuc on the podium. “I was eating so much dirt from Carl and just got sick of it. Everybody asked how I passed Carl. The same way Ricky [Huseman] would, going for it last corner on the last lap. But he probably would have done it sooner than me.”

Kyle LeDuc and Renezeder continued their battle into Sunday. Starting in fifth [Renezeder] and sixth due to a top six inversion from the morning qualifying session, they moved their way quickly to behind Curt LeDuc, who had started on pole. A yellow for Merrell, who had crashed in Turn 7, bunched the field together, and after the green flew again, Kyle raced by Renezeder and then his father to take the lead. If Renezeder had any hope of winning, he had to get by Curt quickly. He did, but Curt came right back at him, given him a solid nudge in Turn 8. Two turns later, Curt's Rockstar Energy/Makita Ford was on its side in Turn 2.

The resulting full-course caution and another restart gave Renezeder an opportunity and he took it, getting his Lucas Oil/General Tire Ford past Kyle and stretching a bit of a lead. But a few laps later Kyle had caught him again and passed him with three laps to go. As the starter was pulling out the white flag, Renezeder got inside Kyle in Turn 8, and the two raced almost side by side down the front straight, around Turn 1 and over the big tabletop heading into Turn 2. A little contact there left Kyle at a standstill facing the inside of the turn, and Renezeder was able to run to the finish unimpeded.

The win gave him the Pro 4 title, which he last won in 2009. The 2010 championship had gone to Huseman and he was second in the points, trailing Renezeder, at the time of his death. So while the championship has a bitter tinge to it with his chief rival gone, Renezeder will celebrate it in Huseman's memory.

“It's really sad. I would have felt a lot worse if he'd been leading the points. But I dedicate this to him anyway. We had a lot of great races, and I'm going to continue to have great races in his honor and continue to dig deep and want to win,” said Renezeder.

Last year's Pro 2 championship was definitively decided at Las Vegas in Rob MacCachren's favor. While MacCachren kept his title chances mathematically alive with a second on Saturday and a win on Sunday, Brian Deegan all but wrapped up the title with two solid performances. As long as he starts the final round at Firebird next month, the Pro 2 rookie will also be the champion.

But it was another driver new to Pro 2 in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series this year who stole the spotlight on Saturday. “Showtime” Jeremy McGrath started out front and never looked back, taking his Monster Energy/ReadyLift Ford to Victory Lane looking almost as clean as it was sitting in staging. It was his strongest finish since scoring a second to teammate Rob Naughton in Round 2 at Firebird.

“I've got to say a special thanks to the Stronghold Motorsports team,” said McGrath on the podium. “You guys have been giving me plenty of slack – I've been making lots of mistakes. We finally put it together as a team. I appreciate all you guys do for me. I also have to say a special thanks to Johnny Greaves who was on the radio that time as my spotter.”

In Pro Lite, Deegan put the championship into a dead heat with Chris Brandt after scoring a pair of wins in his Lucas Oil/Rockstar Energy. He carries a slight Pro Lite points lead into Firebird in his effort to claim two titles in 2011.

The late-season race brought out a few competitors who normally compete in the Midwest, including the Jenkins Brothers Traxxas team. Andrew Caddell finished fourth in Pro Lite for the team on Saturday and qualified fastest on Sunday. But Rodrigo Ampudia had blown an engine in his Pro Lite, and the Jenkins Brothers offered him Caddell's truck since Ampudia was trying to maintain his third place in the championship. Ampudia had to start in back, but worked his way up quickly. A mechanical problem, combined with the blown engine on Saturday, though, means Ampudia has a bit of work to do at Firebird.

The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series concludes its season with Round 15 at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Ariz., on Dec. 10, with most of the championship battles to be decided that day. That will be followed by the Challenge Cup races on Dec. 11, which feature Pro 4 vs. Pro 2 and Pro Lite vs. Pro Buggy battles.

Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Round 13 winners

Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nev., Nov. 5

Pro 4 Unlimited: Kyle LeDuc

Pro 2 Unlimited: Jeremy McGrath

Pro Lite Unlimited: Brian Deegan

Pro Buggy Unlimited: Steven Greinke

Super Lite: RJ Anderson

Limited Buggy: Bradley Morris

UTV SR1: Doug Mittag

Unlimited UTV: Robert VanBeekum

Modified Kart: Mitch Guthrie

Kart Jr. 2: Paige Porter

Kart Jr. 1: Broc Dickerson

Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Round 14 winners, Nov. 5

Pro 4 Unlimited: Carl Renezeder

Pro 2 Unlimited: Rob MacCachren

Pro Lite Unlimited: Brian Deegan

Pro Buggy Unlimited: Jerry Whelchel

Super Lite: Sheldon Creed

Limited Buggy: Curt Geer

UTV SR1: Corry Weller

Unlimited UTV: Robert VanBeekum

Modified Kart: Mitchell DeJong

Kart Jr. 2: Brock Heger

Kart Jr. 1: Broc Dickerson