R.J. Anderson dominated Pro Lite.
The Arizona heat took its toll on racers and trucks as the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series rolled into Speedworld Off Road Park in Surprise. The blazing sun and hot dry air made it tough to keep water on the track. The water trucks were very busy in between races, but that just meant that the track was slick and wet at the beginning, moving to a nice tack for a brief period in the middle of the race and then turning dry, slick and dusty by the end. That was exacerbated if there were any long yellows or red flags, and more than one driver had difficulty coping with the changing conditions.
The question on everyone's minds was whether Kyle LeDuc would make it six in a row in Pro 4 Unlimited, or if anyone could stop him. Well, no one has stopped him yet, but his competitors showed they could make it a race. Kyle set the pace in qualifying on Friday and started fourth after the inversion, with Carl Renezeder and Eric Barron on the front row.
Barron was into the lead early, but Renezeder and Kyle LeDuc passed him a couple laps in, with Renezeder's Lucas Oil Nissan on point at first, then Kyle got by just before their battle was interrupted by Josh Merrell's truck catching fire in Turn 1 and an ensuing red flag. When racing resumed, Greg Adler rolled in Turn 5, bringing out a yellow. Then the battle got going again and Renezeder retook the lead, but then a bobble sent him back to third behind Todd LeDuc. Kyle got up on the bike in Turn 5, letting his brother by before the competition yellow.
On the restart, Todd had a little bobble coming out of Turn 2, and Renezeder and Kyle got back by. Renezeder looked like he might pull off his first victory of the season, but he caught a rut in Turn 4 and rolled, leaving Kyle to take his fifth win, followed by Todd and Corry Weller with her first Pro 4 podium.
In contrast to Saturday's great race, the Sunday Pro 4 event was simply a matter of survival. The starters lined up based on points, with the top six inverted, meaning Kyle was starting sixth. Merrell, who just barely made the start after the Premiere Motorsports Group/Hart & Huntington team worked hard to get the truck back together after Saturday's fire, was running in second when he went off the side of the jump between Turn 3 and the Moguls, barrel-rolling his truck. Renezeder left the race with a broken suspension. Curt LeDuc, who had led much of the race, had a mechanical problem. Corry Weller departed with suspension issues. Greg Adler had a flat, but once he got it fixed and came out a lap down, had no problem shadowing Kyle for the rest of the race. In all, five trucks were running at the end, with Kyle out front, setting a new record for consecutive wins and sweeping his third weekend in a row. Travis Coyne and Jerry Daugherty filled out the podium.
“I don't know how to deliver any better, but we're trying every day,” said Kyle. “For me and the Pro 4 guys, it's a new record and we've got to keep going. Monster and Toyo put us on top, and we've just got to keep doing our job.”
If Saturday's Pro 4 race set the bar, the Pro 2 race that ended the day raised it. Rob Naughton, in his second weekend with the Premiere Motorsport Group and LunarPages.com, started out front, but Adler got the 4WheelParts truck past him…then spun in Turn 4. That left Naughton back in the lead with Marty Hart right behind and a fierce battle for third being waged by Rodrigo Ampudia, Jeremy McGrath, Rob MacCachren (RIGHT) and Renezeder. Hart and Ampudia both suffered issues and fell back, leaving McGrath and MacCachren fighting for second and reeling Naughton in.
After the competition yellow, MacCachren and Renezeder both charged and, after Naughton over-rotated in Turn 4, were fighting for the lead. A yellow flag bunched the field up, and the lead pair was followed by Adler, McGrath, Jeremy Stenberg and Brian Deegan. The ensuing restart was when things got crazy.
A little contact in Turn 5 sent Renezeder slightly sideways and robbed all his momentum before the big tabletop on the backstretch. As he was getting going again, McGrath sailed off the jump and landed on Renezeder's roof. Had Renezeder not been accelerating, McGrath might have cleared him. Instead, McGrath's Monster Energy/Toyo truck was sent rolling, shedding parts down the track.
“I don't think I've ever had that happen before,” said Renezeder. “I literally saw his front wheels hanging off the front of my roof.” Still, Renezeder managed to finish third even with fresh tire marks on his roof, following Adler, who was at the tail end of the field after his first-lap spin and winner MacCachren
“I thought we'd hurry up and get to the front, but that didn't happen,” said MacCachren.“ I lost a bunch of positions, went back to sixth or so. That probably was the toughest race I've had in a long time. Carl and I battled for a while, then on the restart he got tangled up and Greg was there. It was a very rough track and it dried out and got slick there at the end. The harder I tried, the worse I think I did.”
On Sunday, Deegan got out front early, followed by Hart, Ampudia and MacCachren. Renezeder then moved up to get into third, followed by McGrath, whose Stronghold Motorsports crew had made a huge push to get his truck ready after the previous day's carnage. After a yellow, Hart and McGrath got around Deegan, who was suffering a mechanical issue. Deegan then got caught up in Renezeder's problem in Turn 4 when Renezeder lost a wheel.
It looked like McGrath might end up on the podium, but he slipped wide into the fluff on the outside of Turn 6, leaving Adler and MacCachren to fight for second behind winner Hart, with MacCachren claiming the position. It was Hart's second win of the season, and he still leads the standings, although MacCachren is catching up.
“We did a lot of homework yesterday running around in the back,” said Hart. “I figured if I'm not going to win, I might as well learn something. I put the truck in different places [on the track] to see what worked.
“I had a spot picked out for Deegan, I'm sorry I didn't get to try it.”
In Pro Lite, RJ Anderson made it look easy again on Saturday for his third win of the season. He was briefly challenged by Chris Brandt, but kept the Monster Energy Dodge out front, followed by Brandt and Casey Currie.
Ryan Beat jumped out front for Sunday's Pro Lite contest, followed by season opener winner Austin Kimbrell.
Kimbrell found his way around Beat and headed the field, and Anderson also got by Beat before the competition yellow. Kimbrell crashed after the restart, and Anderson once again found himself out front. He was followed by Casey Currie and Bradley Morris. Anderson now has a solid lead with four victories and a second in six races.
The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series resumes on June 21-22 at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.
Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Round 5 winners
Speedworld Off Road Park, Surprise, Ariz., May 19
Pro 4 Unlimited: Kyle LeDuc
Pro 2 Unlimited: Rob MacCachren
Pro Lite Unlimited: RJ Anderson
Pro Buggy Unlimited: Doug Fortin
Super Lite: Drew Britt
Limited Buggy: Bradley Morris
Modified Kart: Brock Heger
Kart Jr. 2: Broc Dickerson
Kart Jr. 1: Broc Dickerson
Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Round 6 winners
Speedworld Off Road Park, Surprise, Ariz., May 20
Pro 4 Unlimited: Kyle LeDuc
Pro 2 Unlimited: Marty Hart
Pro Lite Unlimited: RJ Anderson
Pro Buggy Unlimited: Doug Fortin
Super Lite: Sheldon Creed
Limited Buggy: John Fitzgerald
Modified Kart: Blake Lenk
Kart Jr. 2: Dylan Winbury
Kart Jr. 1: Darren Hardesty