You'd have to check the record books of Rick Huseman's career in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series back to, well…about never…to find a weekend where the Pro 4 Unlimited ace was completely shut out of victory. Undefeated in 2011 coming into Rounds 5 and 6 at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, Calif., none would have expected the driver from Riverside, Calif., to walk away with nothing but a second and third.
In the end, it took two people to knock him off the top step of the podium in the 4 Wheel Parts Off Road Nationals, one on each day. And one of them came as close to a perfect weekend as possible without achieving it. Carl Renezeder, of Laguna Beach, Calif., picked up victories in both Pro 4 and Pro 2 Unlimited on Saturday. But his shot at a double-double was spoiled in Pro 4 on Sunday by Kyle LeDuc, who also won at Glen Helen last August.
After a moving tribute to Super Lite competitor Jeff “Ox” Kargola, killed in a motorcycle accident two weeks ago, to open the weekend, Pro 4 looked like it was going to be another Huseman benefit. He jumped into the lead from third at the start, while Renezeder, starting on the front row with Adrian Cenni, fell back when he was forced wide in Turn 1 on the opening lap. Renezeder battled back quickly and, with Kyle LeDuc and Adrian Cenni dropping out, was into second at the competition yellow.
When the green flag flew, Renezeder made his move on Huseman, taking the lead in his Lucas Oil Products/General Tires Ford. Huseman put forth a great effort to get it back, but a broken shock hampered his efforts. He finished second, with Kent Brascho in third.
In Pro 2, Renezeder was starting on the pole, with Robby Gordon, making a guest appearance in short course off road during a NASCAR off weekend, joining him on the front row. Renezeder jumped into the lead and looked quite comfortable there, especially with his competition falling by the wayside. Gordon retired after two laps, leaving second to Robby Woods. Woods' engine then let go, and the red flag came out. It was now Renezeder, followed by Rob MacCachren, Rodrigo Ampudia, Rob Naughton, Greg Adler and Jeremy McGrath.
Another fire, this time on John Gaston's truck, brought a second red flag. On the restart, Naughton made a big move, getting into second ahead of MacCachren, who was shuffled back to fourth behind Ampudia. Unfortunately, Naughton suffered a flat tire and dropped down the order as MacCachren got back around Ampudia for second. Brian Deegan also moved around Ampudia for third.
Coming into the weekend, Renezeder was already leading the Pro 2 points after two seconds in four rounds. He was trailing Huseman in the Pro 4 points, having scored two seconds and a third. With two wins on Saturday, it looked like the return of the Carl Renezeder from 2009, when he won titles in both classes.
“We did it one step at a time,” he said of his renewed form this season. “Just trying to keep a short focus and we did a lot of homework coming in here. Take it race by race, section by section, corner by corner.”
It looked for a while like Sunday was going to be another amazing day for Renezeder. While Cenni jumped out to the lead in Pro 4, he was out a couple of laps later. Huseman spun on the second lap, putting him well down the order, leaving Kyle LeDuc leading with Renezeder second, the meat in a LeDuc sandwich as Todd LeDuc was right behind.
Likely not comfortable in that position, Renezeder made his move around Kyle to take the lead. Huseman made it back up to third by the competition yellow. Kyle, however, was obviously intent on avenging his mechanical woes from the day prior and began charging hard. Flying the front-straight tabletops as fast and far as he could, he was continually poking the nose of his Rockstar/Makita Ford inside Renezeder's truck in Turn 1 and bringing the crowd to its feet.
Finally, on the last lap, the Cherry Valley, Calif., racer got fully alongside Renezeder in Turn 1 and completed the pass by Turn 2. Huseman tried to make a move on Renezeder in the same turn, but couldn't make it stick and had to settle for third.
Renezeder admitted there wasn't much he could do to hold off Kyle's charge. “That was one of our shortfalls,” Renezeder said. “One of the changes we did to the truck to keep it flat in the corners sacrificed some of my jumping capability. Between now and the next race we're going to work on that so we can have both and I can over-jump things and gain time, as well as stick it in the corners.”
Starting on the front row again in Pro 2, Renezeder jumped out to the lead over Deegan and was never headed. Ampudia, Adler and MacCachren all gave chase at one point, but to no avail. Adler was second and MacCachren third.
While Deegan's best Pro 2 finish was third on Saturday, the Temecula, Calif., racer had a heck of a weekend in Pro Lite, chasing down early leader Chris Brandt on both days to take the double win in his Lucas Oil/Rockstar Ford.
The Pro Buggy Unlimited drivers put on one of the best shows of the weekend on Saturday. Starting on pole, Bobby Pecoy led early, but was continually challenged by Jerry Whelchel. Whelchel was flying through the whoops section and getting inside Pecoy in Turn 3, and the two would race side by side until Turn 5, lap after lap. That went on until lap 8, when the pair made contact exiting Turn 3, with Pecoy ending up rolling onto the K-rail. The altercation allowed Steven Greinke of Huntington Beach, Calif., to take the lead and win in his SC Fuels Honda-powered buggy. Whelchel, from Portola Hills, Calif., came back from his second-place finish on Saturday to take his ProAm/BFGoodrich buggy to the win.
The next event for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Rounds 7 and 8, take place at a new track at Miller Motorsport Park in Tooele, Utah, on June 25-26.
Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Round 5 winners
Glen Helen Raceway, San Bernardino, Calif., May 21
Pro 4 Unlimited: Carl Renezeder
Pro 2 Unlimited: Carl Renezeder
Pro Lite Unlimited: Brian Deegan
Pro Buggy Unlimited: Steven Greinke
Super Lite: RJ Anderson
Limited Buggy: Curt Geer
UTV SR1: Code Rahders
Unlimited UTV: Tyler Winbury
Modified Kart: Mitch Guthrie Jr.
Kart Jr. 2: Chad Graham
Kart Jr. 1: Eliot Watson
Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Round 6 winners
Glen Helen Raceway, San Bernardino, Calif., May 22
Pro 4 Unlimited: Kyle LeDuc
Pro 2 Unlimited: Carl Renezeder
Pro Lite Unlimited: Brian Deegan
Pro Buggy Unlimited: Jerry Whelchel
Super Lite: Dawson Kirchner
Limited Buggy: John Fitzgerald
UTV SR1: Code Rahders
Unlimited UTV: RJ Anderson
Modified Kart: Mitchell DeJong
Kart Jr. 2: Myles Cheek
Kart Jr. 1: Travis Pecoy