LOORRS - Challenge Cup Finishes Season With A Bang

[DigitalDirtMag]

Press Release:Now that the 2011 regular season is over, there is only one day of racing left this year for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, and for many, it's the day they look forward to most. That's right, it's the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup, the day when points aren't on offer, but cash and bragging rights are. With lots of money up for grabs, as well as the two unique, once-a-year "class vs. class" races, it was no wonder that fans flocked in and filled the stands here at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, AZ. These races are the ones which, perhaps more than any other, all the drivers want to win, and everyone has their own strategy on how to pull off a victory. One thing is for sure, though: nobody shows anyone any mercy in these races, and the infields and hot pits are invariably filled with broken, mangled, and immobile trucks and buggies by race's end. These races are the hardest ones to win, and anyone who comes out on top can say they've accomplished something truly special.

UTVThe first of today's Lucas Oil Challenge Cup races was the UTV race, and while it seems like the two classes, SR1 UTV and Unlimited UTV, have been racing each other all season long, this is the first and only race of the year in which the two classes were actually competing against one another for the same prize: gift certificates for driving instruction at the Cory Kruseman's Sprint Car and Midget Driving School, the same school which has helped improve the skills of none other than 2011 dual class champion Brian Deegan. With a slight difference in average lap times between the two classes, the slower Unlimited UTVs were given a head start of approximately ten seconds over the SR1s, and with RJ Anderson being the only driver who decided to represent the Unlimited UTVs today, he had the track all to himself in his bid to hold off the SR1s. In the early laps, Anderson ran what amounted to a time trial out front in his #637 Walker Evans Racing/South Point Las Vegas Polaris, while the SR1s gradually closed in by a little under one second per lap, with Ryan Beat leading the charge from behind in his #851 Hart and Huntington/Black Rhino Kawasaki. Behind Beat, it was Doug Mittag who was up to third by lap three in his #848 Monster Energy/Custom Off Road Design Kawasaki, with Dan Kelly fourth in the #824 OffRoadMagnet.com/Muzzys Kawasaki, and Code Rahders fifth in the #816 SuperChips/K&N Yamaha. As the field closed in on the halfway mark, Beat was now really being hounded by Mittag for second place, and Mittag managed to get a nose on Beat into turn three, taking the lead as the two headed towards the step-up jump and turn four. Just after making the pass, though, smoke began puffing, then billowing out the back of Mittag's machine, and as the field crossed the start/finish for the Competition Yellow, things weren't looking good for Mittag. His crew was hoping it might be a shock that had gotten too hot, but when fire could be seem coming from his engine bay while the field paraded under yellow, it became evident that Mittag's day was done. Mittag got out, and ran to the side of the track to give a big thumbs up to Anderson and Beat as they paraded by for another lap under yellow, and when racing resumed, it was Anderson who really had a challenge at hand to try and hold off the faster SR1s. Anderson managed to do so for a lap, but on lap 11, Beat used his SR1's superior top speed up the long straight from turn one to turn two to get past Anderson and into the lead. On the next lap, Rahders slid into Anderson as the two entered turn two, forcing Anderson way high and up towards the wall, and dropping him back to last place. Rahders moved into second place, and really began hounding Beat for the lead. On the penultimate lap, Rahders got inside of Beat and briefly held the lead at turn three, but Beat managed to hold him off, and after losing some ground with a near-spin coming out of turn two on the final lap, Rahders' run at the win was over, as Beat went clear on his way to his second consecutive Challenge Cup win. Second went to Rahders, but he was then penalized one spot for his incident with Anderson, which dropped him to third, and gave second to Kelly. Fourth went to Bryan Osborn in the #854 Black Rhino/Rigid Industries LED Lighting Yamaha, and Anderson rounded out the top five.

Modified KartNext up were the Modified Karts, a class that never fails to deliver great, exciting racing, and today was no different. These drivers, as were all the top three finishers in each kart class, had Cory Kruseman's Sprint Car and Midget Driving School gift certificates on the line, and with the potential to up their skills on the line, these drivers were extra hungry for the win today. Class champion Mitchell DeJong was strangely absent from the race today, but Cole Mamer led what was still a tremendous field after the first lap in his #535 Full Tilt Trophy Karts/Simpson kart. In second, it was Kyle Hart in the #523 GearUp2Go.com/Duncan Racing truck, with Jeff Hoffman third in the #547 BRT Signs/Cactus Asphalt machine, Scotty Steele fourth in the #548 Steele Racing/CMI entry, and Mitch Guthrie Jr. fifth in the #555 Walker Evans Racing/Losi machine. Steele moved up to third on lap three, and contact between Hart and Mamer meant that Steele would pick up another spot on the same lap, as Hart dropped back just briefly. Guthrie Jr. took over fourth on the next lap, while up front, the battle for the lead was really heating up. On lap six, Mamer and Steele flew past the start/finish line side-by-side in mid-air, with Mamer just managing to hold Steele at bay. By the Competition Yellow, the running order was Mamer, Steele, Hart, Guthrie Jr., and Hoffman in the top five, all of whom were lucky to avoid the errant wheel that rolled across the track in front of them as they exited turn five. The wheel had come off of Jerett Brooks' kart, and had rolled clear from turn three to cause a brief moment of extra worry for all the parents sitting in the stands, but fortunately, no damage was done. On the restart lap, Hart was the only driver to use the low line in the either/or section, and he put it to perfect use, swinging wide as the two lines re-joined to keep those with more momentum from the high line at bay. Hart took the lead, and quickly began to open up a lead. Behind him, Bradley Morris was now up to fifth in his #504 K&N/Trophy Kart machine, and Morris moved up another spot to fourth on the next lap. Two laps later, Morris got by yet another driver, as he moved ahead of Guthrie Jr. and into third place. The running order was now Hart, Steele, Morris, Guthrie Jr., and Mamer with just two laps left, and on the penultimate lap, Mamer lost a wheel, which rolled down to and across turn one, and right into the path of Myles Cheek. Cheek managed to run over the tire squarely without incurring any significant damage, and continued on while hardly missing a beat. On the final lap, Steele and Morris touched coming into turn three, which caused Steele to flatten a tire, and sent him into a near-crash. Steele kept his ride upright but his race was over, and in the midst of the whole incident, Guthrie Jr. squeaked by both drivers and into second. Up front, Hart was well clear as he raced home to victory, followed by Guthrie Jr., Morris, Blake Lenk in the #521 Walker Evans Racing/Redline Performance kart, and Cheek in the #557 CMI/Pro Circuit machine.

Junior 1 KartIt was another exciting race in Junior 1 Kart today, with Travis PeCoy taking the early lead in his #211 K&N/RC10.com machine, followed by Gavin Harlien in the #232 Racer Services/Full Tilt Trophy Karts truck, Preston Roben in the #210 Duggins Construction/Canidae kart, Cole Dexheimer in the #226 King Off Road Racing Shocks/Hoosier entry, and Broc Dickerson in the #223 Dickerson Motorsports/Hoosier kart. Harlien leapfrogged PeCoy on lap two to take the lead, with Dickerson jumping up two spots to third. Roben then passed Dickerson back on lap three, and did it the hard way, as he held his line outside of Dickerson all the way from turn one into turn three. Roben picked up another spot coming into turn one on lap five, while Dickerson pushed PeCoy wide to make the pass in the same corner. Roben was then nearly spun coming out of turn five, which dropped him back to fourth, and at the Competition Yellow, it was Harlien, Dickerson, PeCoy, Roben, and Darren Hardesty in the #231 Bilstein Shock Absorbers/Lucas Oil truck in the top five. These drivers held their positions on the restart lap, but by the end of lap eight, Roben had passed Dickerson for third, while Dexheimer and PeCoy were up to fourth and fifth. Wolfgang Ries then got by PeCoy for fifth on lap nine, and Dickerson moved up to second again on the lap after that. Dickerson seemed determined to get to the front, and went inside of Harlien into turn one to snag the lead on the penultimate lap. Dickerson then got a little breathing room as he began his last lap, as it seemed like Harlien and Roben were briefly locked together bumper-to-bumper down the front straight, which slowed the two for a moment. In the end, Dickerson backed up his championship with a win in the Challenge Cup, with second going to Harlien, third to Roben, fourth to Dexheimer, and fifth to Ries.

Junior 2 KartIn the final kids race of the season, it was Shelby Anderson who took full advantage of her shot at a restart after the first start ended in front row starter Jeremy Davis getting spun out, as she took the early lead in her #405 Walker Evans Racing/Anderson's Nu Power kart. Preston Roben, fresh off of his podium finish in the Junior 1 Kart race, ran second, followed by Weston Schuck, Maxwell Ries, and Paige Porter in the #462 Redline Performance/T-Bird Lounge & Restaurant truck. The top five held their positions through the first four laps, but on lap five, Roben got a great run out of turn one and into turn two to take the lead away from Anderson, while further back, newly-crowned champion Myles Cheek was up to fifth in the #457 CMI/Lucas Oil machine after Porter got a little out of shape in turn three. At the Competition Yellow, the top five was made up of Roben, Anderson, Schuck in the #404 Fiberwerx/Hoosier entry, Ries in the #474 McQueen Prototype Design/Intensetees machine, and Cheek. The top five remained unchanged after the restart lap, but on lap eight, Cheek got a little too aggressive in turn four, and after getting into the side of Ries and Schuck, ended up off the track on the inside for a moment, which dropped him back a few spots, and gave fifth to Brock Heger in the #411 Driscoll's Surf N Skate/Signpros truck. Jeremy Davis then snagged that spot on the next lap in his #485 Green Army/Jamar entry, but after running wide at turn four on lap eleven, Heger got the spot back. On the final lap, there was some substantial beating and banging going on between Schuck, Ries, and Heger from turn four to turn five, which ended up costing Schuck two spots as he dropped to fifth. Up front, Roben moved two spots up the podium from where he finished in Junior 1 Kart, taking the win and the 60-lap instructional certificate that came with it. Second went to Anderson, third to Ries, fourth place was Heger, and rounding out the top five was Schuck.

Limited BuggyFollowing Opening Ceremonies, which included another great rendition of The National Anthem by Kids Rock Free singer Ariana Nieto, as well as some special words from Michelle Wilson-Huseman, wife of recently-fallen Lucas Oil Off Road legend Rick Huseman (Michelle brought along she and Rick's son "Little Ricky," and also gave the drivers their instructions to "start your engines"), it was time for the first money race of the day. The top ten drivers in regular season points were inverted to make up the top ten starting positions, leaving points champion Curt Geer to start tenth, and tenth place points finisher Greg Crew to start from the inside front row. Geoffrey Cooley had a great start, and coming from row three, managed to get to the front in his #322 Competitive Metals/MasterCraft Safety AlumiCraft. With other drivers getting caught up in traffic on the first lap, Cooley had a sizeable lead from the get-go, with John Fitzgerald, Bradley Morris, Quentin Tucker, and Geer running behind him in the top five. Morris and Geer collected in turn one and dropped well back on lap two, moving Tucker to third, Kevin McCullough to fourth, and Lindsay Geiser to fifth in her #395 Canidae/MasterCraft Safety Geiser. On lap four, Zac Hunt drove inside Geiser at turn one, and moved ahead to take fifth spot in his #334 Speed Energy/Fat Performance AlumiCraft. Hunt then began to close on McCullough for fourth, and was right on him by lap seven. Up front, Fitzgerald was catching Cooley just ever-so-slightly, but at the Competition Yellow, the running order was still Cooley, Fitzgerald, Tucker, McCullough, and Hunt in the top five. This order remained the same after the restart and through lap ten, with Cooley opening a gap over Fitzgerald once again. On lap eleven, Morris used the lower line in the either/or section to get by Hunt for fifth, but after contacting McCullough coming out of turn one on lap thirteen, Morris slowed briefly, and Dave Mason shot by and into fifth place. Up front, Fitzgerald was giving it everything to try and hunt down Cooley, and on the last few laps, made up substantial ground in turn three, only to give most of it back between turns four and five. On the last lap, Fitzgerald had a good run on Cooley coming into turn four, but the young driver was not to be denied his first win in the class any longer, as Cooley shut the door on Fitzgerald and zipped home for the victory. After so many near-misses over the past two seasons, this must have been a really sweet victory for Cooley, especially with it being the biggest race of the year, a race that saw him take home $4,000 for the win- congratulations Geoffrey! Second place, as well as a check for $2,000, went to Fitzgerald, while the $1,000 third place prize went to Tucker. Mason finished fourth in his #365 B&R Buggie/RSC Equipment Rental AlumiCraft, and McCullough finished up the race in fifth place.

Super LiteNext up was the Super Lite cup race, and the money on offer was even more substantial than in Limited Buggy, with $10,000 going to the winner, $6,000 to second place, and $4,000 to third. As was the case in Limited Buggy, the top ten points finishers were inverted to make up the top ten starting positions, and it was Austin Kimbrell, coming from the outside of row three, who took the early lead in his #88 Xtreme Machine & Fabrication/Ivy Trucking and Grading truck. Kyle Lucas ran second in the #11 Lucas Oil/Howard Packaging entry, with Jessie Johnson third in the #15 A.M. Ortega/MasterCraft Safety machine, Mike McCarthy fourth in the #77 General Tire/K&N truck, and Jason Ellis fifth in the #41 Dethrone Racing/MavTV entry. McCarthy landed badly off the first jump on lap two, and crashed hard into turn one. This led to a full-course caution, and on the restart lap, it was Lucas who moved ahead of Kimbrell to take the lead. RJ Anderson was also on the move, and picked up several spots as he slotted into third in his #37 Dethrone Racing/SoCal Super Trucks machine. Anderson moved up another spot early in the next lap, and when Lucas bicycled in turn three and dropped to fifth, Anderson was right there to take over at the head of the field. On lap eight, both Ron Duncombe and Chad George got around Lucas, with George then moving past Duncombe and into fifth place. At the Competition Yellow, it was Anderson out front, followed by Kimbrell, Patrick Clark in the #25 BFGoodrich Tires/Method Race Wheels truck, Johnson, and George in the #42 Kawasaki/Yokohama machine in the top five. While under yellow, McCarthy emerged from the hot pits to re-join the fray, which was nice to see after his earlier crash. The green flag then waved again, and on the restart lap, George touched Johnson side to side off the ski jump out of turn two, and with no way to stop his momentum, Johnson landed and crashed into the k-rail. The accident wasn't actually too bad, but Johnson's truck was too damaged to continue. Just a few corners later, George, Lucas, Clark, and Kimbrell came through turn five in a big clump, and George was pushed wide and into the outside k-rail. As was the case with Johnson, George's truck was too damaged to continue, and the running order was now Anderson, Kimbrell, Clark, Lucas, and Brent Fouch in the #21 Forgiven Energy/General Tire entry. Lucas pulled into the hot pits and out of the race on the next lap, and with Anderson leaving the rest of the field for dead, the fight for second between Kimbrell and Clark was the best race on the track. Kimbrell held off Clark through the checkered flag, but he was moved down to third by the officials for rough driving. In the end, the big win went to Anderson, with Clark taking second, Kimbrell third, Fouch fourth, and Duncombe fifth in the #4 Maverik/Jack Link's truck.

Pro Lite Unlimited vs. Pro Buggy UnlimitedThe excitement in the stands really ramped up now, as the first of our two "class vs. class" races was up next. A total of $35,000 was on offer here ($20,000 to first, $10,000 to second, and $5,000 to third), and with the two classes running such similar lap times here, the Pro Buggy Unlimiteds would simply start at the tail end of the Pro Lite Unlimited field, without the trucks having the traditional half lap head start. Again, the top ten point finishers in each class were inverted to make up the top ten starting positions within each class, which meant that Jacob Person and Matt Cook started up front in their trucks, while open wheel champion Mike Porter started way back in twentieth.

Corey Sisler grabbed the early lead in his #19 AEM Performance Electronics/BFGoodrich Tires Ford, and was followed by Kyle LeDuc, Jimmy Stephensen, Chris Brandt, and Austin Kimbrell. Brandt and Brian Deegan moved up to third and fourth on lap two, with Stephensen dropping to fifth, while the first buggy, Justin "Bean" Smith in the #19 Competitive Metals/Metal Mulisha AlumiCraft, was already up to eighth. LeDuc got the lead away from Sisler on lap three, while Casey Currie also picked up a spot as he moved into fifth in his #2 Monster Energy/Magnaflow Performance Exhaust Nissan. Smith picked up two more spots on lap four, and now ran in sixth, while up front, LeDuc was opening up a gap on the field. The running order back to Smith went unchanged through the end of lap seven, but after working on him for several laps, Smith finally got by Currie and up to fifth. Teammates Deegan and Smith both got by Brandt on lap nine, with Smith then going inside of Deegan in turn three to move into third on lap ten. At the Competition Yellow, LeDuc still led in his #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford, followed by Sisler, Smith, Deegan in the #38 Lucas Oil/Rockstar Ford, Brandt in the #82 BFGoodrich Tires/KarTek Toyota, Currie, Steven Greinke (second buggy driver), Rodrigo Ampudia, Doug Fortin (buggy), and Cameron Steele (filling in for teammate Brandon Bailey in Bailey's buggy). On the restart lap, Deegan got caught up in some contact, which damaged his truck enough to force him to the sidelines. Brandt and Currie moved into fourth and fifth, just before a rollover in turn four by Kimbrell forced a full-course caution. On the restart lap, Greinke moved up to fifth in his #23 SC Fuels/Concourse Racer, and on the following lap, Sisler got by LeDuc to re-take the lead in turn one. LeDuc was then hit and pushed wide in turn four, and by lap's end, he had dropped back to fifth. LeDuc rolled at turn one on lap 18, which ended his day, and forced another full-course caution. As a green-white-checkers finish was called for, the running order in the top five was Sisler, Smith, Brandt, Greinke, Fortin in the #96 Fortin Racing, Inc./McGrath Fiberglass Products Racer. On the restart lap, Ampudia and Greinke collected in turn one, ending both of their races, while at the head of the field, it was a cruel twist of fate as Sisler, who had less than two laps between himself and his first win in short course, saw his hopes dashed as his motor exploded in spectacular fashion, with huge billowing clouds of smoke pouring at behind him as his truck drifted to the sidelines. Smith took the lead kept it from there, as he poured it on all the way to the $20,000 that awaited him at the finish line. Smith's win was one of remarkably measured strategy and patience, made all the more impressive by the fact that could've been sidelined on lap two, when other drivers forced him so high in turn one that he ended up sliding the bottom of his car across the top of the outside k-rail. Fortunately for Smith, his car survived, and his win capped a very successful first season in the Pro Buggy Unlimited ranks, and also ensured that the "buggy dorks" maintain a perfect 3-0 record against the trucks in this annual race. Second went to Brandt, who was the first truck finisher, and the recipient of $10,000, with Currie coming across the line third with his hood flipped back so far that he must've been struggling desperately to see; Currie picked up $5,000. Fourth place was Fortin, fifth Rich Ronco in the #99 Yokohama/FK Rod Ends Tatum (buggy), sixth Garrett George in the #71 Beard Seats/King Off Road Racing Shocks Funco (buggy), seventh Cameron Steele in the #17 RSC Equipment Rental/Stronghold Motorsports AlumiCraft (buggy), eighth Matt Loiodice in the #20 Competitive Metals/Maxxis Ford, ninth Malcolm Pointon in the #78 K&N/Southwest Processors Foddrill (buggy), and tenth Gregg Reichman in the #80 JointVenturePros.com/Redline Fuel Management Foddrill (buggy); Reichman was the final finisher on the lead lap.

Pro 2 Unlimited vs. Pro 4 UnlimitedThe final race of the year would be the Pro 2 Unlimited vs. Pro 4 Unlimited cup race, and unlike the trucks vs. buggies shootout, this race's slower class, Pro 2 Unlimited, would be given a half lap head start. After inverting the top ten in points to make up the first ten starting slots in each class, it would be Robby Woods and Jeff Geiser leading the charge for the 2wds, with Adrian Cenni and Curt LeDuc heading up the 4wd attack. Oh yeah, and there was $30,000 on offer for the winner, $15,000 for second, $7,500 for third, and $1,000 to the top finisher in whichever class didn't win the race, so don't think that these boys weren't foaming at the mouth to see the green flag drop.

Woods led the field from the get go in his #99 Lucas Slick Mist/SuperChips Chevrolet, with Jeff Geiser in the #44 Canidae/BulletProofDiesel.com Chevrolet, Carl Renezeder (who chose to run his 2wd this year) in the #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire Ford, Rodrigo Ampudia in the #36 Tecate/Lucas Oil Ford, and Rob Naughton in the #54 ReadyLift/Maxxis Ford in tow. Jeremy McGrath moved up to fifth on lap two, then into fourth on lap three in his #2 Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Ford, with teammate Naughton just behind in fifth. The 4wds took a little longer to get into the top ten, but by lap five, Adrian Cenni was the first to do so, as his #11 Atrium Payroll/4 Wheel Parts truck ran ninth. Kyle LeDuc got by Cenni to become the leading Pro 4 Unlimited on the next lap, and by lap seven, he was up to fourth overall. With the Pro 4 Unlimiteds' ability to use any line on the track, as well as accelerate so much quicker out of the corners, the 2wds seemed helpless to stop the 4wds' onslaught, and it seemed inevitable that a 4wd would be the winner of this race for the third straight year.

A red flag of the race was thrown when Ampudia rolled hard in turn five and his truck caught fire. Ampudia was ok but his truck was damaged pretty badly, forcing him out of the race. When racing resumed, LeDuc and his #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford picked off the remaining two Pro 2 Unlimited drivers ahead of him, Geiser and then Woods, taking the lead into turn four. Suddenly, though, LeDuc lost a right rear wheel, and as quickly as the race seemed all wrapped up, the fight for the win was on again in earnest. The field ran several laps under yellow, allowing crews to clear both LeDuc's and Evan Evans' wrecks (Evans crashed in the same area where LeDuc lost his wheel; Evans was ok), then returned to green flag racing. After the restart lap, Woods still led, with Renezeder second, McGrath third, Cenni fourth, and Naughton fifth. Cenni picked off McGrath for third on lap 16, and on lap 17, Renezeder got by Woods to take the race lead. Behind this, Todd LeDuc was now making it two Pro 4 Unlimiteds in the top five, as he moved up to fourth in his #4 Rockstar/Makita Ford. On lap 18, Cenni spun Renezeder at turn four, and moved into the race lead as Renezeder dropped to fifth. LeDuc ran second now, and once again, victory seemed ensured for the 4wds. However, LeDuc then rolled in turn four on the next lap, and while the field bunched up under another full-course caution, officials gave Cenni the black flag for his incident with Renezeder. Cenni pulled into the hot pits and did not return, handing the lead now to Naughton, with Doug Fortin, driving Travis Coyne's truck, left to try and defend the honors of the 4wds from clear back in fifth with just two laps left. As soon as the green flag dropped for the final time, Naughton was flying, and still headed the field at the white flag, with McGrath, Renezeder, Brian Deegan in the #38 Rockstar/Makita Ford, and Fortin in the #5 ProComp/Team Associated Ford, and Brian Deegan in the #38 Rockstar/Makita Ford behind him. On the final lap, Naughton soared off the ski jump after turn two, and with flames shooting from the top of the Rockstar arch, it was truly a magnificent spectacle. In the final corner, with Naughton still in the lead, Renezeder got into McGrath and spun him. Renezeder nearly stacked it up after catching his nose on the landing off the last roller out of the corner, and as his truck stuttered, Fortin swerved to avoid an accident, but ended up off the course on the inside and rolling over. The whole field stacked in behind all this, with Renezeder escaping to hold second. After the finish, though, Renezeder was moved to the back of the lead lap by officials for rough driving, which meant Deegan would take second and $15,000, while McGrath recovered well enough to take third and $7,500. Fourth went to Geiser, fifth to Nick Tyree in the #91 Competitive Metals/Method Race Wheels Ford, and sixth to Josh Merrell in the #22 Hart and Huntington/MavTV Ford; Merrell was the top Pro 4 Unlimited finisher, which earned him $1,000. Rob MacCachren took seventh in the #1 Rockstar/MasterCraft Safety Ford, with Curt LeDuc eighth in the #43 Rockstar/Makita Ford (4wd), Renezeder ninth, and Fortin tenth. Ahead of all these drivers, though, was Rob Naughton, who parked his truck in front of the main grandstands on the front straight, climbed atop it, fists in the air, pointing to his helmet in celebration of his terrific win. Naughton drove a calculated, intelligent race to get the win and its $30,000 bonus, and becomes the first Pro 2 Unlimited driver in the history of Lucas Oil Off Road to win the Pro 2 Unlimited vs. Pro 4 Unlimited Challenge Cup.

That wraps up the 2011 season of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. Don't rest on your laurels too much, though, as we certainly won't be. The 2012 season isn't far away, and will begin right back here at Firebird, with Rounds 1 and 2 on March 31 and April 1, 2012. Until then, have a safe and joyous holiday season, and to get your fix of flying trucks and slinging mud, make sure you catch all the Lucas Oil Off Road racing that will be on tv during the off season; our television schedule can be found at lucasoiloffroad.com. See you in 2012!

About the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series:The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series is the evolution of the long standing support of short course racing by Forrest Lucas and Lucas Oil Products. Steeped in the Midwest tradition of short course off road racing infused with a West Coast influence, Lucas Oil Off Road Racing brings intense four wheel door to door action to challenging, fan friendly tracks. Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series: This is Short Course. For more information please visit www.LucasOilOffRoad.com.

Written by Scott Neth for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series