Pro 4 Unlimited |
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Doug Mittag, driving the ex-Kyle LeDuc
“Steelo” truck this season, sped into the early lead of this
afternoon’s Pro 4 Unlimited race, ahead of Greg Adler, LeDuc, Carl
Renezeder, and Doug Fortin at the end of lap one. On lap two, Fortin got by
Renezeder between turns four and five to move up to fourth, with LeDuc also
moving up one spot, past Adler, before the end of the lap. Lap five saw RJ
Anderson then move past Renezeder at turn two to take over fifth, with the
Competition Yellow then falling at the end of the next lap. At this point,
Mittag still led the way, with LeDuc, Adler, Fortin, and Anderson rounding
out the top five. On the restart lap, Fortin over-rotated at turn four and
dropped back several positions, and the surrounding drivers shuffled their
running order while trying to get past Fortin. The top three still held
station at the end of the lap, but it was now Renezeder and Bryce Menzies
in fourth and fifth, with these two then making contact on the next lap,
causing Menzies to hit a tractor tire and come to a brief halt. A full
course caution fell at the end of the lap when Menzies was still struggling
to get moving, and meanwhile, Anderson moved back inside the top five
thanks to Menzies’ misfortune. On the restart lap, Mittag landed hard
off the jump into turn seven, flattening his right rear tire, and handing
the lead to LeDuc in the #99 Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Ford. As
Mittag’s pace slowed dramatically, he quickly fell out of the top
five, and by the end of lap ten, it was Adler, Rob MacCachren, Eric Barron,
and Adrian Cenni who ran behind LeDuc in that top five. On the final lap,
MacCachren over-rotated in turn two while trying to miss Adler, who himself
was starting to over-rotate, and MacCachren wound up nosed against a tire
on the inside of the track. This helped those behind MacCachren to move up,
and at the stripe, it was LeDuc who got his maiden win in his new
“Evvo” truck, ahead of Adler in the #10 4 Wheel Parts/Odyssey
Batteries Ford, Barron in the #32 Icon Vehicle Dynamics/Mickey Thompson
Toyota, Adrian Cenni in the #11 Maxxis Tires/King Off-Road Racing Shocks
Ford, and Bradley Morris in the #24 K&N/Kicker Ford. |
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Pro 2 Unlimited |
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With a strong previous record here at
Estero Beach, Jeremy McGrath was again looking for success here this
afternoon, and he got his effort started the right way, leading the field
in his #2 Maxxis Tires/Traxxas truck at the end of lap one. Brian Deegan
ran second in the #38 Monster Energy/Mickey Thompson Ford, with RJ Anderson
third, Rob MacCachren fourth, and Bryce Menzies fifth. On lap two, Menzies
biked in turn one and dropped back to eighth, which promoted local favorite
Rodrigo Ampudia to fifth. Patrick Clark, Jerett Brooks, and Menzies then
all moved right in behind Ampudia, with Brooks and Menzies then getting by
Ampudia at turn two on lap five. Up front, the top three were running very
close, and at the Competition Yellow, it was still McGrath in the lead,
ahead of Deegan, Anderson in the #37 Rockstar Energy Drink/Polaris RZR
truck, MacCachren, and Brooks. After the restart lap, Menzies got past
Brooks on the inside at turn two to take over fifth on lap eight, with
Deegan then making a beautiful pass on McGrath down the inside at turn five
to take over the lead. The top four drivers were now running very close,
but when Anderson over-rotated after a little contact with McGrath in turn
seven on the next lap, he spun and dropped back. Disaster then struck for
Deegan, as a right rear flat severely slowed his pace, and sent him into
the Hot Pits for a replacement. McGrath re-assumed the lead, with
MacCachren, Menzies, Ampudia, and Anderson now filling out the top five.
Anderson got by Ampudia on the inside at turn five for fourth on the
penultimate lap, but after that, the top five held their positions. McGrath
got the win, making him the third winner in as many rounds here in Pro 2
Unlimited, ahead of MacCachren, Menzies in the #7 Red Bull/Discount Tire
Ford, Anderson, and Ampudia in the #36 Monster Energy/Lucas Oil Racing TV
Ford. |
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Pro Lite Unlimited |
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After sweeping the weekend out in
Chandler, Brock Heger was once again out front early in his #12 Icon
Vehicle Dynamics/Maxxis Tires Toyota, ahead of Ryan Beat, Hailie Deegan,
Brandon Arthur, and Christopher Polvoorde at the end of the first lap.
These five drivers held their positions over the first four laps, with
Heger gradually pulling out a bit of a gap over his pursuers. On lap five,
a mistake by Polvoorde allowed Ronnie Anderson to move up and make a pass
for fifth in his #52 MavTV/Walker Evans Racing Chevrolet, just ahead of the
Competition Yellow. On the restart lap, Arthur rolled in turn four, with
Anderson also spinning off into the infield in that same corner. This
brought out a full course yellow, and also shuffled the running order, with
Jerett Brooks and Ray Griffith now sitting fourth and fifth for the
restart. On the restart lap, Deegan and Beat made contact coming out of
turn two, which sent Beat off into the infield. Beat was able to re-join
the action, albeit well down the running order, and the talented young
driver was certainly not happy. Griffith got by Brooks on this same lap,
and by the end of the lap, it was still Heger in the lead, with Deegan now
second, Griffith third, Brooks fourth, and Anderson fifth. Brooks got back
by Griffith after some beating and banging at turn three on lap eight,
while just ahead, repeated contact had taken its toll on Deegan, whose
truck was now spewing steam from the radiator. Deegan kept her foot in it,
though, and her truck made it to the finish, albeit visually quite a bit
worse for wear. Griffith fell two spots to fifth on lap nine, and at the
checkers, it was Heger who picked up his third consecutive win, ahead of
Deegan in the #38 Monster Energy/Mickey Thompson Toyota, Brooks in the #77
Rigid Industries LED Lighting/Bilstein Shock Absorbers Nissan, Anderson,
and Griffith in the #53 General Tire Ford. |
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Pro Buggy Unlimited |
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In the open wheel division, Kevin
McCullough came into this weekend looking for redemption after a tough
weekend at his home track in Chandler. Winner of three of the four races
held here previously, McCullough was again out front early this afternoon,
leading the way in his #62 DA8/Stapleton Roofing Foddrill; points leader
Eliott Watson ran second, with Darren Hardesty Jr. third, Bud Ward fourth,
and Trevor Briska fifth. Briska over-rotated at turn two on the second lap,
and unfortunately, Sterling Cling and Brady Whitlock piled into Briska,
causing the latter two to suffer race-ending damage. Briska, however, was
able to continue, but he’d lost his fifth place, which was now
occupied by Matthew Brister. The incident brought out a full course yellow,
and after the restart, the top five drivers held their positions through to
lap six, when Briska got back inside the top five after passing Brister for
fifth. Up front, McCullough was gradually pulling away, while just behind,
Watson and Hardesty Jr. were locked in a solid battle for second. Further
back, Ward dropped back to seventh, promoting Briska and Brister to fourth
and fifth, but after that, the running order within the top five went
unchanged. McCullough got a much-needed win, ahead of Watson in the #3 Fox
Racing Shox/BFGoodrich Tires Alumi Craft, Hardesty Jr. in the #99 Bilstein
Shock Absorbers/Off Road Warehouse Alumi Craft, Briska in the #59
MTRV8/Prolong Super Lubricants Funco, and Brister in the #5 LAT Racing
Oils/King Off-Road Racing Shocks Funco. |
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