Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Finishes Off The Season With A Bang!

The 2013 racing season came to is conclusion this weekend in Lake Elsinore, CA as the drivers took to battle at the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Complex. In the four major pro classes, only the Pro-4 championship had been claimed, and with the points being so close, there was nothing to hold back for those who could see the top spot.

With all the classes running earlier, the Pro-4s would run as the final race of the season. Earlier in the day, qualifying was run to set the starting order, and after a six truck invert, Greg Adler and young up comer, RJ Anderson started on the front row. When the green flew Eric Barron moved his #32 Team Associated, LAT Oil backed Toyota into the lead as he drove by RJ Anderson from the second row. Barron looked to keep it out front, but with Kyle LeDuc was following close, and looking to secure the second points place finish for the season, Barron had a battle on his hands. There was a small gap in the two, but after a full course caution for debris on the track, Kyle LeDuc was right on the back bumper of Barron, and looking to make a move to the front. The race resumed, and LeDuc looked to make the move, but he spun in turn two, allowing Carl Renezeder to move into the second spot behind Barron. Kyle had some work to do, as he dropped back to the eighth spot, but another caution came out when Rob MacCachren suffered a fire and had to pull to infield to extinguish the flames. In the remaining laps, LeDuc fought back into the third position behind Renezeder and Barron. On the final lap, the trio was all within striking distance of each other. Carl tried to put a last turn pass on Barron, but wasn't able to as Barron was able to keep more momentum on the outside and keep the lead as they all came to the checkered flag with only feet separating them. The 2013 racing season had concluded and all the champions had been crowned, but the teams still had work to do as they prepared the trucks for the following days Challenge Cup Race that had over $50,000 up for grab.

The Challenge cup race paired the Pro-2s against the Pro-4s, in a race that put cash purse of over $50,000 up for the top three finishers. The field was separated as the Pro-4s started half a lap behind the Pro-2s and starting order for both classes was set by the inversion of the top ten in points. The cup race has been won three times by Pro-4s and only once by a Pro-2, so many of the multi class racers chose to run their faster Pro-4. Carl Renezeder is the only two-time winner of the race, and he also had unveiled his pink breast cancer awareness body that wrapped his championship winning pro-4.

With both sets of trucks rolling around, the green flag flew with the Pro-4s on the back side of the track as the Pro-2s ripped down the front straight. After a couple laps of shuffling, the Pro-2 pack was led by Bryce Menzies and Team Associated's Robby Woods hot on his bumper. The race ran almost to the half way mark until a truck slowed in the race lane, and the caution was thrown for safety. With the yellow coming out, all the trucks were now bunched together and the Pro-4 gap had been erased. With Ryan Beat and Carl Renezeder running the faster Pro-4s, they looked to run through the pack and head toward the front. When the race got back under action, Menzies led them around for a couple more laps until the yellow came out again for a rear bumper that was ripped off of Renezeder's Pro-4, when the huge air of the truck resulted in a tail slapper landing. When the debris was removed they got back to racing and Menzies suffered a mechanical issue which gave the lead to Robby Woods. Woods was running strong, but had some stiff competition as Carl Renezeder had worked his way past Deegan and into the second spot right behind him. As the pair went through the whoop section, Carl was looking to set up a pass as they entered the turn going onto the straight, but came in a little too hot and couldn't hold the corner. As a result, Carl spun and dropped toward the back of the pack. On the last lap, the order stood Woods, Deegan, and Barron in the top three. Coming into turn three, Barron got past Deegan and looked to pass Woods as well. A hard door to door pass attempt pushed Woods out wide allowing Barron and Deegan to pass, now heading into the final corner the top three spots were Barron, Deegan, and Woods. Barron's Pro-4 was out front and was looking to get the checkered flag and the $30,000 prize, but race officials didn't like the aggressive pass and gave him the black flag, handing Brian Deegan the race win. Robby Woods put in a career run and finished in the second spot along with a $15,000 prize. Ryan Beat was able to keep it clean and was the highest finishing Pro-4 in the third spot which earned him $7,500 plus and extra $1,000 for being the highest finishing vehicle in the class that didn't win the race.

As the dust settles, and the fiberglass sits on the track, we can now say the 2013 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing season is a wrap. It has been a season full of edge of your seat racing proving why short course racing is here to stay. The teams will head home and repair their beaten trucks in preparation for the 2014 season which will kick off in a couple of months. New programs will be starting and classes will be growing, which will make the 2014 season even more exciting. Congratulations to Carl Renezeder on his Pro-4 championship season, along with all the rest of the Team Associated drivers on their performances during the 2013 season.

Special thanks to all the 2013 Short Course Factory Team:
Carl Renezeder Pro 2 #17 and Pro 4 #17 (Pro 4 Champion)
Kyle LeDuc Pro 4 #99
Robby Woods Pro 2 #99
Ryan Beat Pro 4 #51 and ProLite #51
Eric Barron Pro 4 #32
Chad Graham Single Buggy #330
Brooke Kawell Modified Kart #508
Gavin Harlien Modified Kart #555
Noah Fouch ProLite #52
Doug Mittag ProLite #81
Jerett Brookes ProLite #77