04 Sep McGrath grabs place on podium at Crandon
McGrath lands on podium at Crandon!
Jeremy McGrath and the JM2 team returned to racing in Crandon Wisconsin for the 50th anniversary celebration. The JM2 team has never been to the big house, but had high expectations to beat the best in the world. The weekend started off with a mid-west short course event the team was using as a test session to get the truck ready for Sunday’s championship races.
Jeremy’s Maxxis tires, ICON Vehicle Dynamics backed truck had contact with another Pro 2 through turn one that resulted in in a flat tire. The team changed the tire and Jeremy would join the race at the back of the pack. The final position for the day would be 7th overall.
“We used this race as a test to make a better gear choice for tomorrow, I know what to do now so we can get more MPH on this massive track” said crew chief Sam Barton.
Sunday morning was the World Championship Pro 2 race we came for. The first start Jeremy came around in second place after a pile up in turn 2 that resulted in a red flag. The second start was all McGrath, Showtime pulled the hole shot and came flying down the front straight away in front of 20,000 screaming fans! “What a feeling to lead a race at Crandon! This was what I had been visualizing all month. I settled in after the first lap and just hit my marks and kept trying to find traction out there. My Maxxis tires were hooking up and I was having a blast. At the end of the race my spotter let me know Jarret Brooks had closed the gap and was on me. I anticipated that might happen knowing he has a faster truck in this class. Jarrett Brooks got by me and Keegan Kincaid was getting close as well. I held my line and pushed as hard as possible, but the home town boy (Keegan) got by me on the last lap. I’m still very happy with this result and glad I could get my Sponsors on the box for the World Championship!” Said McGrath after the race.
The biggest race of the weekend was up next, Pro 2 vs Pro 4 trucks. The team hustled to get the # 2 ready between races and it was now go time. Jeremy blasted off the started line and had about a truck length over the field going down the front straight away. 
Kincaid had the inside line and just slipped underneath McGrath into turn one. The two trucks quickly pulled away from the field running very fast lap times. Jeremy found his groove and started to close the gap mid race. The gap would remain about 6 car lengths until the last lap. The Pro 4 trucks had been catching the front runners the entire race and now RJ Anderson had made his way to the front. “There is really nothing you can do when a Pro 4 truck is on you at this track, I knew RJ was coming and he blew by me on the back straight away. I kept my head down charging forward and made zero mistakes. Getting third today in the Pro 2 class and a third in my first cup race is huge for this team. This is my first race in 2019 and I couldn’t be more happy! Thank you Maxxis Tires, ICON Vehicle Dynamics, Traxxas and ARMA for getting me here.” McGrath explained after the race. The final results for the Crandon Cup Championship race was RJ Anderson (Pro4) Keegan Kincaid (Pro2) and Jeremy McGrath (Pro 2).
Rancho’s own Harold Carter is proud to be part of the McGrath effort, building his race winning transmissions and third members.
Follow Jeremy and the team on Instagram @jeremymcgrath 
The next event the JM2 team will be attending is the Lucas Oil Off-Road series Oct 4-5 at Glen Helen raceway.
