24 May McGrath Motorsports hammers Pro 2 in Utah
Despite an ongoing legal dispute over ownership that threatened the summer’s schedule of major events, Lucas Oil brought out the big guns for round 6 in Tooele Utah. In less than perfect weather conditions only the best prepped machines and drivers survived. Proving once again why he is always a top contender Jeremy McGrath of McGrath Motorsports walked away with 2nd in Pro 2 on Saturday and 1st in the final on Sunday. Additionally, teammate Rock Hager pulled out a hard fought 4th on both days. We highlight these 2 specifically as both machines have drivelines prepared by Harold Carter here at Rancho. Carter, Rancho’s in house master wrench and R&D guru for driveline components used in many of the top truck, towed all the way from Orange county to provide on site tech support for many of the teams and is responsible for the bullet proof Turbo 400 in McGrath’s truck as well as the transmission and differential in Hagers machine and a growing number of others.
Tooele, Utah (May 22, 2016) – With an ominous forecast for the day here in Tooele, UT, things were looking questionable as the drivers and crews awoke this morning to tackle Round 6 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO. Rain was forecast for a big chunk of the middle of the day, including the time scheduled for Modified Kart and the early Pro class races. However, only a brief spat of rain hit around noon, with the weather holding and even turning sunny at some points, which allowed racing to continue as planned, with the track even turning noticeably dusty during some of the races. The drivers made the most of their opportunity, putting on some terrific racing for the highly enthusiastic local fans here at the Utah Motorsports Campus, and as the wind calmed and the sun came out during the final race of the day, it was a great cap to a fine day of racing.
The final race of the day was Pro 2 Unlimited, and as was the case in Pro 4 Unlimited, the morning’s top qualifier was lucky enough to have his spotter draw a zero inversion, and that meant polesitter Jeremy McGrath would start up front in his #2 Maxxis Tires/Carlyle by NAPA truck. McGrath jumped right into the early lead, and was trailed by Bryce Menzies, Rob MacCachren, Carl Renezeder, and Rodrigo Ampudia after the first lap. Menzies ran wide out of turn two on the second lap, and was then a little wild in the next corner, and the two incidents helped MacCachren to get past him for second. However, after cleaning up his driving, Menzies charged back past with a tough-to-execute outside pass at turn one on lap three to re-take the position. Doug Mittag came to a stop just before the start/finish line at the end of lap three, which forced a full course yellow on lap four. Mittag’s Hot Pit crew worked wonders, though, and when racing resumed on lap seven, Mittag was tacked on to the back of the pack, still on the lead lap. On the restart lap, Patrick Clark got by Ampudia on the inside at turn four to take over fifth in his #25 Budweiser/BFGoodrich Tires Chevrolet, while at the head of the pack, Menzies had charged up next to McGrath through the rhythm section on lap eight, only to be unable to make anything of the charge as the two rounded turn five. On the next lap, MacCachren got out of the throttle to avoid taking Menzies out in turn three, but Renezeder didn’t manage to avoid hitting MacCachren, as he spun the points leader around, dropping MacCachren back to eighth. Renezeder received no reprimand, though, and was now third, with Clark fourth and Ampudia fifth in the #36 Lucas Oil Racing TV/Monster Energy Ford. MacCachren charged back up the order, but as he tried to pass Ampudia in turn five on lap 15, the two collected and did a slow half spin, and as Eric Fitch piled into them from behind, heads up driving allowed Mittag to sweep past the trio around the outside to move into fifth place in his #81 Amsoil/K&N Ford. From there, the top five drivers managed no further passes, and despite a nice last lap charge from a very sore Menzies (after being hit hard by Mittag earlier this afternoon in Pro 4 Unlimited), it was McGrath who would grab his first win of the year, ahead of Menzies in the #7 Red Bull/Discount Tire Ford, Renezeder in the #17 Lucas Oil/RC10.com Ford, Clark, and Mittag.
With that, another memorable Utah weekend has come to a close for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. In just four weeks, the series will have its only international event of the season, as we head south of the border for Rounds 7 and 8 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. The beautiful Estero Beach Hotel & Resort will host the weekend’s festivities, and with extensive work being put into the track since the inaugural event last summer, this should again be an event that’s a hit with both drivers and fans alike. Join us then, June 18-19, and in the meantime, keep up with all the latest series news at www.lucasoiloffroad.com.
