MUSTANG, NV (July 21) – This year the Silver State Showdown at the Wild West Motorsports Park was a one night show this year. While things got off to a good start Mother Nature had other plans for the night.
Before qualifying was finished there was a report of a lightning strike about a mile from the track. This caused the track and bleachers to be cleared and started a four-hour delay in the program.
Rains caused a four-hour delay in the program. It also caused some big puddles as well as turning the track into mud.
Soon after that the rains came causing puddles and turning the track into mud. It meant a bunch of work for the track crew and there would be no need to put water down on it for the rest of the evening.
Finally after much work on the track racing began right around seven in the evening. Due to the hour all the races were shortened and the schedule was a bit scrambled.
Bradley Morris greets fans on his way to the podium after winning the Pro 2 main.
After the Pro 2 race ended winner Bradley Morris said, “I saw those clouds come up, got a little worried because the rain on the track at Wheatland wasn’t too good to us but awesome that all these fans stuck around and Lucas brought the track back which was awesome. Awesome race, epic battle, super clean, that’s how I love to do it. My whole crew just killed it this weekend, we’ve been testing so much to get this thing dialed. I finally feel comfortable. We’re going testing on Monday and on Friday so we be even more ready at the next one.
Then he thanked K&N Filters, Maxxis Tires, Lucas Oil for putting on the event and the fans.
When the 11 truck field took the green flag Brian Deegan led Morris and Rodrigo Ampudia. Behind them Jerett Brooks and Jeremy McGrath were disputing fourth place.
During the first half Morris was slowly closing the distance between him and Deegan. After the half-time caution the race resumed.
Bradley Morris passes Brian Deegan as they come down the hill from Turn 1.
Deegan lead at first but Morris charged past him as they headed down hill after the Ski Jump turn. However Deegan wasn’t ready to give up so the chase was on for the final six laps.
On his way to winning the Pro 2 main Bradley Morris gets some air.
In the end Morris won followed by Deegan, Brooks, Ampudia and Rob MacCachren.
All the races have a half-way competition caution that tightens the group up and dissolves any gap the leader has over the pack. The restart from that caution sometimes determines the winner of the race.
Only a half dozen Pro 4 trucks took the green flag when their 12-lap main began. Up front R.J. Anderson was in the catbird’s seat as Adrian Cenni and Kyle Leduc were giving chase.
After the half-time caution Leduc too the lead as the pack roared through Turn 3 but near disaster struck when Anderson had to pit for a flat. This happened right as the caution came out as Doug Mittag’s truck slowed on track.
After the restart Leduc also slowed putting Cenni on point but behind him Anderson was on a charge toward the front. In fact Anderson took the lead on lap 7 while behind him there was a three-way duel for second.
Coming back from a flat tire R.J. Anderson (37) Passes Adrian Cenni for the lead.
In the end Anderson scored the victory in his come-from-behind charge while Greg Adler ended up second and Cenni finished third.
“This rain bought us a curve ball with no qualifying so I messed up on the restart and Kyle got into me so that’s what must have given me the flat,” Anderson said. “We were lucky there was a caution so we had time to change it. Came back out and just put my head down …we finished second so many times this year it feels good to put the number 37 Rock Star Power Energy Pro 4 on the box. Our team killed it, I love you Reno as this was my first win in Pro 4 here last year.”
Then he thanked his crew for changing an engine in the rain as well as sponsors Rock Star Energy, BF Goodrich tires, South Point, K&N and several others.
Ryan Beat was on point when the 16 Pro Lite trucks took the green. Close behind was Mickey Thomas, who soon had to contend with Christopher Polvoord and Brandon Arthur.
After the restart there was a tangle in the “no contact,” zone exiting Turn 1 that put Thomas into the wall. Fortunately he was able to continue while three drivers received a stern warning from the officials.
Thomas was given his second place spot back as the field lined up for another restart. Once again Beat lead the charge with Thomas giving chase.
In the final laps Thomas was closing on the leader but had to settle for the runner up spot as no one was going to deny the victory to Beat, who is the points leader. Brock Heger ended up third ahead of fourth place Brandon Authur.
Pro Lite winner Ryan Beat gets some air at the Wild West Motorsports Park.
“I’ve got to give a shout out first and foremost to all you fans endured the heat to the rain and now at night. You guys rock,” Beat said. “I got my first win ever here so it means a lot to win again in front of you guys so thank you for all coming out.”
Then he thanked to Bilstein Shocks, General Tires, KMC Wheels, Ram Mounts, as well as his crew, wife and daughter.
There were 10 Pro Buggies that took the green flag but Eliott Watson was in command during both halves of their 10-lap main. Four cautions slowed the pace but on every restart Watson left all of them in his dust, mud actually.
The final caution caused a two-lap shootout but again Watson reached the checkered flag first followed by Michael Ward, Chris Nunes and Trevor Briska.
“It feels great to be up here again,” Watson said after the race. “We put so much work into this car since Missouri and it sure paid off. We made a couple of changes to our FOX shocks yesterday and couple of groove changes to our BF Goodrich tires. Everything was perfect, especially if you’re out front and trying to make no mistakes.”
Then he thanked family, crew as well as other sponsors.
The UTV classes have been growing in all types of off-road racing and this time Lucas Oil brought a pair of them to this year’s Silver State Showdown.
The biggest turn out for the night was in the UTV Production 1000 class as 18 of these small racers took the green flag. The race was all Brock Heger as he led from start to finish with Robert Stout and Jason Weller taking the next two places.
On the podium Heger said, “I knew I was going to get the hole shot and sure enough got the hole shot. Pretty much from there it was clean sailing. When I took off on the restart I knew all I had to was let them eat my roost as that would kind of slow them down.”
Then he thanked the fans for sticking it out with the weather, Maxxis Tires, Yamaha for the amazing car, Weller racing as well his entire crew.
The other UTV class was the turbo powered cars and 10 of them took the green to start their 10-lap main. Up front Corry Weller was being chased by Paul O’Brien.
Before the half-time caution the top four spread out but when the second half began the officials thought a driver kind of jumped the start so they made the field do it again.
Up front Weller was on point again with O’Brien not far behind her. In the end she won the race followed by O’Brien and Ronnie Anderson.
After winning the UTV Turbo race Corry Weller greets fans on her way to the podium.
On the podium the announcer asked her who does the laundry since her husband races in the other UTV class. She answered with a laugh, “It’s always me, I always wash his suit, he helps me so much it’s the least I can do.”
Asked about being out front she said, “It’s kind of a necessity thing, I learned from Missouri it’s bad not to be out in front so all I wanted to do is to get out front and stay in front. Focusing on not making a mistake, which was hard in the mud and the car gets heavier every lap as it’s piling on and handling differently as you go through the race. Trying to be careful, I know Paul is so fast and has been fast all weekend. We’ve been kind of messing with the tuning and Jason just nailed it for this race.”
Then she thanked long time sponsor Dragon Fire Racing, Maxxis Tires, and the fans that stayed despite the weather.
The event was televised and will be replayed on either MAVTV or on www.lucasoilracing.tv. And the final televised race was the Mod Karts that normally help start a show.
This is another big class of youngsters that have come up through the junior kart ranks and are in between that an moving to the full size racers. They also run on a shorter, tighter track than the full size classes used to it puts a premium on handling and car control.
When the green waved 18 of these karts took off and up front Mia Chapman was on point but two drivers tangled in the first turn so a complete restart was ordered.
Next try ended with a kart winding upside down on the infield part. After the safety crew rolled it back on its wheels the kart restarted and joined the field.
Up front it appeared this would be Chapman’s race although Ricky Gutierrez was not far behind her. Lap after lap they tore around the track until Chapman’s kart just stopped on the white flag lap.
If there was a Heart Break award she would have won it. Chapman’s kart was pushed to the hot pits but there was nothing her crew could do.
That final caution made for a one-lap shoot out to determine the winner.
On the green Ricky Gutierrez took off with Mason Prater and Bronsen Chiaramonte giving chase. They finished in that order while the luckless Chapman ended up 12th.
On the podium Gutierrwez said it kind of sucked for Chapman as she had the race in the bag. Still he was very happy to have taken the victory and later thanked his crew and sponsors.
After the televised part of the evening ended there were still two races to go for the junior kart classes. These usually don’t compete here the but were included this year.
Lake Adler won the Junior 1 race while Connor Barry was the Junior 2 winner.
The next rounds will be August 24 and 25, Friday and Saturday night races. The Utah Offroad Nationals will be held in Tooele, Utah.
For further information on the series, camping and tickets please check the series website at, www.lucasoiloffroad.com.
REPORTER’S NOTE: There is a photo gallery after the results.
OTHER RACING NEWS:
- As usual I’ll be on Teresa’s Garage Radio Show that airs Tuesday afternoons from 2 until 3 p.m. This week we have a special guest, 19-year-old racer Kiely Ricardo.
I have a preview section that comes on at 2:15 where I go over the cruise and racing scene in our region as well as what’s going to happen nationally and internationally if there are events overseas. Hope you’ll either listen to it at1180 am, KCKQ or stream it at amm.streamon.fm.
•  One week from Wednesday there will be a fund raiser for local rider Ty Tremaine. He’s raising funds to compete in this year’s International Six Day Enduro that is in Chili this year.
PJandCo, located at South Wells, is hosting the event. There will be raffles, autographs and other items to buy, let’s help this local racer help represent America in the event.
•  The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series was at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend. Kyle Busch started third and ended up second. Older brother Kurt started on the pole but finished eighth.
• (During the Lucas Oil event some how I hurt my right foot. Want to give a special thanks to the Event Security supervisor for helping me out by giving me a lift so I could return the media vest and taking me to my car. Without his help it would have been a very long, painful trip.)
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We now have six very appreciated sponsors that are helping support this site. Please patronize them as they support your sport.
Our newest is Moto Source located at 3180 Mill Street, unit C. They stock accessories and have a large service department.
The shops website is www.moto-source.com and their phone number is 775-856-3855.
Big Valley Honda is the first dealer in our family of sponsors. They sell everything from motorcycles, UTV’s, ATV’s and about anything else things one could want.
Their location is at 2225 Market Street in Reno and their website is www.bigvalleyhonda.com and they have a Face Book page, www.facebook.com/bigvalleyhondareno.
Our first sponsor is a full service motorcycle shop, Reno Motorsports and they too have a full service shop as well as about anything a rider could want.
They are located at 964 Terminal way, by Mill Street and their website is, www.rms-renomotorsports.com.
Sponsor PJ & Co Restaurant and Saloon located at 1590 Wells Avenue in Reno is familiar to most in the riding lifestyle.
Good food, great place and they have Bike Night every Wednesday. For further information please check their website at, www.pjandco.net.
Concours Body Shop, owned by racer and race supporter Gil Grieve, is a business doing quality repair work on cars and trucks.
The business is located at 240 Telegraph Street in Reno and their website is, www.concoursbodyshop.net.
If you are into karting or want the most cost effective way to start racing then check out Nevada Kart Sport, our only full service kart shop in this region.
The shop has moved to 894 Deming Way in Sparks and their website is, www.nevadakartsport.com.
Have a business targeted toward the motorcycle, motorsport or off road demographic? Well we are looking for more sponsors.
You can contact us either through the comment section of the site or our Face Book page.
RESULTS:
Lucas Oil Off Road Series – Round 6
Wild West Motorsports Park – July 21
+ Pro 2 (12-Laps): 1. Bradley Morris, 2. Brian Deegan, 3. Jerett Brooks, 4.Rodrigo Ampudia, 5. Rob MacCachren, 6. Jeremy McGrath, 7. Adam Daffner, 8. Erik Jacobus, 9. Jeff Shelton, 10. Kipp Mickles, 11. R.J. Anderson.
+ Pro 4 (12-Laps): 1. R.J. Anderson, 2. Greg Adler, 3. Adrian Cenni, 4. Scott     Douglas, 5. Kyle Leduc, 6. Doug Mittag.
+ Pro Lite (10-Laps): 1. Ryan Beat, 2. Mickey Thomas, 3. Brock Heger, 4. Brandon     Arthur, 5. Christopher Polvoord, 6. Sarah Burgess, 7. Jimmy Weithzel, 8.Cole Mamer, 9. Cam Reimers, 10. Jonathan Brenthel, 11. Kyle Knott, 12. Keaton Swane, 13. Bridget Burgess, 14. Mason Cullen, 15. Elias Hanna.
DQ: Ronnie Anderson.
+ Pro Buggy (10-Laps): 1. Elliott Watson, 2. Michael (Bud) Ward, 3. Chris Nunes, Â Â Â Â 4. Trevor Briska, 5. Raymond Bowers, 6. Brady Whitlock, 7. Sammy Ehrenberg, 8.Trey D. Gibbs, 9. Darren Hardesty, 10. Matthew Brister.
+ UTV Production 1000 (10-Laps) : 1. Brock Heger, 2. Robert Stout, 3. Jason     Weller, 4. Mickey Thomas, 5. Keith Brooks, 6. Trevor Leighton, 7. Josh Bergman, 8. Ronnie Anderson, 9. Mat Tessier, 10. Travis Rasmussen, 11. Jacob Rosales, 12. Dallas Nord, 13. Kipp Mickels, 14. Jim Price, 15. Myles Cheek, 16. Paul O’Brien.
DNS: Brenton Page.
DQ: Johnny Spar.
+ UTV Turbo (10-Laps): 1. Corry Weller, 2. Paul O’Brien, 3. Ronnie Anderson, 4. Â Â Â Â Andy Ives, 5. Trevor Leighton, 6. Robert Vanbeekum, 7. Eliott Watson, 8. Chelsea Haugen, 9. Chance Haugen, 10. David Phillips.
+ Mod Karts ( 8-Laps): 1. Ricky Gutierrez, 2. Mason Prater, 3. Bronsen     Chiaramonte, 4. Brody Eggleston, 5. Trey Eggleston, 6. Bradden Chiaramonte,     7. Luke Knupp, 8. Connor Barry, 9. Brook Jensen, 10. Chance Haugen, 11.Carson Etter, 12. Mia Chapman, 13. Anthony Santos, 14. Karaston Hernandez, 15.John     Holtger, 16. Bryanna Fisher.
+ Junior 1 Kart (6-Laps): 1. Lake Adler, 2. Ayden Ford, 3. Bergen McGrath, 4. Jake Bollman.
+ Junior 2 Kart (6-Laps): 1. Connor Barry, 2. Ethan Ebert, 3. Jake Bollman, 4. Â Â Â Â Rhowan McGrath, 5. Broedy Graham, 6. Holden Heitritter, 7. Rhyan Denney, 8. Â Â Â Â Chaden Zane Minder, 9. Nick Plemons, 10. Tyli Olsen, 11. Karaston Hernandez, 12. Braydon Beatty.
PHOTO GALLERY:
