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Renezeder, Deegan triumph at Lucas Oil Off Road debut

By Lyndal Scranton (Wheatland, MO) -- On his retirement tour and with his remaining starts dwindling, one of the old pros of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series scored a memorable victory on Saturday.

Carl Renezeder held off Rob MacCachren to capture the Pro 4 division of the inaugural GEICO Off Road Shootout Presented by General Tire at the new Lucas Oil Speedway off road track.

PHOTO: Carl Renezeder celebrates his Pro 4 victory with runner-up Rob MacCachren (left) and third-place Bradley Morris on Saturday at Lucas Oil Speedway.--CREDIT: Kenny Shaw photo

"I'd like to start by thanking Forest Lucas for having the vision to create this for all of and for all the fans in Missouri and the surrounding states," Renezeder said. "It's a real honor."

In the co-headliner on opening race day at the new venue, Brian Deegan earned the Pro 2 division victory in front of a big crowd.

Other feature winners in the first half of the weekend doubleheader were Jerett Brooks (Pro Lite), Eliott Watson (Pro Buggy), Trey Gibbs (Mod Karts) and Brock Heger (Production 1000 UTVs).

The six divisions will go again on Sunday, beginning with 9:30 a.m. qualifying before afternoon features.

Renezeder, who announced earlier this year that the 2017 season would be his last as a driver, took the lead on lap six after MacCachren and Kyle LeDuc were tussling side-by-side and made contact.

The 53-year-old Renezeder took advantage by slipping past those two and led the rest of the way, holding off MacCachren's repeated bids over the final four laps. Bradley Morris was a distant third to earn a podium appearance.

"The racing was awesome," Renezeder said after his 123rd career short-course victory, noting that there's a learning curve on the new track in first attaining speed and then racing for position to make clean passes.

"It's tough. You have to be on your game," Renezeder said. "Once I got out in front, the race actually got tougher, believe it or not, because Rob was right on my tail."

Pro 4 series points leader LeDuc was eliminated from contention when he hit the wall hard, following a restart for the race's third caution, on lap seven.

"It's a real technical track," MacCachren said. "We're all making mistakes here and there. But Carl drove a great race."

Renezeder, of Laguana Beach, Calif., won the only previous Off Road event in Wheatland, on the oval track turned into a temporary road course, 10 years ago. This time, on the new nine-turn purpose-built 1.3-mile track, he quickly moved into contention from his seventh-starting position.

Deegan wins a thriller: Series veteran Brian Deegan took the lead on lap three and held off R.J. Anderson by two truck lengths for the Pro 2 feature win.

Points leader Jeremy McGrath recovered from an early flat tire that dropped him to the back of the field and rallied to finish third.

Anderson took the lead from the inside of the front row and was in front of Deegan when the caution came out on lap three. Deegan, of Temecula, Calif., slipped into the lead on the restart as Anderson and Rob MacCachren made contract in turn two.

Deegan, nicknamed "The General" for his many business interests, held off the hard-charging Anderson over the final two laps for the hard-earned victory, his third of the season.

"I really wanted to win that first race here," Deegan said. "It's just an awesome track. Just looking at the track, I knew that technically I had to be perfect. Nine turns in 10 laps, that's 90 turns.

"I have to thank my crew for setting me up with such a good truck."

Anderson continued his consistency, posting his third straight runner-up finish.

"My team gave me an awesome truck," Anderson said. "I think we gave the fans a good show. We had a good battle going there."

Kyle Hart took a wild ride, rolling his truck multiple times coming off the big jump on the back stretch as he was battling for fifth place on lap seven. He was not injured.

McGrath, after back-to-back fourth place finishes, said he was happy with his finish considering the flat tire.

"The new Lucas Oil facility is amazing. This has been awesome," McGrath said. "We must have hit a rock or something. We had to change a tire and come from the back. We're just trying to get some momentum back."

Brooks takes Pro Lites: Reigning Pro Lites champion Jerett Brooks led flag-to-flag, holding off a late bid from Brock Heger for his second win of the season.

"I just tried to my lines every lap," Brooks said of the closing laps. "I had a few bobbles, but we were able to hang on."

Brooks started on the pole and got the jump on Brandon Arthur, who began on the front row outside. Brooks opened a big lead before a competition caution on lap five bunched the field, then held off Heger after the restart. Cole Mamer was third for his first podium finish of the year.

Watson hangs on in Pro Buggy: Series points leader Eliott Watson held off Darren Hardesty for the Pro Buggy victory, giving Watson his third victory of the season.

Watson, of El Centro, Calif., started on the pole and led all the way. Hardesty started outside of him on the front row, falling back to fourth for a time before rallying late. Sterling Cling finished third.

Gibbs captures Mod Karts: Trey Gibbs of Murieta, Calif., scored a dominant victory in the Mod Karts, which served as the feature opener on the new track.

Gibbs' win was his second of the season as he drove to the front from a ninth-starting position. Gibbs finished well clear of 10-year-old Luke Knupp and third-place Chris Nunes.

"We started the race tight," Gibbs said. "We started ninth and had our work cut out, but didn't want to rush anything. It worked out. I'm super pumped to get the first Mod Kart win at Wheatland."

Production 1000 UTVs to Heger: Season points leader Brock Heger capture the Production 1000 UTV feature, finishing in front of Dustin Nelson in second and Mickey Thomas in third for his first podium finish of 2017.

It was the third straight feature victory for Heger, of El Centro, Calif.

The event concludes the second half of the weekend on Sunday. A look at the schedule and ticket info:

9 a.m. - Spectator gates open.
9:30 a.m. - Mod Kart qualifying, followed by Pro 4, Pro Lite, Pro Buggy and Pro 2 qualifying.
11 a.m.-1 p.m. - Break for lunch/vendor exhibit visits.
1 p.m. - Mod Kart exhibition race, UTV race.
2:30 p.m. - Opening ceremonies followed by Pro 4, Pro Lite, Pro Buggy and Pro 2 races.

Tickets: $30 general admission/pit pass combo (ages 16 and up); seniors (62 and up) $27; youth (ages 6-15) $10. All tickets include access to the pit area. FREE ages 5-and-under. Family Pass GA/Pit Pass Combo $60 Includes Admission for 2 Adults and Up to 3 Kids Ages (6-15).

For complete information on the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, please visit http://www.LucasOilOffRoad.com.

LUCAS OIL OFF ROAD RACING SERIES

GEICO OFF ROAD SHOOTOUT PRESENTED BY GENERAL TIRE
(Feature results, July 22)

Pro 4s - 1, Carl Renezeder. 2, Rob MacCachren. 3, Bradley Morris. 4, Doug Fortin. 5, Chad Hord. 6, Brandon Bailey. 7, Greg Adler. 8, RJ Anderson. 9, Kyle LeDuc. 10, Doug Mittag. 11, Eric Barron. 12, Adrian Cenni.

Pro 2s - 1, Brian Deegan. 2, RJ Anderson. 3, Jeremy McGrath.

Mod Kart - 1, Trey Gibbs. 2, Luke Knupp. 3, Chris Nunes. 4, Mia Chapman. 5, Treg Eggleston. 6, Mason Prater. 7, Chance Haugen. 8, Koen Crawford.9, Ricky Gutierrez. 10, Madix Bailey. 11, Cole Keatts. 12, Brody Eggleston. 13, Connor Barry.

Production 1000 UTVs - 1, Brock Heger. 2, Dustin Nelson. 3, Mickey Thomas. 4, Jason Weller. 5, Corry Weller. 6, Brandon Arthur. 7, Paul O'Brien. 8, Zach Martin. 9, RJ Anderson. 10, Scott Webster. 11, Ray Griffith. 12, Ben Enloe. 13, Jason Merrell. 14, Travis Rasmussen. 15, Justin Peck. 16, Kipp Mickels. 17, Tommy Scranton. 18, Blake Enloe. 19, Keith Brooks. 20, George Hammel. 21, Ronnie Anderson. 22, Nathan Barry. 23, Doug Mittag. 24, Jacob Rosales.

Pro Lites - 1, Jerret Brooks. 2, Brock Heger. 3, Cole Mamer. 4, Brandon Arthur. 5, Ronnie Anderson. 6, Ronnie Anderson. 7, Cory Winner. 8, Christopher Polvoorde. 9, Hailie Deegan. 10, Mickey Thomas. 11, Ray Griffith. 12, Sarah Burgess. 13, Ryan Beat. 14, Justin Peck. 15, Keaton Swane.

Pro Buggy - 1, Eliott Watson. 2, Darren Hardesty. 3, Sterling Cling. 4, Bud Ward. 5, Broc Dickerson. 6, Matthew Brister. 7, Sammy Ehrenberg. 8, Trevor Briska. 9, Brady Whitlock.

Construction on the Lucas Oil Speedway Off Road track, which is approximately 6,000 feet in length, began in the spring of 2016. It joins a vast complex that includes the dirt track which plays host to the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series, "Lake Lucas" where the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Series holds two major events each year and the Slick Track where go-kart racing is held weekly and competitive quarter midget racing has been held for the first time in 2017.

For complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived stories, ticket info and schedules, visit http://www.LucasOilSpeedway.com.

To get ticket information on any event this season at Lucas Oil Speedway, contact admissions director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or via email at nichole@LucasOilSpeedway.com for further information.

Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is also available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience at the Diamond of Dirt Tracks.

Click http://www.LucasOilSpeedway.com for more information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984.

In addition, fans can get social with Lucas Oil Speedway by following @LucasSpeedway on Twitter, clicking "Like" at http://www.facebook.com/LucasOilSpeedway and on http://www.youtube.com/LucasOilSpeedway.

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