A rough track catches out a few drivers, and helps the championship cause for a few…

Glen Helen Raceway is tricky and technical enough without throwing in a 30-degree-Fahrenheit difference between practice and qualifying. But that’s what many of the racers were facing, with qualifying conducted in the heat of the afternoon – hovering around 110 degrees on Saturday – and racing happening after nightfall. Throw in some gnarly ruts that were forming in the turns, and a lot of the drivers were chasing their tails and struggling to keep the tires in on the ground.

“The track was really challenging,” said Brian Deegan, back racing in Pro 2 for the first time since the Wild Horse Pass season opener, following his second-place finish on Saturday. “I think everyone came out here and tested, and I think the track threw everyone a curveball tonight, which is good – it’s how racing should be. The track was so rough, you really had to pick lines.”

The ruts may have even been a blessing for some. The man Deegan was chasing at the end, Rob MacCachren, was playing it conservative with a 41-point lead. But getting tossed to the outside put him in a position to take the lead from Carl Renezeder, an opportunity he quickly seized.

“I was just being cautious at the beginning of the race with Carl, then Bryce [Menzies] started getting close to me, and I knew I needed to go by,” said MacCachren. “I don’t know what happened …I think I hit a rut, got on the outside of Carl, and ended up going by him.”

Most of MacCachren’s competition for the Pro 2 title fell by the wayside on Saturday night. Jeremy McGrath spun early; Renezeder rolled to a stop shortly after MacCachren passed him; and Menzies slid to a stop in the final turn with what looked like a locked-up drivetrain. He eventually got restarted and going again, but well down. So it was a good night for MacCachren’s championship effort, especially considering he almost didn’t make the race. The team discovered a pressure problem in the transmission torque converter, and changed the transmission in the No. 21 Rockstar Energy/Makita Tools Pro 2 in 25 minutes just prior to the race.

For Renezeder, it was the second time that night that he had a good start from pole, only to give it up. In Pro 4, he jumped out to the lead with MacCachren and Kyle LeDuc (pictured above) following. LeDuc made fairly quick work of MacCachren and set out in pursuit of Renezeder.

It seemed like LeDuc had nothing for him, as Renezeder opened up a gap in the beginning and on subsequent restarts. But following a late-race restart in a high-attrition race, LeDuc got the run he needed and passed Renezeder to take his third win of the season and third in the last four races in the No. 99 Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Pro 4. Renezeder finished second, keeping his solid lead in the championship, with Doug Fortin finishing third.

Both Pro Lite and Pro Buggy featured flag-to-flag runs at the front, but both also featured a new face on the podium. In Pro Lite, Ryan Beat (pictured) took his second victory of the season in the Rockstar Energy/Lunarpages Pro Lite. But both of the racers that followed him were standing on the podium for the first time. Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg was second, and rookie Ronnie Anderson was third. Darren Hardesty took his first Pro Buggy victory of the year in the Bilstein Shock Absorbers/Mickey Thompson Alumi Craft, with Taylor Atchison third in a race that featured an unusually large number of incidents. Bud Ward made his podium debut in second.

While Saturday night’s Pro Buggy race had a lot of incidents for the usually well-behaved open-wheelers, Sunday night was completely off the rails. Mike Valentine jumped into the lead and began to pull away, but he would never have the luxury of keeping a gap for long, because numerous yellows closed the field.

An early battle for second between Sterling Cling and points leader Garrett George blazed before it turned ugly. George took second from Cling, but Cling came back a lap later and reclaimed the position. Then George attacked again, going to the inside of Cling in Turn 3. Cling turned down, made contact, and rolled. That left Valentine leading, followed by George and Hardesty.

Numerous other yellows followed, but it was the final one that played the biggest part in the race. On the final restart, Hardesty got into the back of Valentine exiting Turn 1, spinning him. Valentine, who had led the whole race to that point, watched the field go by. Hardesty earned a black flag for his role in the incident, while George limped to the finish with a flat tire. That left first-time winner Keaton Swayne, Sammy Ehrenberg and Jason Bates on the podium, all making the box for the first time.

The Pro Lite race also added more excitement than the previous night’s show. Ryan Beat started on pole, but Jerret Brooks seized the lead at the start and looked headed to victory. But on the final lap, he drove in too hard on the rollers, ended up on the bike, and let Brandon Arthur in the Competitive Metals Pro Lite and Beat get by. Brooks ended up third with Arthur taking his third victory of the season.

With Saturday night winner and fast qualifier LeDuc starting Pro 4 up front, there wasn’t likely to be any excitement at the top of the order. LeDuc jumped into the lead, followed by Renezeder. Most of the excitement in the race came from third qualifier Bryce Menzies, who fell back in the early stages and had to work his way back. First he had to find his way around MacCachren, then on a restart he made a big move past Doug Fortin for third. From there, he was all over the back of Renezeder, but couldn’t make the pass happen and had to settle for third while LeDuc took his fourth win in five races.

Being in the lead in Pro 2 seemed like the kiss of death on Sunday night. Polesitter Menzies jumped into first at the start, but Brian Deegan, who started third, was attacking him by lap 2. he took the lead over the tabletop betweens Turns 4 and 5 on lap 3, but Menzies got him back in the whoops a lap later. Then Deegan was into the wall in Turn 4.

Menzies was now followed by RJ Anderson, Myan Spacarelli, MacCachren (pictured) and Renezeder, but after the restart, Menzies limped to a stop in Turn 4 and left the track. Anderson inherited the lead, but MacCachren was charging hard, getting by Spacarelli and then taking the lead from Anderson with a bit of contact. Anderson then slowed, limping to the finish.

That left MacCachren padding his lead in Pro 2, while Spacarelli had his career best Pro 2 finish in the Tonka truck. Doug Mittag finished third with new sponsorship from ProAm Racing Products on board.

Before racing got underway on Saturday, the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series honored the victims of the Dec. 2 terrorist shooting in San Bernardino. In the “14 for 14” initiative, 14 drivers wore the name of one of the victims on their helmet and vehicle. The series also hosted many of the first responders from the incident, and announced a $5000 donation to the SBStrong GoFundMe campaign that raises money for the victims and their families.

The next rounds of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series take place at the dramatic Wild West Motorsports Park in Reno/Sparks, Nevada on Aug. 13-14.

ROUND 9 WINNERS:

Pro 4, Kyle LeDuc

Pro 2, Rob MacCachren

Pro Lite, Ryan Beat

Pro Buggy, Darren Hardesty

Mod Kart, Trey D. Gibbs

ROUND 10 WINNERS:

Pro 4, Kyle LeDuc

Pro 2, Rob MacCachren

Pro Lite, Brandon Arthur

Pro Buggy, Keaton Swayne

Mod Kart, Christopher Polvoorde