Tough Day for Radar Tiresat TORC Bark River

Sunday proved to be a challenging day for the Radar Tires racers during the Throwdown in the U.P. Part 2, the 10th round of competition in the TORC: The Off Road Championship.
 
Luke Johnson, driver of the No. 14 Project648 Motorsports Nissan Frontier PRO Light, qualified eighth for today’s race.  While staging, the cooling fans fuse blew and the engine began to overheat. The team cannibalized a fuse from the oil cooling system while on the grid. Shortly after the green, the replacement radiator cooling fuse blew. Johnson pitted on Lap 4 and the Project648 Motorsports team cooled the truck by pouring water on the radiator. Johnson rejoined the race in 19th position and charged through the field en route to a 12th place finish.
 
Cam Reimers, driver of the No. 21 SSI Decal/TiLube PRO Light, qualified in the 11th position.  On Lap 3, Reimers punctured the right rear Radar Renegade R5 tire in Turn 3, the same turn that proved to be difficult during the Bark River event in June. Reimers was ranked 22nd of the field.
 
Ian Harris, driver of the No. 22 SSI Decal/TiLube PRO Light, qualified in 20th position. Harris found his race pace and rhythm that eluded him during Saturday’s race. When the checkered flag flew, Harris was in 17th place.
 
“We had high expectations for Team Radar and we fell short today,” said Gary Blalock, Radar Tires Motorsports Manager. “Luke had electrical problems just before the start. They seemed to have things patched up but they might have damaged the engine and transmission. Cam continues to struggle with the chassis at Bark River. We’re still working on the right combination for Cam to excel. Ian is still learning and building confidence. He just has to turn up the wick to be more competitive. Despite the issues today, I’m proud of all three racers - none of them gave up and they all finished the race. We must improve our performance. We’ll take our notes from here and apply what we learned to Sturgis.”
 
Radar Tires used the LT265/75R16 and 32X11.50R15 Radar Renegade R5 tires for this two-day event.
 
The Throwdown in the U.P. Part 2 can be seen on NBC Sports at 1:30 p.m. ET on August 3.
 
Next up for Radar Tires in TORC competition is the Battle at the Chip at Sturgis, S.D., on Aug 5-6.