For the second year, TORC: The Off-Road Championship Presented by AMSOIL is bringing its brand of short-course off-road racing to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, celebrating its 75th year.
The Legendary Buffalo Chip Powersports Complex is hosting the Battle at the Chip Aug. 4-5, an event as tough as the bikers who have come to Sturgis, S.D., for three-quarters of a century.
At this event last year, 2015 PRO 2WD rookie Keegan Kincaid made his class points debut, showing the off-road world he was ready. After his father, Jeff, suffered a nasty crash on Monday of Race Week, Keegan jumped into his dad’s Cooper Tire-sponsored ride and led most of Tuesday’s race, only to be beaten by Chad Hord. The next day, however, was all Keegan, taking the top step of the podium after a dominating performance. Kincaid has put together two more victories since then, a weekend sweep at Crandon, and four runner-up finishes. Defending class champion and current points leader CJ Greaves, in his Monster Energy Toyota, has to be seen as a favorite coming into this event based on his momentum leaving Charlotte.
In PRO 4WD, Johnny Greaves took a win in front of thousands of fans, hundreds of those astride their glorious iron horses in the bikes-only section, a feature offered to bikers again this year. Greaves, in his Toyota, had a strong weekend at The Chip last year with a win and a runner-up, but just as CJ Greaves is a favorite in PRO 2WD, the Maxxis Tire-sponsored Toyota has to be considered a front runner in the four-wheel drive class as well at the track he made his PRO 4WD debut at last year. He comes into Sturgis with a six-point lead over his dad, but third-place Scott Douglas, with a pair of podiums at The Battle of the Chip last year, is poised to be a spoiler at this treacherous track in his AMSOIL/Cooper Tires/Borla Exhaust-sponsored machine.
Finally, in PRO Light, the podium is wide open in a field full of young, hungry racers. Doug Mittag, dominating the class this year, had a strong race last year and is a frontrunner for the win as the current points leader thanks in part to the Cooper Tire Discoverer STT Pro tires he races on. Cam Reimers, with two podiums this year with Liquid Wrench, was strong in Sturgis in 2014 with two top-five finishes. Luke Johnson, who has seen his Cooper Tire team make a 180-degree turn from last year, should also factor into this year’s hunt for the checkered flag. In addition, veteran Shawn Morris, fresh off a runner-up finish in Charlotte with his Kenda team and rookie Kyle Hart, chalking up victories at tracks he’s never raced at, will make this class very interesting.
To see the event live at The Legendary Buffalo Chip Powersports Complex, tickets are available at TORCSeries.com/Tickets and to see the race live and online, head to TORCSeries.com Tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 4-5 at 3 p.m. MST. Fans can also follow all the action on TORC’s social media platforms at Facebook.com/TORC and on Twitter and Instagram at @TORCOffRoad.
