Double Victory For CJ Greaves At ERX Motor Park

It was an exciting day of firsts for TORC: The Off-Road Championship presented by AMSOIL as high powered trucks tackled the brand new ERX Motor Park for the first time, and PRO UTV racing debuted in the series.
 
Double defending champion CJ Greaves put in an outstanding performance on Saturday to win Saturday's PRO 4WD and PRO 2WD races, while hometown favorite Andrew Carlson took his first career victory in Atturo Tire PRO Light.
 
Drivers had nothing but rave reviews for the brand new TORC Series track, which offered big action for fans and exciting challenges for drivers as the sandy surface evolved during competition. "Hats off to all the Carlson crew and everyone who worked their butts off to put this track together," said Greaves. "It's one of a kind."

PRO 4WD
CJ Greaves capped an exciting opening day at the ERX Motor Park with a win in the PRO 4WD class. He battled his father, three-time champion Johnny Greaves, to take the win. "He doesn't make mistakes very often," said the younger Greaves, who also won the PRO 2WD contest on Saturday. "I chased him that whole race and was just waiting for that one mistake."
 
The mistake happened with one lap to go as the veteran racer bicycled on two wheels, losing just enough momentum for his son to make the pass for the lead. Johnny Greaves had to settle for second, while Chad Hord finished third.
 
PRO 4WD Results:
1.         CJ Greaves
2.         Johnny Greaves
3.         Chad Hord
4.         Scott Douglas
5.         Mike Jenkins
6.         Ross Hoek
7.         Kent Brascho
8.         Mark Kvamme
 
PRO 2WD
CJ Greaves earned his fourth PRO 2WD win of the season on Saturday, locking down his position after rival Keegan Kincaid crashed out of the lead.
 
"It sucks to see Keegan go out like that," Greaves said. "He and I have been running for the championship the last couple years and I love racing with him. I was waiting for the caution and picking out the lines I needed to get quicker and suddenly, I came over the jump and saw him get a little bit sideways and just went flipping."
 
Kincaid was unharmed, but his truck was badly damaged and it is not yet known whether it can be repaired in time for Sunday's Round 8 on this doubleheader weekend. Arie Luyendyk Jr. also showed promise early and was running as high as second, but he was forced to retire from the race with a mechanical issue. His team is working to return the truck to competition for Sunday.
 
PRO 2WD Results:
1.         CJ Greaves
2.         Brad Lovell
3.         Nick Tyree
4.         Arie Luyendyk Jr.
5.         Keegan Kincaid
6.         Rodney Van Eperen
 
Atturo Tire PRO Light
Andrew Carlson took an unforgettable hometown win in the Atturo Tire PRO Light class on Saturday, battling back a hard charging Travis Dinsmore to earn his first-ever career victory.
 
"This is awesome!" said Carlson, whose family developed the new Elk River track. "I know how much work went into this whole deal and for it to be this cool, it's just awesome. It wasn't easy. Travis kept me honest."
 
While Carlson and Dinsmore battled up front, a war raged behind them. Chad Rayford brought out the red flag with a scary nosedive into the dirt after a big jump. He was unharmed but the truck was too badly damaged to continue.
 
When racing resumed, Kyle Hart -- who dropped to last when he ducked into the hot pit with a left-rear flat after contact with Shawn Morris -- made an impressive move from last to third to edge onto the podium. The result was enough to keep him in the Atturo Tire PRO Light points lead with six races to go in the 2016 championship season.
 
Atturo Tire PRO Light Results:
1.         Andrew Carlson
2.         Travis Dinsmore
3.         Kyle Hart
4.         Luke Johnson
5.         Kyle Kleiman
6.         Bobby Runyan Jr.
7.         Cam Reimers
8.         Jake Lunderby
9.         Andrew Kossak
10.       Cody Kleiman
11.       Ben Roper
12.       Shawn Morris
13.       Chad Rayford
 
UTV PRO
Jason Luburgh took the first checkered flag of PRO UTV competition in TORC: The Off-Road Championship this weekend as the new class of racers joined the series for the very first time. "It's been a great weekend," said Luburgh from the Winner's Circle. "The track is amazing and we're really glad to be part of this series."
 
A combined race saw UTV PRO Stocks and UTV PRO Modifieds racing side-by-side. UTV PRO Stock racer Nathan Stowers led the field to the green, but dropped back as off-road veteran Cory Weller and Jason Luburgh moved to the front of the field.
 
Luburgh shot into the lead when Weller faltered in the hairpin turn. A big roll from UTV PRO Stock racer Jeremy Houle brought out the competition caution and Luburgh held strong to the line for a win. Second place in UTV PRO Stock went to Weller, while Zach Szymik took third.
 
In UTV PRO Modified, it was Darin Howie who took the win with Matt Schuette in second. Scott Decker rounded out the podium in third.
 
UTV racers join the TORC Series this year for championship stops in Elk River, Minnesota, this weekend, Bark River, Michigan, July 30-31, and Crandon, Wisconsin, September 2-4. The TORC Series plans to expand the schedule in 2017, bringing UTV racers into the entire championship calendar.