Rockstar Energy Golden State Off Road Nationals from Glen Helen

Return of the Mac.

On the heels of a brief summer break from competition, the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, made its anticipated return to action to kick off the stretch run of the 2019 season. Just two events and three rounds of racing remained as the world’s most talented off-road racers made their second visit to famed Glen Helen Raceway, where a doubleheader was on deck at the Rockstar Energy Golden State Off Road Nationals, presented by General Tire.

The two-day showcase during this incredibly crucial period of the championship across all nine classes featured the trademark competitiveness that makes the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series stand alone in the racing world. While the drama continued to mount in the chase for each respective division title, it’s hard to ague that no driver enjoyed themselves more than former champion Jeremy “Showtime” McGrath. After stepping away from full-time competition for the 2019 season, the 2017 Pro 2 Champion decided to dust off his helmet, racing suit, and driving shoes for a one-off appearance at his home race. The “King of Supercross” showed absolutely no rust from his time away from the door-banging action of short-course off-road, and emerged triumphant on both Saturday and Sunday in the Pro 2 class to capture the weekend sweep.

Pro 2

All season long, the battle at the front of the Pro 2 class has been exceptional. Entering Glen Helen, four different drivers had broke through for victory, and all four of those exceptional talents – Jerett Brooks, Rodrigo Ampudia, Brian Deegan, and defending champion Rob MacCachren – were in the thick of the hunt for this season’s title thanks to those victories. With his trio of wins, Brooks carried a slight edge and much-needed momentum into San Bernardino, but no one was ready for McGrath to come in and spoil the party.

A record number of seven trucks were equipped with the new Pro 2M engine at Glen Helen, and in his first race with the next-gen motor McGrath grabbed the pole ahead of Ampudia for Saturday’s opening race. To no ones surprise, Brooks paced the group of open engine trucks, but with a much deeper field of Pro 2M trucks to deal with, Brooks and the rest of the open engine drivers were going to have their work cut out for them.

When the Pro 2M lineup took off from the standing start it was McGrath to jumped out to the lead over Ampudia and Andrew Carlson. When the open trucks launched a short time later, Brooks easily paced that group and immediately went to work on closing the deficit. Out front, McGrath had his truck dialed in and he opened up a significant gap over Ampudia, who continued to fend off Carlson. It was likewise for Brooks, who looked to definitively be the class of the open field and ran all by himself in catching the tail end of the Pro 2M lineup. By the time the competition caution flew at the halfway point of the race, Brooks had fought his way up to third as the lone open truck sandwiched in between a slew of Pro 2M trucks, led by McGrath and Ampudia.

When racing resumed on the staggered restart, Brooks’ ability to race into the top three proved to be a significant advantage in his quest to catch the leaders as he enjoyed a clear track. As McGrath and Ampudia continued with their shrinking advantage out front, Brooks was on a mission to track them down. With a handful of laps to go the caution flew again after Deegan and RJ Anderson got stuck together on the track. On the staggered restart, McGrath and Ampudia held a slight advantage of about six seconds over Brooks, and that lead was minimized a bit more after McGrath’s truck hit a rut and lost some momentum, briefly halting the progress of the top two. Another caution halted the field one final time, but on this restart Brooks was right where he wanted to be as he had successfully passed Ampudia for second. As he tracked down McGrath, Brooks’ hopes for victory were dashed when he suffered a flat rear tire and was forced to come into the pit. That handed second back to Ampudia, with Brandon Arthur in third. A short time later, Arthur took advantage of a bobble by Ampudia to move into second. A wild final lap saw Ampudia lose another spot to Cory Winner, only to have Winner spin in front of Ampudia on the final turn and halt both drivers. That opened the door for Anderson to steal third. McGrath went wire to wire to take the win, with Arthur second and Anderson third

Saturday Pro 2 Results

1.#2 Jeremy McGrath
2.#6 Brandon Arthur
3.#37 RJ Anderson
4.#38 Brian Deegan
5.#36 Rodrigo Ampudia

If Saturday was any indication, the battle for the Pro 2 win on Sunday was destined to be exciting. Jeremy McGrath shocked everyone with his dominant performance, and he was in a position to do it again after he posted the fastest lap time of the Pro 2M trucks and started at the head of the field, while Brooks did the same for the open trucks. When the Pro 2M trucks took off on the staggered start to get the action underway, McGrath assumed his spot at the head of the field, followed by Andrew Carlson and Cory Winner. When the open trucks launched off the line, Brooks controlled the head of the lineup over RJ Anderson. An early caution forced a restart, from which McGrath easily maintained his control of the lead, while Cory Winner jumped up into second. As everyone kept an eye on the open trucks, Brooks and Anderson started to close in near the halfway point. Brooks broke into the top five and then into the top four right at the halfway mark of the race. The caution flew again with just six laps to go.

When they restarted, a handful of seconds separated Brooks from the trio of Pro 2M trucks ahead of him and he went to work on tracking them down. While McGrath continued to lead, Winner kept him honest from second, while both Brooks and Anderson made their move around Ampudia to take over third and fourth, respectively. The caution flew a couple more times in the final laps, which ultimately worked into the favor of both McGrath and Winner. The pace of the top two, combined with Brooks’ inability to get into a rhythm to close the deficit, ultimately resulted in the first 1-2 finish for Pro 2M trucks in series history. McGrath completed the perfect weekend, going wire to wire in both races, by taking the checkered flag 1.7 seconds ahead of Winner. Brooks followed in third.

While Brooks’ third-place finish on Sunday salvaged a tough weekend, his 12th-place effort on Saturday ended up costing him control of the Pro 2 point lead as Ampudia’s pair of fifth-place finishes was enough to put him in control of the standings heading into the final round. Just five points sit between the two, setting the stage for an epic finale.

Sunday Pro 2 Results

1.#2 Jeremy McGrath
2.#16 Cory Winner
3.#77 Jerett Brooks
4.#37 RJ Anderson
5.#36 Rodrigo Ampudia

Pro 2 Points

1.#36 Rodrigo Ampudia – 378
2.#77 Jerett Brooks – 373
3.#38 Brian Deegan – 353
4.#37 RJ Anderson – 347
5.#21 Rob MacCachren – 336

Pro 4

Following a strong outing at the last stop of the 2019 season, multi-time champion Kyle LeDuc was able to put some distance between himself and his Pro 4 rivals coming into Glen Helen. The second-generation racer carried an 18-point lead over defending champion RJ Anderson as the weekend began, with Doug Mittag just an additional point back in third. As the only three race winners this season, it seemed destined that the battle for victory at the San Bernardino doubleheader would come down to one of these three.

When they came to take the green flag to begin the opening Pro 4 race of the weekend on Saturday, it wasn’t surprising to see LeDuc capitalize on his pole position to assume the early lead over Mittag. Adrian Cenni slotted into third, while Anderson was fighting hard against Greg Adler in a battle for fourth. A slight miscue on the opening lap by Mittag gave LeDuc a lot of breathing room out front, but Mittag started to chip away at the deficit. Behind them, a patient Anderson worked his way by Cenni for third and gave chase to his rivals. Unfortunately for Mittag, his early incident proved to be detrimental to his truck as the front left tire slowly flattened with each passing lap. As his pace started to drop, Mittag lost his hold of second to Anderson and then lost third to Adler, forcing him to duck into the pits just before the competition caution.

When the second half of the race got underway, LeDuc resumed his torrid pace out front as Anderson gave chase from second. As he looked to rebound from his troubles, something appeared to fail on the same right front of Mittag’s truck, eliminating him from contention and forcing the caution for a second time. When the racing resumed it turned into a battle between LeDuc, Anderson and Adler for the win, with LeDuc maintaining the upper hand he held all race long. With just a few laps to go LeDuc carried too much momentum into a corner and nearly spun, which brought him to a stop in the middle of the racing line. A hard-charging Anderson had nowhere to go but hard into the side of LeDuc, but the champ was able to continue on with the lead. LeDuc’s truck didn’t re-fire, which handed second to Adler. The caution flew for the incident and when the green flag waved one last time Anderson was able to bring home his second win of the season over Adler, while Cenni soldiered home in third.

Saturday Pro 4 Results

1.#37 RJ Anderson
2.#10 Greg Adler
3.#11 Adrian Cenni
4.#99 Kyle LeDuc
5.#81 Doug Mittag

After a disappointing end to his afternoon on Saturday, Kyle LeDuc came into Sunday in search of redemption. Based on qualifying times, he had the fastest truck at Glen Helen, and barring any additional mistakes or issues with his truck, it’d be tough for any of his rivals to outrun him. LeDuc started on the pole for the weekend finale, flanked by Doug Mittag to his right and RJ Anderson right behind him. A good start at the drop of the green was going to be crucial, and LeDuc nailed it, quickly seizing control of the top spot into the first turn. As the early laps unfolded, LeDuc, Mittag and Anderson had a strong hold of the top three, with Mittag keeping LeDuc honest up front. Just before the halfway point of the race, Anderson entered a turn too fast and got his truck up on two wheels, which carried him off the track. He suffered damage in the excursion and was forced to retire, handing third place to Adrian Cenni. The caution eventually flew as Anderson was unable to continue.

On the restart Mittag pushed to try and pressure LeDuc into a mistake, but LeDuc withstood the challenge and pulled away. A caution flag with a handful of laps remaining bunched the field up again, and Mittag continued to do all he could to try and unsettle LeDuc when the racing resumed. Mittag made a series of impressive moves that allowed him to get on the inside of LeDuc a couple times, and on the final lap he made his biggest move of the race, successfully getting door-to-door with LeDuc. Unfortunately, Mittag carried too much speed into the corner, got unsettled on dirt piled up on the edge of the track and flipped. LeDuc cruised to his fifth win of the season over Cenni, while Greg Adler came home third.

The misfortune from his main rivals proved to be beneficial to LeDuc in the Pro 4 championship standings, where he now holds a 26-point lead over Anderson heading into the final round.

Sunday Pro 4 Results

1.#99 Kyle LeDuc
2.#11 Adrian Cenni
3.#10 Greg Adler
4.#81 Doug Mittag
5.#37 RJ Anderson

Pro 4 Points

1.#99 Kyle LeDuc – 417
2.#37 RJ Anderson – 391
3.#81 Doug Mittag – 388
4.#11 Adrian Cenni – 373
5.#10 Greg Adler – 372

Friday Pro Buggy

With podium finishes at all but one race this season, Eliott Watson’s two victories and impressive consistency landed him atop the Pro Buggy standings heading into Glen Helen, where he brought in a comfortable 19-point lead over the field. Parity has been paramount in this class, and while Watson’s ability to stay out of trouble ultimately gave him the edge, it’s still a wide open championship battle with four different winners and six different podium finishers up to this point.

Chris Nunes, who entered the weekend second in points, started on the pole for the first race of the doubleheader on Saturday, with Matthew Brister alongside him on the front row. Watson rolled off the grid in fifth. When the green flag waved to kick things off Nunes bumped his way into the lead over Brister, while a wild battle for third ensued, with Bud Ward ultimately settling into the position just ahead of Watson. Out front, Nunes and Brister had checked out on the field and continued to spar for the top spot. More than a couple buggy lengths never separated the leaders, but Nunes withstood the pressure through to the competition caution at the halfway point of the race.

When they returned to racing, Nunes and Brister resumed their battle and once again opened up a big gap over the rest of the field. With the clear track, Nunes was able to maintain his hold of the lead, forcing Brister to search for alternate lines in an effort to avoid the roost. A late caution bunched the field up on final time and set the stage for a sprint to the checkered flag. Nunes nailed the restart to put a little distance between he and Brister, while Watson made an impressive move under Ward to jump up to third. The pace of the top two put some separation between them and Watson, and the head-to-head battle for the win heated up on the final laps as Brister put the pressure on Nunes. It was to no avail as Nunes carried on to his second win of the season by 1.5 seconds over Brister, with Watson in third.

Saturday Pro Buggy Results

1.#2 Chris Nunes
2.#5 Matthew Brister
3.#3 Eliott Watson
4.#98 Raymond Bowers
5.#59 Trevor Briska

Feeling the momentum of his Saturday triumph, Chris Nunes entered Sunday’s Pro Buggy race as the hottest driver in the division, and he had his sights set on a weekend sweep. Nunes started right where he wanted to in order to chase that sweep, grabbing the pole for the Sunday finale. Trevor Briska started alongside him. A great start at the drop of the green saw Nunes put his buggy up front from the get go, followed by Briska and Matthew Brister. The lead trio was able to check out on the field, with Nunes leading the way through to the competition caution at the midway point of the race.

When the action resumed, Nunes picked up where he left off, while Briska and Brister continued their fierce battle for second. It ultimately proved to be more of the same from the top three, as Nunes pulled away from the field and both Briska and Brister sticking to within a buggy length of one another for the bulk of the race. Nunes enjoyed a near-perfect wire-to-wire victory to clinch the weekend sweep and secure his third win of the season by 2.4 seconds over Briska, with Brister a close third.

The dominant weekend by Nunes allowed him to move into a tie with Eliott Watson for the championship lead in the Pro Buggy standings. Both drivers have been great all season long, and their battle will go down to the wire at the final round.

Sunday Pro Buggy Results

1.#2 Chris Nunes
2.#59 Trevor Briska
3.#5 Matthew Brister
4.#3 Eliott Watson
5.#17 Bud Ward

Pro Buggy Points

1.#2 Chris Nunes – 388
2.#3 Eliott Watson – 388
3.#5 Matthew Brister – 373
4.#17 Bud Ward – 354
5.#15 Trey Gibbs – 344