Pressed into last minute double duty, Stronghold Motorsports off road racing prodigy, RJ Anderson made his impressive Pro2 debut at Miller Motorsports Park.
|
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Surely Charles Dickens wasn't writing about the paradox of short course racing, yet those 12 words succinctly capture Stronghold Motorsports Round 5 and 6 performance at Surprise, Arizona's Speedworld Off Road Park.
Two frames after this picture was taken Jeremy and his Pro2 lay in a heap on the track as stunned fans feared for his safety.
|
The best in this case was 19-year-old off road racing prodigy, RJ Anderson's absolute dusting of the competition. The weekend sweep of both rounds gave Anderson four victories on the season and helped him extend his lead in the chase for the championship in the ProLite division. The worst was clearly not good, and in the split-seconds that it was going down in front of stunned, slack-jawed fans; it appeared as though it might be a truly wicked crash. The star of this YouTube, "This is short course" racing moment, was none other than seven-time Supercross Champion, Jeremy McGrath.
With only a few laps remaining, and a three-way skirmish for second place underway, McGrath entered a blind turn just before the largest tabletop jump on the track. Forced to hold his position, McGrath could only watch as the No.17 and 10 vehicles directly in front of him collided, slowing traffic dramatically. For an instant it appeared McGrath was about to pull-off a spectacular move, flying through the air over the tabletop and over the collision. This being short course racing though, where anything can happen and usually does, the No.17 zigged when it should have zagged, accelerating into the blind side of the landing. McGrath's 4,000 pound truck had nowhere to go but smack-dab on top of the No.17 truck under full momentum. McGrath's Pro2 launched off the roof of No.17 and into a stunning crash that resulted in cataclysmic damage to his truck.
Anderson left Miller Motorsports Park having extended his lead in the ProLite title chase at the halfway point of the season.
|
"There is always an enormous amount of contact in short course off road racing. Jeremy had been fighting hard throughout the race for position, and with Carl Renezeder and Greg Adler battling in front of him, and taking their past history into consideration, it was almost inevitable that there was going to be some contact between those two," reported Patrick Wagenbrenner, Marketing Director for Stronghold Motorsports.
"Jeremy was racing a smart race and he was looking for his opening, so when Adler and Renezeder got together for that moment, things were looking very good. Then when Carl rolled back over the tabletop as Jeremy was flying over, there was an immediate moment of 'Oh No!' as Jeremy literally flew over the jump on top of Carl and slid across the top of his roof."
"My very next thought was wondering if Jeremy was safe. It was a relief to know that he walked away from an incident like that uninjured. As a team, our thoughts then shifted to the truck itself and knowing that the crew had their work cut out for them in getting the truck ready for the next day. This is intense racing and with back to back rounds on an event weekend, you have to be on your game each day. There was an incredible amount of damage but, as we knew they would, our team did everything necessary to put the truck back on the track for the next round."
After a marathon night of repairs on McGrath's truck he was back to full-throttle for Round 6 the following day.
|
Undaunted by the severity of the destruction, McGrath's mechanics, joined by the entire Stronghold Motorsports crew, were up to the task of completely restoring his Pro2 truck in time for Round 6 the following day. On Sunday McGrath immediately restored order by returning to the same impressive form he displayed in Round 5, working his way into second place and pushing for the lead. But, with just two laps to go and still in second position, McGrath's truck drifted wide in a long sweeping turn and he relinquished two spots. McGrath was forced to settle for a hard fought fourth place finish.
Next up for the K&N sponsored team was Round 7 and 8 at Miller Motorsports Park in the heart of Utah's picturesque Tooele Valley. Leading the charge for Stronghold Motorsports once again was RJ Anderson, who along with his normal duties of piloting his 425 horse powered ProLite truck, was tapped to fill in for McGrath in the series marquis Pro2 division. Stepping up to the plate Anderson made an inspiring debut with a pair of top ten finishes including an impressive 6th place result in Round 7.
While his focus in the Pro2 class was to gain valuable seat time and to complete each race with a solid result, Anderson's single-minded objective was to continue along his path to the ProLite title. To that end Anderson finished 9th in Round 7 despite an incident with another driver that left him shuffled back in the pack. In Round 8, recovering from yet another incident as he was fighting for the lead, Anderson displayed his resilience and perseverance to the standing room only crowd, as he continued to brawl until the checkered flag for a third place result. In taking home his sixth Lucas Oil Off Road racing trophy, including the four wins in 2012 ProLite competition, Anderson demonstrated that he is indeed the class of the field. Also celebrating a podium result with Anderson was 2010 ProBuggy champion and Round 4 winner, Cameron Steele who finished second.
Although Anderson took some serious abuse in his welcome to Pro2 action, he remained poised enough to collect a 9th and 6th place finish.
|
"RJ left Miller Motorsports Park having extended his lead in the ProLite title chase at the halfway point of the season," commented Wagenbrenner. "He may be only 19, but he has been very poised and keeps his composure despite taking some hard licks on the track. Winning a short course off road championship isn't easy, especially with 25 other guys on the track that want to put themselves in the position to win at all costs."
"As for Cameron, he has always been a buggy guy and he's shown that he's extremely comfortable behind the wheel of the ProBuggy. On a tight, technical course, he fought hard for his podium at Miller. Overall RJ has been strong all season and Cameron has had some success at Glen Helen Raceway, where we are headed for Rounds 9 and 10. Jeremy has had some great races so far this season while Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg has been making tremendous strides adapting to the big horsepower of the Pro2. We anticipate having a strong showing at Glen Helen. Glen Helen is important to our team. Being in such close proximity to our Riverside, California headquarters, we will have a large number of our friends, family and sponsors in attendance. It is important to us as a team to give them something to celebrate."
Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
