Brian Deegan wins wild and crazy Lucas Oil Challenge Cup

The Lucas Oil Challenge Cup has the reputation for being the craziest, most brutal race of the Lucas Oil off Road Racing Series season. There's good reason for that " the championships are decided, the teams have all winter to rebuild the trucks, there's $30,000 on the line and there are two different types of trucks on track with both Pro 4 and Pro 2 going for the win.

The Pro 4s start well behind the Pro 2s due to their faster lap times, and the top 10 in points in each class is inverted. So the fastest Pro 4 drivers have to work their way through most of the Pro 4 competitors and then all the way through the Pro 2 field to win. That's usually what happens; three out of the four prior years, a Pro 4 driver has won it. That's why those who had both trucks to choose from " Greg Adler, Kyle LeDuc, Rob MacCachren and Carl Renezeder " all chose Pro 4s for this year's Challenge Cup at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park.

The Pro 4s usually have a bit of advantage in the sloppy conditions that come from a well-watered track at the beginning of the race. Then the track comes back to the Pro 2s a bit as it gets nice and tacky, then back to a Pro 4 advantage as it dries out and gets slick. The Pro 4s were coming hard at the end, but the Pro 2s were definitely not going to lay down without a fight.

In the beginning it was actually relatively calm for a short course off road race. Bryce Menzies, who had not run a full season and thus had a better start than he might have otherwise thanks to the point inversion, worked his way to the front quickly with Robby Woods in tow. Eric Barron, who won the Pro 4 finale the day before, was at the head of the Pro 4 field, albeit with Kyle LeDuc hot on his heels. Those two produced the first big incident by coming together over the big tabletop jump. It wasn't big enough to stop the racing, but it was enough to take LeDuc out and push the hood of Barron's Toyota into his face.

When the first caution came out, Barron went into the pits to remove the flapping bodywork. That left Adler in front of P4, in 10th overall, with Renezeder right behind. When the race restarted, Adler spun, leaving Renezeder the top Pro 4 while Barron was at the back. By this time, Brian Deegan, who started on the fifth row as the second-place points gatherer in Pro 2 (and the top Pro 2 points-getter in the Challenge Cup) had moved into third overall.

Renezeder continued to march through the Pro 2s, but was the cause of the next caution when he landed tail-first off the big tabletop and tore off the rear bumper. By then he was fifth, behind Menzies, Woods, Deegan and Pat Clark. Ryan Beat was the next Pro 4 in line, right behind Renezeder.

The race had been exciting, but with the laps winding down, it began to get crazy. First Woods took the lead on the restart as Menzies slowed to a stop. So the yellow came out again, and Renezeder was third behind Woods and Deegan. When the race restarted, Woods pulled a tail-slapper similar to Renezeder's of a couple of laps earlier. Renezeder slipped past Deegan and made a hard charge through the rhythm section, attempting to go underneath Woods in the final turn. Instead, he slid hard into Woods and got the worst of it, suffering a half spin and falling toward the back while Woods continued.

?I was trying to run Woods hard, but I didn't want to touch him,? said Deegan (RIGHT), who had the best view of the incident. ?I saw Carl coming like a freight train and I said, ?Take it, dude. I'm not even going to fight for it.' He came in so hot he couldn't even stop and he nailed Woods. Woods battled through some gnarly hits. I thought he was done, but he kept going.?

With Renezeder out of the picture, it looked like the top Pro 2s of Woods and Deegan would be battling it out for the victory. But Barron had quietly snuck up into fourth by the time the final yellow came out, setting fast lap in the process. He made quick work of Ryan Beat in third then set out for victory.

?I got plowed from behind,? said Deegan, who once again had the best view of what turned out to be the race-deciding contact. ?It wasn't just a punt; Barron was pushing me. I was locked on with Barron and he was pushing me all the way off the jump. I got clear, saw a clear track, so I gassed it and went after woods. Barron got by me in Turn 2 on the last lap. I saw Woods leave the bottom open, but he would leave it open then cut down to get a run; that's Pro 2 style. And Barron barreled in there. He went in there and just punted him. I weaved through it and got by Woods and made it to the finish in second.?

Barron was in the lead, but as he came out of the final turn and over the first front straight tabletop, the flag he saw had no white on it " it was all black. In two turns he had gone from leader to ninth once the officials applied what they deemed an appropriate penalty. Barron had no comment on the incident or penalty after the race.

So Deegan, who crossed the line in second in his Rockstar Energy/Makita/Metal Mulisha/Mickey Thompson Tires Ford, was deemed the Challenge Cup winner. Woods, still seeking his first victory " one he was cruelly denied in Las Vegas when he ran a perfect race only to suffer a mechanical failure " was once again the bridesmaid and gracious on the podium, if less so when he sought Barron out post-race and the two exchanged words.

?I don't make the calls. It is what it is,? said Deegan (LEFT). ?They warn us in the drivers meetings numerous times: If you're going to take the leader out of the race, you're not going to win the race. I get it, it's the Challenge Cup for a lot of money, it's a big TV deal. But at the same time you have to respect other drivers and you have to respect racing. I think it was a good call. I think it set a standard.? It was the second time a black flag penalty had been applied in a Challenge Cup race " in 2011, both Adrian Cenni and Renezeder faced penalties due to on-track incidents.

Ryan Beat was third overall and the first Pro 4 in his MAVTV/General Tire Ford.

Pro Lite and Pro Buggy

Instead of having a combined race like Pro 4 and Pro 2, this year both Pro Buggy and Pro Lite had their own races, each with a $10,000 purse to win. As the big trucks do, the top 10 in points in each class were inverted for the start.

In Pro Lite, Justin ?Bean? Smith started on the second row, but made quick work of getting to the front. He was soon joined by RJ Anderson and Sheldon Creed, while newly crowned three-time champ Deegan couldn't seem to make progress through the field.

Anderson attacked Smith, but couldn't get by, and at one point lost enough momentum that Creed slipped into second. Anderson got back around a few laps later, and in the closing stages Bradley Morris joined the fight. On the last lap it all came to a head, as everyone was on the attack.

Anderson tried to go inside Smith in the final corner, but contact left him caught out and Creed slipped by for second while Morris got tangled up in the aftermath and retired on the spot while Smith held on for the victory in his Competitive Metals/Metal Mulisha Ford.

?We knew that Sheldon [Creed] and RJ Anderson were back there and they were ready to battle,? said Smith (BELOW). ?We knew we had to protect our line. We had the truck to beat, but we had to save it for the finish. The last corner I knew those guys were coming and they got into me hard; but I knew if I guarded my inside and stayed on it, then we had it.?

This was Smith's fourth Challenge Cup race win " His previous victories include two in Limited Buggy plus one in the 2011 Pro Buggy vs. Pro Lite race while driving a Buggy. This was his first Pro Lite win.

?We're a blue-collar team and just worked our butts off to get hear, so every dime counts,? he said. ?My hat's off to all the other racers, they raced us clean. But this money means everything to us. I hope everyone knows we're in contention next year, we're coming for the championship, we're coming for those wins every race, time after time.?

Pro Buggy was a race no one seemed to want to win as a well-watered track played havoc with the drivers. First Bradley Morris spun out of the lead in Turn 3 and got whacked a couple of times in the process. Garret George took over the lead, but headed for the pits in the ensuing caution and parked his buggy, leaving John Fitzgerald in the lead.

When the race restarted, Dave Mason Jr. made a big move from fifth to second, with Steven Greinke, who had clinched his second consecutive Pro Buggy championship the day before, stayed in third by passing Eddie Tafoya. Then it was Fitzgerald's turn to spin out of the lead, leaving Mason at the point.

A caution with a few laps left erased Mason's lead, and when the race restarted, Greinke shot by in his SC Fuels/Signpros Racer. Mason over-rotated a bit later, but held onto second over Larry Job as Greinke headed for the checker.
?It's one nice way to end the year,? said Greinke, who won the season finale the day before as well. ?I had no expectations whatsoever of even getting a win for the weekend. It was a real slick track for the Challenge Cup today, so it was really a game of attrition and being patient. The first half of the race was like ice out there. It worked out nicely to be able to end the year with two wins.?
The Lucas Oil Challenge Cup wrapped up another season for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. The Challenge Cup races will be aired next on CBS Sports Network on November 24 and Dec. 1. Look for the 2014 schedule soon, which is expected to include a new venue for the series.

Lucas Oil Challenge Cup winners
Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park

Pro 4 vs. Pro 2    Brian Deegan
Pro Lite              Justin Smith
Pro Buggy          Steven Greinke
Limited Buggy     Lindsay Geiser
Modified Kart      Myles Cheek
Junior 2 Kart       Ricky Gutierrez
Junior 1 Kart       Ricky Gutierrez