Kyle LeDuc wins another Lucas Oil Challenge Cup

ABOVE: LeDuc vs. Barron in Pro4.


Many types of racing that have attempted a post-season, take-no-prisoners, big-money race. Most have failed. But it has become a staple of short course off road racing and it is, in the eyes of most onlookers, spectacular. The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series version, the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup, proved exactly that on Saturday night at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park, although the winners would hardly be a surprise to most.

Chad George, who won the Pro Buggy Challenge Cup race (LEFT) after securing the season championship – and whose Challenge Cup race was relatively tame – went so far as to suggest it be renamed “The Carnage Cup.” Some drivers, knowing they have all winter to rebuild their trucks (or build new ones), don’t seem to care if they load their race vehicles on the trailer with a shovel. With a big purse on the line, an inverted start and no championships to be won or lost, there is really no incentive to hold anything back.

Each class of racing save the big trucks has its own Challenge Cup race. Other than the factors noted above, there is really no difference from any other race. It’s the finale, where two classes with different characteristics meet, that provides the real spectacle. The Pro 4 vs. Pro 2 race is always a highlight, and this year was no different.

The Pro 4s starting well back of the Pro 2s due to their speed advantage, and the top 10 in season points in each class are inverted. Add in the fact that 27 trucks started on a a track a little over a mile long, and there is excitement everywhere.

It’s interesting to see which truck those that have access to both will choose. Most this year – Rob MacCachren, Greg Adler, Todd LeDuc – chose Pro 4, while Carl Renezeder chose to start farther up in the Pro 2 (although his Pro 4 had been through a lot in the weekend’s previous races).

While last year’s race ended up falling in favor of Pro 2, it became quickly apparent that the Pro 4s would have an edge on this night. That was especially true when a yellow on lap 3 brought them onto the tail of the Pro 2s. Even before that yellow, the fiberglass had flown – Johnny Greaves, who, with his son CJ, was making a one-off appearance in the series this weekend, had a spectacular endo in Turn 1, but landed on his wheels and kept going, minus most of the bodywork.

Up front, Marty Hart and Robby Woods were battling, and Renezeder was running strong as well. But then Hart struck difficulty, and Renezeder over-rotated in Turn 4, and Woods was out front. Alex Barron, making his first appearance since a nasty crash at this same track back in April, was up front in Pro 4, but season champ (and four-time winner at this track in 2014) Kyle LeDuc was coming. They were both making their way quickly through the Pro 2 field, and hit the top 5 eight laps in.

Rodrigo Ampudia had taken the lead from Woods, but it didn’t last long. LeDuc put his Pro 4 in front by the end of that lap, and Barron followed a short time later.

The night’s most spectacular incident brought out the next full-course yellow. Either his engine failed with gusto, or something in the fuel system let go, but Jeremy McGrath’s Pro 2 spit out a huge fireball going through the whoops. His night was done, but he was fine.

On the restart it was going to be a LeDuc and Barron battle, but LeDuc’s Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Ford seemed to have the measure of Barron’s Toyota. At this point, it seemed like the only question was how far back the first Pro 2 would be, and which driver would be on top in the class.

For a while it was Ampudia, but he rolled in Turn 1. Then it was RJ Anderson, and he would hold the position until the end. By the time the checkers flew, the top five trucks were Pro 4s, with LeDuc and Barron leading the charge, followed by Ricky Johnson, CJ Greaves and Todd LeDuc. Kyle LeDuc took home a $30,000 reward for his performance.

“That’s insane racecar driving,” said LeDuc on the podium. “It looks pretty routine from the outside. but half the time, you literally see nothing, and there’s four race trucks over your hood, jumping across the front of you. This is one of the coolest sports on planet earth.”

With his performance so far at Lake Elsinore, it was no surprise to anyone that Kyle LeDuc won the Challenge Cup. And if anyone had been paying attention, the result in the Pro Lite race was foretold as well. Jerrett Brooks (ABOVE) had been on an absolute tear since returning to the series for the first time in Round 13 at Las Vegas. He won there, he won Round 15 at Lake Elsinore, and he won the weather-postponed Round 14 at Lake Elsinore.

Still, he had to start well back thanks to his being outside the top 10 in points. Kyle Hart was on pole, and leapt to the front, followed by Jimmy Fishback and Pro Lite Rookie of the Year Gavin Harlien. Sheldon Creed and Brian Deegan, who battled all season long for the title, were moving up through the field together, but Brooks was right behind them. Deegan’s truck didn’t last to the end of the race, and Brooks was soon in the top five while Hart and Harlien battled up front. Hart had an encounter with the wall, and then it was Harlien in the lead, followed by Casy Currie and Brooks.

It looked like it was all over for Harlien as, on a lap 13 restart, he over-rotated in Turn 1. Fortunately for him, though, he brought out the yellow. Thanks to the Last-Completed-Lap rule, the order went back to what it was before the attempted restart, which was also fortunate for Currie, who had been passed by both Brooks and Creed.

Harlien’s rejoicing was short-lived, however, as Brooks was not going to be denied his weekend sweep. He pushed his Cooper Tires/Maxima Racing Oils Nissan inside Harlien in the right-hand Turn 3, and went on to win, followed by Harlien and Creed.

“After 12 laps of running my race in the front, the pressure got to me on that restart,”said Harlien. “I just took a deep breath and got a lucky break that they put me up front and I just hit my marks like I was doing in the beginning. Ive got to give it up to Jerrett for the sick pass he did on me. I’m just pumped to get a second place.”

Brooks noted that he just bided his time before he really started to move – carefully – through the pack.

“That race is pretty insane,” said Brooks. “I started 11th, and it was pretty muddy the first few laps, so I stayed cool and just started trying to pick ’em off. Gavin [Harlien] was just hauling out there, and I knew he was going to be fast. It came down to the last few laps, and I really wanted to win this and sweep the weekend. It’s so awesome to come out here and race against the West Coast boys and be just as competitive.”

Now the teams get to rebuild – or in the case of several drivers who will be building new trucks or changing classes, start anew – their trucks for next season. For the fans, there’s still television. Look for the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup races on CBS Sports Network on Dec. 7 (Pro 2 vs. Pro 4) and Dec. 14 (Pro Buggy and Pro Lite), with later re-airs on MAVTV.