Lucas Oil Off Road: On to Reno

The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series heads to its most dramatic track with the points battle heating up.

From its southernmost destination to one of its most northern, from its flattest track to the track with the biggest elevation changes in short course, the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series moves form its successful inaugural event in Baja California to the Wild West Motorsports Park outside Reno/Sparks, Nev.

There is likely no greater contrast than that between the courses at Estero Beach and Wild West. Estero Beach is built...well, on a beach. Wild West is in a former quarry, and features big elevation changes at each end with huge dropoffs and several big tabletops – and that doesn't even take into account the massive difference in racing surface. While the drivers praised the atmosphere and fan enthusiasm in Ensenada, they praise the track in Reno, and many will cite it as a favorite.

But it's also been the site of many a lost championship. As the points battles heat up, the competition in August in Northern Nevada gets fierce. A bad weekend here, especially for a driver already behind in the points, can put an end to a championship dream. And it's a tough track to tame. Last year, when the series visited the track twice, some drivers who won two races in the first go-round failed to podium in the second, and some who had poor showings in May won in August. It's not a place where predictions come easy.

So one has to wonder what that portends for racers on a big streak, such as Kyle LeDuc, riding a string of 10 Pro 4 victories into Wild West? While his standing in the points is almost unassailable (54 points over Rob MacCachren), there's no doubt that he'd like to keep the streak alive – but he's going to have to do it where last year's eight-race run came to an end.

MacCachren (LEFT) comes into Reno with a pretty solid cushion in Pro 2, based more on consistency than a a streak like LeDuc's. Bryce Menzies has more victories in 2015, but some bad finishes have left with with a 28-point deficit to MacCachren. The good news is he has a pretty solid lead over Jeremy McGrath, who's apparent breakthrough season has suffered a bit in the last three rounds.

Pro Lite has had five different winners, and four of those are in with a chance for a title. So far, RJ Anderson's five wins and four more podium finishes have him on top, but Jerett Brooks is only 18 points behind with two wins and three other top-threes.

For sheer closeness, it doesn't get much better than Pro Buggy. Every driver in the class has had good and bad days, and the class has an impressive eight different winners in 2015 – Garrett George, Mike Valentine (RIGHT), Chad George, Kevin McCullough, Dave Mason Jr., Darren Hardesty Jr., Sterling Cling and Dale Dondel. Garrett George and Valentine are in a points tie for first place – George has one more win at the moment. Then Chad George, McCullough and Dave Mason are in a dead heat for third, 34 or 35 points behind.

Of that second group, McCullough carries the momentum with a double victory in Ensenada. Just a tick behind those three are Hardesty and Taylor Atchison. While the fight for first seems to be between Garrett George and Valentine, any one of the next five could end up third – or perhaps even better – in the championship. For first, Valentine carries a six-race string of podium finishes into Reno that has allowed him to catch up to early-season leader Garrett George.

The gates at Wild West Motorsports Park open to the public at 11 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday for two full days of racing.

Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Pro Class Championship Standings after 11 of 15 rounds:

Pro 4
Kyle LeDuc 556
Rob MacCachren 502
Bryce Menzies 487

Pro 2
Rob MacCachren 512
Bryce Menzies 484
Jeremy McGrath 443

Pro Lite
RJ Anderson 491
Jerett Brooks473
Brad DeBerti 444

Pro Buggy
Garrett George 488
Mike Valentine 488
Chad George 454
Kevin McCullough 453
Dave Mason 453