Kincaid survives off-road’s wildest finish to sweep Crandon Brush Run

For Crandon, Wisconsin native Keegan Kincaid, the outlook coming into last weekend’s 32nd Forest County Potawatomi Crandon Brush Run weekend was admittedly bleak. The recent and unexpected loss of a crucial sponsor cast doubt on his ability to run the entire 2025 AMSOIL Champ Off-Road season. Yet, he couldn’t imagine withdrawing from one of short-course off-road racing’s biggest weekends that happened to be right in his backyard.

That was the backdrop to Kincaid’s dream weekend at Crandon, one that culminated in his dramatic triumph in what will be remembered as the most insane and spectacular finish in the sport’s 56-year history.

Despite a tight budget, Kincaid had made the pre-season commitment to run all eight stops on the Champ series calendar. That was before last week’s call from longtime supporter Vision Wheels, who informed him that they were suspending all off-road racing commitments effective immediately. It wasn’t just Kincaid, but several other top tier short-course and desert drivers as well as an official partnership with Crandon International Raceway itself.

“Coming into the weekend, we knew the truck would be really good, but the loss of Vision was a real setback,” explained Kincaid. “To end things like that after a lot of successful years was a tough one to take into Crandon.”

Not that his subsequent performance would reflect the negative news. Driving his No. 4 Lucas Oil/Maxxis tire-backed Ford, the 35-year-old Kincaid dominated the Pro 2 category (for two-wheel drive vehicles unlimited trucks), taking home victories in both Saturday and Sunday’s races. Happily, those wins also came with $10,000 in bonus purse money posted by Crandon International and the Forest County Potawatomi Community.

Kincaid’s stage was set for Sunday’s Brush Run weekend finale – the Potawatomi Community Cup race.

The Cup race concept was born and perfected on the vaunted 1.75-mile dirt of Crandon International Raceway. The concept revolves around a field of two-wheel-drive Pro 2 trucks given a timed head start before the faster all-wheel drive Pro 4 are given their green flag. After a clean start, they race for 10 laps uninterrupted by any competition caution flags. Based on the start’s split time (calculated by Crandon’s Fay Statezny after looking at the weekend’s lap times, weather and track conditions) on paper the top Pro 4 should catch the top Pro 2 at or near the end of the 10th lap.

That timed split doesn’t always work out in terms of great racing, but late Sunday Statezny’s secret formula worked to dramatic perfection.

Taking the all-important hole shot in Crandon’s unique Land Rush start, Kincaid took off in front of an angry Pro 2 field. Behind him came the Pro 4s, with the Monster Energy Toyota of CJ Greaves in relentless pursuit. With four laps to go Greaves – who had claimed the last three consecutive Potawatomi Community Cup races – was just over 10 seconds behind but gaining three seconds a lap.

Coming through Crandon’s legendary Turn 1 for the final time it was Kincaid by a couple of truck lengths. Two turns from the end Greaves made his move, banking on the grip and exit speed of his four-wheel-drive Toyota to take the lead. But the two trucks tangled after contact, stalling both drivers for nearly 20 seconds.

“CJ and I just kind of came together. We had enough time there to have conversation together,” joked Kincaid after the race.

The incident allowed the third place Air Force-backed Pro 4 of Kyle Chaney to close the gap, right in time for Kincaid and Greaves to get untangled. The drivers went three wide headed for Crandon’s final 180-degree turn – the appropriately named “Calamity Corner.” A damaged drivetrain hampered Greaves’ speed, but Kincaid led Chaney in the final few feet of the race. Chaney pushed an out of shape Kincaid across the finish line for the win, only to have the front if his truck climb up the back of Kincaid’s Ford. Greaves took a hard-fought third.

After climbing out of the smoldering wreckage, Kincaid saluted an astonished crowd with a victory wave on top of his truck’s roof. He was soon joined by Cheney, and both racers exchanged a handshake and sweaty hug.

“The whole thing is still taking some time to process,” related the now three-time Potawatomi Cup champion on Monday. “I have been getting texts from CJ all day, and we both can’t believe what happened. What are the odds it would end like that?”

Kincaid’s weekend gave him the Champ Pro 2 championship lead after taking the maximum race, qualifying and half-way points available at Crandon. Better yet, his impossible Cup win came with an additional $15,000 check.

Video of the final lap at Crandon (watch below) has gone viral, with a posting on Bar Sports garnering over one million views in less than a day. Kincaid’s supporters at Lucas Oil, Maxxis and others took the internet win, as did the Champ series and Crandon.

For Kincaid, Chaney’s final push to victory came with a path toward his pursuit of a 2025 championship. “This is all extra motivation and feels like Karma came my way,” he concluded. “It really was a perfect weekend.”