Anderson dominates Red Bull Cup at Crandon

Earlier in the week at Crandon International Raceway there was a memorial for Walker Evans, a giant in the off-road racing world and a mentor to RJ Anderson. On Sunday, carrying the familiar paint scheme of Walker Evans Racing, Anderson dominated the 10th Annual Red Bull Cup.

“I just wanted it that bad. We were able to pull the holeshot and I feel like I was cheating out there today, and that's because I had Walker Evans in there riding with me,” Anderson said. “He never, of all the things he won – he won everything once, twice, five times – and he never won a Pro2 vs. Pro4 Cup race. So today, that paint job just won a Pro2 vs. Pro4 Cup race.”

Born at Crandon, the idea of pitting Pro4 and Pro2 race trucks together with a staggered start often produces some intense racing, the Pro 2 and Pro 4 leaders sometimes arriving at the finish close together. On Sunday, the finale to the 56th Polaris National Championships was an all Pro4-affair, with Anderson followed by fellow Pro4 competitors CJ Greaves and Jimmy Henderson.

Ryan Beat got the jump on his Pro2 competition to take the lead with the first start, Jacob Rosales and Keegan Kincaid chasing. Some 30 seconds later, the Pro4 field funneled through Turn 1 with Anderson at the head, followed by Henderson and Andrew Carlson.

Kincaid, who swept the June Crandon weekend including the Cup race and had won both Pro2 races this weekend, seemed to have nothing for Beat and Rosales, and Beat would eventually put a decent gap between himself and his pursuers.

The Pro4s appeared to be making quick work of the Pro2s, which is not always the case. It wasn't long before Anderson was chasing down Beat for the overall lead.

“I feel for them, because I used to race Pro2s back when they had big motors and race tires, and they're at such a disadvantage,” explained Anderson. “Now, once we catch them, there's really not much they can do.

“The track went away fast. We have four-wheel drive and almost 200 more horsepower. They're a sitting duck. They used to be able to hold us on the straightaways, and we could only hold them in the corner, but now on the straights, we've got them there too.”

Anderson rocketed by Beat between Cowboy Hairpin and Turn 1, but Beat wasn't done. Going side by side on the big jump after Turn 1, Beat's Chevrolet got into Anderson's truck, breaking Beat's right-front suspension and ending any hope that he had. Rosales would end up the highest-placing Pro2.

With Beat out of the picture and the top three Pro4s having cleared the Pro2 field, it was up to the Pro4 drivers to battle it out amongst themselves. Greaves, who had had a miserable weekend with a rash of crashes between the three classes he contested, including two that ended with him upside down, gave it his all. After getting into second in Pro4, he could close the gap to Anderson, but never mount a serious challenge.

“Knew that the Pro2s were going to play a huge role in it,” Greaves recounted. “Sometimes the leader gets help, and sometimes he gets hurt. There were a couple opportunities that I got a little bit closer, and then there was a couple opportunities where he got through them, and I had to wait for them. We got into clear air there with two [laps] to go, and I felt like, alright, we can both put it together here. I started inching up on him, but we were just too little too late. 

“I'm glad to be able to just bring home a second. We had a really rough weekend, so to top it off with just putting a solid run together, it's all I could ask for.”

Anderson certainly couldn't ask for more. Running only a part-time schedule in the Amsoil Championship Off Road series, coming into Crandon and beating people like Wisconsin native Greaves on his home turf is a tough ask. But he's won this race twice, and knows how to get it done. Still, each one is special, and the passing of his mentor earlier in the year gave it even more significance.