Rash of repeats in Crandon; Barry, Brister win Pro Lite, Pro Buggy

It was a day of repeats for many of the races in the 56th Annual Polaris World Championships at Crandon International Raceway, including in the big trucks. However, the way the way many of the repeats happened was quite a bit different from the day before, and there were fresh victors in Pro Lite and Pro Buggy.

The day began with big trucks so teams had time to get them prepared for the Red Bull Cup Pro4 vs. Pro2 race that will cap off the weekend. Pro 4 looked like it was going to be RJ Anderson's day as he put the No. 37 into the lead at the start,  while yesterday's Pro4 winner, Jimmy Henderson, stalled his Toyota at the line. Henderson began to work his way up, however, and was third behind Anderson and Cole Mamer.

After the restart for the competition yellow, Anderson missed a shift, letting Mamer and Henderson through. 

“I got that holeshot and we were gone,” said Anderson. “We had a good first half, and then that second half, I just blew the shift. I've been struggling with it all weekend. Cole and Jimmy got by me. I slowly started to reel Jimmy in, and then I did it again in the back and lost all the ground I'd made up.”

Mamer would give up the point a short time later as he over-rotated in Calamity Corner, and Henderson was out front with a lead he wouldn't give up. Anderson continued to finish second, followed by Andrew Carlson in third.

“I had a big mistake on the start. I stalled the truck and we were dead last,” recounted Henderson of his first World Championship win. “This is all about the win; I've never won this race before, so when we were coming up through the field, the guys just kept pumping me up, told me I could do it and be patient like we were yesterday. And I trusted the truck; that's the biggest thing.”

Amsoil Off Road Championship Pro4 points leader CJ Greaves had another race to forget, allowing Henderson to draw closer in the fight for the title. 

Pro2 began with a dramatic crash in Turn 1 that stopped with Kyle Greaves' No. 34 Toyota sitting squarely on top of Trey Gibbs' truck. Once that mess was untangled, Keegan Kincaid got his second holeshot of the day to take the lead in his Ford. Ryan Beat's Chevrolet was right on his tail, however, and kept the pressure on the whole race long. Jacob Rosales was in pursuit of the top two with Travis Milhausen Jr. on his tail, but it was clear that Pro2 was a two-horse race.

It came to a head in the final corner. Beat charged in hard, but it was a little too much. He got into Keegan, and Keegan crossed the finish line backward – and not before Beat.

“We were  coming across, and he's pushing hard too,” said Kincaid, describing the incident. “I didn't give him any room, and that was the only way he was going to be able to make it past me. He got into my rear bedside and just turned me; fortunate enough, I was still lucky to cross [the finish line] backwards. It was dirty, but hey, this is the World Championships … he's going for it too, so I understand that.” 

Officials determined that the move was over the top, and Beat was given a post-race black flag and penalized three positions. Keegan was awarded his 50th victory (and, like Henderson, a Polaris RZR side-by-side to go with it). Rosales was second, and Cory Winner ended up third after Beat's penalty.

Connor Barry had to put the pressure on, and fend it off, to win the Pro Lite World Championship race. Travis Millhausen Jr. got the holeshot to get up front, but he couldn't shake Barry. A bit of contact in the Gravel Pit turn got Millhausen sideways, and Barry was through. Millhausen would eventually get on the bike in the Cowboy Turn, ending his hopes of fighting back. 

Barry's tough race was only just beginning, however. Yesterday's winner, Johnny Holtger, was behind and intent on claiming his second victory of the weekend. Holtger was glued to Barry for the duration of the second half, sometimes behind, sometimes alongside, but could never find the edge he needed to get up front, and Barry claimed the win.

“It was definitely a battle, and I wanted to go out there and win,” said Barry. “And that's what we did. I showed up here. My goal was to do the best I could, and I brought some speed, and I'm glad that I was finally able to win it.”

A bunch of crashed cars and a full restart was how Pro Buggy started, but once the race got going it began to look a little familiar, with Chaden Minder out front after holeshot winner Michael Meister had a flat almost immediately. Minder may have been out front, but Matt Brister was all over him for several laps.

With a few laps to go, Minder had a tire starting to go down, and there was nothing he could do to hold off Brister. He eventually faded to third behind Cole Bernloehr.

“I was racing with Chad, and he's an amazing guy,” said Brister. “This is his sophomore year in the car, and honestly, he's picked up a lot. It's taken me eight years to get to where I am right now.

“Cat and mouse. There was no dirty racing or anything. It was where would he mess up and where would I mess up? How do I minimize my mistakes and capitalize on his? We played it smart, and then once we got by him, we just never looked back.”

After taking his second victory in Pro Spec Saturday, Wyatt Miller got the holeshot and took the lead at the start. But he'd have to fend off a couple of attacks if we was going to take another win at Crandon. First Ronald Koscieza harrowed him, even getting into him hard in the Gravel Pit on the first lap. But Koscieza's challenge was short lived. Lasting for the rest of the race was Nick Visser on Miller's tail. Visser would pursue to the final lap until a mistake int he Cowboy Hairpin sealed his second place finish behind Miller. Dylan Parsons took third. 

Owen Van Eperen kept rolling in the side-by-side classes, taking the win in both Pro Stock SXS and Pro SXS to sweep the weekend.