A Fitting Finale for Renezeder's 2010 Season

LAKE FOREST, CA (December 14, 2010) – Call it the sentimentality of the season, or call it mere rhetoric, but somehow the struggles and ultimate successes during the 2010 season finale for Team Renezeder this past weekend at Firebird International Raceway seemed very fitting. If it could have happened to driver Carl Renezeder this year, it did. Ultimately, he and the team persevered, and this weekend was no different.

While the championships were already locked up, there was still plenty of racing on the docket, and plenty of time to make the best of a season that contained more lows than highs.

The weekend opened up with practice on the brand new course on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. The team had to do a motor change in the Pro-4 Thursday night, and the Pro-2 brake problem from Glen Helen had reappeared. By the time qualifying rolled around Friday afternoon, the trucks were in great shape, and Renezeder grabbed the third position in both classes. A three-row invert would start him outside second row for both points races on Saturday.

The Pro-4 race started well for Renezeder as he raced his way to a substantial lead by the time to mandatory caution flew at the halfway point. The field bunched back up, and he held his lead for three more laps. Contact by Rick Huseman in turn one of lap 14 finished the day for Renezeder. The left front drive axle was sheered into two pieces and the motor let go. It dropped Renezeder from second to third in the final points and put a disappointing stamp on the end of the Pro-4 points season.

The Pro-2 points race on Saturday showed just as much promise in the opening laps, and then managed to end on a good but almost comical note as a rock in the shifter gate kept him from battling for the lead in the second half of the race.

“Yeah, it was great racing,” Renezeder said from the second position on the podium. “The truck worked really well, but after the midway point I couldn’t shift into third. Every once in a while it would go into third and I thought I was losing my linkage; it turns out I had a little friend riding along with me, a rock that happened to wedge itself between second and third.”

All that remained in the season was the Rockstar Energy Drink Lucas Oil Challenge Cup, and Renezeder went into it as the defending and inaugural champion. This year the race was lined up according to final points standings with the top ten in both classes completely inverted, and with the Pro-2s getting a 15-second handicap start on the Pro-4s. It meant that Renezeder would start eighteenth overall and eighth among the Pro-4s. The green flag dropped and mayhem ensued. Renezeder moved up to fifth among the Pro-4 group by the time he reached the start/finish line. A full course caution on lap three bunched up the entire field and by lap six he started to get around some of the Pro-2s. On lap eight, Renezeder made contact with Kyle LeDuc as a truck checked up in front of them, and the contact cut the right front tire down with 13 laps remaining in the race.

There were too many trucks still in the race to justify going into hot pit to change the flat. Renezeder and the crew decided to test their luck and see how long the tire would stay together. Then in classic Renezeder fashion, he made the best of a bad situation. With finess, determination and pure heart, he restarted in seventh position and moved his way up to third by the mandatory caution. The tire was in sad shape, but still held together for the restart. The tire worsened over the next seven laps, but he still managed to pass Bryce Menzies for second place with four to go. The tire deteriorated further, and with just two laps to go, Menzies and Todd LeDuc got around him at the exit of turn three, but sheer guts drove Renezeder back around LeDuc on the final lap to reclaim his spot on the podium.

A third place finish on three tires was a fitting culmination of the 2010 season. The team had put in a ton of hours to give him the truck necessary to win, a bit of bad luck stepped in and tried to take it all away, and then Renezeder fought back from what should have been a DNF to finish with a trophy in hand. They may not have earned enough points to be called the champion this season, but they performed like a championship team to the bitter end, and THAT is what racing is all about.

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LAKE FOREST, CA (December 8, 2010) – What started ten months ago in the Las Vegas desert will wrap up this weekend for Carl Renezeder and his team at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Arizona. The 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing series will crown its champions after the final points races on Saturday, and then Sunday is all about bragging rights and big cash. Renezeder is still in position for a second-place finish in both the Pro-4 and Pro-2 divisions, and as the defending 2009 winner of the Rockstar Energy Drink Lucas Oil Challenge Cup, he’s looking to make it back-to-back titles with a win again this year.

“We’d really like to put a positive cap on this season with a big win on Sunday,” commented Renezeder, “but first we’ve got some points races to settle on Saturday. We may be out of the race for number one, but we’re going into the weekend in second in both divisions, and a couple of wins would secure those finishes. It’s been an up and down season, and we’d like to finish on a good note.”

Of his 92 career short-course wins, Renezeder added five this season with two in his new Pro-4 and three in his Pro-2. The event at Firebird will be a first for the series, which usually bodes well for Renezeder. He’s a veteran of the sport and a quick study of new tracks. The brand new facility should be a perfect venue to showcase all of the Lucas Oil off-road stars in their season finale.

The weekend will start with an open practice for the pro classes on Thursday afternoon, followed by another practice session for all classes Friday morning and qualifying Friday afternoon. Round 15 of the 2010 season will be contested on Saturday afternoon, and the Cup race will round out the weekend and the season on Sunday afternoon. A full weekend and television schedule is available on the LOORRS’ website at www.lucasoiloffroad.com.

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LAKE FOREST, CA (November 11, 2010) – All four of Carl Renezeder’s races last weekend at the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing event in Las Vegas had bright moments. One even had a stellar result: career win number 92. Unfortunately, one race that was on its way to being win number 93 ended in the final corner of the final lap in a flash of flames. The other two races rounded out the weekend nicely with podium finishes, but not on the top spot.

“After the race weekend is over, it’s easier to look at the big picture and see that the overall results were great,” reflected Renezeder this week. “But in the moment, second place doesn’t feel much better than climbing out of a truck that just lost a motor on the last lap. All three were victories that eluded us.”

The weekend began well with a pole in Pro-4 on Friday afternoon, followed by a third-place qualifying effort in Pro-2. With shortened daylight hours, the qualifying sessions were the last time the teams had a chance at the track until racing began on Saturday afternoon, so the drivers and crew chiefs had to prove their ability to read a track without laying down any additional laps.

The first race of the weekend for Renezeder was in the Pro-4 class on Saturday, where he would start outside second row, next to Adrian Cenni, after a two was drawn for the invert. Mike Johnson and Kyle LeDuc would lead the field to the green flag. Renezeder had a decent start but got turned around by Cenni in turn four in the opening laps, and the entire field went by before he could get the nose pointed back in the right direction. He showed patience and mettle as the laps ticked off, passing truck after truck, until he found himself in second place as the checkered flag flew. Renezeder definitely made the most of a less-than-ideal situation.

Next up was the first Pro-2 race of the weekend, with the hope that the track had come around as predicted to suit his truck’s set up. More than 24 hours had passed and several races had run on the track since the two-wheel drive truck had last thrown around some dirt. But Renezeder had confidence that they’d made the right set-up call. He was right. It was a three-row invert for the start, meaning he would start outside second row next to Todd LeDuc and behind Robbie Woods and Rob MacCachren. By the time he and Woods came around to complete the first lap, the battle that would last the entire race was already in place. Renezeder settled in behind Woods in second place and they left the rest of the field behind. Woods held his ground and kept the lead through the mandatory yellow and well into the second half of the race, but as Renezeder heard his spotter tell him there would be two to go at the stripe, he made the pass stick inside turn eight and took the lead. Both General Tire drivers put down their best laps of the race in the closing two laps, but it would be Renezeder that would post another win in his career notebook.

Sunday’s fields were set according the Saturday finishing orders, and the invert was drawn by the winners of each class. Renezeder lined up to next to Rick Huseman in row three and the first two rows were made up of Kyle LeDuc, Jerry Daugherty, Travis Coyne and Kent Brasho. The race itself didn’t pose much drama for Renezeder, and when he inherited the lead from a limping Huseman with two laps to go, it looked like win number 93 would be recorded. But unbeknownst to Renezeder, a hole in the radiator was going to take away that win with just a straightaway to go. It made itself know on the backstretch on the white-flag lap as the motor began to seize when it finally ran out of water, and then a final burst of flames in the final corner forced Renezeder to pull off the track, finishing the race one lap down in the fifth position. Disappointment ran through the team, but they rallied for the final race of the weekend.

A three-row invert in Pro-2 meant Renezeder and Woods would make up row three, while Robert Naughton and Rob MacCachren formed row one, and Rodrigo Ampudia and Brian Deegan made up row two. The race started, then restarted, and when the it finally settled into a rhythm, Renezeder found himself battling with Pro-2 first-timer, Deegan, and it took several laps to get around him. MacCachren took the opportunity to open up a lead that Renezeder was never able to overcome, thus settling for another second-place finish of the weekend. His two podiums moved him into second place by three points ahead of Bryce Menzies in the championship chase with just one round to go.

The 2010 season will close out at Firebird Raceway in Chandler, Arizona, with the final points race on Saturday, December 11, and the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup race on Sunday, December 12.

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LAS VEGAS, NV (November 3, 2010) – Carl Renezeder hopes to build upon the great results he and his team found at the last two rounds of the Lucas Oil Off Racing Series when he takes to the track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. A win in both divisions in Surprise, Arizona helped bolster the confidence of the entire crew after a season of more disappointments than celebrations, and they hope to continue that success as the series hosts rounds 13 and 14 of the 15-race season.

“The season has flown by,” commented Renezeder, “and we’ve pretty much run out of time to fight for a championship for the sixth season in a row. Our goal now is to make the best of the final two weekends – see if we can add some more hardware to the trophy case before 2010 wraps up.”

The team currently sits second in the Pro-4 Unlimited standings and third in Pro-2 Unlimited, with a legitimate shot at the second-place spot. Three more rounds of points races will be followed by the second annual Lucas Oil Challenge Cup race, where Renezeder was the inaugural winner at the 2009 event. The victory netted a $30,000 payday for the team, and capped off a dream season that included two championships. And while the 2010 season may not live up to the team’s expectations, it can still wind down on a positive note.

With shortened daylight hours this weekend, the teams will practice and qualify on Friday afternoon, and Saturday and Sunday will host two separate rounds of racing for all of the LOORRS divisions. For a detailed weekend schedule, visit the series’ website at lucasoiloffroad.com.

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LAKE FOREST, CA (September 29, 2010) – Seven-time national short-course champion Carl Renezeder has often said, “It’s all about the battle.” This past weekend in Surprise, Arizona at Speedworld Motorsports Complex, that’s exactly what he got. With the bad-luck gremlin seemingly gone from his pit and his trucks back on the top of their game on Saturday, Renezeder was given the opportunity to focus on driving to the front, which is just what he did in both classes. While fighting triple-digit temperatures, he secured wins in both Pro-4 and Pro-2, bringing his career short-course win total to 91.

“There are two things that got me here today,” explained a rather relieved Renezeder from the top spot on the podium after the Pro-4 win on Saturday, “my team and my sponsors. I wouldn’t be here without them.”

The crowd saw action on the track that made the Arizona desert heat seem tame. After qualifying third in his Lucas Oil/General Tire Pro-4, then starting outside second row because of the three-row invert, Renezeder settled into his groove and showed patience, which allowed him to stay out of the tangle-up in turn four that resulted in a complete restart. At the second drop of the green, he got a better start and was able to settle into third place behind Mike Johnson and Travis Coyne. Renezeder got around Coyne when he got sideways coming out of turn five, then great battles with Johnson ensued. Adrian Cenni kept him honest from the third-place position, but Renezeder made the pass on Johnson stick before the mandatory yellow. The restart found his front left tire going flat, but it hung on for the remainder of the race, as did Renezeder, to record win number 90 in the books.

Less than an hour later, Renezeder climbed into the #17 Pro-2, ready fight the good fight again. Fresh off the Pro-4 win, confidence was high as he lined up on the inside of points leader Rob MacCachren on the third row. The two had to get around Mike Johnson, Bryce Menzies (row one) and Rodrigo Ampudia and Greg Adler (row two) if they wanted a shot at winning round 11 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.

Renezeder found himself in fifth place at the completion of lap one and worked his way to fourth behind Menzies, Adler and MacCachren before a full-course caution bunched up the field. The green flew again and Renezeder got around MacCachren in turn three to put himself in third for the mandatory caution. The second half of the race was some of the best action the class has seen all season. Renezeder worked his way around Adler and Menzies, as did MacCachren, setting up a three-lap dogfight to the checkers. Renezeder held his ground and found himself in winner’s circle one more time, relishing in all the things he loved about off-road racing.

“That was fun. Great job guys,” commented Renezeder on the radio just after the checkered flag flew.

After the elation of Saturday, a second-place finish to MacCachren in Pro-2 on Sunday felt less celebratory than it should have been. And when Renezeder lost front-wheel-drive in the Pro-4 on the last lap, forcing an eighth-place finish, the team lost a little wind out of their sails. But with the best results overall of the season for the team, they headed back to the race shop with the confidence that the program was headed back in the right direction.

Three more rounds of racing are left in the points chase, followed by the second annual Lucas Oil Challenge Cup on December 12th at the new Firebird Raceway venue in Chandler, Arizona, to close out the 2010 season.

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LAKE FOREST, CA (September 22, 2010) – Summer is officially over, but Arizona didn’t get the memo. Carl Renezeder and his seven-time championship team will compete this weekend at Speedworld Motorsports Complex just north of Phoenix, where temperatures are forecasted to reach well into the triple digits all weekend. But battling the desert heat will be minimal compared to the uphill fight for points and the top spot on the podium.

“We’re definitely not where we want to be in points, and we’ve had our share of bad luck this season,” commented Renezeder before heading out to rounds 11 and 12 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. “Our goal for Arizona is to get back to winning. We need to be in the hunt every round.”

After a double-championship season in 2009 (Pro-4 and Pro-2), it’s been a bit of a shock to the system to be well over halfway through the season with only two marks in the win column. This weekend he will work again on capturing the illusive 90th short-course win of his career.

“We want to finish out the back half of this season with momentum heading in a positive direction, where we feel like we’re back in the game,” concluded Renezeder.

The weekend of racing will begin with two practice sessions on Friday, as the teams prepare for Saturday morning qualifying for round 11 that afternoon. Sunday morning they will qualify again for round 12, set for Sunday afternoon.

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Renezeder Redeems Tough Weekend with a Runner-Up Finish

LAKE FOREST, CA (August 12, 2010) – One week ago today, Carl Renezeder and crew got set up at Glen Helen Raceway, full of optimism that the tough season they’ve had so far would finally turn around. The weekend hosted rounds nine and ten of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, and even with some positive highlights, the team loaded up in the very early hours of Monday morning with the burden of several disappointing results on their minds.

All three days – practice and qualifying on Friday and racing on Saturday and Sunday – had their stellar moments. Of the five times the Pro-2 took to the track, Renezeder was quick time in four sessions, including Friday’s qualifying and Saturday’s race. He finished second in Sunday’s race after an eighth place start and posted the second quickest time of the race while working through traffic. He was also second quick in his Pro-4 in all three sessions on Friday, and quick time of Sunday’s race, while working on the lead. He ultimately made the pass for the lead on lap 19 but never made it back to the start/finish line. That’s where the string of positives ends.

The Pro-4 seemed to take the brunt of the bad luck throughout the weekend. Renezeder hooked the cushion in turn three during practice on Friday and ended up on the roof. In Saturday’s race, he was t-boned in the air and rolled through the rhythm section. Then, coming through the final turn in Sunday’s race while leading on his way to take the white flag, he hooked the outside cushion again and finished the day on the roof.

Renezeder had his share of bad moments in the Pro-2 as well. Most were minor, but the worst was his eighth-place finish on Saturday due to a black flag on lap eight of 20 when contact with Greg Adler at the end of the “doubles” rhythm section resulted in Adler rolling in turn three.

“I felt really bad that he ended up with a wrecked truck,” explained a remorseful Renezeder. “I had already committed to doubling out of the rhythm section when he checked up for the last jump to take the inside line. I had nowhere to go. I was on the brakes when I landed, but it was too late. I told my spotter right away to tell his spotter I was sorry, but that obviously doesn’t fix his truck.”

It was a tough track to tame, and several drivers found themselves upside-down. Some wrecks were worse than others, and everyone in the short-course community has been relieved to hear that Robbie Pierce will make a full recovery after his huge wreck on Sunday night. Sometimes it’s the body that gets bruised pretty badly, but more often than not it’s the ego and confidence that take the biggest hits. If only they made, stitches, salves, pain relievers and bandages for those…

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Renezeder Opens Glen Helen with Front-Row Qualifying Results

GLEN HELEN, CA (August 7, 2010) – If you just go by the sheets of paper given out by timing and scoring, Carl Renezeder and his crew had a pretty easy practice and qualifying day yesterday at the Lucas Oil Off Road event in Glen Helen. But if you ask each of the guys individually, they each have their “thrash” stories of what it took to put the Pro-2 on the pole and the Pro-4 outside front row.

“We worked hard today,” explained a rather dirt-laden crew chief, Mike Seat, at the end of the day. “The results make it all worth it.”

The opening practice session on the brand new track showed some great potential for Renezeder’s Lucas Oil Pro-4, but the truck just didn’t have the drivability he was looking for. Lead mechanic, Brett Repella, went to work on several things, including a carburetor change with engine builder Bill Schlieper of Pro Power. Meanwhile, Renezeder climbed into his General Tire outfitted Pro-2 and broke a right rear axle before the end of the six-lap session, but not before laying down quick time of the field. Brandon Chavez, Pro-2 lead mechanic, jumped on the axle issue immediately so the truck would make the second practice session.

In addition to mechanical issues, the practice sessions are also invaluable for suspension set-up and for dialing in the perfect drivetrain combination. Seat jumped from truck to truck to help turn the trucks around and also worked in conjunction with Renezeder to help make tuning decisions. With fixes and changes made, Renezeder suited back up and headed out for practice session number two – the last chance to analyze the trucks and the track before qualifying.

With two laps to go in his Pro-4, Renezeder caught the big outside cushion in turn three, put the truck up on two wheels, just about saved it, but then tipped it over on its roof. No major damage was done to the truck, but its system isn’t designed to be upside-down, so a thorough check would have to be done before qualifying. On a positive note, the changes they made in the set-up were the right direction. And on another positive note, the Pro-2 had a stellar second practice. That meant that extra crew guys were available to help make sure the Pro-4 was in qualifying condition.

And while the official stats show that the Renezeder put down some great laps in both qualifying sessions, putting the Pro-2 on the pole and the Pro-4 outside front row, there was still drama to be had – the radio in the Pro-2 in particular set off a comedy of errors that’s best forgotten. Luckily nothing infringed upon the success of the session, and both trucks had only minor work to be done for today’s races. With a little bit of good luck, both trucks have the potential to be on the top of the box, earning the big hardware by the end of the day.

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TOOELE, UT (June 28, 2010) – Rounds seven and eight of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series at the spectacular Miller Motorsports Park played host to a wide spectrum of mental, emotional and physical moments for Team Renezeder this past weekend (June 26-27). From a stress-free set-up day on Thursday to working 50 out of 60 hours from Friday morning to Sunday night, from the excitement of qualifying number one in both trucks Saturday morning to the terror of watching the Pro-2 go end over end in a brutal wreck that afternoon, the moments of calm and sanity were few and far between.

The team made the 700-mile trip to Tooele, Utah (just southwest of Salt Lake City) without any problems and was parked, set up and teched by two o’clock Thursday afternoon. When Carl Renezeder put both trucks on the pole Friday morning, it looked like the bad luck that had plagued the team over the past few months had finally made its way out of the team’s pit. In fact, it wasn’t until the white flag lap of the Pro-4 race that the bad luck gremlin proved to still be keeping residence in their camp. Renezeder was battling back and forth for the lead with the division’s points leader, Rick Huseman, and just as they took the white flag for the final lap the motor kicked a rod out through the pan, ending Renezeder’s day in an impressive ball of flames.

The crew kept their wits about them; the spare motor in the hauler would have to go in, but it wasn’t an overwhelming task ahead of them. Everyone had high hopes for the Pro-2 race later that evening to redeem the day. It was short-lived. The truck was working flawlessly, Renezeder was driving a smart, methodical race, and then one moment changed it all. The truck launched off a tabletop jump on the backstretch and came down nose first, snapping the truck end over end. Crew chief, Mike Seat, immediately asked Renezeder if he was all right, and the crew all sighed in relief when he answered right away. The truck was another story. And the further the team dug into the truck the more they found wrong. After a couple of hours of work it became apparent that the truck needed more hours of work than the team had until they’d be required to stage for qualifying the next day. They devised a plan to work until 2:00 a.m. and then be back at the track at 7:00 a.m. to finish what needed to be done for the Pro-4 qualifying session at noon and the races in the evening. As promised, the trucks were ready, and Renezeder was too, despite some overall soreness from the wreck.

Qualifying was a mellow event, with Renezeder securing the fifth position and a front-row start with the invert. The only things left to on the agenda for the weekend were the two races and the process of packing up. By lap three of the Pro-4 race, Renezeder radioed to the crew that front-wheel-drive was gone, so he settled in and salvaged what he could, bringing home a sixth place finish – a great result considering the circumstances.

One last chance to make the 1,400-mile round trip, three hours of sleep, and emotional investment worthwhile: the Sunday evening Pro-2 race. The task at hand seemed big when the #17 truck rolled out of staging, looking lonely on its own at the back of the field. But once the green flag flew, Renezeder clicked into hunt mode and started picking them off. By the time they reached the mandatory caution at the halfway point, he was in eighth place and running the same lap times as the leaders. The second half of the race was full of great battles and Renezeder raced his way to fourth place at the finish line. He then got a call over the radio that someone in the top three was disqualified, so he jumped on the radio and said, “Sweet! I’m going the podium – I want a trophy! Great job everyone…what a way to end a weekend like this.”

What seemed like an endless week of work was suddenly over in what felt like just a snap of the fingers. Throughout the weekend there were moments that deserved exclamation points, and some that required question marks, but on Sunday night, the exhausted, elated, reflective, satisfied crew were simply happy that it was all done. Period.

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LAKE FOREST, CA (June 22, 2010) – The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series is hosting rounds seven and eight this weekend at a brand new facility for the teams and series: the stunning Miller Motorsports Park just south of Salt Lake City, Utah. The state-of-the-art multifunction complex has opened its gates to truckloads of dirt, transforming its road course to a track that’s flight-worthy. Fans will be treated to a clean, family-friendly environment, and teams will feel like royalty being pitted on asphalt. For racers like Carl Renezeder, a new course brings the challenge of learning racing lines quickly, and he welcomes that challenge.

“I’m excited about running on a new track,” says Renezeder. “I feel like it’s an advantage for our team because we’re quick to make the right adjustments both in set-up and in driving. And it’s a bonus that the facility is first-class.”

The Team Renezeder 2010 season has been a mixed bag of results with everything from two wins to a 15th place DNF (did not finish), putting the team second in Pro-4 points and fifth in Pro-2 points. This weekend will mark the midpoint of the season for Renezeder, who is the current defending Pro-4 and Pro-2 champion with 89 career wins. With a stellar second half of the season, the team has every opportunity to defend both championships.

“Our goals is to get back some positive momentum as we finish out the first half of the season this weekend,” explains Renezeder. “We’re hoping that the trucks roll out of the haulers with a bit of good luck attached to them, and we hope to roll them back in on Sunday night with some new hardware for the trophy case.”

The teams will have two practice sessions on Friday afternoon; qualifying will occur both Saturday and Sunday morning, with racing to follow on both afternoons.

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LAKE FOREST, CA (May 24, 2010) – It was a weekend of contrasts for Team Renezeder at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for rounds five and six of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series this past weekend, May 21-23. From the weather, to the work, to the results, nothing was predictable or simple. Luckily for driver, Carl Renezeder, and his crew, there were great results to balance out the not-so-great moments of the weekend, and he ultimately added win number 89 to his record book, and did it in the debut race of the team’s brand new Pro-4.

“I’ve honestly never had this much fun driving a truck,” offered Renezeder after the first win for the new truck. “It’s nimble, responsive, predictable and wicked fast. I’m so excited about this truck!”

The first win was not without its dramatic moments – most of which occurred off the track. An overheating and radiator problem surfaced in Friday’s qualifying session and didn’t get resolved until Sunday morning at 4:00 a.m. The most stressful moment for the team came after Saturday morning’s practice when they found an eight-hour project in front of them, with only three hours before the green flag was set to drop in round five. In true superhero fashion, the guys got the new radiators fitted in the Pro-4 just in time for Renezeder to drive straight from the pit and onto the track for the pace laps. On the final pace lap, the water temp was already too high, forcing Renezeder to dive into hot pit to make sure nothing obvious was wrong. He got the go-ahead from the crew and tagged the back of the field as the green flag flew. It was now his turn to prove his superhero status. And prove it he did. Renezeder worked his way through the field, was the recipient of a few lucky moments and found himself in the number one spot when the checkers flew.

After a quick moment of high-fives and congratulations, the guys jumped on the stack of work facing them, then headed back out to the track for the Pro-2 race. For all the great things that happened in the Pro-4 race, there seemed to be an equal and opposite bad thing that happened in the Pro-2 race. The only positive moment of the race was that it eventually ended, stopping any more damage from occurring. There was a lot to do before Sunday morning.

Call it a long night of work or a short night of sleep, either way it made for a tired and apprehensive crew. There was a motor change and a transmission change; fixes were made on the radiators, a-arms, sway bars, bumpers, body hangers and a steering rack, and all the general turn-around projects were done. Sunday morning qualifying validated their work, and you could hear a collective sigh of relief over the radios.

Sunday’s Pro-4 race was well on its way to being a repeat result for Renezeder until three laps to go when the carburetor started acting up. On the final lap, he set the truck in turn three and it died. Unfortunately, Adrian Cenni had nowhere to go and t-boned Renezeder. Rick Huseman took advantage of the tangle up and went on to win the race. Renezeder was able to get the truck to refire quickly and actually finished second. Cenni rounded out the podium in third.

Sadly, Sunday’s Pro-2 race started bad and ended worse. The truck had the same fuel problem as the Pro-4, but it started on the first lap and never let up. Renezeder didn’t race to a seventh place finish – he simply ended up there.

The weekend of contrasts was finally winding down. Wretched races were balanced by wickedly cool ones. A 96-degree set-up day was cooled off by 35 mph winds and a 55-degree tear-down day. And a sleep-deprived work weekend will eventually be remedied with a restful three-day holiday weekend in just a few days. That, my friends, is racing.

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Renezeder to Debut New Pro-4 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

LAKE FOREST, CA (May 17, 2010) – After a successful weekend of racing for Carl Renezeder at the last Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series event in Surprise, Arizona, Renezeder and the crew will head back to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend for the second of three visits this season. The team added four new pieces of hardware to the trophy case by putting their championship-winning Pro-2 and Pro-4 on the podium in rounds three and four, with hopes of doing the same thing in Vegas. However, a brand new Pro-4 will roll out of the trailer for Renezeder this weekend, and Mike Johnson will make the switch from the veteran Chevy to the more recent championship-winning Ford.

“It’s always nerve-wracking to bring a new truck out for its first race,” explained an apprehensive but excited Renezeder. “It takes some time in a new truck to find the same comfort level that I have in a truck I’ve been racing for a year or two. But I have all the confidence in the world in my crew chief, Mike Seat, and all the guys that have built this truck. It’s the best truck yet to roll out of our shop, and I’m excited to throw some dirt with it this weekend.”

This is the fourth short-course truck to be built from the ground up by Team Renezeder, and all of the builds have been led by Seat. After some functions testing and finding a good baseline for the suspension and basic set-up last week, the entire crew believes that this Ford will find its way to the front of the pack quickly.

The race weekend will follow the same format as the first two weekends of racing with practice and qualifying on Friday, racing on Saturday, and then another qualifying session on Sunday morning, followed by racing that afternoon. Gates open to the public at 9:00 a.m., and opening ceremonies are at 2:30 p.m. both days.

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SURPRISE, AZ (April 19, 2010) – The Team Renezeder haulers will be rolling west on Highway 10 today with four new pieces of hardware on board, ready for the trophy case. It was a weekend of hard work, long hours and great racing, and when all was said and done, driver Carl Renezeder posted career win number 88 during round three of the Pro-2 championship chase and backed that up with two runner-up finishes and a third.

“We were in the hunt all weekend in all three races, and that feels great,” commented Renezeder at the end of the day on Sunday. “The Pro-2 feels better than it ever has, and while we’re still working out some issues with the front-wheel-drive on the Pro-4, when the truck was right it was a lot of fun to drive.”

Renezeder started the weekend by gifting himself the pole in Pro-2 qualifying on his birthday. He took that result and made it even better on Saturday. The two-row invert put him outside second row to start the race and by the time the field crossed the start/finish line to record lap one Renezeder was the leader. He never looked back. Jeremy McGrath looked inside a couple of times and the two of them put on a great battle for the fans, but ultimately it was Renezeder’s day, leading 18 of 18 laps for the win.

While third and second place finishes in Pro-4 were great for the points race, the truck’s four-wheel-drive issues in both races kept him out of the hunt for the win in the closing laps.

“It’s just one of those gremlins we’ll have to dig into a little deeper and get resolved,” explained Renezeder. “The truck was flawless to drive when it was right. It’s just one of those small things that’s surfaced – we’ll get it figured out.”

In Sunday’s Pro-2 race, Renezeder and Rob MacCachren swapped leads for a few laps, but the track didn’t come around to Renezeder’s set up and he had to settle for runner up. And after a 22-hour day of work by the crew through Saturday night, while they wanted another victory, they were glad to see their truck on the podium.

If the racing both days is any indication of the year-long points battle, the teams and fans are in for an exciting season. CBS Sports, SPEED TV, MavTV, and Outdoor Channel were on hand all weekend covering the event, so fans that couldn’t make it to the event will get to see the weekend’s action in the coming weeks. Check your local listings and www.lucasoiloffroad.com for airtimes.

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Showdown in the Desert for Team Renezeder this Weekend

LAKE FOREST, CA (April 14, 2010) – It’s back to warm weather racing for Team Renezeder as Carl and the crew head out to sunny Arizona, just thirty minutes north of Phoenix, for rounds three and four of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series this weekend.

“We’ve got some catching up to do,” commented Renezeder, with a bit of fire in his voice. “Fortunately, I like being the hunter.”

Seventeenth- and fifth-place finishes in the opening rounds will require the team to spend the remainder of the season chipping away at the top of the leader board race by race in order to keep a Pro-2 championship on the 2010 to-do list. The team is much better positioned in Pro-4 with two third-place finishes in rounds one and two, putting Renezeder third in points.

“We’ll stay focused race by race, fighting for a win each round,” explained Renezeder. “If we do that, the points will fall into place. We’re a big-picture team but not to the degree that it takes away from the moment. When I climb in my race truck and pull the belts tight, I’m thinking about how I’m going to get around the guy in front of me and then the guy in front of him. And this weekend in Surprise, we’ll have a great time chasing four more wins.”

The teams will qualify on Friday afternoon for Saturday afternoon’s racing, and then they’ll qualify again on Sunday morning for racing later that day. Gates open at 9:00 a.m. both days, with opening ceremonies scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and racing to follow the national anthem.

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LAKE FOREST, CA (March 10, 2009) – The neon glow of The Strip in Las Vegas paled in comparison to the star power that graced the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series’ 2010 opening rounds this past weekend at the brand new facility at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Defending Unlimited 2 and Unlimited 4 champion Carl Renezeder headlined a group of drivers that included familiar faces from the 2009 season as well as new drivers to the series, but veterans in off-road. Both fields were deep in talent, experience and desire to win, which magnified Renezeder’s run of bad luck throughout the weekend.

Both trucks practiced well on Friday morning, so the crew made a few small tweaks to go after the pole in both classes that afternoon. Unfortunately, the changes were the wrong direction, confirmed by a self-berating crew chief, Mike Seat, over the radio: “well, we dialed those trucks right out.” The team quickly went to work to dial the trucks back in for racing on Saturday, knowing they had to work themselves out of ninth and sixth place starting positions in U2 and U4, respectively.

The U4 race was first up on Saturday afternoon, which started out well for Renezeder. Then just after the mandatory caution flag at the halfway point, he got spun out in turn three and had to gather it up and work his way back forward from eighth place. He managed to salvage a decent third-place finish and some valuable points. Things went downhill from there.

In the U2 race, the entire goal for Renezeder at the drop of the green flag was to avoid the predicted melee that would result from the majority of the field trying to win the championship in turn one, on lap one. No such luck. A chain of events behind him had him turned around before he could even set the truck into the first turn. He got turned back in the right direction, but that wouldn’t last long. He and several other trucks got knocked off the track as they landed off the tabletop jump coming out of turn one. He then raced his way forward for eight laps before getting taken out for good on lap nine. A broken left front upright and a-arm finished his day in 17th position.

The team was looking forward to improving their performance during Sunday morning qualifying, but Mother Nature had other plans. Rain forced the cancellation of practice and qualifying, so the teams had to line up according to points. A 17th-place starting position wasn’t an ideal draw in U2, but at least Renezeder would get to start from the third position in U4.

There were a lot of great battles on the track in the U4 race, and Renezeder finished the race exactly where he started, giving him a pair of podium finished for the start of the season. He had his work cut out for him in U2 with 16 quick trucks ahead of him and only 14 laps of racing. The weekend ended on a good note as Renezeder methodically worked his way through the field to finish fifth; a much better result than Saturday.

The team’s next race is the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series event in Surprise, Arizona the weekend of April 17-18. Check local listings or the series website (www.lucasoiloffroad.com) for television dates and times.

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LAKE FOREST, CA (March 3, 2009) – After a brief off-season, Carl Renezeder, the defending Unlimited 4 and Unlimited 2 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series champion, and his crew are prepared for the season opener at a brand new facility at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend, March 6-7. After a historical season of winning both championships and the inaugural Lucas Oil Challenge Cup, the team knows that each new season brings new challenges and win stats only help with filling pages of a history book.

“It’s been fun to celebrate the 2009 season,” commented Renezeder, now a seven-time national champ, “but we drew that clichéd line in the sand and are ready to defend what we earned last year. Of our 15 rounds of racing this year, only four of them will be at a track we’ve raced on before, so it’s a blank sheet of paper for everyone. Luckily, I feel like that’s where we thrive.”

The series opens in Las Vegas, and then returns to Speedworld Motorsports Complex in Surprise, Arizona – a track where Renezeder found plenty of success in 2009 in his U4 with three wins, but never found the top spot in his U2. The series will then go back to Las Vegas before heading out to the stunning Miller Motorsports Park in the Salt Lake City area of Utah. The second half of the season will likely open in Southern California (location TBA), then one more time each to Surprise, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada, all leading up to the season finale and Challenge Cup race at another new purpose-built facility at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Arizona.

While the facilities are new, the team brings back all the tried and true aspects that all contributed to last year’s success. Lucas Oil Products has been one of Renezeder’s key advantages on and off the track for over a decade and the red, white and blue colors that have become synonymous with his team will adorn the hood and doors of his trucks for the 12th consecutive season. General Tire, now in its sophomore season with the team, will again provide the crucial connection of the truck to the track, while Team Associated continues to provide the connection to the fans who can drive their very own Renezeder replica R/C trucks long after the event is over. AEM provides the gauges, Bosch is the tool of choice, VP Race Fuel is in the tank, and Race Proven alternators keep the power going. Embee does all of the metal finishing, Tubeworks makes the trusted rearends, hubs and axles, Subè Sports provides the PUMA gear and Cobra Seats, Tech1-R Forged Alloy wheels hold the General Tires, and Borla handles the exhaust. Team Renezeder trusts no other helmets than HJC and no other belts than Schroth, King Shocks have taken Renezeder’s abuse for nearly two decade (with unyielding success), the trucks are plumbed by XRP, MSD provides ignition, and the folks a Blue C continuously remind the team of the big picture. New this season: the crew will stay sharp all weekend with the nutrition provided by Chronic Tacos. All of that equals a recipe for success.

Thursday and Friday will host practice and qualifying, then rounds one and two will take place Saturday and Sunday. Visit www.lucasoiloffroad.com for details of the season’s television coverage on CBS, Speed, Versus, Outdoor Channel and MavTV.

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Corona, California (February 19, 2010) - The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series has relocated the first event of 2010, March 6th and 7th, to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Lucas Oil Executive Vice-President, Bob Patison spoke on the move to the new facility in Las Vegas.

"Due to recent unrealistic demands made by the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park management, the environment of the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park no longer remains conducive to providing the atmosphere for a first class event. We have taken great pride in developing spectacular venues for our fans and racers alike to showcase the excitement of our short course off road racing series. While failing to meet their commitments, the management of the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park has complicated our relationship to the point that we now feel the best course of action is to transition away from this venue as we pursue an alternative site in the Southern California region. We are grateful to the staff of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for assisting us in making this as smooth a transition as possible while we look forward to our first event at this fantastic new location."

Kicking off the 2010 season, rounds 1& 2 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series will be held on a brand new, mile long, purpose built track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway featuring the highest banked turn on the Lucas Oil Off Road circuit. With its ten turns and giant table top, this technical track brings the high flying door to door exhilaration of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series to Las Vegas for the first time ever.

Ticket prices are $30/day for adults, $10 for children. Weekend passes are available for $50/adult and $15/child. Children three and under are admitted free. Reservations are now being taken for a limited number of on-site, trackside R.V. spaces available on a first come first serve basis. To secure a weekend R.V. spot at $200 please contact Crystal Liby crystal@lucasoiloffroad.com.

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Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Announces Revised Schedule

Corona, California (January 12, 2010) - Today, the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series released a revised 2010 schedule featuring a brand new location and updated race dates. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway, host to a variety of top tier professional motorsports including NASCAR and NHRA Drag Racing, will be the site of races on May 22nd and 23rd and November 6th and 7th. These Las Vegas events will be held on a completely new and unique track to be built in a joint effort between the facility and Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series officials. The November date will also coincide with the annual SEMA show where the series has been invited to return with their large outdoor vehicle demonstration on the Toyota Proving Grounds.

"Everyone at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has been fantastic. We are excited to be working closely together building this track in an area of the facility that is completely dedicated to our short course off road racing series," said Lucas Oil Off Road Competition Director, Tony Vanillo. He continued, "This is an opportunity that brings the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series into metropolitan Las Vegas while also capitalizing on the outstanding response we receive from the SEMA show."

To accommodate this new location and dates, the series has made additional schedule changes. The April Speedworld event in Surprise, Arizona will now be held on the weekend of April 17th and 18th while the September race has been rescheduled for September 25th and 26th.

· MARCH 6-7 - LAKE ELSINORE MOTORSPORTS COMPLEX, LAKE ELSINORE, CA
· APRIL 17-18 - SPEEWORLD OFFROAD PARK, SURPRISE, AZ
· MAY 22-23 - LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, LAS VEGAS, NV
· JUNE 26-27 - MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK, TOOELE, UT
· AUGUST 7-8 - LAKE ELSINORE MOTORSPORTS COMPLEX, LAKE ELSINORE, CA
· SEPTEMBER 25-26 - SPEEDWORLD OFF ROAD PARK, SURPRISE, AZ
· NOVEMBER 6-7 - LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, LAS VEGAS, NV
· DECEMBER 11-12 - FIREBIRD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, CHANDLER, AZ

About the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series:
The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series is the evolution of the long standing support of short course racing by Forrest Lucas and Lucas Oil Products. Steeped in the Midwest tradition of short course off road racing infused with a West Coast influence, Lucas Oil Off Road Racing brings intense four wheel door to door action to challenging, fan friendly tracks. Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series: This is Short Course. For more information please visit LucasOilOffRoadRacing.com

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The 5th Annual Lucas Oil Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge presented by Whelen Engineering

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - The field is set and the weather is forecasted to be quintessential Adirondack in January.

With ample snow, a typical chill in the air and the 30th anniversary of the 1980 Winter Olympics just a month away, Lake Placid will present a Currier and Ives winter scene Jan. 8-10 to the drivers from NASCAR and NHRA. These competitors will converge on the two-time Winter Olympic village for the fifth annual Lucas Oil Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge presented by Whelen Engineering.

The 12 pilots are lead by 2009 NASCAR Rookie of the Year Joey Logano and road racer Boris Said who has been the dominant performer over the previous four challenges. The daring dozen will leave their comfort zones and drive modified bobsleds down the three-quarter mile, 16-turn Mount Van Hoevenberg track, site of the 2000 Winter Goodwill Games as well as the 2003 and 2009 World Bobsled Championships.

The competitors will have practice sessions on Friday, Jan. 8 at 2:30; practice and qualification on Saturday, Jan. 9 beginning at 9 AM; and a pair of races, including the NASCAR versus NHRA head-to-head confrontation, on Sunday, Jan.10 at 10 AM with pre-race festivities commencing at 9 AM.

The full weekend schedule can be found here.

The lineup includes:

George Brunnhoelzl III - 2009 Whelen Southern Modified Champion / 5 career Whelen Southern Modified victories

Philip Morris - 3 Whelen All American Series Championships in the last 4 years / Finished 5th in his Nationwide Series debut

Geoff Bodine - 1986 Daytona 500 Winner / 18 Sprint Cup Victories / Named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers

Boris Said - Only American to win the 24 hours of Nurburgring / 1 Career Camping World Truck Series victory / 5 Time Bo-Dyn Bobsled Challenge Gold Medalist

Joey Logano - 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year / Youngest Winner in Sprint Cup history / 6 career Nationwide wins

Melanie Troxel - 4 NHRA Top Fuel Victories / 1 NHRA Funny Car victory

Morgan Lucas - 13 NHRA victories / 3 Top Fuel Victories

Shawn Langdon - 5 Career NHRA victories / 2-Time Super Comp Champion

Jeg Coughlin Jr. - 5 Time NHRA Champion / NHRA-high 7 victories in 2009 / 61 Career NHRA victories

Randy LaJoie - 2-Time Nationwide Series Champion / 15 Career Nationwide Series Victories

Carl Renezeder - Off-Road racer with 86 career short course wins / 10 victories in 2009 / 7-time national champion / comes to Lake Placid after last month's Lucas Oil Off-Road Challenge Cup victory in California which aired on NBC on Saturday, January 2

Todd Bodine - Younger brother of Geoff and Brett Bodine / 2 wins, 7 top fives in 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Truck Series / 135 career starts in NASCAR Nationwide Truck Series with 17 victories

Dan Wheldon - IRL driver with 15 career wins / will appear in Lake Placid but will not compete

While the goal for any race car driver is to win, the mission of the event is to create awareness and greater funding for the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, Inc. NASCAR legend Geoff Bodine, winner of the 1986 Daytona 500, joined forces with auto racing designer Bob Cuneo of Chassis Dynamics in Oxford, Conn. to create made-in-America bobsleds for the United States men’s and women’s national teams.

Since 2002, the Bo-Dyn effort has produced one Olympic gold medal (Jill Bakken), two silver medals (Todd Hays and Shauna Rohbock) and a bronze (Brian Shimer). Additionally, U.S. team member Steve Holcomb ended a 50 year world championship drought when he drove his four-man Bo-Dyn sled to the world title in Lake Placid last February.

The men’s and women’s squads have claimed numerous World Cup medals this season - five gold among them - in the run-up to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. With the help of Bo-Dyn technology, the team is now poised to end a 62-year gold medal drought in the Winter Olympics.

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