Shortcourse season has officially started for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing series. After several postponements, cancellations and rescheduling of venues, the series hosted opening rounds at Glen Helen Raceway in Southern California. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, fans were not allowed to attend the event. The racing however, was still exciting.
Saturday’s Round 1 Pro Buggy race saw Matt Brister secure his first national podium. Darren Hardesty and Eliot Watson took second and third. Cameron Steele was also back behind the wheel in the buggy class mixing it up with the seasoned Pro Buggy stars. During Sunday’s Round 2 Pro Buggy race, Trey Gibbs took top honors with Eliot Watson in second and Dale Ebberts in third.
In the Pro-Lite class, Cole Mamer was the top the qualifier in Round 1. When the dust settled, Christopher Polovoorde took the top spot on the podium. Ronnie Anderson took second and Maddix Bailey third. Round 2, Cole Mamer finally made it to the top spot with Brock Heger in second and Madix Bailey back in the third spot.
The best battles of the weekend happened in the Pro-2 class. Jerett Brooks was the top qualifier in Saturday’s Round 1. The inversion found Ricky Gutierrez on the front row. As the green flag dropped, there was plenty of the usual door banging. Jerett Brooks took the victory, Ricky Gutierrez held onto second holding off Brian Deegan who was hot on his heels in the last turn, all the way to the finish line. Round 2, the gloves came off. Much more contact between trucks. Ryan Beat led several laps before a flat tire would force him into the hot pits. Beat managed to stay on the lead lap, while several others would not be so lucky. At the end of Round 2, Jerett Brooks managed to sweep the weekend, Doug Mittag took second and Beat managed a third-place podium.
