The latest stop on the Championship Off Road Tour was the Dirt City racetrack in Lena, Wisconsin. The tight, technical racing at Dirt City kept racers on their toes. With the halfway point over in the season, points were critical. No one knows that better than Kyle Leduc.
Leduc finally saw two long-awaited wins this season in Pro 4. While Leduc has claimed spots on the podium this season, a win has eluded him until now. When the race got started, Leduc was outside of the top five. In the first lap, several trucks got collected in a crash. Leduc quickly moved into the top four. He sat patiently, moving around Adrian Cenni, then Scottie Lawrence right before the mandatory caution. This put him within striking distance of leader Cole Mamer. As the race restarted, Leduc jumped to the lead and stayed there for the victory. In Round 8, Leduc battled hard for his win. In the first turn, Leduc hit the wall sending him several spots back. CJ Greaves maintained the lead. On the second lap, Leduc once again hit the wall in the same spot, this time sitting on top of the concrete barrier. A caution would come out and Leduc was able to get himself back on the lead lap. Leduc then became a man on a mission, making immediate passes before catching up to CJ. Leduc made a pass on CJ after the leader went wide on a right turn. CJ would never be able to get his spot back. Leduc sits 31 points behind CJ Greaves in the standings.
In Pro 2, Mickey Thomas sat quietly while the leaders took themselves out. Thomas moved to the lead with Jerett Brooks hot on his tail. Thomas was able to hold off Brooks for the win. Doug Mittag is another driver without a win this season. That all changed in Round 8. Mittag found himself battling most of the race with Ricky Gutierrez. After the mandatory caution, Mittag put his head down and went to work checking out and cruising to his first victory of the season. Jerett Brooks continues to the hold down the points lead.
Pro Lite continues to be an extremely competitive class and the racing at Dirt City did not disappoint. Kyle Greaves and Brock Heger started out front, side by side. It was Greaves who would grab the early lead. Behind Heger and Greaves was Trey Gibbs. Gibbs wasted no time getting past the leaders but lost positions after spinning out. Heger and Greaves were back at it. Heger finally took the lead. Greaves slowed a bit but held of Gibbs to finish second. After learning some lessons in Round 7, Gibbs sat quietly for most of the race. Towards the very end he struck, passing the leaders and claiming a win. Brock Heger and Kyle Greaves are now tied in season points going into the next rounds at Bark River.
Photos courtesy of Proformance Media
