There was standing room only at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park last weekend as people from all over Southern California poured in to watch the stars of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) battle on the all new short course track. The newly constructed track was well-received by fans and racers alike with features such as a high elevation change, table-tops, tight hair pin turns and an infield mogul section. Unfortunately practice was canceled on Saturday, which meant that fan favorite Rob MacCachren and his talented crew were not able to dial in the ROCKSTAR Energy Drink / Makita Power Tools / BFGoodrich Tires truck for the track and conditions.
The combination of a new truck and a new track meant that the team didn’t have much to go on when setting up the truck, and when the green flag dropped on Saturday it was immediately obvious they didn’t have the winning recipe. Rob Mac’s natural talent is unmatched, but it can only take him so far when he is outgunned. MacCachren still managed a sixth place finish among 18 competitors in the marquee Pro2 Unlimited class and kept the truck clean for Sunday’s race. The team broke out the Makita Power Tools and worked well into night making minor tweaks to gain a leg up on the competition. With an all new track and limited practice time, the playing field was leveled out and it was anyone’s guess what combination and set-up would w ork. It was decided that dramatic changes to the valving of the Fox Shox and a different ratio set-up to the Motive Gear ring and pinion was necessary to be competitive in Sunday’s race.
Less seasoned racers might let Saturday’s results rattle them, but on Sunday Rob qualified second, which put the No. 21 ROCKSTAR Energy / Makita Power Tools / BFGoodrich Tires truck on the second row after the two-row inversion. The starting position kept Rob towards the front of the pack and out of the carnage that brought the track under the yellow flag on multiple occasions. Late in the race the patient veteran struck, battling with Marty Hart for two laps before finally securing the lead for good to take his first short course victory of the new season. On Sunday Rob also set the fast lap for the entire weekend, hitting speeds over 80 mph and showing the true potential of his new truck that Dave Farruggia and Jim Blackmore constructed in the off-season. The 800-horsepower creation is fitted with suspension from Fo x Racing Shox, a host of Impact and MasterCraft Safety products, and tires from BFGoodrich on ProAm forged beadlock rims.
If you missed out on the live racing you can still watch Rob’s victory and all of the LOORRS action on CBS Sports, NBC Sports, SPEED Channel, and MavTV. The next LOORRS battle for the ROCKSTAR Energy / Makita Power Tools team will be at Speedworld in Surprise, Arizona on the weekend of May 19-20. Speedworld was good to Rob Mac last season and he looks forward to more wins in Surprise this season. Although Rob missed the first weekend of TRAXXAS The Off Road Championship (TORC) this weekend in Charlotte, Andrew Caddell did an admirable job handling driving duties in the MOPAR RAM Pro 2WD. Rob will be back behind the wheel of his MOPAR RAM at the next race weekend in Red Bud, Michigan on May 26-27.
In his never ending lust for dust Rob will also be sharing driving duties with Steve Sourapas in the Best In The Desert racing series throughout the 2012 season. The duo already won the Trick Truck class at the legendary Mint 400 last month and are both looking forward to Silver State 300 on May 3-5. South of the border, MacCachren continues his quest for the SCORE International Trophy Truck championship, where he is currently first in season points after two victories, when he gets behind the wheel of the No. 20 ROCKSTAR Energy Drink / MasterCraft Racing Trophy Truck at the Baja 500 on June 1-3. For the latest updates from MacCachren Motorsports be sure to follow Rob at http://www.facebook.com/21RobMac.