The final race for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah was bittersweet for Brian Deegan. Miller Motorsports Park will be ceasing operations in October of this year. Unless a new lessee comes forward to take over the track, it might have been the final race there for the Lucas Oil Series. It was also the first podium for Brian Deegan in his new Rockstar Energy / Makita Power Tools / Ford Pro-4. After a hard fought race in round 7 that saw several re-starts, Deegan worked his way up from the 7th spot to finish on the podium in third. Due to all the starting and stopping, his engine was running a bit hot. He had to drive at a restrained pace in the closing laps. He knew there was more left in it for round 8 on Sunday. He set a milestone for the new truck but at a track that will be relegated to history and therefore never repeated.

Achieving a first podium for the new Pro-4 was a great boost for the team but there were other events in Tooele that they hope will also be relegated to history and therefore never repeated. The track there gets very rough. Deegan’s Rockstar Energy / Makita Power Tools / Ford Pro-4 has the front end drive to pull him out of the deep ruts. The Rockstar Energy / Makita Power Tools / Ford Pro-2 has no front drive. As the laps grew, so did the depth of the ruts. There was also plenty of blue-groove in the corners. Blue-groove is when the dirt becomes hard as concrete and just as slick. Skid marks from the tires sliding over the hard packed dirt take on a blueish hue.

Deegan’s Mickey Thompson Tires get great bite on the blue groove but when you transition from blue-groove to soft dirt and ruts, it can upset the truck. In round 7, Deegan was in the top five until he over-rotated and dropped a couple positions. He then ran out of laps to get back up to the front. In round 8,he did something practically unheard of for him; he caught a rut and tipped the #38 over. Very few drivers are as skilled on two wheels as Brian Deegan and yet, the track got the best of him. This was after he had a very contentious race in the Pro-4. Battling door to door on the last lap, he had contact with another driver that drew a black flag from the officials. To be fair, the black flag has been raised on nearly all of the front runners in the past. It could probably come out on every lap. If you haven’t gotten a black flag, you aren’t driving hard enough. You just hope they catch the other guy first.

“We are really happy with all the progress we are making on the Rockstar Energy / Makita Power Tools / Ford Pro-4,” said Deegan, “It’s feeling better behind the wheel and our adjustments are working to get our Mickey Thompson tires really hooked up. This weekend was kind of crazy but we are looking forward to heading back to southern California to put on a great show for the fans at Glen Helen.”

Rounds 9 and 10 will be held July 18 and 19 at Glen Helen Raceway in Glen Helen, Ca. Brian Deegan will be right back in the heat of the action. If you can make it to the track in person don’t miss it.

For more information and tickets visit http://www.lucasoiloffroad.com/.

Photography By: Bink Designs