Douglas Earns TORC Series Off-Road Short-Course PRO 4 Victory at Oshkosh
Oshkosh, Wis. – The only competitive sport the Oshkosh Speedzone Raceway seemed prepared for Thursday night was fishing. A mere 24 hours later, the Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL put on a show for the ages with a track expertly prepared by the USAC officials and Oshkosh track staff. PRO 4WD driver Scott Douglas, who has a race shop nearby and whose wife, Jackie, was born just minutes away from the facility, took his first checkered flag of the year in front of a packed house.
It was an eventful PRO 4 race as Rick Huseman ended up on his lid not once, but twice. In a display one can only witness in the TORC Series, Huseman fired it back up both times and stayed competitive and on the lead lap, finishing fourth. Johnny Greaves finished second with Steve Barlow bringing home third.
In PRO 2WD, former AMA Supercross champion Ricky Johnson put on a clinic with his victory. Behind him, however, it was a side-by-side battle between another former dirtbike champ, Jeremy McGrath, and current class points leader, Rob MacCachren. McGrath was able to earn runner-up honors after starting eighth with MacCachren rounding out the podium in third.
Earning the Oakley Bomb Awards for fastest lap were Greaves (PRO 2, 38.352) and Johnson (PRO 4, 40.124).
In PRO Lights, Marty Hart took sole possession of first place in the points over Casey Currie with a runaway victory over Currie. Finishing third was Todd Cunningham in his first podium finish of the 2010 season. Both Hart and Currie came from deep in the field to the front on the first lap, displaying their dominance early.
Hart earned the Traxxas Maxx Cash Award of $1,000 with his fast lap of 42.903.
In the Sportsman classes, Eric Ruppel took the upset win in Super Stock with a last turn pass of Mitch Dorr after Dorr, who fought Scott Beauchamp for the lead for most of the race, was caught up behind slow traffic before the finish line. In Super Buggy, Bob Klaus earned the win with Steve Krieman and CJ Greaves finishing 2-3. Greaves was caught up in a pileup on the first lap and almost went a lap down early, but fought back for the podium. He and Krieman traded paint in the closing laps, but shook hands smiling in the Winner’s Circle.
In Limited 2WD, Mike Vanden Heuvel earned a popular win over Dan Baudoux and Michael Baker. Also earning Sportsman wins Friday at Oshkosh were: Robert Weiland (Classix), Bradley Lamarche (Formula 4x4), Matt Gerald (1600 Light), Brock Smith (Enduro), and Jeff Villemure (1600 Buggy).
Full results and standings can be found at TORCSeries.com.
Spectator gates open Saturday at 1 p.m. with Opening Ceremonies beginning at 3:50. For fans unable to attend, the event will be broadcast via live free streaming at TORCSeries.com courtesy of GoPro Cameras and eBay Motors. For more information, visit OshkoshOffRoad.com.
For more information on the Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL, visit them on the Web at TORCSeries.com. For information on the United States Auto Club, visit USACRacing.com. Both sites will also feature live free streaming of all the events on the TORC Series schedule courtesy of GoPro cameras and eBay Motors.
Race fans can follow all the action throughout the TORC Series season on its official Twitter sites at Twitter.com/TORCMedia and its official page on Facebook.