BARK RIVER, Mich. – On Wednesday, Aug. 25, Jeremy McGrath will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America while at Chicagoland Speedway with the Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL. Saturday at Bark River International Raceway, he added another bullet to his already-impressive racing career by winning his first-ever PRO 2WD race, finishing ahead of class points leader Rob MacCachren (second) and Ricky Johnson (third).Also earning trips to the Winner’s Circle were Marty Hart (PRO Light) and Rick Huseman (PRO 4WD).
“What do you say about this Bark River track?” said an elated McGrath from the winner’s podium after the race. “I think it’s one year to the day that Rob got me on the last lap and ended up winning that race. We finally got to seal the deal.
“I gotta say thanks to the whole Greaves team, Kurt and Johnny and Brad and the whole crew. I mean, all you guys have put in a lot of work for me and have been patient and I appreciate that. This is a weekend I’ve been waiting on for a long time, so what better place to have it than Bark River!”
It looked as though it was going to be a good points day for McGrath as well, with MacCachren getting caught up in a wreck early with Chad Hord and Johnson spinning late in the race. But both racers, showing the hearts of champions, were able to cut their way back through the field and finish their day on the podium.
It may have been McGrath’s first win, but it was Marty Hart’s fifth-consecutive PRO Light victory as he fought off a hard-charging Andrew Caddell late in the race. Hart started on the point and had a sizeable lead going into the mandatory caution. After the restart, however, Caddell began reeling him in, almost overtaking him in the final few turns, but Hart managed to stay just ahead and edged Caddell at the line. Since finishing eighth at Crandon, Hart has won every subsequent round.
“It was pretty exciting,” Hart said “It was an awesome race track today, an awesome race with Andrew, and those guys are slowly creeping up to where we’re at on these bigger tracks. I think we’re going to have a battle on our hands for the rest of the season.”
In PRO 4, it was Huseman and Johnny Greaves upfront the entire race. Huseman started on point and took the holeshot on the rolling start, but Greaves was on his bumper for the length of the event. Greaves was able to overtake his Monster Energy Drink teammate briefly, but Huseman returned to P1 for the closest finish of the day.
“That was an awesome race,” said the normally low-key Huseman, celebrating his first victory since Rd. 2 in Crandon. “It’s real critical to get the holeshot out here at this track because it’s hard to pass. John got a pass on me and I got him on the next one, so that was a lot of fun. It put a lot of excitement into the race right there. I really enjoyed racing that race with John.”
Ironically, none of the winners earned fast lap awards during their races, with the runners up taking the honors instead in all three PRO categories. Caddell earned the Traxxas Maxx Cash Award of $1,000 with his fast lap of 1:27.062. In PRO 2, MacCachren earned the Oakley Bomb Award with his lap of 1:24.967 and in PRO 4, it was Greaves taking Oakley Bomb Award honors with a lap time of 1:21.659.
CJ Greaves’ luck continued to get worse in the Super Buggy class. After finishing first or second in the first six rounds, he had a rough outing in Oshkosh. While he managed a third-place finish on Friday at the Speedzone, he took home ninth on Saturday there. Saturday at Bark River, he flipped going into the first turn and later spent extended time in the pits. John Frana would go on to take a dominating win.
Other Sportsman winners were: Dale Chestnut (Classix), Dave Miah (Formula 4x4), Chris Bowser (Enduro), Mike Vanden Heuvel (Limited 2), Matt Gerald (1600 Light Buggy), John Fitzgerald (1600 Buggy), and Al Kowitzer (Super Stock).
The complete results and standings can be found at TORCSeries.com.
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