The big news out of Bark River was the announcement by Jim Baldwin about the moving of most of the race dates to the west coast. There will be the possibility of a midwest series that will stand on it’s own and the CORR Pro Series will visit 3 times in 2007. Details on the new midwest series are not available at this time and will relayed to the ORC readers when they are finalized. The racing at Bark River provided a lot of good action with some last lap passes for wins, as well as some dominating victories in some classes. The carnage was kept to a minimum although Aaron Hawley had the most damage after hitting some concrete barriers during the Super Buggy race while in the lead. The CORR series will return to Bark River August 12-13 for Rounds 7-8 of the Midwest Sportsman Series and Rounds 9-10 for the Pro Series.
The Light Buggy race continues to be close after 6 rounds of racing. Craig Metz moved into the lead with 74 points after Steve Oman dropped to 4 th place. Greg Stingle and Jaime Kleikemp were tied after 4 rounds of racing but a pair of podium finishes moved him ahead of Kleikemp 72-63. A poor finish for Kleikemp in Round 5 slowed his chase despite winning Round 6. Mike VandenHuevel nearly won his first career race but broke on the final lap to give the win to Chad DeWall. This is the second time VandenHuevel has been within one lap of a win in his Light Buggy career. 1. Craig Metz 74 2. Greg Stingle 72 3. Jaime Kleikemp 63
The Stock Trucks also rearranged the top three after Bark River. Scott Beauchamp had a very good weekend winning Round 5 and taking 2 nd in Round 6. His effort was good enough to move him into the lead with 91 points. Keith Steele dropped to 2 nd place with a total of 87 points, good enough to keep him 5 points ahead of Dave Waldvogel. Don Demeny had a pair of 3 rd place finishes to move him into the hunt at 4th with 75 points. It appears the title run will be between the top three again in 2006, although finishing races will be the key for the last 4 rounds of racing. 1. Scott Beauchamp 91 2. Keith Steele 87 3. Dave Waldvogel 82
The top three Single Buggies remain the same but in a different order after two more rounds of racing. Mark Steinhardt is proving to be the man to beat, winning both rounds in Bark River. He has opened up a gap of 9 points back to 2 nd place Brad Erickson 100-91. Michael Seefeldt managed a podium in Round 6 but drops to 3 rd in points with 87. Steve Socha did not see the podium all weekend and is 14 points behind Seefeldt with 72. The leaders remain in sight of John Fitzgerald, who is running in 5 th with 66 points. 1. Mark Steinhardt 100 2. Brad Erickson 91 3. Michael Seefeldt 87
Ross Hoek erased the 15 point deficit he had behind Dan Baudoux coming into Bark River and went to victory circle twice for the weekend sweep. Baudoux had trouble both rounds and only managed 8 points for the weekend. Hoek now leads 96 to 79 giving him a 15 point lead. Ben Wandahsega was 4 th in both rounds moving him into a tie for 3 rd with Mike Savage at 77 points. Ken Hallgren is in 4 th after a career high 2 nd place finish in Round 6. Reliability will most likely determine the winner of Sportsman 2 as Baudoux and Wandahsega both have experienced trouble this year. Hoek has been the most consistent with a low finish of 4 th in 2006. 1. Ross Hoek 96 2. Dan Baudoux 79 3. Ben Wandahsega 77 3. Michael Savage 77
Ryan Mulder failed to make the podium in Super Buggy handing the lead over to Scott Schwalbe. Mulder dropped to 2 nd place, 3 points back of the lead 87-84. John Mason squeaked ahead of Gary Nierop with a 2 nd and 4 th place finishes to Nierops 3 rd and 4 th place results. His margin is a slim 1 point between himself and Nierop leaving the top three separated by only 10 points. 1. Scott Schwalbe 87 2. Ryan Mulder 84 3. John Mason 77
The Pro-2 race has been shaken up again with the return of Todd LeDuc to the lead with 68 points. Steve Barlow is having a career run in 2006 running 2 nd in points with 64. Scott Taylor dropped out of the top spot back to 3 rd with 63 points. It’s been an up and down season for Taylor who has experienced some bad luck. Scott Douglas has moved up into 4 th place after a win in Round 6, a mere 3 points ahead of rookie Jerry Whelchel. Whelchel ran strong leading most of Round 5 before a bent shock ended his bid for the win. The old Scott Taylor truck has proven to still be competitive with Whelchel at the wheel. 1. Todd LeDuc 68 2. Steve Barlow 64 3. Scott Taylor 63
The Pro-Lite championship looks very similar to 2005 with the same faces at the top. Jeff Kincaid has 5 wins so far in 2006 giving him sole possession of 1 st place with 101 points. Chad Hord and Kyle LeDuc flip-flopped finishes for the weekend with LeDuc taking 2 nd in Round 5 and Hord taking 2 nd in Round 6. Hord Leads LeDuc 94-66. Rookie Rob Naughton dropped to 5 th place, trailing Mark Oberg by 5 points 54-49. 1. Jeff Kincaid 101 2. Chad Hord 94 3. Kyle LeDuc 66
The Pro-4 ranks were thin at Bark River with only 9 trucks making the trek to Bark River. Carl Renezeder and Johnny Greaves lead the field with three wins each in 2006. Renezeder took the Round 6 win to maintain his points lead with 96 points. Greaves string of 3 wins was broken in Round 6, although he makes the jump from 4 th to 2 nd in points with 81 for the year. Josh Baldwin continues to hold down the 3 rd spot with 75 points. The absence of Troy Herbst drops him from 2 nd to 7 th in the standings, most likely ending a bid for the title in 2006. The return to Chula Vista should garner a bigger field of trucks making for some good racing. 1. Carl Renezeder 2. Johnny Greaves 3. Josh Baldwin The next race is July 22-23 at the Chula Vista International Off-Road Raceway.
Photos by Jeremy Pyatskowit
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