Riverside, CA – After a fantastic performance in Lake Elsinore three weeks ago, including a sweep of the weekend’s Pro Lite racing, RJ Anderson and his crew were anxious to ride the momentum into rounds 7 and 8 in Tooele, Utah. The racing takes place at the beautiful Miller Motorsports complex just outside of Salt Lake City. With paved pits, beautiful facilities and a go-kart track, Miller Motorsports park is a favorite of fans and racers alike.
RJ Anderson was able to put down some fast laps and qualified first in the Pro Lite class for Saturday’s race. The three row inversion for the main event meant that Rj would be starting back in fifth and have his work cut out for him. As racing got underway RJ began to push towards the front but on the very first lap he would have to check up hard to avoid a collision, ripping off a right rear brake caliper in the process. Approaching the race a little differently without brakes RJ stayed composed and was able to pick his way through much of the carnage, battling hard with points leader Brad Deberti and salvaging a 5th place finish.
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The Pro 2 class would take the field last on Saturday with RJ Anderson next to Rob MacCachren on the front row. At the drop of the green flag RJ shot out in front and began to tick off the laps. Miller Motorsports park is an exceptionally tight and technical track and there was a lot of carnage during the race but RJ stayed out front until lap ten where a bauble in turn 1 would drop him back to 7th. He pushed hard for the remaining couple of laps and was able to claw his way back to a 5th place photo-finish over Rodrigo Ampudia.
Round 8 came with beautiful racing weather for Father’s Day. RJ qualified first again with no inversion this round, meaning he’d be starting up front with clean air. As the green flag dropped the #37 pulled out to an early lead with a train of hungry Pro Lite drivers in tow. Defending the lead would be no easy task with many cautions and a hard charge from second place on lap 14, but in the end RJ lead every lap and took home the top spot on the podium.
In Sunday’s Pro 2 main event RJ would start in 3rd position after qualifying and inversion. He battled hard through a ton of carnage, banging doors and swapping positions in pursuit of the top 5. Throwing it in to turn five in a battle for 5th place RJ was able to emerge ahead and make it stick. He continued to lay down quick laps despite the repeated cautions but ultimately RJ and the team would be forced to settle for 5th.
RJ Anderson and the whole team are thrilled with the progress they’ve been making and with a top five in all four races this weekend the results are starting to show. RJ would like to thank the crew and all of his friends and family who came out and supported him along with all of the sponsors that allow him to perform at this level. Next up Lucas Oil Offroad Racing heads back to southern California for rounds 9 and 10 at Glen Helen Raceway July 18-19 under the lights! Keep up with RJ on social media and come out to the races to support!