Wild 1st Day Of Racing At Bark River Off-Road 100
This story and attached photos are courtesy of the TORC Series BARK RIVER---Bark River International Raceway always provides top-quality racing action and 2017’s first day was no exception. Storm clouds once again threatened to interrupt the TORC Series action in progress, but this time Mother Nature held off and the racing program proceeded smoothly. Thousands of fans were treated to edge-of-your-seat action across the board with nary a chance to blink, and when the dust settled, repeat winners stood tall in every PRO class—with one huge exception. Johnny Greaves Stays Ahead of PRO 4 Mayhem... Round 7’s PRO 4 feature was one of the most hectic races in recent memory. The calamity started just after the green flag, as defending class champion CJ Greaves got tied up with Chad Hord in the opening turns and fell nearly a half lap behind the leaders. Keegan Kincaid, racing a PRO 4 for the first time at Bark River International Raceway, made it around Ross Hoek on the opening lap to seize the early lead. Scott Douglas settled into the lead and held off Johnny until lap three, when Johnny took the long way around in the infamous “Cemetery Corner” to power his way to the front. The halfway mandatory caution allowed Chad Hord and CJ Greaves to catch up to the leaders and return to action. Kincaid was very fast, but struggled to rotate his truck correctly in the second half, and he eventually dropped to fourth. “That was a handful,” said Johnny, who extended his points lead with his second straight win. “I knew CJ was coming. [My spotter was] like, ‘holy crap, he’s on you, last turn,’ and I’m like ‘not this again!’ But I didn’t give up the last turn this time.” Elk River, MN based driver Andrew Carlson made his PRO 2 debut in Round 7, starting on the pole in Keegan Kincaid’s former truck. Carlson jumped out to an early lead as Eric Ruppel held off class favorites Brad Lovell and Luke Johnson for several laps. The halfway mandatory caution brought Johnson right up to Carlson’s bumper, and most race fans expected the more experienced racer to pass the rookie quickly. “I didn’t know what to expect coming into the class. To get out and get the green flag all the way to checkered is awesome for me, because I could just run,” an emotional Carlson explained. “I’ve never run this truck behind anyone, ever, so I didn’t know what the PRO 2 roost was like. I was having a blast. This thing is so fun to drive.” Carlson was also named the “Bad MoFo” of the day for his courageous debut performance. Luke Johnson, though disappointed with his second-place finish, came out of Saturday a big winner in the championship points race, jumping from third place to first due to mechanical struggles by the previous leaders. Chad Rayford, fresh off a spectacular rollover in Round 6, started strong on the pole. Cam Reimers occupied the second spot early but a brief slowdown sent him to back to fourth place. Reimers would draw the line in the sand there, making contact with Shawn Morris as he stepped on the gas. Chad Rayford held a strong lead until lap four, when he got sideways over the finish line tabletop. The two PONSSE trucks mirrored each other until just before the halfway point, when Kyle swooped to the inside and took the lead. Kyle never looked back on his way to a fifth straight victory. “It was intense trying to move up and pick people off,” said Kyle Kleiman after his victory. “It was good, clean racing—that’s why I like this class so much.” The race was far from over behind Kyle. Cody Kleiman had to hold off a hard-charging Cam Reimers, who had one of the fastest trucks on the track. Reimers worked Cody for several laps, but everything changed when Reimers’ truck started smoking. Shawn Morris saw the smoke from his fourth-place position and smelled blood in the water. Chaney, the championship points leader, continued his excellent yet frustrating season, finishing second for the sixth straight time. The TORC Series racing action at Bark River International Raceway will continue Sunday with Round 8.
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