The Track

Rounds 5 and 6 of Championship Off Road Racing hits “The Quarry” at Chula Vista, CA this weekend.  The new track and venue is built at a working rock quarry in San Diego County.  Jim Baldwin decided to have the track moved there after the old track was developed into residential homes at the end of the 2006 CORR season.

Chula Vista International Raceway aka "The Quarry"

The official name of this new track is “Chula Vista International Raceway at the Quarry.”  It is a 150-acre facility with one of the most challenging closed off-road tracks around.  It spans one mile in length, featuring 30-degree embankments and a major 30 ft. drop-off all built into the side of a hill. The layout is very tight and technical, making the track one of the most impressive CORR tracks yet. 

It’s going to be great for both the racers and the spectators.  The track is visible from almost every seat in the house.  Already, tickets are selling fast and it is predicted it will once again be a “sold out” event like Rounds 3 and 4 at The Fairplex in Pomona, CA.

Practice

The LeDuc team has a full RockStar line up, staring Curt LeDuc as Pro 4 lead singer, Todd LeDuc as Pro 2 guitarist, Kyle LeDuc as Pro Lite drummer, and Valerie LeDuc on Pro Lite base

Friday was practice and qualifying day for all classes.  Many did not get any seat time on the new track during the week.  The LeDuc boys were letting it all out at practice.  Todd LeDuc in the RockStar/Skyjacker Ford F-150 was pushing around the corners and launching the Pro 2 off the jumps with no reservations.  Some racers were holding back, and making sure they had the track memorized before hitting it hard.  Rob MacCachren seemed very confident out on the track in the #29 Red Bull Ford F-150.  He just seemed to get faster after every lap.  The racers were given 2 practice laps before qualifying

The whoop section is deemed to be one of the hardest sections on the course.  They easily span two car lengths from peak to peak

Many of the racers seemed to be having problems in the straight-away in front of the grand stands.  This section has four large whoops that need to be attacked by clearing two peaks at a time.  The whoops are so far spaced out that getting the right speed and rhythm across the section was a challenge.  Many trucks and buggies were burying their noses in the dirt after not clearing the jumps.  This is definitely one of the more challenging areas, which is likely to cause carnage on race day. 

The big drop-off at the back stretch of the course is sure to cause some excitement on race day

The race trucks were experiencing major “hang-time” at the big jump on the back stretch.  This colossal jump has a 30 ft. drop off with a tight chicane at the bottom.  This jump has been deemed a no passing zone, just to keep it safe.  CORR officials don’t want to see trucks landing on top of each other, which by the looks of things is very possible.

Check out Robert Naughton's 150ft jump from test day [click here]

After Practice/Qualifying, many teams do a partial teardown and prep their trucks for race day. Terrible Herbst wasted no time on Friday after their runs.

Qualifying

#36 Rick Huseman captures fastest qualifying time at Chula Vista

After each racer got their two practice laps in, they came out again and did their qualifying lap.  The fastest time in Pro 4 was captured by Rick Huseman with a time of 54.47 seconds.  Adrian Cenni had the second fastest, only three hundredths of a second (.03) behind Huseman.  Pro 4 points leader Johny Greaves had the fifth fastest time of 55.89 seconds.

#29 Rob MacCachren captures fastest qualifying time in Pro 2

In Pro 2, Rob MacCachren flew around the track and captured a time of 56.91.  SuperCross/Motorcross Champion Ricky Johnson came in a close second, only two tenths (.2) of a second behind MacCachren.  Pro 2 points leader Jerry Whelchel in the #41 Monster Energy Ford F-150 did not have a very good run.  He did not capture a top 5 spot.

#51 Garrit Wallace captures fastest qualifying time in Pro Lite

In Pro Lite Garrit Wallace in the #51 Nissan Frontier got the fastest qualifying time: 60.63, with Jeff Huseman following two tenths (.2) of a second behind.  Pro Lite points leader Kyle LeDuc did not make it in the top 5.  Rodrigo Ampudia in the #36 Papas & Beer truck came back with the third fastest time, even after blowing his engine on Thursday.

The little guys didn’t get any seat time on Friday, but they will have plenty of time on Saturday and Sunday to strut their stuff

Check back this weekend for end of day race reports.