X Games 15 Rally Car Racing

Brack Take the Final After Pastrana Crashes

Aug. 03, 2009 By Josh Burns
Travis Pastrana airs it out over the jump at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles.

Under near-perfect California sunshine, X Games 15 wrapped up on Sunday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, with X Games Rally Car Racing. The Rally event at X Games has brought with it some pretty big names in the action sports world, such larger-than-life motocross freestyler and racer Travis Pastrana and BMX legend Dave Mirra. This year also featured the rally rookie debut of IRL Champion Kenny Brock and another freestyle motocross legend Brian Deegan.

After qualifying was run earlier in on Sunday, the stage was set in the early afternoon for the eight-car quarterfinals. Tanner Foust, one of a handful of racers piloting a Ford Fiesta as opposed to the typical Subaru or Mitsubishi vehicles used by the factory teams, fired off the line in a hurry and took a solid lead on Andi Mancin that he never relinquished. Foust was able to move on to the semifinals.

The pits were busy all day at X Games 15.

Up next was the Subaru of Dave Mirra and Indy 500 winner Kenny Brack in another Ford. Despite Mirra heading off the dirt onto the tarmac section with the lead, Brack was able to reel him in and pulled just ahead of Mirra. After the two racers had both hit the jump and run through the tarmac section for the final time, both vehicles looked to be pretty even but Brack appeared to pull just ahead of Mirra. In a last-ditch effort to catch Brack, Mirra slid out in the final turn and was unable to get out of the quarters.

Travis Pastrana was up next in a battle with Andrew Comrie-Picard (ACP), the racer who went end over end on the jump last year. In qualifying, ACP again took the jump with a little too much speed and landed too far down the jump, but he was ready to go in the quarters against crowd favorite Pastrana. Today was not ACP’s day, however, as Pastrana started off the quarterfinal race with smooth turns on the dirt that helped him build up a solid lead. ACP ran into one of the barriers, and Pastrana managed not to wad it up to move into the semis, spinning a dirt-throwing donut for the fans in celebration after the race.

ACP proves that what goes up, must come down.

 

PAGE 2
Ken Block was disqualified in the quarterfinals after avoiding the main jump during the race.

In a major upset, Ken Block was knocked out of the event by X Games Rally rookie Brian Deegan, who was also competing in a Ford at the event. Block has jumped out to a solid lead ahead of Deegan, who appeared to be out for the semis until Block rounded the corner to take on the jump and, to the surprise of the crowd, went around it. Though it took a few minutes for the official ruling, Block was eventually disqualified for running off the course, putting Deegan into the semifinals of his first rally race at X Games.

Rally X Games rookie Brian Deegan took the jump hard and fast.

Not only were there a few rally rookies moving into the semis, but there were also three Ford Fiestas moving on, with the lone Subaru piloted by Pastrana. First up in the semis was the battle between Foust and Brack, who were neck and neck throughout much of the race. The racers criss-crossed the jump section for the second time, but moving out onto the tarmac section off the dirt Foust spun out and Brack was able to move into the final.

The second semi was the battle of ex-freestyle motocrossers, with Pastrana and Deegan waging war in rally vehicles this time instead of on dirtbikes. There wasn’t much action in this race, however, as Deegan also bypassed the main jump much like Block did. He didn’t appear to have much speed coming around the corner (and he was out of the pits a little late, so mechanical issues might've been a factor), so his skipping of the jump quickly disqualified him from the race as it did Block. Pastrana and Brack moved on for the final, and Deegan’s DQ meant Foust took the Bronze Medal.

Travis Pastrana had the crowd in a frenzy like usual.

 

PAGE 3

Kenny Brack took the win in the final when Pastrana pinned his vehicle on a wall after a spin-out.

The final started off strong, with Pastrana pulling out to an early lead with Brack looking a little sloppy on his first few turns. After charging around the dirt stadium and out onto the tarmac, Brack started to reel in Pastrana ... but then the race felt like it was over before it really got going. Pastrana spun out upon entering back into the Home Depot Center and the race was red flagged since his car was pinned at the entry. Brack took the Gold and Pastrana the Silver.

“If he wasn’t so fast, that would not have happened,” Pastrana said after the race. “I was really impressed.”

Brack was happy with his win, but he says he doesn’t plan to jump into this full time.  

“It’s a one off,” Brack said of his entry into the rally car race. “I’m not looking to get into this full time again. I’m 43 years old. It’s a lot easier standing on the sidelines telling someone how to do it than to do it yourself.”

Travis Pastrana gives the thumbs up to fans in the crowd.

X Games 15 Rally Race Results
1. Kenny Brack           Arvika, Sweden
2. Travis Pastrana        Annapolis, MD
3. Tanner Foust           Capistrano Beach, CA                                     
4. Brian Deegan          Bellevue, NE
5. Andrew Comrie-Picard       Toronto (CAN) 
6. Andi Mancin           Bielsko-Biala (POL)
7. Ken Block   Rancho Santa Fe, CA
8. Dave Mirra  Greenville, NC
9. Piotr Wiktorczyk     Chicago, IL
10. Art Gruszka          Chicago, IL
11. Matt Johnson        Apex, NC
12. Jimmy Keeney      Colorado Springs, CO

 


Off-Road.com Newsletter
Join our Weekly Newsletter to get the latest off-road news, reviews, events, and alerts!