Ricky Johnson Wins TORC PRO 2, Kyle Busch Last With Broken Suspension
JOLIET, Ill. – The Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL PRO 2WD class had the lion’s share of attention going into Wednesday night’s race with the induction of Jeremy McGrath into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and the off-road racing debut of NASCAR star Kyle Busch. While McGrath and Busch may have gotten the attention, it was Ricky Johnson who earned the trophy, taking the victory at the end of the night. Johnson received another gift when PRO 2 points leader Rob MacCachren broke down at the white flag and finished seventh, his first non-podium finish of the year.In PRO 4WD, it was Rick Huseman earning his third-straight victory and PRO Lights saw Andrew Caddell continue his success from Bark River with the win. All three winners earned the fastest laps in their class with Caddell taking the Traxxas Maxx Cash Award of $1,000 and Huseman and Johnson earning the Oakley Bomb Awards with lap times of 46.446 seconds and 48.160 seconds, respectively.
Bark River winner Jeff Kincaid started the race with the PRO 2 lead, but was quickly passed by Johnson, who never relinquished the top position. Just as quick was Busch’s exit from the race, falling out on the second lap with a broken rear suspension. The battle of the night was Chad Hord and Todd LeDuc, making his 2010 TORC Series’ season debut, racing for the final podium spot with LeDuc taking third.
In what has become commonplace in recent TORC Series events, the PRO 4 class provided some of the best racing of the night with Huseman taking his third consecutive win. Johnny Greaves started the race on point with Huseman taking the green in seventh, but it wasn’t long before the eventual race winner began slicing through the field. By the time the field took the mandatory caution, Huseman was in the lead with Greaves heading for the pits.
The second half of the race saw Scott Douglas, who would finish second, taking the lead, but it would be a back-and-forth battle between the two. Action on the track was halted briefly when Mark Jenkins rolled his Traxxas-sponsored machine on the tabletop jump. When the racing resumed, Huseman quickly took the lead and kept that lead to the checkered flag, followed by Douglas and Steve Barlow in third.
After five straight PRO Light victories, Marty Hart’s seventh-place finish at Bark River, Mich., put a small dent in his points lead. That lead got even smaller Wednesday night at Route 66 Raceway when he nosed his truck into the ground after a big jump on the first lap, finishing tenth.
The crash itself necessitated a red flag situation, but in an effort to make the racing conditions as safe as possible, USAC and TORC Series officials reshaped the ramp. When the race returned to green, Andrew Caddell took the lead and never gave it back, winning a dominant race over Casey Currie and Chad Rayford, who earned the final spot on the podium after a late race door-to-door battle with Ross Hoek.
In Super Buggy, the lone Sportsman class racing at this event, CJ Greaves returned to the Winner’s Circle for the first time since the July Bark River race.
For full results and standings, visit TORCSeries.com. Gates open at 4 p.m. for Thursday’s race with opening ceremonies scheduled for 7:30.
For more information on the Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL, visit them on the Web at TORCSeries.com. For information on the United States Auto Club, visit USACRacing.com. Both sites will also feature live free streaming of all the events on the TORC Series schedule courtesy of GoPro cameras and eBay Motors.
Race fans can follow all the action throughout the TORC Series season on its official Twitter sites at Twitter.com/TORCMedia and its official page on Facebook.
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