A ring and a World Champion Title are on the line when CORR rolls into Crandon, WI this weekend for the World Championship races. The Pro Classes will be dueling for Rounds 11-12 and the Midwest Sportsman will be wrapping up their season with Rounds 9-10. As previously reported, the Crandon International Off-Road Raceway made some major improvements to the facility prior to the start of the 2006 season. Clay was added to the track in various corners, building up the track nearly two feet in some sections. The improvements held up very well in June, which was the last visit to Crandon by CORR. Thanks to Ross Hoek Motorsports, I had the opportunity to get a ride around the famed track during a test session in August. Although I have no previous experience running the track, it is impressive to get a tour of the track at race speed. The Ross Hoek Sportsman-2/Pro-2 is the only truck in these classes configured to carry a passenger. The truck rides as smooth as they look with the suspension travel they are capable of. Look for Ross Hoek as he guns for his first Sportsman-2 Championship.
A new race brings new faces to the track in Crandon. Dircks and Porter Racing will be at Crandon in a Pro-Lite to get a jump start to their CORR career. Although they have a pair of Pro-2 trucks under construction, they couldn’t wait to hit the track to gain some valuable experience. They are joining the a very competitive field that includes such notables as Jeff Kincaid, who leads all CORR divisions with 8 wins on the season, Chad Hord, and Kyle LeDuc. Kincaid and Hord continue to run away from the rest of the field with impressive runs so far in 2006. The surprise of Pro-2 continues to be Jerry Whelchel. After his first CORR win in Round 9, he has taken over the points lead in his rookie season. The truck purchased from Scott Taylor has proven it’s worth as it is still a frontrunner. Carl Renezeder has been up and down in his new Pro-2 but has been successful at Crandon before. A good run this weekend could put him atop the standings heading back out to California. In 2005, Johnny Greaves started his win streak of 7 races start in Bark River. Greaves may be on the same course after winning Round 10. Crandon has been long considered Greaves’ home track and he has more than a few wins at the northern WI track. Both Greaves and Carl Renezeder have won the Borg-Warner Shootout and both drivers are considered favorites to win it again.
The final rounds of the Midwest Sportsman Series are finally here and the points championships will be decided at Crandon. The Light Buggies have Craig Metz leading Greg Stingle by 4 points. Good starts are critical at Crandon for the buggies because the wide open layout does not bode well for playing catch up. 2005 champion Mark Steinhardt is trying to go back to back and leads the points by 3 points over 2005 runner-up Michael Seefeldt. In 2005 Seefeldt lost the points race in the last round of racing after being slowed by mechanical difficulties. Past Super Buggy champion Scott Schwalbe is in the running for the title sitting in 2 nd place, a mere 6 points behind Ryan Mulder. Mulder has put together a consistent season putting himself in position to fight for the title. Keith Steele is once again in position to win the Sportsman Stock title after losing out in 2005. He maintains a 7 point lead over Scott Beauchamp, who has been having a very good season. The Sportsman-2 trucks will be the final class to decide the who the 2006 Champion will be. Ross Hoek leads the points by 16 over Dan Baudoux. Hoek gained an advantage after Baudoux was penalized four positions after last lap contact in Round 8. All in all, the Sportsman racers should offer a great show for the fans with a lot on the line in these last two rounds of racing. The racing kicks off with the Crandon sanctioned classes on Friday night under the lights. .
Photos by Jeremy Pyatskowit |
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