Lena, Wis. ~ Tight racing, big crashes, and heated points battles highlighted an action-packed day of racing at the Dirt City Motorplex in Lena, Wis., on Sunday for round nine of AMSOIL Championship Off-Road.
With the storm clouds charging in, the racing raged on across the tight battlefield of Dirt City. Only two rounds of racing remain after one of the most pivotal days of competition for the 2024 Champ Off-Road season. But if Lena was the only short-course, off-road race you saw this year, it would have hosted enough action to satisfy even the sport’s most die-hard fans.
From the beginners in Youth SXS to the horsepower-hungry vets of Pro 4, Dirt City delivered on Sunday.
Pro 4 Finish A Wild Affair
When Kainan Baker decided he wanted to go Pro 4 racing, he purchased a winning truck from Hall of Famer Scott Douglas. For much of Sunday’s Pro 4 contest, Baker looked to be channeling his inner Douglas as he flew around the Dirt City track, holding onto a sizeable lead as the rest of the track looked to catch the rookie.
Baker was soon joined by Saturday winner Jimmy Henderson and defending champion CJ Greaves. But Baker withstood the momentary assault and regained the lead. In the final turn before the mid-race, mandatory caution, both Henderson and Greaves stalled, and Baker raced to the caution.
But something also gave way for Baker, who suddenly stopped and was eventually tugged into the infield. That put Kyle Chaney in the top spot, with Andrew Carlson, Adrian Cenni, Johnny Greaves, Henderson, and CJ Greaves in line.
Crazy things can happen after the regroup, and Adrian Cenni was determined to get to the front. He first moved Carlson off his line, and then two laps later, he gave Chaney the same treatment. Cenni’s second move bunched up the next five trucks, moving Carlson into second and Henderson into third.
Henderson didn’t stay in third for long, moving past Carlson one lap after Cenni took the lead. A full-field caution bunched the field back up, with Henderson now on Cenni’s rear bumper. Two laps would remain at the end of the caution lap. Cenni got the jump and kept Henderson in his roost, with Henderson never being more than two truck lengths behind the eventual race winner.
Being in front was Cenni’s savior as Henderson and Carlson battled hard for positions. For Cenni, it marks his third win of the season and second victory in Dirt City this year (Round 1). It was a hard race and a well-earned win for the Wildman.
“I’ve evolved to become appreciative of the team. That was a real team effort,” said Cenni. “Everybody had to pull their weight, and that’s how we got there in the end. It was really appreciative those last few laps.”
Henderson and Carlson engaged in a game of pinball, trying to move up behind Cenni. The contact was part of the race flow, and when the fiberglass settled, Henderson was second and Carlson third, picking up his second podium in the last three rounds.
Winner Welcomes First Pro 2 Win of the Year
There was a lot of contact throughout the afternoon and evening races at Dirt City on Sunday, but it was limited in the usually aggressive Pro 2 class.
Cory Winner and Ryan Beat were on point through Sunday’s tilt. Winner earned the edge early in the race and kept finding a few seconds of daylight with each passing lap. When the checkered flags came out, Winner had about a six-truck lead over Beat, with several seconds spacing out to third. It was a big victory for the defending champion, who is only running a partial schedule this season. But much like his 2023 Pro 2 title, Winner found a winning formula in the second half of the season. His first win in 2024 is expected to set the stage for the final two weekends of the campaign.
“Right out of the gate, it was either play it safe or you gotta pass, and watching this track all day, it deteriorates quickly,” said Winner. “I had a good jump off the start and just committed right into one. I was able to make it stick, and I knew I had to run consistent laps and not make any mistakes.”
Beat trailed Mickey Thomas by four points coming into Sunday, and his runner-up finish will cut into that. It may have been even at the top if Thomas had not made a last-lap pass on Saturday winner Ricky Gutierrez, who slowed to the side of the racing surface with four turns left. That put Thomas into third and, unofficially, in hold of a two-point lead heading to Bark River in August.
Gibbs Wins Pro Lite Slugfest
Trey Gibbs won convincingly in Pro Lite on Saturday, finishing more than 10 seconds ahead of the field. However, it was much tighter than that for Sunday’s round nine action.
Michael Funk held the top spot for the first three laps before giving way to Johnny Holtger. The round one winner made a textbook outside-inside move to take the lead. Holtger would lead to the mid-race caution, but there was a lot of action behind him.
Gibbs and Funk would find hard contact on multiple occasions, first by Gibbs and then a return favor from Funk later on. More contact between the two would continue, but not until after Carson Parrish spun out in front of Gibbs, nearly collecting the points leader. Eventually, Gibbs made it clear of the chaos and set his sights on Holtger. They would sprint away from the field, and with three laps to go, with his truck shedding its fiberglass body, Gibbs slipped under Holtger and into the lead. They would stay just a truck length or two apart, with Gibbs taking the win, his third straight.
“That was one of the most fun and entertaining races I’ve been in, to date,” said Gibbs. Hats off to this guy (Holtger). He drove a hell of a race, and I had to work for it. I hope we put on a good show for the fans.”
Holtger, who sits second in points behind Gibbs, would finish second. It marked his first trip to the podium since Antigo in round four. Tyler Remmereid stayed clear of the contact in front of him and was rewarded with his third podium finish of the season in third.
Visser Responds with Wire-to-Wire Win in Pro Spec
There were a lot of positional changes throughout Sunday’s Pro Spec race, but none of them involved the race leader.
Nick Visser had a simple game plan on Sunday. He started on the front row, grabbed the hole shot, and never looked back. Visser felt pressure early but pulled away from the field and gathered up his fourth win of the season. Visser’s point lead had dropped to five coming into the day, but he picked up five points on Dylan Parsons with the win.
Parson’s, who picked up his second win of the season on Saturday, had his hands full with rookie Wyatt Miller. The young sprint car racer finished second in his first career Pro Spec race on Saturday and held off Parson’s over the final laps for his second straight runner-up finish. Parson’s would end the day in third.
Bernloehr Takes Control of Pro Buggy
The final word on Pro Buggy supremacy this season still has a way to go, but Jordan Bernloehr made a statement over the weekend in Lena.
Bernloehr had taken the points lead from Lorenzo Bonacci at ERX, but the two entered the day just six points apart. They would line up next to one another on the front row, and it was shaping up early to be a race-long showdown with Bonacci taking the lead. But Bonacci hit the wall and dropped out of the race, putting Bernloehr into the top spot. Bernloehr never gave the spot up despite pressure from Saturday winner Zachary Drapkin and then Billy Buth, who would finish second. Dave Mason, Jr. was only .183 of a second ahead of Drapkin at the line for a tight third-place finish
Greaves Sweeps SXS, Part II
There is a notion in racing that sometimes you have to move someone to gain position. During Sunday’s Pro SXS race, there was a lot of movement.
Jeb Bootle and Andrew Carlson led the talented field off the start line, and with CJ Greaves and Kainan Baker in tow, the race was tight and clean. Bootle kept his car wide and nearly impossible to pass, while Carlson stuck to his rear bumper, looking for an advantage. Greaves and Baker were waiting for their opening.
A full-course caution came out early in the contest, and that’s when the movement began. First, Carlson had to duck into the hot pit due to a flat rear tire. Greaves moved up to second, and Rodney VanEperen into third. Off the restart, Greaves and Bootle pulled away from the field, and Greaves kept looking to the inside on the lone righthanded 180-degree turn for an opening. Bootle ultimately pushed wide on lap ten, allowing Greaves to move into the top spot. After that, Greaves widened his lead and drove to his second straight win, a weekend sweep of Pro SXS and all four pro side-by-side classes at Lena.
With Greaves in clean air, Bootle had to hold off VanEperen, Kyle Chaney, and Baker. The battle for the final two podium spots would get heated, with constant contact throughout the remaining laps. When the dust settled, Chaney moved into the runner-up spot while Baker and VanEperen had to pull off the track.
The final podium spot came from the unexpected. After Carlson dumped into the hot pit, he got back out on the lead lap, and the points leader worked from dead last to third, making the final pass on the last lap for his seventh podium of the season.
Greaves Sweeps Pro Stock SXS
The defending Pro Stock SXS champion has been making a living this season, waiting until the halfway point of a race before pouncing into the lead and driving to the win.
CJ Greaves is also using that formula to bring home another Pro Stock SXS title. On Saturday, Greaves opened up the second half of the season by picking up the points lead from Owen VanEperen thanks to his third straight win. On Sunday, Greaves extended that lead with his fourth straight victory, once again waiting until after the mid-race mandatory caution to secure the top spot and the win.
Jeb Bootle put heavy pressure on Greaves after they both got around race leader Collin Truett. Bootle eventually settled into the runner-up spot for his seventh podium finish of the season. Owen VanEperen moved into third after Truett pulled off with two laps to go.
Pro-AM SXS: There were a lot of wild rides in Sunday’s Pro-AM SXS race, but the man out front kept all four wheels digging and kept the chaos behind him.
Bill Berger had to work through early traffic and then went door-to-door with Jacob Blemke before settling into the top spot. With several cars flipping behind the lead back, Berger kept the wolves at bay, including a late push from Benjamin Heiting. The round five winner, Heiting, pushed Bill Berger to the end, but Berger was not to be denied his first win of the season as the pair crossed the finishing line with just a few feet of separation.
Heiting would finish second, marking his fourth straight podium. Markus Catlin earned his first career trip to the podium, moving from 12th to third.
Sportsman SXS: Zack Wirhanowicz started Sunday’s Sportsman SXS race on the front row, and it allowed him to sneak out front and away from the chaos of the first few turns.
It was a long-awaited win for Wirhanowicz, who entered the day tenth overall but was looking for his first podium of the season. Saturday winner Brayden Kernz kept the pressure on the race-leader over the second half of the contest and finished just a car length back in second.
Sam Brazee got around Ben Berger with three laps to go and drove to his second podium of the season.
Youth SXS: The streak continues as Hudson Houle breaks out the brooms and sweeps the weekend in Youth SXS.
Houle had to work his way into the race lead late on Saturday, but once he found clean air, he pulled away for his fifth straight win.
Defending champion Ryker Remington got around Isaac Otto with two laps remaining for the runner-up spot. Remington would pick up his sixth podium of the season while Otto locked down his best finish in third.
Stock Truck: There was a lot of contact and action on the first lap of Sunday’s Stock Truck race, but when it all shook out, Nick Axelsen became the class’s first two-time winner this season.
Axelsen had to steer clear of congestion early on and overcame a sixth-place start before jumping into the lead on lap four when the leaders got tangled up. Axelsen was able to hold off points leader Kirk Graff for the win.
Graff will hold onto the points lead after finishing second. Brian Peot is still third overall after shuffling up and down the leaderboard on Sunday and finishing third.
Coming into Sunday, there had been eight different winners in the Stock Truck through eight rounds this season.
Super Stock Truck: Colt Wierzba nearly secured his first Super Stock Truck win of the season on Saturday. He sealed the deal on Sunday.
Wierzba grabbed the lead off the start, and even with an extended yellow caution, Wierzba was unrattled and held off Scott Boulanger and then Nick Byng over the final few laps around the Dirt City track for his second podium of the weekend.
Byng settled into the runner-up spot after the race’s mid-point and picked up his sixth podium of the year. Byng also overtook Braden Beauchamp for the overall points lead. For the third straight race, Cory Holtger crossed the line in third.
Mod Kart: Gavin Plummer was on a mission on the first lap of Sunday’s Mod Kart. Plummer started tenth off the drop of the green flag but didn’t waste any time getting through the field. By the time the first full lap was completed, Plummer had the lead, and he’d stay there for his third win of the season.
Round six winner Lincoln Mandsager also climbed into podium contention, finishing second. Wesley Vande Voort earned his first podium of the season by crossing the line in third.
1600 Single Buggy: It was a big weekend for mixing up the 1600 Single Buggy points race, but Sunday belonged to Sean Springstroh.
Springstroh shot off the start like a canon and held off Saturday winner Colton Berns early in the race. Springstroh then had his hands full with John Fitzgerald, who entered the weekend with the points lead. Springstroh found some breathing room late in the contest, picking up his first official win of the season.
Fitzgerald rebounded from a broken front end on Saturday to finish second, one spot ahead of Berns. For the final podium spot, Berns had to hold off Beau Ambos and a slew of buggies.
Michael Seefeldt took over the lead on Saturday, but Fitzgerald closed the gap back down to one on Sunday.
1600 Light Buggy: Connor Schulz was eighth when the green flag dropped but was once again first when the checkered flags flew at the end of the race.
Jake Schilleman led for the first half of the contest, but Schultz dipped under the race leader off the mid-race restart and took control of the race from there. It was the eighth win of the season for Schulz, who completed the weekend sweep.
Schilleman worked to catch Schulz while holding off several cars in contention for the runner-up spot. Schilleman locked down second, his third podium of the season. Round seven winner Evan Hockers crossed the line in third.
570 SXS: Peyton Weisbrod and Logan Fritzinger had a great, door-to-door showdown early in the race, but Fritzinger pulled away and picked up his second win of the season.
Fritzinger drove to his fifth straight 570 SXS podium and closed the points gap to one with Ellah Holtger, who finished third on Sunday. Draxton Szymik put together his best weekend of the season, finishing with a pair of second-place podiums.
Short Course Kart: Camden Paitl quickly erased his fifth-place starting position to take a first-lap lead in the Short Course Kart.
Paitl, who won round seven at ERX, went uncontested the rest of the way as he drove to his second win of the season. Saturday winner Wesley Vande Voort was buried off the start but drove back to secure a second-place finish. Jacobi Tullberg earned his first podium of the season, finishing third.
170/200 SXS: Brixton Wirt secured back-to-back sweeps with an impressive 200 SXS win on Sunday. Wirt, who also swept the weekend at ERX, drove to his fifth win in six races this season. Points leader Raymond Deininger finished second, and Ryder Ives was third.
In the 170 SXS portion of the combined race, Axel Dreher took the checkered flag for his first win of the season. Points leader Ashton Dreher was second, and Gaborik Geyen third.
Up next for AMSOIL Championship Off-Road: Three rounds of racing will be held Friday through Sunday, August 9-11 at the Island Resort and Casino Off-Road Rumble in the U.P. in Bark River, Mich.
With a subscription, you can watch every round of the AMSOIL Championship Off-Road season live on www.FloRacing.com and on the series television partner Fox Sports. For more information on how you can follow along this season, click here.
