End of season banquet awards Rookie, Team of the Year

ALBERTVILLE, MINN. ~ The 2021 AMSOIL Championship Off-Road season was filled with an amazing mixture of adrenaline, tight, door-to-door racing, and down-to-the-last-lap championship chases.

More than 400 drivers took the start across 16 classes last season. With multiple race winners in all classes, most championships were not decided until the final weekend, making for one of the most complete and compelling seasons in short-course, off-road racing’s history.

As the 2021 champions were honored in Bark River, Mich. this weekend, Championship Off-Road wishes to recognize all of our champions and thank all of our competitors on an exciting season. Along with its individual class winners, Championship Off-Road would like to recognize the following award winners:

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:                                      Ricky Gutierrez, Pro 2

In his first full season in the deeply talented Pro 2 class, Gutierrez showed high-end speed and competitiveness. His year was highlighted by a round seven win at Dirt City. He also earned four additional podiums in 2021. 

TEAM OF THE YEAR:                                          Heger Motorsports

Two pro level championships propelled Heger Motorsports to the top team in Championship Off Road last season. In his first season of challenging the Championship Off Road field, Brock Heger put together a pair of impressive title runs in Pro Stock SxS and Pro Lite. In total, Heger won 15 races in 2021 and had 20 total podium finishes.

MECHANIC OF THE YEAR:                                Kevin Friar

Winning two pro championships takes a great driver and great equipment. Heger Motorsports mechanic Kevin Friar and his crew kept all four tires of Heger’s Pro Stock Yamaha and Pro Lite truck spinning in the right direction in 2021. Heger finished with 20 podiums, but also finished every race last season and had zero DNF’s.

MOST IMPROVED DRIVER OF THE YEAR:  Jimmy Henderson, Pro 4

Jimmy Henderson has been steadily climbing the Pro 4 ranks over the past few seasons and his hard work and commitment paid off in 2021. The series most improved driver tied for third overall with Johnny Greaves. Henderson finished the season strong, landing on the podium three times in the final four rounds of racing.

CLASS CHAMPIONS

PRO 4: CJ Greaves returned to the top of Pro 4 in 2021. The Toyota-backed driver put together a complete season to dethrone Kyle LeDuc in the premier four-wheel drive class. Greaves and LeDuc battle back-and-forth all season, with Greaves edging LeDuc five to four in wins. But it was the nine total podiums for Greaves that secured the title for the now six time class champion.

PRO 2: Keegan Kincaid used a final round win in Crandon to secure his second Pro 2 championship since 2019. He posted five wins in 2021, including the first three rounds and two of the final three to best Cory Winner by one point.

PRO LITE: Brock Heger had a dominant 2021 season by taking seven wins and only missing the podium once (Bark River) in the deep Pro Lite class.  

PRO STOCK: Heger also found himself sitting atop the Pro Stock SxS class after a season -long battle with CJ Greaves. Heger put his Yamaha on the top of the box eight times and totaled ten podium finishes in 2021.

PRO MOD SXS: Experience and patience paid off for Yamaha’s Rodney VanEperen, who picked up a pair of wins on his way to the Pro Mod SxS title. He was also the most consistent driver in the class with nine total podium finishes, enough to hold off Andrew Carlson (Polaris), who led the class with five wins, 

PRO BUGGY: Michael Meister ran a dominant season, grabbing eight wins and ten podiums to capture the 2021 Pro Buggy title.

The 2021 season also featured great racing across all of its classes. Along with our individual class winners, Championship Off-Road would like to recognize the following award winners:

1600 Light Buggy:                 Colin Schulz (S6wins)

1600 Single Buggy:               Dylan Parsons (5 wins)

170 SXS:                                 Kody Krantz (5 wins)

570 SXS:                                 Chase Braun: (9 wins)

Mod Kart:                              Easton Sleaper (2 wins and 10 podiums)

Pro AM SxS:                          Dylan Marquardt (3 wins)

Short Course Karts:              Ava Lawrence (One win and eight podiums)

Sportsman SxS:                     Colin Kernz (3 wins and nine podiums)

Stock Truck:                          Diesel Shank by two points (One win and seven podiums)

Super Stock Truck:               Joe Maciosek (One win and 10 podiums)

About ISOC: AMSOIL Championship Off-Road andAMSOIL Championship Snocross, Powered by Ram, are owned and operated by the International Series of Champions (ISOC) out of Albertville, Minn. For more information on its events and schedules, go to www.champoffroad.com