Event Preview: 2023 Forest County Potawatomi Brush Run at Crandon International Raceway
Event Facts
After opening the season in the tight quarters of Antigo, the stars of AMSOIL Championship Off-Road will switch gears and make their way to the longest track on the circuit: the Crandon International Off-Road Raceway.
The Forest County Potawatomi Brush Run weekend began in 1994 on the heels of the success of Crandon’s Labor Day World Championship Races. The additional race went well, and 29 years later it remains one of the most popular events on the circuit.
As always, the Brush Run weekend will conclude with the 30th Annual Forest County Potawatomi Community Cup race that pits PRO2s vs. PRO4s. The only previous FCP Cup champions expected to compete in the event this year are Keegan Kincaid and defending race winner CJ Greaves.
This season’s June Brush Run Races are expected to take place on a slightly modified version of the iconic track. A new short track cutoff will feature a left-hand sweeper immediately after the Argonne Corner that brings drivers right back into the famed Turn One.
Pro Truck
CJ Greaves comes into Rounds 3 and 4 with the PRO4 points lead after sweeping the opening weekend in Antigo. Greaves won 5 of 6 races in his PRO4 at Crandon last season, including wins in both Cup races. Greaves has a total of 18 PRO4 wins at Crandon in his career.
With Kyle LeDuc out for the season and Johnny Greaves missing his first Crandon event in 35 years, the door is open for drivers like Kyle Chaney, Jimmy Henderson, and Cole Mamer to challenge for their first career PRO4 victories. Andrew Carlson will also make his PRO4 season debut looking for his 2nd career win in the class.
Ryan Beat left the opening rounds with the US Air Force PRO2 points lead after an incredibly strong weekend with finishes of 1st and 2nd to start the season. Beat is a former Crandon World Champion in PRO LITE and last won at the Big House in the fourth round of PRO2 action in 2021.
Mickey Thomas scored a pair of US Air Force PRO2 podiums at Antigo to open the season and enters the weekend 2nd in points. Thomas has been the PRO2 to beat recently at Crandon with wins there in each of the last three seasons, including three races last season as well as the last two World Championships.
Kyle Greaves opened his PRO LITE title defense with a Round 1 win and another podium in Round 2 to bring the points lead to Crandon. Greaves has won at Crandon 4 times in the last two seasons, and Johnny Holtger is the only other past winner at Crandon in the field.
Defending PRO SPEC champion Gray Leadbetter left the opening weekend with the points lead after a pair of 2nd place finishes behind Nick Visser and Chad Rayford. Leadbetter, Visser, and Chris Van Den Elzen all reached PRO SPEC victory lane at Crandon last season.
Pro Buggy
One of the tightest Pro points battles leaving Antigo is Pro Buggy, with 1st through 7th only separated by 14 points. Leading the pack is Mark Steinhardt, a 12-time Crandon World Champion in Sportsman buggies, who last won at Crandon in a Pro Buggy in June of 2021.
After being unable to take the green flag to start Round 1, 5-time and defending Pro Buggy champion Michael Meister bounced back to win Round 2 in convincing fashion. Meister won four of the five Pro Buggy races contested at Crandon last season.
Pro Stock and Pro Turbo SxS
Yamaha’s Owen VanEperen was able to shake off a tough Round 1 to pick up a Round 2 win at Antigo. VanEperen comes to Crandon 15 points out of the Pro Stock points lead and is the only driver to win a Crandon World Championship in both Pro Stock and Pro Turbo SxS classes.
AMSOIL Pro Turbo SxS belonged to CJ Greaves at Antigo, with Greaves leaving the weekend with the maximum number of points that can be earned in a weekend. Greaves has just one Pro Turbo SxS win at Crandon in his career, coming back in 2020.
CJ Greaves also picked up the Round 1 win in Pro Stock SxS but had issues in Round 2, leaving him with a slim 3 point lead over a four-way tie for 2nd between Pro Stock newcomers Trey Eggleston, Colin Kernz, Andrew Carlson, and Tyson Marquardt. The last Pro Stock rookie to win at Crandon was Owen VanEperen in 2020.
Kyle Chaney was able to get the monkey off his back last fall at Crandon and finally won his first Pro Turbo SxS World Championship, one of the few major SxS races in the country he hadn’t won. He enters the weekend 5th in AMSOIL Pro Turbo SxS points coming off a 2nd place finish in Round 2 at Antigo.
You can watch live all season long on the FloRacing network and at a later date on the CBS Sports Network (air dates TBD). For more information on how can follow along with the racing action in Crandon, click here. For event information, click here.
About AMSOIL Championship Off-Road presented by the U.S. Air Force: Comprised of the best of the best competition and crown jewel venues, AMSOIL Championship Off-Road presented by the US Air Force is short course racing at its best. AMSOIL Championship Off-Road presented by the US Air Force and AMSOIL Championship Snocross 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.