Antigo, Wis. ~ Off-road racing has always been an emotional affair. Exultation, anger, satisfaction and frustration have always been part of the sport. On Sunday, all those were part of the norm as the AMSOIL Championship Off-Road season wrapped up round four of action.
But there were deeper emotions as Sunday came to a close at the Antigo Lions Roaring Raceway in Antigo, Wis., as the off-road world paid tribute to the late Kyle LeDuc with the inaugural Kyle LeDuc Cup.
A past Champ Off-Road champion and legendary Pro 4, LeDuc passed away after a short battle with cancer. LeDuc was universally respected and a passionate fan favorite. An emotional and hard-fought showdown between the top Pro 2 and Pro 4s was an instant classic and emblematic of a true champion and competitor.
Inaugural Kyle LeDuc Cup Goes to Kyle Greaves
Kyle LeDuc had more than 100 Pro 4 wins in his career, so it may be fitting that the Inaugural Kyle LeDuc Cup winner would go to a driver who would win his first career race behind the wheel of a Pro 2
Symbolism was everywhere for the Pro 2-Pro 4 showdown, including a pair of Monster Energy-backed drivers going 1-2, Antigo being the home of Kyle LeDuc’s first career Pro Lite race, and then the winner sharing the same first name.
Kyle Greaves was the top qualifying Pro 2 for the Cup race, which would last eight laps and have the entire field start simultaneously. The kicker was a joker lane that the Pro 2 drivers had to take on either lap 6, 7, or 8.
Kyle Greaves executed a flawless strategy. Despite CJ Greaves taking the lead on the first lap, Kyle’s decision to take the Joker Lane on the first pass, bypassing Antigo’s infield section, catapulted him from third to first, creating a gap that CJ Greaves couldn’t close.
“CJ passed on lap one, and I thought it was going to be a long race,” said Greaves. “As soon as they said I had some distance behind me, I just picked out some lines that I thought would have some bite. We all miss Kyle. He was a helluva racer, and I knew if you wanted to be a racer like him, you had to throw it all on the line for a Cup race.”
Greaves would finish second, with Pro 2 driver Keegan Kincaid in third.
Greaves Hits Career Mark in Pro 4
It takes time and talent to reach major milestones in racing, and CJ Greaves has put in the time and has always had the talent.
On a momentous Sunday, CJ Greaves seized a first-lap lead and executed a flawless drive, culminating in his 100th career Pro truck win (including Pro 2 and Pro Lite). This victory, combined with his ability to pull away off the start and dominate the mid-race restart, solidified his unbeaten streak in a Pro 4 race in Antigo, a feat that cannot be understated.
“They started bringing up the 100 career wins in Lena, and then the undefeated talks at Antigo started,” said Greaves. “It’s pretty cool to keep the streak alive and do 100 career wins at the same time.”
It was a race-long slog between Johnny Greaves and Jimmy Henderson on Sunday. Johnny Greaves led Henderson as the field hit the mid-race, mandatory caution. The roles switched in the second half as Henderson found enough traction down low in one of the tight 180-degree turns and slipped past Greaves for the runner-up spot.
Beat Leads From the Start in Pro 2 Win
Early success has come to Pro 2 drivers Mickey Thomas and Ryan Beat. Both drivers have been spot-on to start the season, charging hard up front in all four races. After Sunday’s action, both drivers will head to Crandon with a pair of wins and a desire to stretch out after two weekends of short-track action.
On Sunday, the battle for supremacy between Beat and Thomas reached its peak. Beat, the round two victor, seized control on the first lap, maintaining a blistering pace and a solid defensive line throughout the race. He managed to keep Thomas, the Saturday’s winner, at bay, even during some intense side-by-side action over the last two laps, securing his third consecutive podium finish.
“Mickey was just hauling it at a blistering pace,” said Beat. “I think this is the fastest pace Pro 2 has had in many years. It’s cool to be right here with the guys and battling, and we are just stoked to be up here.”
Thomas left no stone unturned in his pursuit of a third win, making every effort to overtake Beat. Despite his best efforts, a second-place finish adds to his impressive record of four straight podiums at the start of the year, securing him the points lead as they head to the Big House in two weeks.
Pro 2 rookie Kyle Greaves snuck around Johnny Holtger just after the mandatory caution and drove away from the mid-pack of racers to finish third.
Gibbs On Point in Pro Lite
Trey Gibbs has proven to be a short-track master in Pro Lite. With the first four rounds of racing on short tracks in Lena and Antigo, Gibbs has been nearly flawless on the tighter confines Champ Off-Road offers to start the season.
The Antigo track offered a rougher racing circuit, with the Pro 2 and Pro 4 trucks running their points race earlier in the day. But with every restart, Gibbs was quick off the jump on Sunday and separated himself from a talented field. He continuously pulled away for his third straight win and fourth podium to start the 2024 campaign.
Johnny Holtger put his head down and worked through the field to get on the box for the fourth straight time. Holtger shuffled to the back of the pack early but came from ninth to second after he got past Michael Funk with under four laps to go. In his first weekend of racing in 2024, Funk backed up a fourth-place finish on Saturday with a third on Sunday, his first career Pro Lite podium.
Parrish Makes Last Turn Pass for Pro Spec Win
There are different driving styles, and Champ Off-Road’s Pro Spec has them all. At every race, those styles are on full display.
Whether it was being tactical or finding a little contact, it was a race that featured everything on Sunday. Over the final three laps, Nick Visser, Chris Van Den Elzen, and Chris Parrish showed door-to-door racing, slide jobs, and various line choices. When it was all said and done, Parrish slid underneath Van Den Elzen in the final turn and powered his way to his first win of the season.
Van Den Elzen, despite a few early race setbacks, managed to take the lead over Visser. However, the race was far from over. The three-way battle and Parrish’s unexpected surge kept the audience on the edge of their seats. In the end, Van Den Elzen finished second, just ahead of Visser, who had held the lead for a significant part of the race and reclaimed it in the final laps.
Weekend Sweep for Bonacci in Pro Buggy
Lorenzo Bonacci is on a roll in Pro Buggy, but he had a dogfight for the win on Sunday.
Bonacci has had to work his way through the field in all his two previous wins this year, but on Sunday, he started on the pole and found himself out front early. Dave Mason, Jr. challenged him during the first half, but after the mid-race restart, Bonacci had his hands full with Jordan Bernloehr.
Despite the challenging conditions of a wet track, Bonacci showcased his precision and control, not missing a single mark. He skillfully held Bernloehr at bay, with the interval never exceeding two car lengths. The two were neck and neck several times, but it was Bonacci’s mastery that prevailed, driving him to his fourth consecutive win and a significant increase in his overall points lead.
Bernloehr entered the day four points behind Bonacci, keeping pace with a runner-up finish. Round one winner Billy Buth finished third.
Carlson Sweeps Pro SxS
Winning on the Championship Off-Road circuit is challenging, and winning while holding off CJ Greaves, bearing down on your rear bumper, makes it extremely difficult. Andrew Carlson was undeterred on Sunday, taking the sweep and holding off Greaves.
Carlson maneuvered through early traffic and into the lead on lap three. He was consistent early and picked up speed late when needed. He needed it because Greaves had charged through the field after starting 11th and pushed Carlson over the racetrack’s second half. But Carlson kept a consistent gap over Greaves and never let the past champion get an edge.Carlson’s third win of the season, and he heads to Crandon with the points lead. It was Greaves second podium of the year, and he moved into second overall. Owen VanEperen finished third.
Greaves Sweeps Pro Stock SxS
It was an early battle for control of Sunday’s Pro Stock SxS, but CJ Greaves’s return to form was on full display in Antigo
Greaves’ response to an opening weekend in Lena three weeks ago was to fix the issues and come out swinging in rounds three and four. Greaves and Owen Van Eperen were the early pace-setters, but Greaves got the lead on lap four and inched away from the field through the second half, leading to a weekend sweep for the Polaris driver.
Yamaha’s VanEperen was able to settle into the second spot and drove to his fourth straight podium. He will enter Crandon with a 20-point lead over Jeb Bootle. Colin Kernz earned his third podium of the year by finishing third.
Pro-AM SxS: David Gay was on a mission after the mid-race mandatory restart in Sunday’s Pro-AM SxS. He had moved from tenth to third before the mandatory caution came out but then took advantage of an open door on the inside of the track and shot to the race lead ahead of Jesse Greaves. The win extended Gay’s winning streak to three and extended his overall points lead.
The restart also gave a boost to Ben Heiting, who moved up 14 spots on Saturday to finish third and followed it up with a second-place run on Sunday. Kolton Krajicek was the big mover on Sunday. After starting 14th, Krajicek jumped into third with two laps remaining on his way to his first podium in 2024.
Super Stock Truck: Joe Maciosek had a third-row starting spot for Sunday Super Stock Truck, but weaved through the four cars in front of him to take over the top spot two laps into the contest.
Maciosek got his second win of the season by throttling down and staying clear of a three-way battle for the final two podium spots brewing behind him. When the checkered flag dropped, Braden Beauchamp had the advantage, keeping his truck in front of third place, finishing Nick Byng and Scott Boulanger.
Stock Truck: Four races and four different winners in the increasingly competitive Stock Truck class. On Sunday, it was Tyler Mullins turn to stand atop the podium.
One day after having to retire due to a huge puff of smoke, Mullins was on a mission to make up points on Sunday. Mullins started third and trailed rookie Dustin Rogaczewski during the opening laps. Mullins found an opening on lap three, and despite another large dispensing of smoke, he never looked back as he picked up his first win of the season.
Round two winner Rogaczewski was untested in the second spot, picking up his second podium of the year. Brian Peot took control of the final podium spot, and the overall points lead with a podium finish that started in ninth.
Sportsman SxS: A close finish and a race through the back helped finalize the Sportsman SxS final on Sunday. Kyle Sharkey was filling in for Joel Steinbrecher and found himself starting in the pole position. He took advantage by leading from start to finish, but it was a tight contest over the final seven laps as Erik Hill dialed up the pressure.
Hill constantly kept in touch with Sharkey, with the two cars being roughly a half-second apart over the final half of the race. Sharkey gained the edge by .241 of a second at the line to take home the win.
Tyler Wusterbarth had to move through the field to pick up his third podium finish. Wusterbarth started 10th and was outside the top five at the mid-point, but the points leader found late speed to finish third.
1600 Single Buggy: It looked like John Fitzgerald was going to bring home his second 1600 Single Buggy win of the season, instead it turned into a weekend sweep for Connor Schulz.
Fitzgerald led from the drop of the green flag on Sunday and, with just a few turns to go, had kept a hard-charging Schulz from getting into the top spot. But with two laps remaining, Fitzgerald pushed wide and put the car on two wheels, leaving an opening for Schulz to drop down and take over the race lead.
Fitzgerald would straighten things out and drive to a second-place finish, with defending class champion Michael Seefeldt finishing in third.
1600 Light Buggy: Connor Schulz won two of the first four rounds last season, splitting the wins with brother Colin. Colin isn’t racing this season, and Connor is taking full advantage as the 2023 1600 Light Buggy runner-up has won all four races to start the year.
The invert forced Schulz to start tenth on Sunday, but as he has done throughout the season, he made early moves to put himself in contention and then a late surge from fifth to first over the last three laps to take the weekend sweep.
Carter Vanden Heuvel was poised to pick up his first win of the season, leading from the get-go before Schulz made the lead pass with two laps remaining. Evan Hockers used a last-lap pass on Joe Jorgensen to finish third.
Mod Kart: It’s not where you start but where you finish. That rang true for Gavin Plummer on Sunday as the round three winner made it a weekend sweep in the highly competitive Mod Kart final.
Starting from the sixth position, Plummer strategically seized the top spot just before the mandatory caution. He maintained his lead, leaving the rest of the field behind. Avery Hemmer, the points leader, started from the tenth position and skillfully climbed to third by the end of lap two, finishing just behind Plummer.
Early race leader Carter Zahara was able to hold off Lincoln Mandsager by a car length to pick up his first podium of the season.
Short Course Karts: One day after moving up ten spots and claiming his first podium of the season, Wesley Vande Voort picked up his first win of the new season.
Saturday’s podium gave Vande Voort a better starting spot on Sunday, and he took advantage, moving from third to the lead by the end of the second lap. He didn’t miss a beat and handled the slickening track for the win.
Saturday’s winner, Finley Holtger, had to start tenth but worked into a podium position late in the race. Holtger made a pass into second on Roman Tullberg with two laps remaining, his third straight podium. Tullberg earned his first podium by finishing third.
Youth SxS: Bryce Powers is a rookie in Youth SxS but is already driving like a seasoned veteran. Powers put it all together on Sunday, led from start to finish, and picked up his first career class win.
Hudson Houle had to wait until the last lap on Saturday to pick up a podium finish, but he moved into second on the first lap and never looked back on Sunday. Houle finished one spot ahead of Saturday’s winner, Ryker Remington, and also gives him the overall points lead heading into Crandon.
570 SxS: A tight race early became more spread out as the 570 SxS race raged on, with Kody Krantz pulling away late for the win.
Krantz held off a pack of five cars early in the race but was able to sneak away from the field for his first career 570 win. Madisyn Winistorfer finished second, and Logan Fritzinger finished third.
170/200 SxS: Ashton Dreher broke Drake Dreher’s three-race win streak to start the season by taking home Sunday’s 170/200 SxS win.
Ashton had to work his way up from a sixth starting spot to earn his second podium of the weekend and first win of the year. Early race leader Gaborick Geyen locked down second place, and Ray Deininger was the highest, finishing 200 SxS and crossing the line third overall.
Up next for AMSOIL Championship Off-Road: The fifth and sixth rounds of racing will be held on June 22-23 at Crandon International Raceway in Crandon, Wis.
With a subscription, you can watch every round of the AMSOIL Championship Off-Road season live on www.FloRacing.com and with the series television partner Fox Sports. For more information on how you can follow along this season, click here.
