Saturday we came out ready, running great and since #91 was the only Pro 2 he was able to get lots of practice.  We did plenty of testing with all the new parts PAC supplied, and what a difference it made.  Nick was doing better each time he went out on the track.  Heading into the race Nick was amongst a bunch of pro lites, so instead of risking the possibility of Nick getting tied up with one we held back letting them get a good half of lap in front and chasing them down.  The practice worked well for Nick.  The truck ran great and Nick was really glad to be back in the seat and go to work.  Thanks for a great weekend and of course without the help of our sponsors Diffenbaugh Construction, Bill Signs Trucking, PAC, Down South Motorsports, Lowery’s and Brewers.

Thanks to our great motor package and K&N Filters we never hurt a motor, the Tyree Motorsports truck ran well all season! With Nick behind the wheel our goals keep getting bigger and we keep pushing harder with plans to work hard in the off season. With Nick going into his 3rd season we feel we have really started to make our mark. The first half of the season we struggled just being in the wrong place on the track at the wrong time having some broken shock shafts or bent tie rods bent A-arms that put the truck out of contention. In the later part of the season Nick progressively got better missing all that and running upfront. Nick continues to strive for the best. The Tyree Motorsports truck was running in 3rd position and hanging it out there. This season has really been a true test of who we are as a “Team.”

As always we could never have done it without our sponsors. K&N Air Filters for always letting the engine get good clean air. Competitive Metals, if you have been to one of these races you know how much metal is needed. Diffenbaugh Construction, always being at the races for support and a helping hand when needed. Pro Power Racing Engines, the best racing engines in off road. Down South Motorsports, always keeping our shocks in top notch condition. Bill Signs Trucking, always getting the truck and hauler to the races.

Again Tyree Motorsports thanks you all and looks forward to a great season in 2012!!

Now that the 2011 regular season is over, there is only one day of racing left this year for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, presented by GEICO, and for many, it’s the day they look forward to most. That’s right, it’s the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup, the day when points aren’t on offer, but cash and bragging rights are. With lots of money up for grabs, as well as the two unique, once-a-year “class vs. class” races, it was no wonder that fans flocked in and filled the stands here at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, AZ. These races are the ones which, perhaps more than any other, all the drivers want to win, and everyone has their own strategy on how to pull off a victory. One thing is for sure, though: nobody shows anyone any mercy in these races, and the infields and hot pits are invariably filled with broken, mangled, and immobile trucks and buggies by race’s end. These races are the hardest ones to win, and anyone who comes out on top can say they’ve accomplished something truly special.

UTV
The first of today’s Lucas Oil Challenge Cup races was the UTV race, and while it seems like the two classes, SR1 UTV and Unlimited UTV, have been racing each other all season long, this is the first and only race of the year in which the two classes were actually competing against one another for the same prize: gift certificates for driving instruction at the Cory Kruseman’s Sprint Car and Midget  Driving School, the same school which has helped improve the skills of none other than 2011 dual class champion Brian Deegan. With a slight difference in average lap times between the two classes, the slower Unlimited UTVs were given a head start of approximately ten seconds over the SR1s, and with RJ Anderson being the only driver who decided to represent the Unlimited UTVs today, he had the track all to himself in his bid to hold off the SR1s. In the early laps, Anderson ran what amounted to a time trial out front in his #637 Walker Evans Racing/South Point Las Vegas Polaris, while the SR1s gradually closed in by a little under one second per lap, with Ryan Beat leading the charge from behind in his #851 Hart and Huntington/Black Rhino Kawasaki. Behind Beat, it was Doug Mittag who was up to third by lap three in his #848 Monster Energy/Custom Off Road Design Kawasaki, with Dan Kelly fourth in the #824 OffRoadMagnet.com/Muzzys Kawasaki, and Code Rahders fifth in the #816 SuperChips/K&N Yamaha. As the field closed in on the halfway mark, Beat was now really being hounded by Mittag for second place, and Mittag managed to get a nose on Beat into turn three, taking the lead as the two headed towards the step-up jump and turn four. Just after making the pass, though, smoke began puffing, then billowing out the back of Mittag’s machine, and as the field crossed the start/finish for the Competition Yellow, things weren’t looking good for Mittag. His crew was hoping it might be a shock that had gotten too hot, but when fire could be seem coming from his engine bay while the field paraded under yellow, it became evident that Mittag’s day was done. Mittag got out, and ran to the side of the track to give a big thumbs up to Anderson and Beat as they paraded by for another lap under yellow, and when racing resumed, it was Anderson who really had a challenge at hand to try and hold off the faster SR1s. Anderson managed to do so for a lap, but on lap 11, Beat used his SR1’s superior top speed up the long straight from turn one to turn two to get past Anderson and into the lead. On the next lap, Rahders slid into Anderson as the two entered turn two, forcing Anderson way high and up towards the wall, and dropping him back to last place. Rahders moved into second place, and really began hounding Beat for the lead. On the penultimate lap, Rahders got inside of Beat and briefly held the lead at turn three, but Beat managed to hold him off, and after losing some ground with a near-spin coming out of turn two on the final lap, Rahders’ run at the win was over, as Beat went clear on his way to his second consecutive Challenge Cup win. Second went to Rahders, but he was then penalized one spot for his incident with Anderson, which dropped him to third, and gave second to Kelly. Fourth went to Bryan Osborn in the #854 Black Rhino/Rigid Industries LED Lighting Yamaha, and Anderson rounded out the top five.

Modified Kart
Next up were the Modified Karts, a class that never fails to deliver great, exciting racing, and today was no different. These drivers, as were all the top three finishers in each kart class, had Cory Kruseman’s Sprint Car and Midget  Driving School gift certificates on the line, and with the potential to up their skills on the line, these drivers were extra hungry for the win today. Class champion Mitchell DeJong was strangely absent from the race today, but Cole Mamer led what was still a tremendous field after the first lap in his #535 Full Tilt Trophy Karts/Simpson kart. In second, it was Kyle Hart in the #523 GearUp2Go.com/Duncan Racing truck, with Jeff Hoffman third in the #547     BRT Signs/Cactus Asphalt machine, Scotty Steele fourth in the #548 Steele Racing/CMI entry, and Mitch Guthrie Jr. fifth in the #555 Walker Evans Racing/Losi machine. Steele moved up to third on lap three, and contact between Hart and Mamer meant that Steele would pick up another spot on the same lap, as Hart dropped back just briefly. Guthrie Jr. took over fourth on the next lap, while up front, the battle for the lead was really heating up. On lap six, Mamer and Steele flew past the start/finish line side-by-side in mid-air, with Mamer just managing to hold Steele at bay. By the Competition Yellow, the running order was Mamer, Steele, Hart, Guthrie Jr., and Hoffman in the top five, all of whom were lucky to avoid the errant wheel that rolled across the track in front of them as they exited turn five. The wheel had come off of Jerett Brooks’ kart, and had rolled clear from turn three to cause a brief moment of extra worry for all the parents sitting in the stands, but fortunately, no damage was done. On the restart lap, Hart was the only driver to use the low line in the either/or section, and he put it to perfect use, swinging wide as the two lines re-joined to keep those with more momentum from the high line at bay. Hart took the lead, and quickly began to open up a lead. Behind him, Bradley Morris was now up to fifth in his #504 K&N/Trophy Kart machine, and Morris moved up another spot to fourth on the next lap. Two laps later, Morris got by yet another driver, as he moved ahead of Guthrie Jr. and into third place. The running order was now Hart, Steele, Morris, Guthrie Jr., and Mamer with just two laps left, and on the penultimate lap, Mamer lost a wheel, which rolled down to and across turn one, and right into the path of Myles Cheek. Cheek managed to run over the tire squarely without incurring any significant damage, and continued on while hardly missing a beat. On the final lap, Steele and Morris  touched coming into turn three, which caused Steele to flatten a tire, and sent him into a near-crash. Steele kept his ride upright but his race was over, and in the midst of the whole incident, Guthrie Jr. squeaked by both drivers and into second. Up front, Hart was well clear as he raced home to victory, followed by Guthrie Jr., Morris, Blake Lenk in the #521 Walker Evans Racing/Redline Performance kart, and Cheek in the #557 CMI/Pro Circuit machine.

Junior 1 Kart
It was another exciting race in Junior 1 Kart today, with Travis PeCoy taking the early lead in his #211 K&N/RC10.com machine, followed by Gavin Harlien in the #232 Racer Services/Full Tilt Trophy Karts truck, Preston Roben in the #210 Duggins Construction/Canidae kart, Cole Dexheimer in the #226 King Off Road Racing Shocks/Hoosier entry, and Broc Dickerson in the #223 Dickerson Motorsports/Hoosier kart. Harlien leapfrogged PeCoy on lap two to take the lead, with Dickerson jumping up two spots to third. Roben then passed Dickerson back on lap three, and did it the hard way, as he held his line outside of Dickerson all the way from turn one into turn three. Roben picked up another spot coming into turn one on lap five, while Dickerson pushed PeCoy wide to make the pass in the same corner. Roben was then nearly spun coming out of turn five, which dropped him back to fourth, and at the Competition Yellow, it was Harlien, Dickerson, PeCoy, Roben, and Darren Hardesty in the #231 Bilstein Shock Absorbers/Lucas Oil truck in the top five. These drivers held their positions on the restart lap, but by the end of lap eight, Roben had passed Dickerson for third, while Dexheimer and PeCoy were up to fourth and fifth. Wolfgang Ries then got by PeCoy for fifth on lap nine, and Dickerson moved up to second again on the lap after that. Dickerson seemed determined to get to the front, and went inside of Harlien into turn one to snag the lead on the penultimate lap. Dickerson then got a little breathing room as he began his last lap, as it seemed like Harlien and Roben were briefly locked together bumper-to-bumper down the front straight, which slowed the two for a moment. In the end, Dickerson backed up his championship with a win in the Challenge Cup, with second going to Harlien, third to Roben, fourth to Dexheimer, and fifth to Ries.

Junior 2 Kart
In the final kids race of the season, it was Shelby Anderson who took full advantage of her shot at a restart after the first start ended in front row starter Jeremy Davis getting spun out, as she took the early lead in her #405 Walker Evans Racing/Anderson’s Nu Power kart. Preston Roben, fresh off of his podium finish in the Junior 1 Kart race, ran second, followed by Weston Schuck, Maxwell Ries, and Paige Porter in the #462 Redline Performance/T-Bird Lounge & Restaurant truck. The top five held their positions through the first four laps, but on lap five, Roben got a great run out of turn one and into turn two to take the lead away from Anderson, while further back, newly-crowned champion Myles Cheek was up to fifth in the #457 CMI/Lucas Oil machine after Porter got a little out of shape in turn three. At the Competition Yellow, the top five was made up of Roben, Anderson, Schuck in the #404 Fiberwerx/Hoosier entry, Ries in the #474 McQueen Prototype Design/Intensetees machine, and Cheek. The top five remained unchanged after the restart lap, but on lap eight, Cheek got a little too aggressive in turn four, and after getting into the side of Ries and Schuck, ended up off the track on the inside for a moment, which dropped him back a few spots, and gave fifth to Brock Heger in the #411 Driscoll’s Surf N Skate/Signpros truck. Jeremy Davis then snagged that spot on the next lap in his #485 Green Army/Jamar entry, but after running wide at turn four on lap eleven, Heger got the spot back. On the final lap, there was some substantial beating and banging going on between Schuck, Ries, and Heger from turn four to turn five, which ended up costing Schuck two spots as he dropped to fifth. Up front, Roben moved two spots up the podium from where he finished in Junior 1 Kart, taking the win and the 60-lap instructional certificate that came with it. Second went to Anderson, third to Ries, fourth place was Heger, and rounding out the top five was Schuck.

Limited Buggy
Following Opening Ceremonies, which included another great rendition of The National Anthem by Kids Rock Free singer Ariana Nieto, as well as some special words from Michelle Wilson-Huseman, wife of recently-fallen Lucas Oil Off Road legend Rick Huseman (Michelle brought along she and Rick’s son “Little Ricky,” and also gave the drivers their instructions to “start your engines”), it was time for the first money race of the day. The top ten drivers in regular season points were inverted to make up the top ten starting positions, leaving points champion Curt Geer to start tenth, and tenth place points finisher Greg Crew to start from the inside front row. Geoffrey Cooley had a great start, and coming from row three, managed to get to the front in his #322 Competitive Metals/MasterCraft Safety AlumiCraft. With other drivers getting caught up in traffic on the first lap, Cooley had a sizeable lead from the get-go, with John Fitzgerald, Bradley Morris, Quentin Tucker, and Geer running behind him in the top five. Morris and Geer collected in turn one and dropped well back on lap two, moving Tucker to third, Kevin McCullough to fourth, and Lindsay Geiser to fifth in her #395 Canidae/MasterCraft Safety Geiser. On lap four, Zac Hunt drove inside Geiser at turn one, and moved ahead to take fifth spot in his #334 Speed Energy/Fat Performance AlumiCraft. Hunt then began to close on McCullough for fourth, and was right on him by lap seven. Up front, Fitzgerald was catching Cooley just ever-so-slightly, but at the Competition Yellow, the running order was still Cooley, Fitzgerald, Tucker, McCullough, and Hunt in the top five. This order remained the same after the restart and through lap ten, with Cooley opening a gap over Fitzgerald once again. On lap eleven, Morris used the lower line in the either/or section to get by Hunt for fifth, but after contacting McCullough coming out of turn one on lap thirteen, Morris slowed briefly, and Dave Mason shot by and into fifth place. Up front, Fitzgerald was giving it everything to try and hunt down Cooley, and on the last few laps, made up substantial ground in turn three, only to give most of it back between turns four and five. On the last lap, Fitzgerald had a good run on Cooley coming into turn four, but the young driver was not to be denied his first win in the class any longer, as Cooley shut the door on Fitzgerald and zipped home for the victory. After so many near-misses over the past two seasons, this must have been a really sweet victory for Cooley, especially with it being the biggest race of the year, a race that saw him take home $4,000 for the win- congratulations Geoffrey! Second place, as well as a check for $2,000, went to Fitzgerald, while the $1,000 third place prize went to Tucker. Mason finished fourth in his #365 B&R Buggie/RSC Equipment Rental AlumiCraft, and McCullough finished up the race in fifth place.

Super Lite
Next up was the Super Lite cup race, and the money on offer was even more substantial than in Limited Buggy, with $10,000 going to the winner, $6,000 to second place, and $4,000 to third. As was the case in Limited Buggy, the top ten points finishers were inverted to make up the top ten starting positions, and it was Austin Kimbrell, coming from the outside of row three, who took the early lead in his #88 Xtreme Machine & Fabrication/Ivy Trucking and Grading truck. Kyle Lucas ran second in the #11 Lucas Oil/Howard Packaging entry, with Jessie Johnson third in the #15 A.M. Ortega/MasterCraft Safety machine, Mike McCarthy fourth in the #77 General Tire/K&N truck, and Jason Ellis fifth in the #41 Dethrone Racing/MavTV entry. McCarthy landed badly off the first jump on lap two, and crashed hard into turn one. This led to a full-course caution, and on the restart lap, it was Lucas who moved ahead of Kimbrell to take the lead. RJ Anderson was also on the move, and picked up several spots as he slotted into third in his #37 Dethrone Racing/SoCal Super Trucks machine. Anderson moved up another spot early in the next lap, and when Lucas bicycled in turn three and dropped to fifth, Anderson was right there to take over at the head of the field. On lap eight, both Ron Duncombe and Chad George got around Lucas, with George then moving past Duncombe and into fifth place. At the Competition Yellow, it was Anderson out front, followed by Kimbrell, Patrick Clark in the #25 BFGoodrich Tires/Method Race Wheels truck, Johnson, and George in the #42 Kawasaki/Yokohama machine in the top five. While under yellow, McCarthy emerged from the hot pits to re-join the fray, which was nice to see after his earlier crash. The green flag then waved again, and on the restart lap, George touched Johnson side to side off the ski jump out of turn two, and with no way to stop his momentum, Johnson landed and crashed into the k-rail. The accident wasn’t actually too bad, but Johnson’s truck was too damaged to continue. Just a few corners later, George, Lucas, Clark, and Kimbrell came through turn five in a big clump, and George was pushed wide and into the outside k-rail. As was the case with Johnson, George’s truck was too damaged to continue, and the running order was now Anderson, Kimbrell, Clark, Lucas, and Brent Fouch in the #21 Forgiven Energy/General Tire entry. Lucas pulled into the hot pits and out of the race on the next lap, and with Anderson leaving the rest of the field for dead, the fight for second between Kimbrell and Clark was the best race on the track. Kimbrell held off Clark through the checkered flag, but he was moved down to third by the officials for rough driving. In the end, the big win went to Anderson, with Clark taking second, Kimbrell third, Fouch fourth, and Duncombe fifth in the #4 Maverik/Jack Link’s truck.

Pro Lite Unlimited vs. Pro Buggy Unlimited
The excitement in the stands really ramped up now, as the first of our two “class vs. class” races was up next. A total of $35,000 was on offer here ($20,000 to first, $10,000 to second, and $5,000 to third), and with the two classes running such similar lap times here, the Pro Buggy Unlimiteds would simply start at the tail end of the Pro Lite Unlimited field, without the trucks having the traditional half lap head start. Again, the top ten point finishers in each class were inverted to make up the top ten starting positions within each class, which meant that Jacob Person and Matt Cook started up front in their trucks, while open wheel champion Mike Porter started way back in twentieth.

Corey Sisler grabbed the early lead in his #19 AEM Performance Electronics/BFGoodrich Tires Ford, and was followed by Kyle LeDuc, Jimmy Stephensen, Chris Brandt, and Austin Kimbrell. Brandt and Brian Deegan moved up to third and fourth on lap two, with Stephensen dropping to fifth, while the first buggy, Justin “Bean” Smith in the #19 Competitive Metals/Metal Mulisha AlumiCraft, was already up to eighth. LeDuc got the lead away from Sisler on lap three, while Casey Currie also picked up a spot as he moved into fifth in his #2 Monster Energy/Magnaflow Performance Exhaust Nissan. Smith picked up two more spots on lap four, and now ran in sixth, while up front, LeDuc was opening up a gap on the field. The running order back to Smith went unchanged through the end of lap seven, but after working on him for several laps, Smith finally got by Currie and up to fifth. Teammates Deegan and Smith both got by Brandt on lap nine, with Smith then going inside of Deegan in turn three to move into third on lap ten. At the Competition Yellow, LeDuc still led in his #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford, followed by Sisler, Smith, Deegan in the #38 Lucas Oil/Rockstar Ford, Brandt in the #82 BFGoodrich Tires/KarTek Toyota, Currie, Steven Greinke (second buggy driver), Rodrigo Ampudia, Doug Fortin (buggy), and Cameron Steele (filling in for teammate Brandon Bailey in Bailey’s buggy). On the restart lap, Deegan got caught up in some contact, which damaged his truck enough to force him to the sidelines. Brandt and Currie moved into fourth and fifth, just before a rollover in turn four by Kimbrell forced a full-course caution. On the restart lap, Greinke moved up to fifth in his #23 SC Fuels/Concourse Racer, and on the following lap, Sisler got by LeDuc to re-take the lead in turn one. LeDuc was then hit and pushed wide in turn four, and by lap’s end, he had dropped back to fifth. LeDuc rolled at turn one on lap 18, which ended his day, and forced another full-course caution. As a green-white-checkers finish was called for, the running order in the top five was Sisler, Smith, Brandt, Greinke, Fortin in the #96 Fortin Racing, Inc./McGrath Fiberglass Products Racer. On the restart lap, Ampudia and Greinke collected in turn one, ending both of their races, while at the head of the field, it was a cruel twist of fate as Sisler, who had less than two laps between himself and his first win in short course, saw his hopes dashed as his motor exploded in spectacular fashion, with huge billowing clouds of smoke pouring at behind him as his truck drifted to the sidelines. Smith took the lead kept it from there, as he poured it on all the way to the $20,000 that awaited him at the finish line. Smith’s win was one of remarkably measured strategy and patience, made all the more impressive by the fact that could’ve been sidelined on lap two, when other drivers forced him so high in turn one that he ended up sliding the bottom of his car across the top of the outside k-rail. Fortunately for Smith, his car survived, and his win capped a very successful first season in the Pro Buggy Unlimited ranks, and also ensured that the “buggy dorks” maintain a perfect 3-0 record against the trucks in this annual race. Second went to Brandt, who was the first truck finisher, and the recipient of $10,000, with Currie coming across the line third with his hood flipped back so far that he must’ve been struggling desperately to see; Currie picked up $5,000. Fourth place was Fortin, fifth Rich Ronco in the #99 Yokohama/FK Rod Ends Tatum (buggy), sixth Garrett George in the #71 Beard Seats/King Off Road Racing Shocks Funco (buggy), seventh Cameron Steele in the #17 RSC Equipment Rental/Stronghold Motorsports AlumiCraft (buggy), eighth Matt Loiodice in the #20 Competitive Metals/Maxxis Ford, ninth Malcolm Pointon in the #78 K&N/Southwest Processors Foddrill (buggy), and tenth Gregg Reichman in the #80 JointVenturePros.com/Redline Fuel Management Foddrill (buggy); Reichman was the final finisher on the lead lap.

Pro 2 Unlimited vs. Pro 4 Unlimited
The final race of the year would be the Pro 2 Unlimited vs. Pro 4 Unlimited cup race, and unlike the trucks vs. buggies shootout, this race’s slower class, Pro 2 Unlimited, would be given a half lap head start. After inverting the top ten in points to make up the first ten starting slots in each class, it would be Robby Woods and Jeff Geiser leading the charge for the 2wds, with Adrian Cenni and Curt LeDuc heading up the 4wd attack. Oh yeah, and there was $30,000 on offer for the winner, $15,000 for second, $7,500 for third, and $1,000 to the top finisher in whichever class didn’t win the race, so don’t think that these boys weren’t foaming at the mouth to see the green flag drop.

Woods led the field from the get go in his #99 Lucas Slick Mist/SuperChips Chevrolet, with Jeff Geiser in the #44 Canidae/BulletProofDiesel.com Chevrolet, Carl Renezeder (who chose to run his 2wd this year) in the #17 Lucas Oil/General Tire Ford, Rodrigo Ampudia in the #36 Tecate/Lucas Oil Ford, and Rob Naughton in the #54 ReadyLift/Maxxis Ford in tow. Jeremy McGrath moved up to fifth on lap two, then into fourth on lap three in his #2 Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Ford, with teammate Naughton just behind in fifth. The 4wds took a little longer to get into the top ten, but by lap five, Adrian Cenni was the first to do so, as his #11 Atrium Payroll/4 Wheel Parts truck ran ninth. Kyle LeDuc got by Cenni to become the leading Pro 4 Unlimited on the next lap, and by lap seven, he was up to fourth overall. With the Pro 4 Unlimiteds’ ability to use any line on the track, as well as accelerate so much quicker out of the corners, the 2wds seemed helpless to stop the 4wds’ onslaught, and it seemed inevitable that a 4wd would be the winner of this race for the third straight year.

A red flag of the race was thrown when Ampudia rolled hard in turn five and his truck caught fire. Ampudia was ok but his truck was damaged pretty badly, forcing him out of the race. When racing resumed, LeDuc and his #99 Rockstar/Makita Ford picked off the remaining two Pro 2 Unlimited drivers ahead of him, Geiser and then Woods, taking the lead into turn four. Suddenly, though, LeDuc lost a right rear wheel, and as quickly as the race seemed all wrapped up, the fight for the win was on again in earnest. The field ran several laps under yellow, allowing crews to clear both LeDuc’s and Evan Evans’ wrecks (Evans crashed in the same area where LeDuc lost his wheel; Evans was ok), then returned to green flag racing. After the restart lap, Woods still led, with Renezeder second, McGrath third, Cenni fourth, and Naughton fifth. Cenni picked off McGrath for third on lap 16, and on lap 17, Renezeder got by Woods to take the race lead. Behind this, Todd LeDuc was now making it two Pro 4 Unlimiteds in the top five, as he moved up to fourth in his #4 Rockstar/Makita Ford. On lap 18, Cenni spun Renezeder at turn four, and moved into the race lead as Renezeder dropped to fifth. LeDuc ran second now, and once again, victory seemed ensured for the 4wds. However, LeDuc then rolled in turn four on the next lap, and while the field bunched up under another full-course caution, officials gave Cenni the black flag for his incident with Renezeder. Cenni pulled into the hot pits and did not return, handing the lead now to Naughton, with Doug Fortin, driving Travis Coyne’s truck, left to try and defend the honors of the 4wds from clear back in fifth with just two laps left. As soon as the green flag dropped for the final time, Naughton was flying, and still headed the field at the white flag, with McGrath, Renezeder, Brian Deegan in the #38 Rockstar/Makita Ford, and Fortin in the #5 ProComp/Team Associated Ford, and Brian Deegan in the #38 Rockstar/Makita Ford behind him. On the final lap, Naughton soared off the ski jump after turn two, and with flames shooting from the top of the Rockstar arch, it was truly a magnificent spectacle. In the final corner, with Naughton still in the lead, Renezeder got into McGrath and spun him. Renezeder nearly stacked it up after catching his nose on the landing off the last roller out of the corner, and as his truck stuttered, Fortin swerved to avoid an accident, but ended up off the course on the inside and rolling over. The whole field stacked in behind all this, with Renezeder escaping to hold second. After the finish, though, Renezeder was moved to the back of the lead lap by officials for rough driving, which meant Deegan would take second and $15,000, while McGrath recovered well enough to take third and $7,500. Fourth went to Geiser, fifth to Nick Tyree in the #91 Competitive Metals/Method Race Wheels Ford, and sixth to Josh Merrell in the #22 Hart and Huntington/MavTV Ford; Merrell was the top Pro 4 Unlimited finisher, which earned him $1,000. Rob MacCachren took seventh in the #1 Rockstar/MasterCraft Safety Ford, with Curt LeDuc eighth in the #43 Rockstar/Makita Ford (4wd), Renezeder ninth, and Fortin tenth. Ahead of all these drivers, though, was Rob Naughton, who parked his truck in front of the main grandstands on the front straight, climbed atop it, fists in the air, pointing to his helmet in celebration of his terrific win. Naughton drove a calculated, intelligent race to get the win and its $30,000 bonus, and becomes the first Pro 2 Unlimited driver in the history of Lucas Oil Off Road to win the Pro 2 Unlimited vs. Pro 4 Unlimited Challenge Cup.

That wraps up the 2011 season of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. Don’t rest on your laurels too much, though, as we certainly won’t be. The 2012 season isn’t far away, and will begin right back here at Firebird, with Rounds 1 and 2 on March 31 and April 1, 2012. Until then, have a safe and joyous holiday season, and to get your fix of flying trucks and slinging mud, make sure you catch all the Lucas Oil Off Road racing that will be on tv during the off season; our television schedule can be found at lucasoiloffroad.com. See you in 2012!

About the  Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series:
The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series is the evolution of the long standing  support of short course racing by Forrest Lucas and Lucas Oil Products. Steeped  in the Midwest tradition of short course off road racing infused with a West  Coast influence, Lucas Oil Off Road Racing brings intense four wheel door to  door action to challenging, fan friendly tracks. Lucas Oil Off Road Racing  Series: This is Short Course. For more information please visit www.LucasOilOffRoad.com.

Written by Scott Neth for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series ]]> http://tyreemotorsports.com/race-review/challenge-cup-finishes-season-with-a-bang-loors/feed 0 http://tyreemotorsports.com/race-review/loors-round-15-challenge-cup-chandler-az http://tyreemotorsports.com/race-review/loors-round-15-challenge-cup-chandler-az#comments Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:14:28 +0000 blacart http://tyreemotorsports.com/?p=664 TYREE MOTORSPORTS PRESS RELEASE December 10^th & 11^th, 2011

LUCAS OIL OFF ROAD RACING SERIES (LOORS)

Round 15 & Challenge Cup-Chandler, AZ

Wednesday, December 7^th, 2011 Tyree Motorsports was on the road again heading out across Arizona desert for the last race of the season.  This was going to be a monumental race weekend, marking the end of another eventful racing season for Tyree Motorsports.

Thursday, December 8^th, 2011 – After finishing setting up and prepping the truck, we took advantage of an extra practice.  Good thing we did, we found out the brakes started locking up and found a bad residual valve.  Needless to say practice was cut short for the #91 Competitive Metals truck.

Friday, December 9^th, 2011- Practice went ok, still some brake issues.   Also, found out the master cylinder was sticking a bit which had to be replaced before qualifying.  Qualifying was better than practice, we were right where we should be, mid pack!  Qualified 10^th, Tyree Motorsports crew was glad the #91 was running mid pack, hoping to miss some of the chaos that goes on in back of the field.

Saturday, December 10^th, 2011- The Tyree Motorsports team prepped the truck and we went over the truck checking everything.  The #91 Competitive Metals, Tyree Motorsports truck was ready.  We went out ready for battle the crew was ready. It was the calm before the storm.  Nick went out and got tied up early with a few miss haps of people getting spun right in front of us leaving no way to get by. The truck was fast and quickly got back on the pace. After a few cautions, Nick was running in 4^th and on a caution Rob “Fig” Naughton got on the back of #91 spinning Nick around.  There was a ruling in the Lucas tent that didn’t give us our spot back.   #91 was now wounded with two bent shocks and no sway bar.  That didn’t stop Nick Tyree the truck was still running hard, thanks to the ProPower motor and Ranch Drive Train Transmission.  Nick battled back till he got a little out of shape in turn one and Phil Bollman and a few others helped push Nick over on his roof on lap 17.  Nick was ok, but the motor and transmission spilled some oil and was not worth catching it on fire.  We finished out the race in 13^th. Was all in all great day, finally showing the #91 belongs up front.   Nick can hang it out there driving with the best of them!   Saturday night the crew worked til the wee hours of the morning, welding, cutting, fixing to get the truck ready.  We ended up having two bent shock shafts, a broken sway bar arm, broken hood mounts, broken mufflers, bent door bars and body damage.

Sunday, December 11^th, 2011- We finished the prep and put the #91 Competitive Metals Tyree Motorsports truck back together, for an early morning shake down lap to make sure everything was ok. The truck checked out fine and Nick was happy with how the truck handled and felt. The Tyree Motorsports crew got Nick ready for the famous Challenge Cup race Pro2 vs. Pro4.  As we all know it is mayhem, if you can survive this race you have overcome lots as a driver!  The green flag dropped, Nick knew he had to push himself to the limits as a driver to keep in front of the fast Pro 4 trucks.  After a few laps, the competition got fierce, mixing the Pro 2’s and Pro 4’d together in one pack.  Throughout the race there were 7 accidents, 2 being red flag stops it was insane.  #91 Competitive Metals truck made it through missing crashes and spin outs.  Nick battled to the end and ended up 5^th for our best finish ever, what a race to do it in.  There was plenty of action!

From everyone at Tyree Motorsports… we can’t THANK OUR SPONSORS ENOUGH!!!

Aeromotive – www.aeromotiveinc.com

Bill Signs Trucking – www.billsignstrucking.com

Brewers Sports Bar – www.brewerssportsbar.com

Blacart Creative Group – www.blacart.com

Bink Designs – www.binkdesigns.com

Competitive Metals – www.competitivemetals.com

DCP Supplies – www.dcpsupplies.com

Diffenbaugh Construction – www.diffenbaughco.com

DigitalMediaGiant – www.digitalmediagiant.com

DownSouth Motorsports – www.downsouthmotorsports.com

K&N Filters – www.knfilters.com

Lowry’s – www.halowry.com

Lucas Oil – www.lucasoil.com

Magnesite Specialties Inc. – www.magnesitespecialties.com

Propower Racing – www.propowerracing.com

RDE – www.ranchodrivetrain.com

TOYO Tires – www.toyotires.com

November 5th & 6th 2011

Vegas. . .Vegas. . .Vegas!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011 Rolled into Vegas late Tuesday afternoon to get ready & set up for the Lucas Oil Off-Road Experience.  Tuesday night was a fun night for the pit crew lots of laughs and maybe a little bit of a late night!!!!  Tyree Motorsports loves Vegas.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011 Despite the fun on the strip the night before the Tyree Motorsports team was all business on Wednesday morning.  The day on the track was full of lots of great motor-cross fun. Lucas Oil hosted a special event that had the Las Vegas Motor Speedway bursting with racing excitement, quads doing back flips not to be outdone by a rhino that stole the show.  This event allowed us to get up close and personal with the fans. The Competitive Metals Pro 2 truck got to put on a great show. It was a fantastic way to get people pumped up about what was coming up for the weekend.

Thursday, November 4, 2011 We were relieved to finish setting up and prepping the truck. Double and triple checking our data since we had just put a fresh Pro-Power motor and a brand new Rancho drive train engineering transmission in #91 we wanted everything to be seamless and perfect for the track.  Nick shot off to SEMA to continue networking with lots of vendors and of course look at all the products coming out next year.

Friday, November 5th, 2011 Practice went well made a few adjustments and we were ready for qualifying. Nick and #91 were stealth, it is nice when your times improve every time you go out on the track, we qualified 12th. We made it just in time before the torrential rain and wind picked up sadly making our pit look like Noah’s ARK with the only dry spot being under the truck and Pig Pen had dibs on that, our trusty pit tent let us all know loud and clear that it was on it’s last legs.

Saturday November 6th, 2011 Nick had moved up from the back and was blazing through the course then it was simply a case of really bad luck that he had a truck spin in front of him pinning him in the corner.  Nick really battled lost his brakes half way through the race but never gave up huge thanks to Todd his ever faithful spotter that just kept pushing him harder “use your gears”, WHO NEEDS BRAKES IN A RACE!!! Keep driving Nick!!!! Nicks’ brakes had gotten so hot that they caught on fire, after a quick spray from a fire extinguisher back to the pits we went. We thrashed a bit welding & fixing body parts, the usual after you have battled the beast.  #91 finished 12th  nothing like going off the track on fire!!!!!

Sunday November 7th, 2011 Qualified 14th, Nick really came out hard in qualifying, he was a second faster and the truck really looked good. He had picked up a little over a second on his overall lap time which is huge.  The team was long overdue for our moment to shine, we needed it!!! Something to ignite the fire that burns within us when it comes to this team, this is more than a sport to us, this is our family, our passion and our lives.  The crew could feel today was going to be a great day for the Tyree Motorsports truck.  It was race time, and we were ready, Nick came out hard and fast passing trucks, working them inside and outside, the next thing you know were in 7th and nobody was around us, the excitement was soo intense, we all felt it, only Jeremy McGrath was in front of us, we were 2 tenths off his lap times and no joke, we were charging!!! That was our best finish ever!!!  The Competitive metals/Tyree Motorsports could have never made it without the support of our loyal sponsors, family and friends.

From everyone at Tyree Motorsports… we can’t THANK OUR SPONSORS ENOUGH!!!

Aeromotive – www.aeromotiveinc.com

Bill Signs Trucking – www.billsignstrucking.com

Brewers Sports Bar – www.brewerssportsbar.com

Blacart Creative Group – www.blacart.com

Bink Designs – www.binkdesigns.com

Competitive Metals – www.competitivemetals.com

DCP Supplies – www.dcpsupplies.com

Diffenbaugh Construction – www.diffenbaughco.com

DigitalMediaGiant – www.digitalmediagiant.com

DownSouth Motorsports – www.downsouthmotorsports.com

K&N Filters – www.knfilters.com

Lowry’s – www.halowry.com

Lucas Oil – www.lucasoil.com

Magnesite Specialties Inc. – www.magnesitespecialties.com

Propower Racing – www.propowerracing.com

RDE – www.ranchodrivetrain.com

TOYO Tires – www.toyotires.com

                 TYREE MOTORSPORTS PRESS RELEASE September 24^th & 25^th, 2011

                                                           LUCAS OIL OFF ROAD RACING SERIES (LOORRS)

                                Rounds 11 & 12 Surprise, AZ

Thursday September 22, 2011-Fall has arrived and with that comes LOORRS race weekend in Surprise, AZ.  Tyree motorsports has been furiously getting #91 and Nick ready for this race since getting back to the race shop after the last LOORRS at Glen Helen, CA.  Nick stepped out of his comfort zone to head up to Wisconsin in early September to take part in The Holy grail of short course, Crandon. Nick tagged along with Todd Leduc and continued to network and learn where the start of short course developed.  Nick found the experience to be very helpful and Nick was excited to come back home and put some of the things he learned in Wisconsin to the test in Arizona.  Tyree Motorsports headed out early Wednesday to get to the track set up the pit and get the finishing touches on #91.  Then it was off to Brewers for the “Desert People 9” video premier party on Thursday night.  Great event, packed house, great race energy to get the team pumped for the weekend in Surprise.  The races in Surprise are always fun for Tyree Motorsports, I think the team just likes saying “SURPRISE” it kind of sets the tone for the weekend. 

Friday September 23, 2011- Nick was hitting the track hard for practice, his times were good just about a second off the pace.  #91 was holding its’ own.  Qualifying was a different story the track was slippery and it was hard to get in a solid lap, Nick was running hard and all seemed well until he noticed that the truck was “cooking”.  The truck came back to the pit, the team was eager to find the problem, the pit was unusually quiet you could hear a pin drop, everyone was worried it was an engine issue.  There was a big sigh of relief after a full blown inspection and diagnostic (with the help of racepak) revealed the culprit, the alternator was dead and was not getting any juice which made the fans run half -ass if at all creating an inferno where you don’t want one.  New alternator put an end to that problem, the team hoped. Tyree Motorsports was starting 11^th for Saturdays’ race.  Friday night was spent going over #91 with a fine tooth comb every nut, bolt and screw were checked, tightened and checked again, nothing left to chance here.

Saturday September 24, 2011- HOT,  sweltering would be an understatement, the temperature was over 100F,   this was not a deterrent for this dedicated pit crew even in the blazing sun and with the rising mercury they worked tirelessly on perfecting and fine tuning #91 but they were all pretty sure that their sweat was sweating.  Nick bolted out of the starting line and was looking good on the track when he noticed #91 was running hot again, he had to make a hard split decision on the track, go hells bells to get up front and blow the engine or ta ke it down a notch for a couple of laps to allow some cooling and save the engine, he chose the latter finishing 9^th, still top 10.  Off the track back in the pit it was determined that another alternator went to alternator heaven.  New alternator installed, preparation for Sunday’s race began all the while the pit was starting to smell less like grease, burnt rubber and engine oil and more like the wonderful homemade meal that was cooking, thanks to Joe and Cheryl Ward for feeding this hungry crew with their delicious dinner.

Sunday September 25, 2011- The final Pro 2 race of the weekend was upon us #91 was perfect and Nick was ready to roll with his game face on.   This race was classified by point standings. Nick battled from his 11^th place start, passing and making his way up to a respectable 3^rd position by lap 5.  He was hitting all his marks in the corners and doing a fantastic job holding off Rob MacCachren for 2 full laps by the time the caution arrived.  Green flag dropped and Nick missed it that cost him, he fell back a few spots but didn’t miss a beat when it came time to keep his eye on the ball.  Nick did notice some “heat” in the truck again but this time he went hells bells and kept driving.  Fiery carnage and pandemonium was breaking out all around Nick and #91 but they held their own and kept focus enough to battle with Greg Adler and Jeff Geiser for the 5^th and 6^th  spots.  Nick’s driving in this race was his best all weekend, his lap times were proof of this, Tyree Motorsports ended up with a 7^th finish, great end to the weekend and a great confidence builder for the Tyree Motorsports/ Competitive Metals team.   Back in the pit it was found that the alternator bracket had come loose which was causing the heat, easy fix this time. Surprise, AZ. was a very satisfying race weekend for the Tyree Motorsports team. 

A big thanks to Todd Le Duc for spotting all weekend.  As always if it weren’t for the amazing crew, Nicks true friends that have been along for this ride since the beginning there would be no “Tyree Motorsports!” Thanks for all the hard work and support, Troy Patterson-Crew Chief, Curtis Tyree, Nick Maston, Nick Novak, Robert Gutierrez & Tyler Bunce.

 It is hard to fully appreciate the “top” if you have never been to the bottom, perspective, humility,  hard work and teamwork are the core of Tyree Motorsports, Tyree motorsports  will make it to the top and that day will come and it will be the sweetest day when it does.  Until then thank you for all of your continued support.

Thank you to our generous & loyal sponsors

Aeromotive www.aeromotiveinc.com

Bill Signs trucking www.billsignstrucking.com

Brewers www.brewerssportsbar.com                                                                                                  

Bink designs www.binkdesigns.com

Competitive Metal   www.competitivemetals.com

DCP

DigitalMediaGiant www.digitalmediagiant.com

K&N  www.knfilters.com

Lucas Oil www.lucasoil.com

Propower Racing www.propowerracing.com

RDE www.ranchodrivetrain.com

TOYO tires www.toyotires.com

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Tyree Motorsports

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