Viva Las Vegas, race fans!
Who am I kidding, I haven’t been on a plane since February, let alone made the trek to where so many infamous races are held (think Mint 400, Monster Energy Cup and, of course, the Best in the Desert’s Vegas-to-Reno.) Which leads us to the highlight of our race and events recap this month. But you’ll have to keep reading to get the full story…
Menzies takes Vegas-to-Reno
A record number of racers turned out for the 24th annual Vegas-to-Reno. A cornerstone event of the Best in the Desert Racing series, this race has been dubbed the longest off-road race in the United States and the largest single-day off-road event in North America. Car counts were up in every class with a total of 394 vehicles turning out to race.
Bryce Menzies showed up ready to defend his 2019 Trick Truck championship, qualifying second. Swapping both physical and corrected time position throughout the race with friendly rival Luke McMillin, Menzies blistered through to a first-place finish with a time of 7:48:00. Team AMSOIL teammate Brad Lovell also had a top-ten finish in the 6100 class.
Following up the historic first-ever livestream during the BITD Silver State 300 race, Menzies and team ran a livestream during this race as well. Catch all the action below.
Triple-digit racers in triple-digit temps
After a brief pause due to the Coronavirus, the AMSOIL West Coast Open picked back up racing again in mid-June. Despite the sweltering California temperatures, the series has seen impressive racer registration.
And with the finale held this past Sunday at State Fair MX Park, an impressive 600 racers showed up to race despite temperatures over 100°F (38°C). More than 60 classes were awarded season-ending prizes, including AMSOIL gift certificates. The Terra Firma mini series kicks of Sunday Aug. 30.
The “Southwick” of off-road racing
After Bark River had to unfortunately cancel its round of the Championship Off-Road series due to on-going concerns surrounding COVID-19, ERX Motor Park picked up the slack, scheduling its second event of the inaugural season.
Deemed a drivers’ track, ERX is a short technical track that doesn’t offer drivers a ton of opportunity for speed, but sure does make the racing interesting with its infamous split lane.
And that it was at this weekend’s event.
After storms forced the cancelation of all practices on Friday, racers were eager to hit the track at full speed Saturday. It was CJ Greaves taking down the West Coast’s Kyle LeDuc in Pro 4×4, sweeping the weekend.
In Pro 2wd, it was another West Coast regular who landed in third on Saturday, proving he can compete with the Midwest boys, winning on Sunday.
Kyle Greaves was one out of two on the weekend in Pro Lite, while Andrew Carlson and CJ Greaves traded the top of the podium in Pro Mod SxS. Team AMSOIL member Keegan Kincaid stayed in the ranks with two podium finishes on the weekend.
Be sure to tune into our social media channels to see where Team AMSOIL is headed next (and when I finally can get back on a plane again).
Until then, we’ll see you at the races!