Derek West grabbed himself a 2nd place spot at Crandon last Saturday. No doubt he was right at home in The Big House.

Over the next 1-2 weeks, we’ll be building up our TORC Round 5 & 6 photo set on Flickr. Each day, we’ll post a new photo right here and on Flickr so as to build up the set over time. If you want to see the in-progress set now, just head over to http://www.flickr.com/photos/spidertrax/sets/72157630186354572/ .

The photo above is from last Saturday, shot right after Brad received his trophy for taking 1st place in Pro Light. It was a great Fathers Day weekend after all.

It’s one thing to win a race at Crandon’s legendary short course raceway, but taking two wins in one weekend is far from common. That didn’t stop Gary Ferravanti though, as he pushed his racer for back to back wins Saturday & Sunday. We immediately asked Gary if he had raced Crandon before, and he said this was his first time. Maybe in another life perhaps, because Gary wasn’t just fast. He looked like he’d been racing there for a lifetime.

To say it was an amazing weekend (and Fathers Day) would be an understatement. Congratulations again to all Ultra4 drivers would showed the fans of Crandon just what these Ultra4 vehicles can do. We’re still waiting on official results from Ultra4, but for now here’s what we have.

TORC Pro Light for Saturday Round 5 (Semi Official)
1 Brad Lovell *
2 CJ Greaves
3 Keegan Kincaid
4 Luke Johnson
5 Matt Cook
6 Randy Eller
7 Ross Hoek
8 Nick Baumagartner
9 Mark Oberg
10 Andrew Caddell
11 Raphael Navarro
12 Eric Ruppel
13 Mitch Dorr

TORC Pro Light for Sunday Round 6 (Semi Official)
1 Andrew Caddell
2 CJ Greaves
3 Keegan Kincaid
4 Raphael Navarro
5 Brad Lovell *
6 Eric Ruppel
7 Matt Cook
8 Nick Baumagartner
9 Shawn Morris
10 Mitch/Josh Dorr/Hintz
11 Ross Hoek
12 Luke Johnson
13 Randy Eller
14 Mark Oberg

Ultra4 for Saturday Top 3 (Semi Official)
1 Gary Ferravanti *
2 Derek West *
3 Nick Nelson

Ultra4 for Sunday Top 3 (Semi Official)
1 Gary Ferravanti *
2 Thomas Grady
3 JT Taylor

* Spider 9 powered rigs. Always nice to see :-) .

While the weather was less than ideal, the rain didn’t ruin the first day of epic short course action. TORC Pro drivers were not alone today, as 18 Ultra4s joined in for TORCs two round weekend event. They clearly showed they had what it takes to race at Crandon, and at the end of the day racing veteran Gary Ferravanti took top honors for Ultra4. Derek West came in second, and Nick Nelson came in third.

As great as the Ultra4 race was, today’s highlight goes to the amazing race by Brad Lovell in the Pro Light class. Just two seasons ago, Brad kicked off his Pro Light career right here at Crandon. We were at that first race helping out the team, and if memory serves us correctly Brad got near to last place that day. No doubt there’s a learning curve with short course racing, and we knew it would be only time before Brad would be a force to be recommend with. Fast forward to today, and Brad was indeed a force to be reckoned with.

By the second turn, Brad managed to pull ahead of the pack, and from that point forward no other Pro Light could pass him. After crossing the checkered flag, Brad claimed his 1st Crandon win, and now his second win for the season. Congrats to Brad, and team Lovell Racing, for a job well done.

With Brad, Gary Ferravanti, & Derek West’s podium finishes, this gives Spider 9 axles three top spots for the day. Always great to see, but the racing continues today with both Pro Lights & Ultra4s taking the course for TORC round 6. Stay tuned.

There’s so much to talk about, and we haven’t even started the race! Ultra4 qualifying went down yesterday, and all in all times were fast. This wasn’t without problem, as a number of Ultra4s ran into mechanical issues. Jason Scherer took top honors with the fastest qualifying time, but ended with a blown motor so he’s out of the race. We heard Will Carter also blew a motor, but is working on installing a new one for today. JT Taylor had to switch a torque converter late last night, and the list goes on.

Regardless, Ultra4s look fast and will kick off today at 4:45 pm CST issues or not. We also have Brad Lovell kicking off right before the Ultra4s in his Spider 9 powered Pro Light. Yesterday, Brad beat the all time Pro Light qualifying record for fastest lap, so he’s feeling good this morning to say the least.

Keep an eye on the blog for a recap of today’s action, first thing tomorrow morning. Till then, let’s have a great race!