Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0

And just like that, Brad Lovell of Lovell Racing moves up to first place  in the TORC Pro Light short course season. There’s just one weekend left (two races) where the pressure will surely be on for claiming the series victory. With permission, here’s a recap of last weekends race in Crandon from the driver himself, Brad Lovell.

Enter Brad Lovell and Lovell Racing.

Colorado Springs, CO 9/6/12 – 2012 hosted an epic fall Crandon event. It is always said and its always true – nothing beats Crandon. The small town came out in droves for the yearly parade. The weather was perfect, competition stiff, and racing dramatic. Especially tight was the points race in the Pro-Light division. Brad Lovell came to conquer a 1-point deficit on leader Andrew Caddell. While he only has one race win at Crandon, Lovell is known for his speed on the track.

Brad made the first jab in qualifying setting the fast time and grabbing 2 points in the process. Caddell returned the volley by qualifying 2nd and earning a single point – the pair would line up on the grid in a season points tie. Brad added, “Our Nissan is the fastest truck at Crandon and I knew we had to make it count this weekend. The inversion of the starting grid is always a factor but we are here to score points.”

In the first race, Lovell failed to get the hole shot and emerged from the start a few truck lengths off of Caddell. The two trucks battled it out, several times making contact until it came to a head in a sharp right hander. Caddell, on the outside, over rotated a bit while Lovell left him no room on the inside. The trucks collided spinning Caddell and crashing together a total of 4 trucks. Lovell emerged in front of last years champion but not without damage. The #1 spark plug wire had broken free in the impact and Lovell worked his way around the course on 7 cylinders to finish 4th. Caddell would finish 7th. Lovell said, “The collision did neither of us a favor. Luckily, the BFG’s held up and I didn’t cut a tire. No one, other than the Traxxas camp, has put my driving under scrutiny so basically, thats that. We’ll win the championship through skill, not dirty driving.”

The #44 AMSOIL/Torchmate Nissan now held a 6 point lead. During the 2nd race Lovell pushed through the pack in the treacherous Turn #1 and took the lead until NIssan teammate Casey Currie forced his way to the front on the outside of the Gravel Pit. Caddell found himself in 3rd and the three trucks separated from the pack all turning lap times within .1 seconds of each other. The order would remain the same until a driving error let Caddell slip by Lovell for 2nd. “I’m always happy to get on the box but dissapointed I didn’t beat Caddell. I have no one to blame but myself. The team was excellent this weekend and all the pieces of the puzzle were there for me. But hey, the bottom line is that we are leaving Crandon 5 points up!”

The drama filled weekend certainly adds to the intensity of the points race. No doubt that two rounds of racing in the same day will mix things up as the TORC Series holds their final 2012 event in Lancaster, CA Sept. 29 & 30. The Lovell Racing team will have to be on their toes for what is sizing up to be a David vs Goliath battle for all the marbles. Now leading points in two series, the team must first face off challengers in Ultra 4 at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City, UT Sept. 22nd. More news soon as the exciting season comes to a close!

While we told our story from Vegas to Reno thru our photo album, nothing beats a recap from the drivers themselves. Yesterday afternoon, we received the follow press release from Kevin Sacalas and his team, Big Ugly Racing. With permission, here’s that press release.

Enter Kevin Sacalas.

Sacalas Podiums for 2nd Time at Vegas to Reno Race

September 5th, 2012–Riverside, CA: It’s been three years since Ultra4 driver, Kevin Sacalas, began his racing career by winning the Ultra4 class in the 2009 Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno: The Long Way; a 3-day, 1000 mile version of last month’s race. On August 25th, Sacalas returned to Las Vegas, NV to once again compete in what has been dubbed by promoters as “the longest desert race on US soil.”

Sacalas was forced to rebuild his car mid-season after crashing and rolling at speeds of nearly 100 MPH during the 2012 Mint 400. Vegas to Reno was Sacalas’ first endurance-based desert race since the crash and his goal was to successfully finish the grueling race. A top 10 Ultra4 class finish would earn him a coveted spot in the 2013 King of The Hammers.

Not only did Sacalas successfully finish the race, he once again found himself on the podium at Vegas to Reno with a 3rd place finish. He started in 17th position and slowly worked his through the competitors throughout the 12+ hours of racing. At approximately 180 miles into the race, he GPS antenna signal to both of the car’s GPS systems causing him and his co-driver, Tim Carlson, to drive using only course markings as guidance. The drivers also lost all radio communication with their pit crew, forcing their team to be ready for whatever surprises Sacalas had in store for them in the pits.

When asked about the race, Sacalas had this to say, “Our goal was to successfully finish this race, keep the car running and hopefully qualify fast enough to earn a spot in King of the Hammers. Getting to podium again in the race where I started my racing career, with most of the same pit crew I had in 2009, was definitely a cherry on the sundae. It is a grueling race, but our STS Turbo held up great, and our Bilstein Shocks kept the car smooth for more than twelve hours.”

Sacalas’ next race will be defending his 2011 championship title at the 2012 Ultra4 American Rocksports Challenge in Tooele, UT. For more information on Kevin Sacalas and his Ultra4 car, affectionately named “Big Ugly” by fans, please visit the team at www.facebook.com/BigUglyRacing.

Did you catch last nights Top Gear? The battle in this episode revolved around who could race the fastest from Portland to San Francisco, on one tank of gas. The prize, a chance to race in Lovell Racing’s Spider 9 powered Ultra4. All around an awesome episode, with equally awesome exposure for our sport. If you missed the show, the History Channel will be airing it a few more times under the title “One Tank”. For you cable cutters, you can also download the episode on iTunes.

The world series of competition rock crawling, aka the W.E.Rock Grand Nationals, kicks off September 28th. The best of the best, from east to west, will head to Dayton, TN this year for this ultimate rock crawling series finale. Dayton has been home to many rock crawling events, and has earned the reputation of drawing the largest, and most enthusiastic, rock crawling crowds in the sport. For more event details, and for the latest venue updates, be sure to bookmark http://www.werocklive.com/events/w-e-rock-grand-nationals/ .

Photo by Tim Magee.

Happy Labor Day! We’re closed today, but we’ll be back in action tomorrow.