HeavyMetalConcepts recently posted a video from Crandon’s TORC Rounds 5 & 6, where Ultra4s were invited to run with the PROs. For those just cathing up on this event, be sure to check out the photos we came back with HERE as well as the official Ultra4 scores of the weekend HERE.
Last weekend, Brad Lovell grabbed a 3rd and 4th place spot in TORC’s Rounds 7 & 8 short course competition. Although that win is enough to get excited about, the even bigger story is his consistency of getting on the podium, race after race, has now pushed him into 2nd place for Pro Light series points. He still has 6 races left, but so far so good! Here’s a copy of Lovell Racing’s press release from last weekends race.
Enter Lovell Racing.
OVELL PUSHES TO THE PODIUM IN CHICAGO
TEAM KEEPS CHAMPIONSHIP HOPES ALIVE
Colorado Springs, CO 7/23/12 – Chicagoland Speedway has not been kind to Brad Lovell. A lawn dart maneuver took him out of contention in 2010 and in 2011 a similar move resulted in double DNF’s. The driver of the #44 AMSOIL / Torchmate Nissan was looking for anything more than a mid-season flop this year and was rewarded with two strong finishes.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about season points,” commented Brad, “With our history in Chicago and a 2nd place points tie with CJ Greaves, I just focussed on finishing.” Chicagoland featured a new 3/4 mi track layout this year that took full advantage of the size of the facility. The dirt gave way to treacherous ruts that highlighted the untamed nature of off-road racing.
Lovell qualified for the first round of racing in a disappointing 7th place, well off the pace of the leaders and out of the inversion. Realizing they missed the mark, the team made drastic changes to the truck in an effort to salvage the race. Brad charged hard off the start and gained positions consistently through the race. A mid-race rainstorm displayed the benefits of running BFGoodrich Mud Terrain tires and the performance was good enough to earn Lovell a 3rd place finish. Brad explains, “Our AMSOIL Nissan team really hit the mark tonight. A couple more laps and I would have reeled them all in!”
As the green flag flew for the second round of racing, Lovell got caught in traffic and dropped positions. Contact with another racer put Lovell in a spin and to the back of the pack. He fought his way through the traffic but somehow tore a hole in the tire and was forced to pit. “The guys pulled off the best pit stop I have ever had and I was in line at the back of the field in time for the restart.” Brad went on to pass an astounding 10 trucks in 7 laps but ran out of time before reaching the podium and finished 4th. “Its not where I wanted to finish but it could have gone a lot worse. I couldn’t be happier with the team and the truck as they gave me every advantage I needed.”
At the end of the weekend the AMSOIL / Torchmate team was able to secure their 2nd place position at the midpoint of the 2012 TORC Series and keep their championship hopes alive. “Time is getting short and we need to be winning race if we are going to take the championship. With the stigma of Chicagoland behind us and Greaves falling a few points back, its time to put some pressure back on Caddell.”
Lovell Racing returns to upper Michigan on August 11th & 12th for the next rounds of TORC action on the expansive Bark River track.
It would come of no surprise to us that one of the most epic short course races, of a lifetime, is still fresh on our minds. A few weeks back, we headed out to Crandon International Off-Road raceway for TORC’s Rounds 5 & 6. This would have been a normal event for Brad Lovell, TORC Pro Light driver, but as it happened Ultra4 racers were invited out to race alongside the short course pros. As expected, an epic race followed.
Two days ago, we received an email from Derek West, recapping the race from his, and his teams, perspective. It was a good race weekend for Derek, who grabbed a 2nd place position on the first day of racing. So, without further delay, here’s a copy of his Crandon race recap, reposted with permission.
(June 16 & 17, 2012) This was the first time the Ultra 4 racers would get a chance to race at the Brush Run event held by the Torc Traxxas Off Road Championship Series by Amsoil. The Ultra 4 racers for the first time raced side by side in Crandon, WI. The 2 day event got 2 days of rain which soaked the track making it the mud run. At 5:00pm on Saturday the main event went great with Derek taking 2nd place on the podium! “Our Nitto Tires did awesome and hooked up great. The hardest part was trying to keep my visor clean from all the mud getting thrown up by the other competitors.” On the second day the stakes were a little different as the track was dry. Derek was learning how to do 4 wheel drifts and making his way towards the front, with half a lap to go and Derek in second place the Transmission gave in and Derek was out of that race. In all this was an awesome experience. Ultra 4 put on a great event and we are looking forward to the next race.” said Derek.
I have to thank all of my sponsors for their support & great products. Nitto Tires, Jimmy’s 4×4, Spidertrax, ATX, Slime, Radflo, Off Road Solutions, PSC, FK rod ends, Advanced Metal Fabricators, Yukon Gear, Branik Motorsports, Johns 4×4, Northstar, Alltech Motorsports, Custom Splice, TK Racing, Seeyouonthetrail productions, Warn, Ouverson Engineering, Sho-Me-Speed, & Rigid Industriess. Thanks to my pit crew, Travis Cook, Travis Brake, Wes Choate, my wife Ashley & daughter London for all their support. I couldn’t do it without all of your help!!
Derek’s next event will be on July 14 & 15th at the Ultra 4 Qualifier held at the Badlands in Indiana.
Finally finished up our photo set from Crandon, available now on Flickr . All photos are licensed under Creative Commons, so feel free to download and share. Next up, Badlands.
With so much talk surrounding Brad Lovell and his Pro Light win, it’s worth pointing out again Brad was not the only Lovell to compete last weekend. His brother Roger, pictured above, also took the field in their Spider 9 powered Ultra4. Talent clearly runs in the family, as Roger scored a 4th & 9th place spot for the weekend.
We also had our first chance to check out Will Carter’s new Spider 9 powered Ultra4. He’s still working out a few bugs, but no doubt the new rig looked sharp. See for yourself from the shot below, taken right before Will crossed the Crandon finish line.
