Reusche's Off-Road Racing Roar

TORC Chicagoland: Biggest Success Story of the Year?

2010-08-27T13:31:00.000-07:00

To some the Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL event at the Dirt Track @ Route 66 Raceway (Chicagoland Speedway) might have seemed like a failure. In reality it could be considered the biggest success of the season.

Sure the spectator turnout wasn't much. Especially when the 10,000 seat grandstand has 3000 fans scattered throughout the seating. The fact of the matter it was a hit within the motorsports community.

Here are some of the reasons why:

The internet broadcast, complete with five broadcast personalities, multiple cameras, a production crew, and a director that was continually calling the shots every second of the night, continues to raise the bar race after race. On Wednesday evening, the live internet feed was featured at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame to coincide with Jeremy McGrath’s (who was in Joliet racing his Monster Energy PRO-2WD) induction ceremony.

The sponsorship that Traxxas put forth with Kyle Busch Motorsports had the NASCAR community talking throughout the week. Sure it was cool to see Kyle running a PRO-2WD under the lights with the likes of RJ, McGrath, Rob Mac, LeDuc, and Taylor, but more importantly the event had other teams and companies that are already involved with professional motorsports taking a look at what TORC and short-course off-road racing is all about.

Why is this important? TORC and short course off-road racing need team owners that hire drivers similar to other forms of professional motorsports. The team owner concentrates putting all the pieces together, including marketing and sponsorship, while the driver concentrates on his efforts on the track. When this happens, the overall product at the track is improved, and the distinction between PRO and Sportsman becomes well defined.

There are established motorsports teams with the entire infrastructure in place that could add a short-course program with a minimal investment. These teams can also use the off-road market as another tool to complete a sponsorship contract, similar to the Traxxas – Kyle Busch partnership.

The spectator turnout on the second evening was probably three times larger than opening night. Which is incredible since the only advertising was done the weekend before at the track’s monthly demolition derby. If you were at the track Thursday night you saw representatives from ARCA, USAC, a few NASCAR truck teams, businesses from the motorsport community, and several members of the area drag racing community.

After talking a few first time fans in the pit area on Thursday, many were in attendance the night before. When they came back for the second night they made sure a few other friends came along as well. The fans in attendance are a part of a rather large motorsports community in the Joliet/Chicago area. Along with Chicagoland Speedway’s facility, right down the road is the Autobahn Country Club road racing facility as well as a few circle tracks like LaSalle and Rockford.

The directors of Chicagoland facility were blown away with every aspect of short course off-road racing and promised to find better dates for the TORC event in their calendar for the upcoming 2011 event. Yes, TORC will be back racing in the largest market, outside of NYC and LA, in the country.

Just like Oshkosh and Glen Helen, you build it and promote it; the spectators will come by the bus full. If the 2011 TORC event is promoted properly, Chicagoland will be looking for more grandstands.
That’s my take on this unique mid-week TORC off-road event.

If Rowdy and Robby (Gordon) both show up at Crandon next week that would really be a story.

- Mike Reusche, mtgraphics@ymail.com

Glen Helen & Oshkosh May Be Looking Back to the Future

2010-08-10T21:37:00.002-07:00

The latest short course races under the direction of TORC as well as LOORS were very similar in many aspects.

Here are some of the similarities from Oshkosh and Glen Helen.
1. - Both were very short tracks - each were approximately .8 mile in length.
2. - Both were held at night.
3. - Both had overflow crowds.
4. - Both had the front gate turning customers away.
5. - Both had incredible racing, with positive feedback from racers as well as fans.
6. - Both were promoted properly to get the fans to the track.
7. - Both had new faces in the sport land on the podium.
8. - Both had the largest Sportsman racer turnout of the year for their respective series.
9. - Both venues didn't have the largest fan turnout of the year, but the energy in the crowd sure made it seem like they were.
10. - Both venues has some missed steps, but their future is very bright.

I could go on and on, but my point is if the facility is located in the proper market, promoted and marketed to the community, spectators will get to the track and fill the stands.

I'm from the Midwest, but have been a spectator at my share of West Coast short-course events. Glen Helen in many respects is like Crandon West. The property is iconic, in the Motocross world as well as in the short course world. I remember wanting to go to the Glen Helen and race against the Class 10 (today's Super Buggy) elite.
(Greg George, Glen Harris, Jerry Whelchel, the Gilman's, and others but we never made the trek. Fortunately in the 70s & 80s they came back my way to places like Lake Geneva and Montreal).

Now with past and present stars of Supercross, Motocross, Freestyle, and Super Moto racing with four wheels under them at Glen Helen & Oshkosh, it brings together today's action sports heros with yesterday's super heros as they take on the stars of short course like Huseman, the Greaves, Renezeder, Menzies, the George's, & others.

Lucas Oil brought all of them together to the right location and bam! an event many will talk about for years to come.

The same thing happened at the TORC Oshkosh event, the event was held in the Fox Valley of eastern Wisconsin. The population base for the area that runs from Fond du Lac north to Green Bay, approximately 700,000. The majority of the MORR membership/TORC Sportsman competitors come from this area. The promoters of the event are also residents of the valley and off-road racers. The right promotional work was done via television, radio, and at several types of motorsports events leading up to the weekend. It was billed as the event your came watch today's superheros in the PRO division(Greaves,RJ, McGrath, Huseman, Douglas, etc) and the stars of tomorrow (Gerald, Vanden Huevel,Greaves, Dorr, etc.) in the Sportsman classes. All the hard work paid off. Now PRO racers want two weekends of racing in Oshkosh for 2011.

These events were more like Mickey Thompson's vision of off-road racing.
- Create short tracks with the fans right on top of the action.
- The competition is a combination of top racers in other forms of motorsports as well as off-road racing's home-grown talent competing at the highest level.
- Then go out and promote this aspect so motorsports fans outside of the off-road community pay for the price of admission.

What was different with Glen Helen and Oskhosh was the venue, they aren't the cavernous stadiums of stick and ball sports. These are locations synonymous with off-road racing, where 5,000 fans created the atmosphere of a crowd three times it size.(In the future, I'm pretty sure both will have seating for 15,000)

I don't know if either sanctioning body had Mickey Thompson's Off-Road Gran Prix in mind when creating events at these locations, but looking back at some of the events' aspects, Mickey's short-course torch is still burning strong.

- Mike Reusche
mtgraphics@ymail.com
philsinc@ymail.com

Oshkosh Off-Road Festival - TORC Sportsman Short Course Racing at Its Best!

2010-08-01T12:33:00.002-07:00

Oshkosh Off-Road Festival - TORC Sportsman Short Course Racing at Its Best!

Oshkosh, WI (July 29, 2010) - Crandon may be the "Big House" but after the two evenings of racing at the Oshkosh Speedzone this past weekend, the off-road world can't stop talking about the country's newest stop on the 2010 Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL schedule. The standing room only crowds experienced some of the best non-stop door to door action short course off-road racing had to offer. When Ricky Johnson described TORC off-road racing as a combination of Supercross and Ultimate Fighting all on four wheels, the Oshkosh Off-Road Festival is exactly what he had in mind. The PRO drivers put on an incredible show, but the Sportsman competitors put on an opening act that will be hard to duplicate.

The two day TORC event began with uncertainty as over eight inches of rain covered the Fox Valley area the day before the event. Undaunted, USAC and race promoters Vanden Heuvel and Flanagan went to work draining the Winnebago County Fairgrounds and the .5 mile circle track that would host the third stop of the 2010 TORC World Tour.

While the track work was progressing, the weather cleared up in time for the Thursday evening Pit Party sponsored by the Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery. The Tilted Kilt girls from the Oshkosh locale were there serving free samples of their fine restaurant fare, as wel asl posing for photos and offering discount coupons for the establishment.

Remarkably the track was in top shape thank to the endless efforts of Mike and Brad Arndt, the Speedzone's Mike Rabe, and USAC's Jeff Norstrom. When the first group of Sportsman racers hit the track early Friday evening the track surface held just enough moisture to eliminate any dust problems and offer the competitors excellent traction.

Unfortunately the campgrounds were waterlogged preventing most of the teams from setting up camp near the race track. Considering the torrential downpour, every team was just glad the racing was to go on as scheduled.

Speaking of schedule, the moisture in the track needed as much time as possible to dissipate, so USAC officials, to no one's surprise, cancelled practice.

While the track was drying out, the line of cars and trucks at the fairground entrance was continually getting longer and longer. Eventually the Winnebago County Sheriff's Department began assisting traffic at the closest intersection about a half mile away. As the off-road fans made their way to the grandstands, the Vendor Midway greeted everyone with companies representing practically every aspect of the off-road and truck community. The scene made for an incredible event.

Before the PRO truck competitors made it to the track, a large contingent of Sportsman racers, ninety-one drivers, representing eight different divisions had their time on the track.

TORC Sportsman Round 7

The first race of Friday evening was the combined Classix and Formula 4x4 event. Both classes had their largest turnout of the year. The large number of racers also put on their best performances of the season as well. In the Classix race, it came down to veterans Rob Weiland and Dale Chestnut. Weiland took his second TORC win of the year, as points leader Dale Chestnut finished second, and Jeremy Forbes finished third in his first race of the season.

The Classix division saw Snow Dogg Snow Plows add to the festivities by awarding the podium finishers Wilson, Chestnut, and Forbes cash bonuses during the trophy presentation.

At the same time the Formula 4x4 racers were well represented as Brad Lemarche had his retro Ford Ranger out for his first full weekend of racing. Brad didn't disappoint as he dominated the field. In second was Ben Passa in his Chevy El Camino bodied 4x4, and Milan Mazanec came home in third in the Ford F-150.

The Light Buggy contingent was next as nineteen limited single seat buggies attacked the .8 mile off-road course. Starting from well back in the field, Matt Gerald in his Sticker Dude Wornstar Buggy took the win, as Maxxis' Matt Ashauser held on to second, Holtger Motorsports driver Craig Paitl grabbed the final spot on the podium.

The Enduro Trucks were next. This is another great division to get one's feet wet in short-course off-road racing. The reason; you can take an Enduro Truck, race it for a time, and then upgrade the modifications to compete in the Super Stock Truck class.

The race came down to a battle of "Young Guns," Brent Smith and Chris Bowser. The two racers had a similar battle during Round 5 in Bark River. Once again it was Smith first, Bowser second, and veteran Bob Birkholz third.

Some of the best Single Buggy racers in the country lined up for the stadium style battle. Early on, Nebraska's John Fitzgerald held the top spot only to be challenged by Lower Michigan's Jeff Villemure and the Upper Peninsula's "Iron Mulisha" member Brad Erickson. After some jockeying back and forth, the winner was Jeff Villemure, with Erickson second, and Fitzgerald third.

The first of the Heavy Metal Hitters, Super Stock Truck, lined up twelve strong. The front runners of the class started in the back half of the field. It looked like Mitch Dorr and his Fabricated Steel Ford would hold off Eric Ruppel and his Phil's Inc Ford for the win, but a last corner pass by Ruppel took the win, followed closely by Dorr, as points leader and "Iron Mulisha" member Scott Beauchamp finished third.

The high flying Super Buggy class also had its largest field of the year as Bob Klaus became the fifth different winner this season. Steve Krieman in his Phil's Inc. VW powered buggy as the runner-up, and CJ Greaves recovered to bring his Traxxas Super Buggy across in third.

The final Sportsman race of the evening, was a another battle between Dan Baudoux in his Teamtech Motorsports Ford and Mike Vanden Heuvel in the Flanagan's Stop n Shop Chevy. Vanden Heuvel took the win followed by Baudoux and Michael Baker.

After all the Sportsman and PRO racing was complete, the rains came once again, but not as severe as Thursday afternoon. Needless to say, Saturday afternoon practice was cancelled as well. When Sportsman Round 8 racing began, USAC had the track in perfect condition.

TORC Sportsman Round 8

The Saturday evening crowd was even larger than the night before as the Classix race saw new faces on the TORC Sportsman podium. Crandon's Bill Wilson stood on the highest step on the box, followed by Jeremy Forbes, with Shawn Tingley rounding out the Top-3.

Once again Snow Dogg Snow Plows stepped up and awarded the podium finishers a nice bonus for their great performances at the Oshkosh Speedzone.

The Formula 4x4 race saw Brad Lemarche take the win once again, followed by Ben Passa, with current points leader Dave Miah in third.

The Light Buggy race was a repeat of Round 7. As Matt Gerald took the win, but not before spinning out twice, as Matt Ashauer was the runner up. The final spot on the podium was the #100 Holtger Motorsports, but this time around Bryan Holtger was behind the wheel. The third place finisher shares driving chores with his brother in law Craig Paitl. With either Craig or Bryan at the wheel, Holtger Motorsports can't go wrong.

Enduro Trucks was a near repeat performance from the night before. This round Brock Smith (teammate to brother Brent) led the charge to the finish with Chris Bowser and Bob Birkholz right in the wake of the Smith Bros. Chevy.

The Single Buggy ranks saw John Fitzgerald finally get back to his winning ways as Jeff Villemure continued his weekend with a solid second place. Brad Erickson moved down a spot to take a well deserved third place. The Single Buggy class consistently offers some of the most competitive off-road racing week after week.

The Super Stock Truck race saw Dan Beauchamp grab the lead and then rollover without ever relinquishing the lead. His cousin, Scott Beauchamp quickly moved into the second spot as the two Escanaba, Michigan natives went door to door. Unfortunately, the damage Dan suffered from the rollover eventually slowed his pace. This left Scott to hold off a late charging Mitch Dorr for the win, as Eric Ruppel rounded out the top three.

The "F-1" of short-course off-road racing was next on the schedule. Steve Krieman had a dominating performance in his Bertils VW powered Super Buggy. Second place was the night before winner, New Jersey's Bob Klaus, as Wisconsin's Scott Schwalbe finished third.

The final Sportsman race of the weekend saw the Limited 2 Baudoux/Vanden Heuvel battle renew itself. This time both trucks didn't make it to the finish. The final two laps saw a great race between Michael Baker and Rhonda Konitzer. Both racers grabbed the lead from each other more than once in the brief timeframe. When the checkered flag waved Baker had about a two foot advantage over Konitzer. Bob Gremler finished on the podium for the first time after joining the ranks at Crandon. When the racers reached the podium, the crowd went wild showing their appreciation for a well fought race.

Just before 11pm the PRO-4x4 race ended as the huge crowd headed home or back to their campers, while talk about next year's event had already begun. Whether you were a Sportsman or a PRO competitor, everyone went home with a smile on their face.

Later that night there was talk about having two weekends of racing at the Oshkosh Speedzone, but like the promoter's were saying, let's get this event wrapped up before anyone gets ahead of themselves. Regardless the buzz around the Winnebago Fairgrounds and the Oshkosh Off-Road Festival was overwhelmingly positive.

Thanks goes out to all those that made the weekend possible; Midwest Promotions Vanden Heuvel/Flanagan, MORR, the Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL, USAC, Budweiser, and all the volunteers that made the weekend a great experience for all those in attendance.

- Mike Reusche, mtgraphics@ymail.com

What's really changed with Midwest Off-Road Racing in the last 20 years?

2010-03-10T13:33:00.000-08:00

What really changed in the last 20 years?

I feel I need to write this post.

I've have had numerous midwest racers mention how much things have changed over the years.

True; NCPS, SODA,CORR, TORC, etc. have all been a sanctioning body overseeing off-road racing in the Midwest.

Yet no matter what the sanctioning body there has always been racing at Bark River and Crandon (basically the last 40 years, along with a great run in Antigo) During that time not much has changed.

The races are in the same town, the tracks are basically the same, the tech guys and even flag men probably have not changed much in the last twenty years.

The rules haven't changed that much over the years. Entry fees for the most part (except for 2009)haven't changed much as related to the value of the dollar.
(Thanks to MORR, entry fees and registration fees are back to more reasonable amounts)

What has changed in a few classes are race entries have decreased. I understand some of it has to due with the economy.

Others are just disappointed how things went in 2009. Their response is "well I'll wait it out until I see some actual changes." I understand that point of view as well.

I don't know how to make people believe the MORR has gotten things changed to make racing more affordable for the competitor, other than getting people to the race track and then we can prove that MORR is here for the Sportsman.

I also hear about the good old days of racing when there were 30 light buggies, 30 single buggies, 25 super buggies, and truck of sorts at every event. The money was good thanks to the entry numbers. Extra payback from companies was all abundant as well. Why isn't that the case anymore? The extra payback and incredible contingency programs was due in part to the large number of racers. It's the old saying "Companies support those that support them."

10-20 years ago, those companies supported the race or race series, because they received a greater return on their investment. In today's racing world the companies are bombarded by individual race teams, PRO & Sportsman,as well as race tracks, race events, and race series, looking for support. This has made the decision makers at the companies that use motorsports in their marketing, many avenues to choose from.

The best thing Midwest Off-Road Racer to do is to help convince these companies to support our racing is to go out and race in 2010. If Midwest Off-Road racing can show up to Antigo, Crandon, Bark River, and Oshkosh in record numbers, it will certainly make companies notice. That means big numbers entry wise, and spectator wise as well.

(I'm not saying we can see WSORR payouts in the near future, that was way beyond incredible, but when our racing gains more marketing value, our payouts will improve.)

There are several companies out there that understand the value of Midwest off-road Racing, let's go out in 2010 and prove to the rest of the world that not only is our racing strong and healthy, but is a great marketing tool for local businesses, automotive companies, and mainstream America alike.

If you have a buggy or truck or Classix get it ready for Antigo and the rest of the 2010 Sportsman season.

If you have a one of these and have the budget to racing, but choose not to, please don't complain about "this or that."

As the race season approached, MORR will need volunteers to assist where its needed at some of the events. Many of you have already contacted us about donating your time.

MORR also need racers to race! If nobody shows up to race, all our work has been wasted.

Again, MORR thanks everyone that has supported our cause, and we will continue work for the needs of the Midwest Short Course Off-Road Racer.

- Mike R. MORR Guy

Short Course Technicalities – Improving Pre & Post Race Inspections

2009-11-17T10:16:00.000-08:00

It happened this past weekend at the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series Season Finale at Lake Elsinore. It also happened at the second visit to Perris for the Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL. The LOORS incident changed the Unlimited Lite Championship. The TORC incident created some excitement, some confusion, and ultimately the dispute was cleared up and everything was good in the world of TORC.

What I am referring to is how the individuals in charge of Tech Inspection can deem a race vehicle safe and legal throughout the year and suddenly late in the season, turnaround and determine it's not when nothing has changed on that race truck.

The latest case in point is the well discussed disqualification of Chris Brandt after he seemingly won the LOORS Unlimited Lite Championship. After going through tech inspection all year and without a problem, after the season was complete, officials then measured his truck's wheelbase and it was found to be longer than the specifications in the rulebook. This gave another competitor the Championship. Was there a protest? Were any other trucks measured? Please let the public know.

In September, after Round 14 of the Perris TORC event, officials were told to measure the tire size of a particular competitor. An aluminum tire gauge that TORC officials had created for just this purpose was used. After about an hour of discussions, the tires were deemed legal. The only problem was that the other tire manufacturers that compete in the class were never measured. Why weren't other competitor's tires checked at the same time? Was there a protest? If so, again let the public know. If not, all tire brands should have been measured. For some reason, to my recollection, this incident was never mentioned by any press outlet.

My point is that a championship should be won on the race track, and not behind the grandstands by the tech inspectors. If one truck is inspected for a particular rule, others must be impounded for that inspection as well. Whether it’s the podium finishers or the Top-5, that’s for the sanctioning body to determine, but those finishers should have their post race inspection include more than a quick stop on the scales.

Maybe just a more thorough post race inspection is needed, so everyone knows that all the competitors are playing by the rules.

The LOORS incident changed history. The TORC incident could have as well.

Then having a championship determined this way isn't ggood for the sport, not the competitors involved, the race series, or the sport in general.

Look at the black eye that desert racing has gone through down in Baja this past season with broad interpretation of course rules.

Technical inspection and rules enforcement should be done thoroughly and completely at all times.

The NHRA sanctioning body offers tech inspection of any 10.99 second or quicker race cars before the season, or you make an appointment with an approved/licensed inspector during the season. SCORE desert racers have a similar process in place.

Isn't it time for the short course off road racing world to do the same?

Television Broadcasts... Remember it's only a 60 minute broadcast.

2009-06-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

I just finished watch the TORC race from Crandon on my DVR. Immediately I went online to see what people were saying on the two forums that I have membership with. There were quite a few compliments and just as many or more detractors of the broadcast. The only comment I have is,"Remember it is only a 60 minute broadcast."

Trying to show 3 classes in that time frame while trying to create the side stories is a herculean effort. A ninety minute slot would probably work perfect, but all that takes is more money. Either eliminate a class, and nobody wants that, or work with what you have.

Paul at one point, during one of the rain delay meetings in Texas, mentioned the were looking at other avenues to broadcast the TORC series. Attempting to do what LOORS has done. Again it takes time, money, and manpower. (and a 27 hour day) Hopefully as the 2010 season approaches "the powers in charge" have additional avenues for the teams to promote to their marketing partners.

The trackinginternational.com coverage is awesome, now it just needs to get promoted to get enough viewers watching it so racer can use it in their proposals. (Heck I was watching it online in the stands at Perris while the race was going on.)

Getting the Steve Naughton film about Crandon completed and in movie theaters is another step in the evolution of short course racing. Look what "Dust to Glory" did with desert racing.... NBC Sports keeps SCORE on the calendar as programming every year since.

Let's give the latest ESPN2 broadcast good marks. The whole feel of the show is different. The pace is quicker, the commentators are quicker with their comments, the race shots are quick, and change all the time to add to the pace and excitement of the event. It really give a much better feel to the speeds of the trucks as compared to earlier broadcasts or even the WSORR broadcasts on SPEED.

Remember Rome wasn't built in a day.
and.....
Short Course racing keeps getting partially built and their torn down to start all over, but there must be a level of patience on everyone's part.

It took Wally Parks and NHRA, and Bill France and NASCAR 50 years to get where they are today.

At one point short off-road racing had Mickey Thompson, but when he was killed our sport stepped back 10-20 years in its growth.

Maybe Ricky Johnson is the man. He was connections, the experience, and the vision.

In my opinion that is what makes the successful forms of motorsports succeed. Putting a name and face to the entity creates trust among all racers, sponsors, and fans.

This all easy for me to say, since I haven't raced a long time.

I seem to spend a ton of time watching and listening to racers, fans, promoters, parts manufacturers, sponsors, and sanctioning bodies for the small part I play in this industry.

Let's look forward not back.

- Mike Reusche, www.philsinc.com - www.mt-graphics.com

The Black Flag Can Make for Better Racing.

2009-06-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

The TORC series continues to bring out great racers giving great performances. That's a point sometimes is forgotten. Racing is a competition, but for companies to spend their marketing dollars on race teams, its based upon more that performance on the track. It must be entertaining as well.

When Casey Currie goes out and wins by 10 truck lengths, its a great performance, but the entertainment is back in the pack. That's why the camera sometimes covers that instead of the leaders.

If it's a three way battle for the lead or a crazy story line line like Chad Hord rolling over and still wins, then that gets broadcast, and that instance more trucks will be viewed for due to all the contact that went on.

My point is that there's isn't enough cameras and broadcast time to cover everything that goes on. Sometimes you wonder why a fellow competitor does what he does on the track. Maybe he sees things you don't. maybe it is due to his level of driving ability, or maybe he realizes he needs to get some TV time to keep his sponsor happy.

I'm not saying that "tv time" thing is foremost in a driver's mind, but it may cross their mind after the fact.

Sometimes those kind of things can cause problems for other drivers, that's when the black flag should be thrown. The powers that be that control TORC and the TV production have said thay don't want to bring out the flag because it deters from the TV show. I can go along with that, but it can be applied properly so there isn't massive carnage during race. The prime example was PRO-4x4 Saturday night. the last 10 laps only 3 trucks were running to the flag. Fortunately, they stayed running together to makesome kind of show out of the last half of the race.

In PRO-2WD Dan Baudoux got t-boned so hard it knocked his drysump tank and battery broke off the mountings andthe oil supply side hose to the engine was basically pinched closed. Fortunately the ignition quit before he could run the engine out of oil. The ignition box was also dislodged as well.

If TORC isn't careful, the racing grid will be getting smaller not larger, then you don't have a tv program that's remotely entertaining.

There is a definitely line between good hard racing, and overaggressive driving that creates "in-focus" coverage.

The question is when will be first time TORC/USAC use the black flag.

See you in Crandon.

A successful opening weekend for TORC!

2009-05-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

I had the good fortune of attending the TORC opening weekend in Fort Worth this past weekend. As of only five people that used the press box, those that didn't missed a very comfortable way to watch a race. Comfortable seats, air conditioned and huge glass walls to view the race. Tim from Dirt News was enter live updates on coveritlive.com, while I did the same using the mtgbumpracer Twitter account. Todd from Fox Shox did his own version of Scott Rehn keeping the four press people informed.

The actual racing went off without a hitch. There wasn't a single black flag thrown, and a minimal number of caution laps. The drivers enjoyed the track, there weren't really any complaints, or if there were, it was in the minority.

Friday night saw Marty "the one man party" Hart, hold off Jeff Kincaid in PRO-Light, Ricky Johnson somehow take one from Rob MacCachern, and Jeff Huseman winning and Curt Leduc second, when Johnny Greaves went momentarily off track.

The Friday night weather was perfect, but Leading up to Saturday night's performance it was another story. When the rain finally stopped, track crews from TMS and TORC went it work. Throughout the afternoon and early evening, TORC held three different meeting with the drivers keeping them updated with the progress of the track preparation. If you would have seen the track at 3pm Saturday, you couldn't believe that an off-road race, let alone one which would look good on TV, would take place.

Even the TV producer spoke up and and told everyone, we will race tonight, and it will come off good for TV.
Seeing is believing, and they made believers out of everyone that was there. By 9:30pm the Pro-Lites hit the track and Casey Curry had the field covered. Meanwhile, Kyle Leduc charged hard from the final starting spot to end up second.

The PRO-2WD race saw Scott Taylor lead from start to finish, but it wasn't easy. Rob MacCachern and Ricky Johnson applied pressure throughout the twenty laps, but the seven-time champ lead the way.

The final race of the program was PRO-4x4. The winner was the same as the night before, Rick Huseman. The action was non-stop as both Kyle and Curt LeDuc battled for the lead. Johnny Greaves rolled over at the start finish line. Somehow Scott Douglas kept clear of the mayhem and finished second. Adrian Cenni finished all forty laps this weekend. Great job Adrian.

The crowds both night eclipsed the number of fans the came to watch CORR a year and a half ago. Friday was a slim turnout, but the area residents noted that High School sports are "king" when it comes to Friday night, no matter what time of year.

The pit area was full of fans before and after Saturday's races, and vendors seemed happy about their cash flow.

What was missing was the buggies and SXS. I believe one of the other is need to give they paying customer a little more show for the $$$. I also makes the pit area larger and it brings more "buzz" (in more ways than one) to the event.

If TORC goes back in 2010, and the weather cooperates, they could fill the 10,000 seat grandstand area.

Just one request from bumpracer, make sure the press still get their own skybox.

One other note I paid $65.00 for a case of water and I heard a case of Bud was $88.00. Some racers think the entry fees are high, just wait to you order food or drink in the suites.

- The view from the press box. See you in Perris.

-Mike

Why does the show pay to race and why need a competition yellow?

2009-04-29T15:13:00.000-07:00

Wildtoyota (from a Ross Hoek forum post) I understand your view about being the show.

In NASCAR there's no entry fees, but every time you go thru tech inspection its $1500 per race. and if you fail tech that weekend, its another $1500 every time you come back that day.

The fees to get your team, crew, & sponsors, a NASCAR hardcard for every event is astronomical. It can be easily in the 6 figures (for your team)for the year. These teams put on the show in front a huge audience, and still pay their way in to race.

I'm not saying that its right that the show has pay it was in is right, but it is what it is.

What has to happen is the race purses must expand. Make sure the majority of the racers get something back they are running at the finish.

Back in the 70's and 80's this was happening with the formation of Championship races at the end of the race weekend at places like Lake Geneva and Crandon. These were no entry fee races, the purse was put up by a sponsor, many times it was BFG or another tire manufacturer. To qualify for the Champ race, all you had to do was start one of the races during that weekend.

First place didn't pay a huge amount, but the 25th place finisher got enough to cover his gas money or maybe his $75 class race entry fee.

Granted this was 25-30 years ago and 115 octane race fuel was only $7.00/gal and pump gas was $1, but it was something we all looked forward to when they came to Lake Geneva, and the early days of short course racing at Crandon.

Ever check the cost of local club SCCA racing? It can cost $300 to run a 15-20 minute race and the winner gets a plaque. But before you can race you need to spent the time and money to go to driving school to be approved to race.

If you have a drag car that runs 10 second passes. It must be inspected, for a fee, by an official NHRA inspector to run any national or regional event. This includes getting blind folded while strapped into your race vehicle and turning off all the power and removing yourself from the vehicle in under a certain amount of time.

Cost to run a race even if the workers are mostly volunteers, insurance, electricity, track maintainance, etc. all have a price. Motorsports is a business, and businesses need to make a profit to survive.

It may not seem fair that the show pays its way in, but it does.

Competition Yellow -

But when you can't get a limitation on HP for PRO2 and PRO4 and the tire technology isn't keeping up, and drivetrains take a beating as well, getting a field of trucks to make it to the checkered flag is a problem when they are making a television broadcast out of the race.

Unlike other from of PRO racing, the only qualification off-road racing has that determines a PRO from a Sportsman is how much money you have to spend on your race vehicle. Until TORC & LOORS can come up with way to keep the bone head drivers with tons of money out of the PROs, you will have a portion of the field that will excessively bang and crash and destroy equipment for no apparent reason, except to be a 2 second highlight during the broadcast. At the peak of PRO-2 racing on the West Coast this was very evident.

This doesn't seem to be much of a problem in the Buggy classes, just at the PRO side.

I'm not directing this post at anyone in particular, but i've been in and around this sport a good thirty years, and the remarks from the masses have been the same for many years. I think short course racing is the best thing out there. I hope it continues to grow.

The problems this industry face can't be remedied in a day or a year, it takes time, and it takes consistent leadership over a long period of time to get where all participants in short course off-road racing have a place to race, enjoy the competition, and maybe take home a few $$s along the way.

-Mike Reusche - my view from on top of the hauler.

Off-Road Racing Lifestyles and then there's Crandon

2009-03-17T11:02:00.000-08:00

It looks like the short course off-road season is almost upon us. The final preparations for the first event of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series in Primm, NV are well underway.Their website shows us some footage of the track, which has been idle for almost six months, in the initial stages of preparation. In the meantime, practice schedules are out for booth the LOORS and TORC series. Various sponsorships are being filled in both series. The PDG is offering a travel voucher/scholarship for select race teams to attending TORC events. Tire companies, Oil companies, Radio Control Vehicle companies, and of course, racers are positioning themselves with their preferred racing series. Things are looking very positive for both LOORS and TORC. Just imagine if all this energy and money was at one series. This could be one incredible travelling road show.

For short course off-road racing to succeed, it just can't be about the product on the track. It has to become a lifestyle event, offering the race spectator a good race, they must be entertained. It the event must become a destination for people to spend time and money. Sort of a motorsports vacation. The folks at Crandon and Bark River have the lifestyle thing down pretty good. The camping, the evening concerts, the daytime races, the evening races, the nearby casinos, the local taverns (The Duck Inn or the Pack'em Inn)and the 30-40 years of friends getting together to watch short-course off road racing. The Northwoods Off-Road Race Style is definitely different than watch we saw at the CORR events the last year and a half.

The West Coast Off-Road Off-Road Style is more about the bling. The trucks in the parking lots are Pre-Runners, the Alternative Rock Music is loud and usually coming from several different pit areas ( heck I remember the Speed Technology guys had their own band at Pomona), the attire from some of the female spectators made you look twice (or maybe three or four times), and video cameras everywhere covering everything on and off the track (almost all posted on You Tube by Monday morning).

No matter what series you follow, let's hope the lifestyle continues no matter what part of the country you get your short course off-road racing fix from.

On that note, the 40th celebration at Crandon this Labor Day Weekend should be a huge party. You will get the best of all worlds, Midwest and West Coast. Don't miss it, the week long celebration will be the WOODSTOCK of Off-Road Racing!!

The experience of walking through the campground in the evening will be worth the price of admission. Everything from million dollar motor coaches to guys sleeping in the back of their pickup trucks, with everything in between. The worlds greatest off-road fan fan club be there, the SUPERTEAM SUPER FANS, following all their favorite AMSOIL KUMHO TIRE racers.

I could go on forever about this event, you just get there and experience it for yourself. My first time was in 1973, and a lot has changed, but a lot has stayed the same. And that's a good thing.

Its About Sharks, Not about Off-Road Racing

2009-03-01T08:49:00.000-08:00

The Problem With Shark Killing in China - By Carrie Reusche

Many people in China don't care about sharks, but they do care about their fins. A delicious meal in China is Shark fin Soup. Many problems with this is that they chop off the shark's fins and drop the body down to the bottom of the ocean.

Main problems

(1) Sharks have to move to breathe so when they hit bottom they will die slowly and painfuly unless another shark decides to have a meal.

(2) They kill too many. Approximately 100 million sharks are killed each each. Mostly due to the desire for Shark Fin Soup and the fear of shark attacks. ( There are only 100 shark attacks per year, on average.)

Why we shouldn't do this

(1) If we kill too many of any kind of shark it will effect us. Hawaii has tried to kill one kind of shark, but because they had killed more than they should've it effected them. They killed tiger sharks, when too many are killed there are too many smaller sharks. When there are too many smaller sharks there are too many fish eaten. Then Hawaii doesn't get enough fish to eat, and that is one of their main meals.

(2) Sharks are graceful creatures, but the movie, Jaws ruins that thought and makes you think of some fake monster in each and every shark.

I hope you understand why you should protest on Shark fin Soup.

Be good to your friends that live in the oceans, not just dolphins.

- Carrie Reusche, 5th grader at Glen Grove School.

Who's on First, What's on Second, and Where are We Racing?

2009-02-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

I wake up this morning and check out all the off-road blogs, and I see there's more possible developments in the short-course off-road world. It seems like Lucas Oil Off-Road Series and Jim Baldwin have been talking. JB is offering the use of Chula Vista and its TV contract with NBC to Lucas Oil.

Lucas Oil wants to continue its Title Sponsorship with WSORR.

I thought Ricky Johnson (TORC) purchased WSORR, but that has not gone public or is the sale still being negotiated?

Traxxas has signed on as Title Sponsor for TORC, but does TORC own the WSORR?

Lucas Oil Off-Road (along with everyone else) also wants to be involved with the 40th edition of Crandon's Labor Day Weekend Event and the Midwest.

What's the PDG's position in all of this?

With all this going on, where does this leave all of the racers?

The Sportsman racers will still race where they want to. The PDG, the majority of the PRO drivers, have committed in one direction, but it may all change. Television dictates where the sponsors need to be, and in turn the drivers they fund.

Meanwhile, many PRO drivers are unsponsored, due in part of the downturn in the economy combined with the fractured state of short course off-road racing.

If things don't come together real soon, you will probably see several PRO drivers pick and choose the events that fit their budget best.

It will become what open wheel Midget racing was back in the 40's, 50's, and 60's. The top drivers went Barnstorming. The almighty dollar ruled over bringing home a championship.

Whatever the shape of short-course off-road racing takes in 2009, let's hope it finalized in the coming weeks.

Somehow all the parties involved need to get together and get on the same page. When this happens not only will there be well attended races by both racer and spectator, but the fabricators, and parts distributors can get back to work, as well.

See you at the track.

Welcome to the Bumpracer.com Editor Blog

2009-02-13T11:01:00.000-08:00

This is something new for me. I try to give quick updates and perspectives of the off-road racing community. I have been involved and /or around off-road racing since the early 70's when my dad built a pan buggy and began racing in the gravel pits and farm fields around Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana.

I first co-drove in 1975 (age 13) at the old Crandon long course. Eventually began driving in 1977 and ended my driving career in 1986. During this time we had some successes with top five finishes and wins along the way. (Class 5 - Baja Bug, Class 9 Chenowth, Class 1-2 Funco Tandem, Class 1 /10 Funco Hustler Air)
Upon graduating from Western Michigan University, I devoted all my time with the family business, a wholesaler of auto parts in the Chicago area.
When ESPN came along, I watched anything I could that involved the off-road world. Then the late 90's I began watching the events again from the stands.
In 2000, created my first website for an off-road team and began writing press releases for the team as well.
MT Graphics handles website creation, updating and press release for over dozen race teams that compete in the short course and desert off-road world. MTG 's offering's now include team/competitor race videos as well.
In 2006, bumpracer.com was created as a portal for MT-Graphics customers and anyone else involved in off-road racing.
In 2008, the family business, Phil's Inc. celebrated 50 years in the automotive community.
Now you know a little about me.
See you at the track.