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McGrath, Mittag headline Off Road Sunday at Lucas Oil

By Lyndal Scranton (Wheatland, MO) -- Jeremy McGrath appeared down and out after an early spin dropped him to the rear of the field at Sunday's finale of the GEICO Off Road Shootout at Lucas Oil Speedway.

But the veteran kept plugging away and his persistence paid off with a Pro 2 feature victory to wrap up the inaugural weekend of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series at the new 1.3-mile track.

PHOTO: Jeremy McGrath celebrates his Pro 2 victory on Sunday in the GEICO Off Road Shootout Presented by General Tire at Lucas Oil Speedway.--CREDIT: Kenny Shaw photo

McGrath made a last-lap pass for the win before a big crowd that roared its approval as the Motocross legend and former X Games star took the checkered flag.

"We had some great racing and this is a great facility - by far the best one we have," McGrath said. "We'll be all smiles when we get back here next year."

In the co-headliner, Doug Mittag captured the Pro 4 feature as many of the contenders were eliminated in a race full of mayhem.

Other feature winners in the second half of the weekend doubleheader saw Brandon Arthur double up, winning both the Pro Lite and Production 1000 UTV classes, Darren Hardesty won Pro Buggy and Trey D. Gibbs captured Mod Karts.

Those who stuck around for the weekend finale in the Pro 2 class saw McGrath, after early misfortune, drive from last to first. It was the second win of the season for the series points leader.

Rob MacCachren started on the pole and was eliminated early due to mechanical problems. McGrath, spun on the opening lap and dropped back to ninth place among the nine remaining trucks.

Saturday's feature winner Brian Deegan appeared to be on his way to a sweep. Patrick Clark and R.J. Anderson were giving chase when a caution came out on lap seven as Rodrigo Ampudia rolled his truck in the final turn.

Anderson was racing for position in the S curve after the restart when he was clipped by Bradley Morris and wound up on his top. Anderson crawled out, but his chance for victory was dashed. That left a two-lap shootout for the win, with Deegan leading Clark and Jerett Brooks - and McGrath lurking in fourth.

As the race restarted, Deegan slowed suddenly after the table top jump on the backstretch, and pulled off the track. Clark assumed the lead and appeared in position for his first win of the season as he took the white flag.

But Clark slowed in turn three of the final lap with mechanical issues of his own. McGrath, of Encinitis, Calif., got past Brooks who has to slow for a lapped truck, and found himself in front and went on to grab his third Pro 2 win of the season.

Brooks finished second and Kyle Hart was third.

"The first half of the race I felt liked Stevie Wonder out there; I couldn't drive it that good," McGrath said. "We were having a tough time. But we set up the truck today for late in the race.

"The track is tough on the trucks. It's hot. My guys provided me a great truck at the end. When Jerett got unlucky and ran up behind a lapped car, the timing was right."

Brooks was nearly as happy after his best finish of the season.

"We're super pumped," Brooks said. "A big thanks to the whole team. They worked their butts off."

Mittag wins Pro 4 thriller: Doug Mittag earned his first Pro 4 victory of the season in a wild race that had a big crowd on its feet.

"It's been a long time coming," Mittag said. "I just want to thank my crew and I want to thank the fans coming out. This is an awesome facility."

The Pro 4 race had slam-banging action throughout, beginning when pole-sitter Bradley Morris got tangled up racing for position and hit the wall on the opening lap.

On lap three, season points leader Kyle LeDuc popped the wall in turn one after making contact with Rob MacCachren. It was the second straight day that an accident took LeDuc out of contention.

MacCachren pitted for a flat tire and was half a lap behind the lead pack when the race resumed. And Carl Renezeder, who won Saturday's Pro 4 opener, was dealt a blow in a lap six crash in the S curve.

Mittag, of Temecula, Calif., took advantage of the carnage to assume the lead, with R.J. Anderson and Adrian Cenni behind him for a restart following the lap-six caution.

Mittag held on for the win as a melee broke out behind him, with MacCachren and Renezeder storming back into late contention in a wild final lap.

"It was a heck of a race. We just raced as hard as we could by ourselves for a while and were able to make it back up there," MacCachren said.

Chad Hord slipping into third, just a few feet in front of Renezeder at the finish line. It was Hord's series debut.

Pro Lites to Arthur: Brandon Arthur scored a front-running win in the Pro Lite division, leading all nine laps for his second win on Sunday.

"It's gonna make the drive home a lot easier," the Californian said of his double win on the final day of the weekend doubleheader.

Hailie Deegan finished second with the finish line arriving not a second too soon. Her truck's motor erupted in flames coming down the front stretch. Ryan Beat wound up in third.

Hardesty wins in Pro Buggy: Darren Hardesty took the Pro Buggy victory despite crossing the finish line in second place. Eliott Watson, who passed Hardesty on the final lap to take the checkered flag, was disqualified for excessive contact on the pass.

Watson, the winner of Saturday's feature, was placed eighth in the official finish by series officials. Sterling Cling finished second with Broc Dickerson in third.

Arthur takes UTV win: Brandon Arthur passed Jacob Weller with two laps remaining and went on to win the Production 1000 UTV feature.

Bouncing back from a sixth-place finish on Saturday, Arthur, of Ramona, Calif., took his fourth victory of the season. It was his first since May 20 as he snapped a four-race winless streak.

"We've been fighting it a little bit, but ... I think we've figured it out. What a great day," Arthur said.

Dustin Nelson finished third and Paul O'Brien, who started from the pole and led the first three laps, was fourth.

Sweep for Gibbs: Trey Gibbs took a front-running victory in the Mod Kart class, an introductory division for ages 10-15. It was Gibbs' third win of the season and gave him a weekend sweep of the doubleheader at Lucas Oil Speedway.

Gibbs, of Murieta, Calif., never trailed, opening a comfortable lead over the final half of the race. Ricky Gutierrez was second and Brody Eggleson took third.

"This is my first sweep; I'm pumped," Gibbs said. "It feels great to go out there and take the points lead. I'd like to give a big thanks to all the fans for coming out."

For complete information on the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, please visit http://www.LucasOilOffRoad.com.

LUCAS OIL OFF ROAD RACING SERIES

GEICO OFF ROAD SHOOTOUT PRESENTED BY GENERAL TIRE

(Feature results, July 23)

Pro 2 - 1, Jeremy McGrath. 2, Jerett Brooks. 3, Kyle Hart. 4, Bradley Morris. 5, Adam Daffner. 6, Patrick Clark. 7, Brian Deegman. 8, RJ Anderson. 9, Rodrigo Ampudia. 10, Rob MacCachren.

Pro 4 - 1, Doug Mittag. 2, Rob MacCachren. 3, Chad Hord. 4, Adrian Cenni. 5, doug Fortin. 6, RJ Anderson. 7, Brandon Bailey. 8, Carl Renezeder. 9, Kyle LeDuc. 10, Greg Adler. 11, Bradley Morris.

Pro Buggy - 1, Darren Hardesty. 2, Sterling Cling. 3, Broc Dickerson. 4, Brady Whitlock. 5, Matthew Brister. 6, Sammy Ehrenberg. 7, Trevor Briska. 8, Eliott Watson. 9, Bud Ward.

Pro Lite - 1, Brandon Arthur. 2, Hailie Deegan. 3, Ryan Beat. 4, Jerett Brooks. 5, Brock Heger. 6, Ronnie Anderson. 7, Christopher Polvoorde. 8, Ray Griffith. 9, Justin Peck. 10, Sarah Burgess. 11, Keaton Swane. 12, Cory Winner. 13, Cole Mamer. 14, Mickey Thomas.

Production 1000 UTV - 1, Brandon Arthur. 2, Jaosn Weller. 3, Dustin Nelson. 4, Paul O'Brien. 5, Keith Brooks. 6, Brock Heger. 7, Corry Weller. 8, Zack Martin. 9, Ben Enloe. 10, Scott Webster. 11, Jason Merrell. 12, Mickey Thomas. 13, Travis Rasmussen. 14, Jacob Rosales. 15, Tommy Scranton. 16, RJ Anderson. 17, Ray Griffith. 18, Kipp Mickels. 19, George Hammel. 20, Mitch Guthrie. 21, Nathan Barry. 22, Ronnie Anderson. 23, Justin Peck.
Mod Kart - 1, Trey D. Gibbs. 2, Ricky Gutierrez. 3, Brody Eggleston. 4, Koen Crawford. 5, Mason Prater. 6, Chance Haugen. 7, Connor Barry. 8, Cole Keatts. 9, Luke Knupp. 10, Mia Chapman. 11, Chris Nunes. 12, Trey Eggleston. 13, Madix Bailey.

Up next: The Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series resumes next Saturday night on the Lucas Oil Speedway oval track. KOLR 10 and Z27 present the action, featuring the Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models, the Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds the Big O Tires Street Stocks and the Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods.

Join Forces with Lucas Oil Speedway, KOLR 10 & Z27 and the Ozarks Food Harvest and bring four non-perishable food items and get FREE Admission to the races. The Lucas Oil Street Stocks will be the evening's featured class running for a special 25-lap, $500-to-win main event.

Construction on the Lucas Oil Speedway Off Road track, which is approximately 6,000 feet in length, began in the spring of 2016. It joins a vast complex that includes the dirt track which plays host to the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series, "Lake Lucas" where the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Series holds two major events each year and the Slick Track where go-kart racing is held weekly and competitive quarter midget racing has been held for the first time in 2017.

For complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived stories, ticket info and schedules, visit http://www.LucasOilSpeedway.com.

To get ticket information on any event this season at Lucas Oil Speedway, contact admissions director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or via email at nichole@LucasOilSpeedway.com for further information.

Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is also available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience at the Diamond of Dirt Tracks.

Click http://www.LucasOilSpeedway.com for more information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984.

In addition, fans can get social with Lucas Oil Speedway by following @LucasSpeedway on Twitter, clicking "Like" at http://www.facebook.com/LucasOilSpeedway and on http://www.youtube.com/LucasOilSpeedway.

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