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After a season filled with uncertainty, the 2020 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Presented by GEICO came to a thrilling conclusion on Saturday, where eight different champions were crowned. Legendary Glen Helen Raceway was the site of the season ending General Tire Golden State Off Road Nationals Presented by Lucas Oil, where the second day of a doubleheader closed out the year in compelling fashion. While some drivers were able to successfully defend their titles from one year ago, four new champions emerged this season, serving as another testament to the depth and competitiveness of the country’s premier short course off road championship. |
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Pro 2 Saturday A season filled with exceptional battles in Pro 2 came down to the 10th and final round of the season, where Brooks needed to simply maintain his seven point lead over Mittag in order to wrap up a second straight title. The championship hopefuls were going to have their work cut out for them on Saturday, as both an inversion of the starting grid placed Mittag and Brooks mid pack in fifth and sixth, respectively. On the pole was Cory Winner with Trevor Leighton alongside on the front row. When the final green flag of the season waved to kick off the championship deciding race Winner asserted himself in the lead ahead of Leighton, as both Brooks and Mittag began their march to the front. With their first opportunity to pace the field both Winner and Leighton were impressive as they held off Brooks for several laps. Leighton was then able to get by Winner and take the lead for the first time in his career, while Brooks chased through into second. With the champ applying heavy pressure Leighton looked composed out front and led the field to the halfway point. When racing resumed the intensity picked up considerably as Mittag looked to get by Brooks for second. Leighton continued to control the race up front and looked like he’d be in line for at least a first podium, but he spun while leading, which handed first place over to Mittag and second to Beat, who took advantage of Brooks’ evasive action around Leighton. From there Mittag did what he needed to do and brought home his second win of the season 1.1 seconds ahead of Beat, with Brooks in third. When the dust settled, Brooks’ podium result helped him prevail yet again to successfully defend his Pro 2 championship by a mere two points over Mittag, while Beat wrapped up his first season in the division with third in the final standings. Saturday Pro 2 Results
Final Pro 2 Points
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Mittag (front, left) captured the final win of the 2020 season, but Brooks (right) celebrated his second straight Pro 2 championship. Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series |
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Pro Lite Saturday With another win under his belt Heger had the opportunity to control his own destiny thanks to a significant 42-point lead over the rest of the field. When the trucks rolled onto the track on final time on Saturday morning it was Anderson who started on the pole alongside Christopher Polvoorde, while Heger lined up alongside Cole Mamer on the second row. As the field stormed into the first turn at the drop of the green Anderson was able to move into the lead, followed by Mamer and Heger. A miscue by Mamer dropped him to the tail end of the field, allowing Heger to move into second and Polvoorde into third. Just a lap later Heger pulled off track and out of the race with a reported transmission issue. Out front, Polvoorde closed in on Anderson and made the pass for the lead just at the halfway point. When racing resumed Polvoorde and Anderson resumed their battle and put on a show with a spirited fight for the lead. Anderson looked to make the pass happen on the final lap but nearly tipped over, which allowed Polvoorde to take his second win of the season and bookend the 2020 season with victories. Polvoorde crossed the line 2.5 seconds ahead of Anderson, while Jimmy Weitzel rounded out the podium in third. Despite his misfortune in the race Heger’s cushion in the standings was enough to still bring home his first Pro Lite championship by 26 points, which complements his pair of Production 1000 UTV titles. By virtue of his impressive win in the final round Polvoorde jumped up into the runner-up spot in the final standings, while newly crowned Rookie of the Year Madix Bailey capped off an impressive debut season in the division by capturing third in points, anchored by his six podium finishes. Saturday Pro Lite Results
Final Pro Lite Points
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Christopher Polvoorde (left, front) earned the final Pro Lite win of the season, while Heger wrapped up his first class championship. Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series |
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Pro Buggy Saturday With the championship all but wrapped up coming into Saturday’s last race of the season the focus wasn’t whether or not Watson would earn back to back Pro Buggy titles, but instead if he would wrap up his second championship with an incredible eight race win streak. Watson’s quest for that win began with him starting on the pole alongside Brady Whitlock. When the green flag waved Watson took advantage of his starting spot to lock down the lead. While Watson was able to easily maintain his lead, Whitlock and the rest of the field kept him honest and stayed within a few buggy lengths of Watson. Eventually Gibbs took over control and second and set his sights on Watson for the lead. Gibbs was close enough to pounce on any mistake by Watson, but the champ didn’t flinch. He went wire to wire once more to wrap up the weekend sweep, a record eight race win streak to end the season, and his second straight Pro Buggy championship. Gibbs wasn’t far behind in second, while Brister once again rounded out the podium in third. Watson ended the season with a commanding margin of 53 points over Gibbs, who finished in the runner-up spot, while Brister secured third in the final standings. Saturday Pro Buggy Results
Final Pro Buggy Points
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Watson’s run to back-to-back Pro Buggy titles was highlighted by a record eight race win streak to close out the season. Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series |
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Turbo UTV & Production 1000 UTV Saturday Following the drastically different fortunes for Weller and Anderson on Friday the momentum shifted into the defending champion’s favor for Saturday’s final round. Nine points separated the two, with Weller in a position she’s become all too familiar with in Turbo UTV. As the field took to the track one last time Weller found herself in an ideal position on the pole, lining up alongside Leighton on the front row. Anderson started right behind Weller in the second row and as the engines roared coming to the green flag Weller was able to establish herself at the front of the field, while Anderson pushed hard to move into second. As he gave chase to Weller and pressured her for the lead, all of Anderson’s hopes took a big hit when he suffered a flat right rear tire. Fortunately, his team was able to get the tire changed and get Anderson back out on track without losing a lap, which kept him in contention should a late caution fly. A stroke of luck played into Anderson’s favor when a caution flew with a few laps to go and on the final restart Anderson left it all on the track in a torrid charge through the pack that brought him right to Weller’s rear fender. Knowing the championship was in hand she didn’t give too much of a fight as Anderson came charging through and slotted into second. Anderson’s late heroics gave him his fourth win of the season by 1.6 seconds over Weller in second, with Gibbs in third. Despite Anderson’s best efforts Weller’s undefeated championship record in Turbo UTV remained intact with a third straight title. She ended the season with a slim eight point lead over Anderson in the runner-up spot, while Leighton wrapped up third in the final standings. After a thrilling battle for Friday’s Production 1000 UTV win the excitement was high for Cheek and Heger to go wheel to wheel one last time. While Heger’s chances at erasing the 26 point deficit to Cheek were slim, the battle for victory was sure to end the season in memorable fashion. Fittingly, the championship rivals lined up alongside one another on the front row for the final race of the season, this time with Cheek on the pole. When racing got underway Cheek jumped out to the early lead and built a comfortable lead over Heger. With the championship in reach Cheek didn’t put a wheel wrong and put the pressure back on Heger, who saw his title hopes slip away with a flat right rear. Out front, Cheek wrapped up the title in emphatic fashion with his seventh win of the season, taking the checkered flag 7.6 seconds ahead of Nord, while Anthony Santos followed in third. Cheek’s first career title came on the heels of a breakout season for Cheek, winning seven of 10 rounds with a podium finish in every race. He finished the season 41 points ahead of Heger, who has finished no worse than second in a Production 1000 UTV championship, while Robby Hornsby edged out Nord for third in the final standings by a single point. Saturday Turbo UTV Results
Final Turbo UTV Points
Saturday Production 1000 UTV Results
Final Production 1000 UTV Points
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Ronnie Anderson (left) overcame the odds to grab the season’s final Turbo UTV win on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough to keep Weller (right) from wrapping up a third consecutive championship. Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series |
Myles Cheek wrapped up his first Production 1000 UTV championship in emphatic fashion with his seventh win of the season. Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series |
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Mod Kart, JR2 Kart & RZR 170 Saturday It was still anyone’s guess as to which three drivers would emerge with each of the three junior championships on Saturday, but one thing that was for certain was the action would be jam packed with drama and excitement. Despite a difficult outing on Friday, Barry was still well in control of his own destiny for the final Mod Kart race of the season. He held a 23 point lead coming into Saturday’s race and lined up third on the grid for the last round behind Karaston Hernandez and Ebert. When racing got underway Ebert jumped into the lead over Hernandez while Barry settled into third. With a clear track Ebert was able to drive his own race and was exceptionally consistent. He held off a late challenge by Chiaramonte to capture his first career win by a tenth of a second, with Barry in third. Barry’s podium result was more than enough to wrap up his first championship, where he finished 21 points ahead of Chiaramonte, while Gasper and Trey Eggleston ended the season tied for third in the final standings. After another wild day of JR2 Kart action on Friday the championship was still very much up for grabs, with Brodie Martin leading Rhyan Denney by just two points. Martin had his work cut out for him to start on Saturday, lining up fifth on the grid while his cousin, Talan, and Jessie Owens started on the front row, with Denney starting third. When the green flag waved Denney faced adversity almost immediately when she spun in the first turn. Out front, Logan Leggitt grabbed control of the lead while the Martins ran second and third. Leggitt controlled the remainder of the race for his second win of the season while the battle for the title came down to the checkered flag between Brodie Martin and Denney, with Martin finishing second and Denney third. In finishing second Brodie Martin secured his second straight JR2 Kart championship, climbing his way from third to first over the course of the weekend to successfully defend his title in dramatic fashion. Denney finished runner-up in the final standings, just four points behind, while Leggitt’s win in the final round helped him finish third in points. A total of 10 points sat between Siewers and Llamosas entering the final RZR 170 race of the season. The rivals took the checkered flag in every race up to this point, so it was expected that they’d once again face off for the season ending win. For Llamosas, another 1-2 finish for the pair wasn’t going to be enough to overcome the deficit, but for Siewers confidence was high given he’d finished no worse than third all season long. The two drivers started on the front row for the final race, with Llamosas on the pole. The duo dominated the early portion of the race but an incident to start the second half collected Llamosas and dropped him deep in the field. Siewers was the beneficiary and moved into the lead, but Llamosas was on a charge back to the front, reclaiming the lead with two laps to go and storming to his seventh win over Siewers, with Ian Torfi in third. With his 10th podium finish of the season Siewers was able to clinch his first RZR 170 championship, withstanding Llamosas’ class leading win total to take the title by seven points. A strong final weekend helped Easton end the season third in points. Saturday Mod Kart Results
Final Mod Kart Points
Saturday JR2 Kart Results
Final JR2 Kart Points
Saturday RZR 170 Results
Final RZR 170 Points
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Ethan Ebert (left) earned his first win in the final Mod Kart race of the season, while Connor Barry (right) captured his first championship. Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series |
Logan Leggitt (left, front) came away with the JR2 Kart win on Saturday, while Brodie Martin (right) earned a second straight championship. Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series |
George Llamosas (left, front) got the better of TJ Siewers in the final RZR 170 race, but it was Siewers (right) who prevailed with his first championship in the class. Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series |
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About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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