Wild And Crazy Weekend In Wheatland For New LOORRS Course

New stadiums for a professional sports teams seem to be popping up every year. Where it is the talks about the new Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams’ stadium to Atlanta Braves stadium that opened this year, professional sports seem to get presidential treatment to items like this.

In an age where land is being closed and off-roading can be looked at as a crime, a new course seems like something of a five-year-olds imagination. For the 2017 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS), that dream is now a reality with the opening of the off-road track at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri.

The off-road track is just the latest addition to Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri. The facility has a dirt track, Lake Lucas for drag boat racing, fishing ponds, and plenty of room for camping.

Rounds 7 and 8 took place this past weekend and brought west coast short-course to the heartland. Teams made the journey to the course with one thing on their mind – winning. The track had been teased on social media, but with a course like this, it had to be seen in person.

With a total of nine turns, an over-under section, a massive table top, and a 15 to 20 degree “Daytona turn,” the course had everything racers dreamed of. The 1.2-mile long course that is made up of three different types of dirt: heavy clay, top/black dirt, and silt dirt, would give drivers a run for their money.

Weekend Racing

The teams and drivers came into the weekend vying for any points they could get and the close racing could be seen. From the first race with Pro 4’s, it appeared that Kyle LeDuc would be running away with the win, but a late mistake caused him to fall to the back of the pack and set the pace for the rest of the races.

Wheatland was taking no prisoners. The course gave drivers of all classes something to fight for and something that they had never seen before. With the high numbers of turns on the course, the drivers made more moves and passes.

The course from the beginning did not take any prisoners. Whether it was from drivers pushing the limits or pushing for a good show, the racing action did not disappoint all weekend long.

Drivers were in love with the course despite some teams having issues. “We had some great racing and this is a great facility – by far the best one we have,” Jeremey McGrath said. “We’ll be all smiles when we get back here next year.”

Saturday’s Podiums:

Pro 4 – Carl Renezeder, Rob MacCachren, Bradley Morris

Pro Lite – Jerett Brooks, Brock Heger, Cole Mamer

Pro Buggy – Eliott Watson, Darren Hardesty Jr., Sterling Cling

Pro 2 – Brian Deegan, RJ Anderson, Jeremy McGrath

Think off-road racing isn’t a contact sport? Just ask current Pro Lite points leader Jerett Brooks what he thinks after he got flipped upside down heading into one of the first turns.

If fans were impressed with the racing on Saturday, they were going to be in for an even bigger treat with Sunday’s racing. Thre was not a bad race during Round 8, with everyone leaving it on the track.

From the start of the Pro 4 race to the end of the Pro 2 race if fans wanted to see great racing and carnage, they got more than they could handle. Every race during day two had plenty of excitement and crashes.

By far the worst crash of the weekend was Rodrigo Ampudia’s crash. Rolling over into the K-rail, made fans and spectators watching online gasp. He was able to walk out from the crash with what seemed like no injuries, just frustration.

Brian Deegan, coming off a Pro 2 win in Round 7, was only able to be on fire for so long. Deegan would later exit the race due to a mechanical failure.

The rest of this year’s events have something big to match up too. The racing and action at the event were some of the best we have seen in quite some time, and hope that they make Wheatland a permanent stop on the yearly schedule.

Sunday’s Podiums:

Pro 4 – Doug Mittag, Rob MacCachren, Chad Hord

Pro Lite – Brandon Arthur, Hailie Deegan, Ryan Beat

Pro Buggy – Darren Hardesty Jr., Sterling Cling, Broc Dickerson

Pro 2 – Jeremy McGrath, Jerett Brooks, Kyle Hart

For more information on the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series and a complete schedule, be sure to check out its website. Do you think having the Challenge Cup and closing of the LOOORS season at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, would bring out more big guns? Tell us in the comments below!