Light rains and unseasonably mild temperatures did nothing to cool the heat on the track during the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Rockstar Energy Drink Inland Empire Nationals presented by Loan Mart at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California. However, the hottest topic leading into the race had to be the bounty put on Monster Energy Pro 4 racer Kyle LeDuc who is destroying the field this season.

LeDuc has won nine out of the 10 rounds as of this event; eight of those in a row. Loan Mart decided to put some additional pressure on Kyle offering a $2,500 bonus to anyone who could beat him in either of these two rounds. If LeDuc continued his reign, the money would go in his pocket.

Kyle Collects

Despite a valiant effort by the Pro 4 field and particularly Lucas Oil racer Carl Renezeder, LeDuc continued the onslaught, leaving Glen Helen with $5,000 of Loan Mart cash. “They tried to put pressure on us but we were able to answer,” said Kyle, “This was a big weekend for me and my crew. We took both wins, increased our points lead, and collected the bounty!”

The battle on the track between LeDuc and Renezeder can only get more intense as LeDuc closes in on Renezeder’s Lucas Oil Series record of nine wins in a row. With eight straight in the books for Kyle, the two drivers will definitely be banging fenders in Sparks, Nevada when they line up to race in rounds 11 and 12 on August 22-23, 2014.

Deegan left most competitors in his wake, ending up on the podium in both rounds, with a first and third in Pro 2.

Out of the eight rounds of racing ever held at Wild West Motorsports Park, dating back to 2012, seven have been taken by LeDuc. The only other Pro 4 racer to win there is Renezeder. The odds don’t look good for Renezeder, but if there is anyone capable of knocking off LeDuc, it would most likely be Renezeder in an effort to protect his consecutive win record.

Deegan’s Streak

The Pro 2 class has its own streak going; not with wins, but with podiums. Brian Deegan has been on the podium in every single round this season. He also leads the points chase and has the most wins. He added to that tally at Glen Helen with another win in round nine and a third place podium in round 10. Finishing second in round nine was Bryce Menzies who got past Rob MacCachren and Renezeder on the way.

After getting black-flagged for a punt that cost him second place in round nine, Menzies ran all out to the Pro 2 victory in round 10.

Moments before Menzies took the white flag, he took Renezeder wide in a corner swapping paint as he slid by. He crossed the line in second but he also got a black flag. The penalty dropped him a lap down to eighth place.

Menzies was not happy after the race; grumbling about Renezeder getting special treatment because of his Lucas Oil sponsorship. “Carl over rotated and went through two fences then decided to drive into me sideways until the corner. I went into the corner hard and went door to door with Carl taking away his line. It was a racing pass,” claimed Menzies.

Menzies was right about the pass on Renezeder, it was just racing. The black flag however was not for the pass on Renezeder, it was for the punt he gave MacCachren on the restart that sent MacCachren to the back of the field. Renezeder was bumped up to second and MacCachren recovered enough to be placed in third.

No driver likes to get a black flag, especially in the Lucas Oil series where contact is the norm. If you’re not aggressive, you lose, it’s that simple.

Menzies’ Revenge

Menzies was quick to get over it and took things into his own hands in round 10. After Renezeder suffered a rollover on lap one that took him out, only McGrath stood between Menzies and the lead. Menzies dispatched McGrath on lap four and outpaced the field to take an undisputed win. McGrath ran clean out front behind Menzies as Marty Hart, MacCachren, and Deegan battled for third.

Hart had the last podium spot until he slowed to a stop bringing out a caution. On the re-start, Deegan jumped MacCachren and then countered every move MacCachren tried until the checkers. Some of the best racing all season has been between the Rockstar Energy teammates, Deegan and MacCachren. Both drivers are relentless and both are extremely talented behind the wheel. This time, Deegan came out on top to finish third.

Casey Currie nailed round nine of the Glen Helen Pro Lite race, staying in front of RJ Anderson and more than 20 other competitors for the victory.

World’s Greatest Show

The Pro Lite trucks are always a great show. The field is loaded with serious talent and with more than 20 trucks all vying for the same dirt, it gets pretty intense. In round nine RJ Anderson and Casey Currie would start up front. After lap one, the order was the same with Anderson and Currie one-two followed by Ryan Beat, Kyle Hart, and Jimmy Fishbeck.

Beat had a spin letting Deegan up into the top five, but only until Sheldon Creed put an inside move through the whoops and into turn three dropping him back to sixth. The order got shuffled a little before the finish but no one had anything for Anderson or Currie who finished in the same order. Kyle Hart was third.

Anderson would start round 10 on the front row again with Rookie Brandon Arthur on his right. Arthur came up through the Kart ranks, but went desert racing for a few years, and learned a lot while earning a 1450 class championship before graduating to Trophy Trucks. He missed the short-course action so he built a Pro Lite truck and returned to the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.

Break-Out

Arthur has shown talent, but the learning curve in Pro Lite is steep, and the competition is ruthless. He needed a little luck to go with the hard work and talent. He ran the fastest time in his class during qualifying and lucked out with a zero inversion start after the draw. Round 10 at Glen Helen would be his break-out race.

The Pro Lite class is crazy competitive, but Arthur got his break on the first lap and talent carried him through to the end, where he found himself leading the pack as the checkered flag waved.

Arthur got out in front of Anderson on lap one, taking the fastest lap of the race, and ran on rails until he took the checkered flag, his first win in Pro Lite. Anderson ran one of his typically smooth and fast races to finish second. Third place was a constant battle with Jeff Hoffman, Creed, Cheek, and Currie all taking a shot.

At the end of the night, it was Creed standing on the podium with Arthur and Anderson. The next two rounds of Lucas Oil Off Road Racing will be held at the Wild West Motorsports Park in Sparks, Nevada, August 22-23, 2014. Kyle LeDuc will be trying to keep his amazing streak alive and the rest of the teams will be out to start their own winning streaks on the Wild West course.

Stay tuned to Off Road Xtreme for the inside line on all the hottest off-road events! And check out the photo Gallery from the Glen Helen Lucas Oil Off Road Race below. >>>