The 2013 Traxxas TORC series came full circle back to Primm, Nevada, to wrap up another season of exciting TORC short course off-road racing with a really big bang. The Pro Buggy class did not make the trek, however, since Luke Johnson had already wrapped up that champ title with an impressive streak of five wins in a row. It was Luke’s first season in Pro Buggy and may be his last, since he is moving into the Pro Light truck class for 2014.

This second Primm weekend and finale of the series was all about trucks! The first two rounds in Primm on Friday and Saturday, September 27-28, were to settle the championships. Then, the two cup races honoring the memory of brothers Rick and Jeff Huseman, two drivers who tragically perished in a plane crash in 2011, took place on Sunday the 29th.

The Traxxas Cup Race in Memory of Jeff Huseman was held for the Pro Light trucks. The Peak Cup in Memory of Rick Huseman pitched the Pro-2’s and Pro-4’s against each other in an all-out door-slammer. However, the action began wild-west style, right from the start of the first Pro Light race.

Mike Oberg’s flip and roll during the 2013 Traxxas TORC series Pro Light finale was one of the more spectacular crashes during the Primm, Nevada event.

Demolition Derby

The weekend had several spectacular crashes; some caused by the track, some by broken parts and others by drivers who just plain pushed too hard. Mike Oberg was one of the racers who had a spectacular crash. “Right at the tip of the jump I felt something like, ‘what the heck was that,’ and it twisted me so sideways I knew it (the truck) wasn’t going to end up on the wheels.” said Oberg. “I just started rolling.”

The retaining nut that holds the rear hub on broke. Oberg said, “I had Johnson and Cook right on my tail. If they had got caught up in my roll, it would have been real ugly. It was a rough one, I really didn’t like it.”

Jesse Jones and Jesse Johnson both had bad wrecks during the weekend. “Yesterday in qualifying I ended up going for a wild ride off the Red Bull jump,” said Johnson, “I stuck the nose, flipped a couple of times, landed on top of Jimmy Stephenson. I hurt the truck pretty bad and banged my legs up on the dash; I’m just glad to be walking today.”

Western Night

The Pro Light race on Friday was won by Sheldon Creed with Jarrett Brooks in second and Kyle Hart in third; all three are west coast Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series racers.

There was a bit of concern by some that the west coast racers who came to compete would interfere with critical TORC series points races. For the most part though, this didn’t happen. Most of the races were won by the TORC series regulars. Friday’s Pro Light race was the exception. 

King Kincaid

On Saturday, defending champ Brad Lovell took the Pro Light victory followed by Bradley Morris and Kyle Hart. “I got a good start and I never looked back,” said Lovell. “I didn’t see another Pro Light out there racing. I just focused on what was ahead of me. I put the truck in the right spot, the truck was handling great … and everything just came together.”

Lovell ended up third in championship points. Keegan Kincaid, who had the points lead coming into the final rounds, took the title over CJ Greaves who finished second. “It’s been a great year for us,” said Kincaid, “CJ was out early; it was a relief but my day was not over, we still needed to finish.”

Kincaid continued, “Winning this championship feels great. My Traxxas Maxxis Tire Amsoil truck ran great all season. I still have a long way to go to match my Dad’s seven titles, but we will be back next year going for another.”

Pro-2 Battle

With Pro Light now settled, it was time for Pro-2 and Pro-4 to be decided. In Pro-2, Bryce Menzies came into the final rounds with six wins in the season, and a slight lead over Rob MacCachren in the standings. It looked promising for Menzies, but he still had to finish both races. Menzies battled with CJ Greaves in both rounds, with CJ coming out on top, winning back-to-back.

Menzies’ third place finish on Friday and second place position on Saturday nailed down his third Pro-2 TORC championship in a row.

CJ might have dominated the weekend but Menzies’ third place on Friday and second place on Saturday were enough to lock up his third Pro-2 championship in a row. “It just shows how dedicated our team is and how hard we fought,” said Menzies, “We went at this year a little differently, we just went out to win every single race and it paid off in the end.”

Menzies said, “My Dad puts a lot of time and effort into this, so it means the world; to three-peat is unbelievable. It’s hard enough just to win one of these and to win three championships is just unbelievable. We are going to come back strong next year. We have a new truck and we’re hoping to find some more speed and go win number four.”

Pro-4 Scramble

Pro-4 racer Johnny Greaves led Ricky Johnson by a mere three points heading into the final weekend. Johnson was looking to take another consecutive championship like his teammate Bryce Menzies, but Greaves had his own plan. Just like his son CJ, Johnny went out and took back-to-back wins; a dominating performance by the Johnny G Motorsports team.

Johnny Greaves gained his sixth consecutive TORC Pro-4 championship this year.

Greaves’ effort earned him a sixth Pro-4 championship. “I found some good lines out there,” said Johnny. “You know one lap, you would hit a good one and the next you would hit a hole. You really had to be patient going through the turns to avoid the holes because the holes can make or break your day.”

“The holes are just huge and they’re everywhere. You couldn’t see coming into turn four or the sweeper because of the dust and the sun in your eyes. It was definitely a challenge but it’s so fun,” Johnny continued. “We’ve had some great races here and I’m glad to be back.”

Jeff’s Memorial Cup

With the championships decided, it was time to run the cup races. Still in the zone from his win in Round 16, Brad Lovell topped his weekend off with one more trip to the top of the podium winning the Pro Light Traxxas Cup In Memory of Jeff Huseman. Lovell said. “We had a great starting position on the front row.”

“I went into turn one wide to prevent getting piled up with the others. That line put me on the far side of the jump going into the whoops with a lot of speed. I hit hard on the landing and thought I was going to stuff it, but I pulled it off,” Lovell continued.

“I battled with Greaves until he broke an axle shaft, and then Morris, but I held them off for the win. The win was special to me, because Dan Huseman helped us so much to get the truck set up at the beginning of the season,” said Lovell. “Everyone else seemed to suffer the gremlins we had all season, maybe Jeff was riding with us today.”

Lovell battled hard with Greaves and Morris, but finally put them behind him to take the Jeff Huseman Cup.

The Run For Rick

It was now time to “Run it for Rick.” The Peak Cup in Memory of Rick Huseman would pit the pro-2’s and Pro-4’s together for a no holds barred race. Rick’s number 36 is the inspiration for the $36,000 in prize money that goes to the winner, however many drivers like Kyle LeDuc were there solely to race in Rick’s honor.

With no points on the line, no trucks to repair for the following rounds, and no black flags, most were going all out. Many who witnessed last year’s Peak Cup race were hoping for a repeat of the showdown between Ricky Johnson and Kyle LeDuc. The two had one of the most intense dog fights ever witnessed; trading paint and the lead in almost every corner. 

Rick’s Monster Energy Toyota, driven by brother Kevin, made a solo lap around the track before being joined by the whole field for a lap in Rick’s honor, then they lined up for the land-rush start. The Pro-2’s would go off first in a thunderous roar and wall of roost, followed by the Pro-4’s 15 seconds later.

Kudos to Pro-2 driver Bryce Menzies (seen here trailing Pro-4 teammate Ricky Johnson) for hanging in there with the Pro-4 trucks until the very end of the Peak Cup race.

The Pro-2’s had to run at 110 percent knowing the faster Pro-4’s would be barreling down on them as fast as they could. Hats off to Bryce Menzies who ran up front with the Pro-4’s until the very end. It was the showdown of the energy drinks with Menzies and his Red Bull teammate Johnson battling with the Monster Energy drivers CJ Greaves and Kyle LeDuc.

In the final lap, LeDuc was in front with Johnson just behind. LeDuc had worn his tires down to the cords to get out front, but they still held air. With only a few corners left, LeDuc had some sort of a transmission problem that popped his truck out of gear. The slight hiccup was enough for Johnson to get by and take his second Huseman Cup victory.  

“We were there to race for the cup,” says LeDuc, “We tried to save the truck all weekend, but ran it at full pace during practice; we were a second faster than anyone. We threw down like we do in the race, and made clean passes to get out front. A gearbox issue dropped us to second so we’ll have to wait until next time to take the cup.”

Trophy Keeper

Ricky Johnson plants one on the Peak Cup after winning what was likely the most hard-fought battle of the weekend.

So far, Ricky Johnson is the only name inscribed on the trophy. “It feels awesome,” said Johnson, “You know, Kyle LeDuc was just flying today. He got by me clean and then I made a couple mistakes; swapped in the whoops. He made a mistake; I don’t know if he lost a gear but I was able to reel him back in at the end.

“Kyle got by Bryce quicker than I did; you know he’s my teammate, you don’t want to rough him up too much, (Ricky says laughing). Bryce drove a phenomenal race. He was so far out in front that when I saw CJ I thought he was the leader. I had no idea Bryce was farther out front.”

Johnson capped the evening, the weekend and the entire year, when he said, “The cup races were a fitting tribute to Rick Huseman, Jeff Huseman and the entire Huseman family who were, and are an inspiration to everyone. The entire weekend was the perfect ending to an incredible Traxxas TORC Series season.”

We couldn’t agree more, and Off Road Xtreme invites you to stay tuned for our coverage of what is sure to be an exciting 2014 season of TORC racing!