The LOORRS 2020 season is here and with it one of its most exciting classes, Production 1000 UTV. Large starting grids, equally matched vehicles and ultra-competitive drivers make for exciting racing. That is exactly what this class offered at Glen Helen Raceway in the inaugural rounds. The defending champion couldn’t make the event, so the season was wide open for the taking. The drivers were ready to push hard and get a jump on the points.
Round 1
With a field dominated by Yamahas, accounting for all but three of the 18 cars, the question was – could any of the outnumbered RZRs work their way onto the podium? As #916 Robby Hornsby’s YXZ led the pack around for the green, that question would soon be answered.
Not wasting any time, one of the RZRs, piloted by Miles Cheek, took up the challenge – and the lead – by turn two. But any gap was quickly erased as the race’s first of many cautions flew before the lap ended. That was the story for most of the race: 1-2 laps of green before the field was packed back together. All told, the yellow flag waved six times throughout the 12-lap race. In the end, Miles Cheek, Brock Heger, and Robby Hornsby survived the carnage and made it to the podium.
Round 1 was dominated by cautions as the drivers struggled to keep off the roof. However, Miles Cheek was able to stay out front through the restarts and take the win for the Production 1000 UTV class.
Between rounds, we had a chance to meet up with Miles and asked about the late start to the season. “I just feel blessed that we have somewhere to race and I’m thankful to Lucas for making it happen,” he said. When it came to talking about the race, Miles admitted, “It was a tough race with all the yellows and the last couple of the laps I lost power steering. So yeah, it was tough.”
Round 2
With the tough racing of the first day behind us, it was time to look towards the short course configuration for Round 2. The changes promised even fewer passing opportunities and tight racing in this already aggressive class. It was soon time for Robby Hornsby to lead the pack to the green flag from his repeat pole start.
Brock Heger took an early lead in Round 2. He managed to avoid the tight racing and mid-pack crashes to earn the top spot on the podium.
Again, it was hard charging that dominated the first few laps, with Heger moving up to take the lead by Lap 3. Cheek was also pushing hard, reaching third briefly, and then falling back to fifth as the race’s first caution came out on Lap 5. Much like Round 1, the green flags were short runs from that point on, as the drivers continued to battle hard through every turn. In the end, the same three drivers would stand on the podium with Heger and Cheek trading the one and two spots, keeping the points close as the “So-Cal Shootout” drew to a close for the Production 1000 UTV class.
