Heres a recap of the Pro 2 vs Pro 4 Cup race: The final race of this season was the highly anticipated showdown between Pro 2 Unlimited and Pro 4 Unlimited. Coincidentally, 12 drivers from each class would take the start, and as usual, the 2wds would be given half a laps head start over their 4wd rivals. Jeff Geiser got the early lead amongst the 2wds in his #44 BulletProofDiesel/Mickey Thompson Chevrolet, ahead of Bryce Menzies, Mike Porter, Robby Woods, and Patrick Clark, while Eric Barron and his #32 LAT Racing Oils/Rancho Performance Drivetrain Toyota led the way in the 4wds, ahead of Kyle LeDuc, Ryan Beat, Brandon Bailey, and Rob MacCachren. Menzies got by Geiser on the inside at turn four to take over the lead on lap two, while Woods, Clark, and Brian Deegan had all gotten by Porter to get up to positions three through five. Amongst the 4wds, Barron was now struggling against a hood that had shredded and was flipped back against the front window opening, blocking his vision, while smoke from LeDucs right rear meant he was also experiencing a difficulty. LeDuc spun at turn two on lap four, and with MacCachren also going by the wayside on this lap, it was now Beat, Greg Adler, Bailey, and Carl Renezeder running behind Barron amongst the 4wds. Geiser had fallen back to fourth amongst the 2wds by now, and on lap five, Clark got by him as well to move into that fourth spot. Renezeder got around Bailey on lap five, and looked to be taking a cool, calculated approach to this race, rather than trying to get all the necessary passes done as quickly as possible. By lap six, Barron and Beat had entered the top ten outright, as they now ran ninth and tenth, while out front, Menzies was still in the lead and enjoying a comfortable margin over the competition. On lap seven, Austin Kimbrell came to a stop in the whoop section, which brought out the Pro 2 Unlimiteds dreaded full course yellow, effectively eliminating most of the remaining gap between themselves and the 4wds. Under yellow, Barron dropped to the back of the pack for some reason, leaving Beat and his #51 MavTV/General Tire Ford to spearhead the 4wd assault; Beat now ran in ninth, with the 2wds of Menzies, Woods, Deegan, Clark, Porter, Geiser, Rodrigo Ampudia, and Matt Cook still in front of him. Beat picked up three spots on the restart lap, while Renezeder got by Adler, whod been second of the 4wds, and all the way up to eighth overall, and was really looking like a strong contender for his third Challenge Cup win. Renezeder had moved up a lot on this lap, despite the fact that another driver had landed on the back of his truck off the jump in turn one. The damage mustve been superficial, as Renezeders truck still seemed to be running quite mechanically soundly, as he charged hard through the pack. Menzies had again opened up a strong gap at the head of the pack, leaving Woods and Deegan to fight each other for second, and all the while, the 4wds were now closing right in on them. Renezeder got a good run out of turn three on lap 13 to get by Beat for fifth, just before a full course caution was thrown to allow safety crews to clear some big chunks of debris from the track. When racing resumed, Woods quickly got alongside Menzies going down the back straight and up the step up jump into turn two, where Menzies suddenly pulled off with what looked like a major rear suspension issue. This was a bitter blow to the Las Vegas native, whod been putting in a surprisingly dominant run for a 2wd in this race. Still, the race went on, and just as quickly as Menzies had fallen by the wayside, Renezeder was now all the way up to third in his 4wd. Another full course yellow was thrown at the end of the lap, and when racing resumed, it would now by Woods, Deegan, Renezeder, Clark, and Beat in the top five; that made it two 2wds, one 4wd, another 2wd, and another 4wd. On the restart lap, Renezeder got by Deegan out of turn three, but then spun at turn four, which drew a big cheer from the crowd, who may have been hoping to see one of the 2wds hang on, especially if it could be their hometown hero Deegan. Renezeder may have dropped well back (he soon fell by the wayside with more severe issues), but Beat was right there to take over his third place, so the 4wd threat wasnt gone yet. Moreover, Barron had gotten up to speed again after that mysterious drop back earlier, and was now fourth and closing fast on the top three. Greg Adler then came to a stop in turn three, which forced another full course caution, and when racing resumed again, it was a bleak sight on the track, with just nine trucks left running, one of which wasnt even on the lead lap. A green-white-checkers two-lap dash to the finish had been called for by race officials, and on the restart lap, Barron got by Beat on the inside at turn one to take over third. Beat tried to battle back, but nearly spun himself out instead, only to be knocked back straight by another driver, and so Beat only lost one position in the running order. At the white flag, it was Woods, Deegan, Barron, Beat, and Corry Weller in her 4wd in the top five. On the final lap, Barron made a beautiful outside pass on Deegan at turn two (this also drew a big roar from the crowd; perhaps they werent entirely in The Generals corner after all), and closed right in on Woods with just two corners left to make a pass for the win. Barron threw it hard into turn three, and hit Woods hard door to door, which sent Woods out wide, and Barron got by on the inside. Again the crowd cheered loudly; maybe Barrons screaming engine and big charge from so far back was what they liked. Deegan got by Woods at turn three as well, and up front, Barron sped home to what seemed to be a spectacular win. Unfortunately for Barron, race officials deemed his pass on Woods to be rough driving, and he was given the black flag, which dropped him to the back of the lead lap. This handed the win and the $30,000 check to Brian Deegan, who put his #38 Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita Power Tools Ford in the Challenge Cup winners circle for the first time in his career. Second place went to Woods, who was surprisingly happy despite being robbed of what wouldve been the most spectacular first career short course win in the history of the sport; Woods brought home $15,000 for his efforts at the wheel of the #99 Lucas Slick Mist/General Tire Chevrolet. Third was Beat, who took home $7,500, plus a $1,000 bonus as the first finisher in the class that didnt win outright. Clark finished up fourth in the #25 Tough Country EZ-Ride Suspension/Maxxis Chevrolet, and Ampudia matched his younger brother Alans performance in the Pro Lite Unlimited race earlier today, as he picked up fifth in the #36 Papas & Beer/Lucas Oil Ford. Aside from Barron, Porter was the only other finisher on the lead lap, and that made him sixth in his #9 LAT Racing Oils/Advantage Boats Chevrolet.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 19:24:29 +0000