LAKE FOREST, CA (April 2, 2009) – After so much uncertainty at the end of the 2008 short-course season, the 2009 season comes alive this weekend, April 4-5, with more excitement than teams could have dreamed possible. Carl Renezeder, a five-time national champion with 76 career wins, climbs back into the driver’s seat for the first time in nearly seven months for the inaugural race of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series powered by Geico Powersports at the Primm Valley Motorsports Complex. On both a series level and a team level, Renezeder and his crew have a lot to look forward to.
“It seems like forever since I’ve seen the green flag wave,” commented Renezeder. “We’re excited to go racing out at Primm this weekend for a long list of reasons.”
Renezeder celebrates 11 years of racing with Lucas Oil this season, while Lucas Oil celebrates its 20th corporate anniversary. The company has also taken on the task of building a new off-road series, and in just a few short months has put together a long list of accomplishments meant to further the sport and benefit drivers and sponsors alike.
Here are just a few of those accomplishments:
· Brought aboard Geico Powersports as the presenting sponsor
· Secured 30 hours of timely tape-delayed original programming on SPEED, plus re-airs
· Secured live television on NBC for the final race of the season
· Secured additional television programming on Versus, Outdoor Channel and MavTV
· Set a six weekend schedule in the Southwest, with the intention of expanding to a national footprint in 2010 and beyond
· Brought aboard K&N for a purse money enhancement program that added $120,000 per race weekend for Unlimited 2 and Unlimited 4 (now $15,000 to win, $10,000 for 2nd and $5,000 for 3rd each race)
“In working with Lucas Oil for so long, we’ve been fortunate to watch them build and grow other sports from regional series to national successes,” explained Renezeder. “Some people may be surprised by what they’ve been able to accomplish is such a short amount of time, but we knew what they were capable of when they took on this project. The off-road world has always been lucky to have the support of Lucas Oil, and we’re proud to be a part of their team.”
On the team front, Renezeder also had some big announcements this off-season. Earlier this month, Renezeder made the jump to General Tire, looking to bring the brand its first short-course win and championship.
“We are so proud to add Carl Renezeder to Team General Tire,” said Tony Talbert, Light Truck Product Manager, General Tire. “Having a driver of his caliber will take our team to the next level, and will give our new Grabber SC tire a solid foothold in short-course racing.”
Additionally, Team Associated, the premier competition R/C manufacturer, has grown its involvement with Team Renezeder for 2009 and beyond, and has become the official R/C car company of the series. They just recently announced the upcoming release of the new SC10 (a 1/10th-scale electric R/C race truck) replica of Renezeder’s Unlimited 2 truck, set to be available to consumers in just a few short weeks.
And as if all this weren’t enough, Renezeder’s crew chief, Mike Seat, led the team in the building of a brand new Ford F150 Unlimited 2 truck this off-season, which will make its competitive debut this weekend as well.
“It’s a lot when you look at it in a single snapshot,” concluded Renezeder, “but we’ve never been the kind of group to stay at idle or be happy with the status quo. My team and my family love this sport, and we couldn’t be more excited about getting the 2009 season under way.”
The inaugural event kicks off Friday, April 3 with practice and qualifying, followed by rounds one and two of racing on Saturday and Sunday. Visit www.lucasoffroadseries.com for more schedule and ticket information. Visit www.teamrenezeder.com for more team information.
