Las Vegas’ Menzies Motorsports DOMINATES Lucas Oil at Miller Motorsports Park with Justin Bean Smith LEADING The Charge with Back to Back Victories!
Cameron Steele Leads Unlimited Pro Buggy, Larry Job second behind teammate, Justin “Bean” Smith leads Single Buggy points race
Bryce Menzies 2nd in Unlimited Pro 2 Championship Chase.
Lucas Oil Series Rounds 9 & 10 to be held August 7-8 at Glen Helen Raceway in Southern California.
LAS VEGAS—Menzies Motorsports of Las Vegas arrived to the spectacular Miller Motorsports Park situated in a quaint valley surrounded by towering snow covered Utah peaks. Located in Tooele, Utah, a short jaunt outside of metropolitan Salt Lake City, Utah, the Lucas Oil Off Road Series took center stage at MMP as over 10,000 fans filled the grandstands to watch the first ever Lucas Oil Off Road race in Utah.
The Big Red Machine crew hustled to build their temporary race city beneath the blue skies of Utah. It wasn’t long before the crew discovered the MMP Karting Center situated within the pits of the race track facility. With over 30 team members supporting the five-car team, the challenges and taunting amongst the crew was like hell fire.
Led by Las Vegas businessman, Steve Menzies, the team took to the asphalt of MMP Kart track in search of the Big Red Machine’s Karting King and in the end, it was none other than Bryce Menzies.
High fives and some good All American ribbing gave way to the business at hand as Friday’s practice sessions erupted into a fast pace of professional racing, as both Menzies Motorsports drivers and crew took turned their attention to some intense practice sessions. With four cars and one truck on the track at different times, the well-oiled Big Red Machine was clicking on all cylinders heading towards Saturday’s qualifying and race efforts.
Saturday Highlights:
Single Buggy driver, Justin ‘Bean’ Smith led the qualifying effort by setting the fast lap in the Single Buggy Class, but a misstep during post-race activities would put him to the back row. However, as the green flag dropped, Smith charged from the back to the front of the pack to claim the top spot in the ultra competitive LORRS Single Buggy Class claiming his first victory of the weekend.
Smith explained, “I couldn’t believe we earned a rear start penalty for missing tech after qualifying. We had no idea we had to roll into tech after the qualifier. I put that behind me and used the situation as motivation on the track. Well, it paid off and we got to the front for the win,” said a smiling Smith.
In the Unlimited Pro Buggy Class, Cameron Steele and Larry Job qualified in the two top spots and after the inversion, they started in the top six.
Battling door-to-door from the start to the finish of the race, Cameron Steele charged from the front of the pack and led the first half of the race before longtime racing nemesis, Jerry Whelchel, jumped to the front. Big Red Machine teammate, Larry Job and Cameron Steele pushed their Unlimited Pro Buggies to the front where they chased the leader all the way to the checkered flag, earning second and third positions.
Steele commented, “We had a great run. The Menzies Motorsports team gave me a fantastic car, but after a long battle with Jerry, taking second is what the result was. Between the three of us here on the podium, Jerry, Larry and myself, we’ve got 75 cumulative years of racing, so the battles are going to be epic each and every race.”
With the success from Smith, Steele and Job, the pressure was on Las Vegas’ off road racer, Bryce Menzies. Racing the #7 Unlimited Pro 2 sponsored by Blanco Basura/Bully Dog/ BFGoodrich Tires, Bryce charged through an impressive field of the world’s best off road drivers earning a solid fourth position in his run for the series point’s championship. Menzies sliced through the intense banging of the first few turns emerging unscathed and raced hard through the bumps exiting turn one. Racing with the lead pack to the mandatory yellow caution flag, Bryce kept pace with the front row to the very end. As the checkered flag waved, Bryce worked his way into the fourth position, claiming another impressive top five finish.
Afterwards Bryce commented, “The competition is so close out here you cannot make one mistake. The crew gave me a very good truck and our march towards the season championship is our goal and another top five finish helps get us there.”
Over 100 sponsors, friends and team members enjoyed Menzies Motorsports’ Mark Whittington’s amazing talents behind the BBQ as the team served rib eye steak and the famous Menzies Motorsports crab legs on Saturday night, celebrating the great performances of the entire team.
Steve explained, “Winning is our priority. Racing at this level includes an incredible amount of support from our marketing partners, friends and family along with our volunteer crew and dedicated team members. We can’t do this without them and hosting a post-race dinner is just one of the many ways Menzies Motorsports can give back to those that support us. Mark does a fantastic job, as usual, with the entertainment and we all have a good time.”
Sunday Highlights:
Starting off the Sunday’s Lucas Oil Series Round 8 at the beautiful Miller Motorsports Park, Justin Smith drove the #319 Single Buggy to victory for the second time over the weekend. Smith started from the third row and by the time he reached the second turn, he was battling for the lead and he never looked back! With the dominating victory in Round 8, Justin Smith increases his point’s championship lead over the huge field of competitors.
Smiling on the podium from the top spot, Smith commented, “The Big Red Machine is really responsible for making this happen. Bryce and Steve Menzies and, of course, all of our sponsors who help support us. All the guys behind the scenes working on the cars and trucks help make this happen and I couldn’t be standing here on top of the podium without each one of them. Amazing, just amazing!”
The Unlimited Pro Buggy class race entertained the packed house and just as the green flag dropped, both Menzies Motorsports racers, Cameron Steele and Larry Job, began their fight for position. Cameron Steele showcased his talents, racing wheel to wheel against the best buggy racers in the nation. In the meantime, Las Vegas off road racing champion, Larry Job, suffered a slight setback in turn one. Steele mashed the gas pedal and set his sights on the leader, Whelchel, but he came up about one lap short of catching the winner.
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t win. But the upshot is we are leading the season point’s championship race and my teammate, Larry Job, is sitting in second in the points. How awesome is that? We’ve got some work to do over the remainder of the season, but we are on a roll. The guys in the shop gave both Larry and me great cars this week. The Big Red Machine crew is the best,” said a grinning Cameron Steele.
As the weekend came to a close, Sunday’s Main Event kicked off with the waving of the green flag for the Unlimited Pro 2 race. The #7 Blanco Basura/Bully Dog/ BFGoodrich Tires race truck sucked up the bumps through the first half of the race track, as Bryce Menzies put his Pro 2 in position for a run to the checkers. The top five trucks all banged and bumped each other in and out of turns. At the mandatory midway yellow flag, the Pro 2’s were realigned for the run to the finish, but that was short lived.
A late race on-track incident forced Lucas Oil race officials to throw a full course yellow caution flag. The late yellow forced the field to race the last couple laps under the green, white, checkered flag rule. As the green flag dropped, the #7 Blanco Basura / Bully Dog / BFGoodrich Tires race truck charged with the lead pack as each truck shuffled through the bumps and rigors of the technical race track.
Bryce later explained, “We had a good restart, but we lost a couple spots after the first turn and then made them up in the back section of the track. I had the line in the back section of the track, but couldn’t quite stay with MacCachren and Johnson. There was some contact between several trucks in that last lap and I was fortunate to stay clean and made the pass on the outside just before that last turn gaining another position. The crew really did an outstanding job this week. It was great to have our sponsors out to the track and experience the excitement that short course off road racing brings to the fans. The Miller Motorsports Park is an incredible facility and were looking forward to returning there soon.”
Bryce Menzies, who leads the five-driver, five-vehicle team now is positioned in second place of the overall season points leader board in the Unlimited Pro 2 Class, while teammates Cameron Steele and Larry Job hold the first and second position among the Unlimited Pro Buggy Class. Magnificently, Justin ‘Bean’ Smith dominates the lead in the Single Buggy Class.
Reflecting on the overall performance of the race team, Steve Menzies commented, “Menzies Motorsports becomes something more amazing each race. Here at the midway point in the 2010 season, the team has begun to show the tremendous strengths. It really starts with the dedication and experienced crew of support personnel, five drivers who live and breathe off road racing, racing vehicles that are unequalled, all surrounded by group of individuals that understand that there is no ‘I’ in team.” Steve smiled saying, “This is just the beginning of something great.”
Next up for Menzies Motorsports will be Rounds 9 and 10 of the 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, to be held August 7-8, 2010 at Glen Helen Raceway in Southern California.
For more information on Menzies Motorsports, visit www.menziesmotorsports.com
