Rodrigo Ampudia continues podium charge with first place finish at Lucas Oil Off-Road Series Rounds 7- 8
The Lucas Oil Off-Road Series (LOORS) rounds 7-8 took place at the massive Miller Motorsports complex in Tooele, Utah; located to the west of Salt Lake City. The newly built short course featured a technical variety of sweeping and tight turns, huge tabletops, kicker jumps, and high-speed moguls. The Utah fans crowded the stands for their first ever look at the awesome spectacle of short course off-road racing. Rodrigo Amudia recently out of knee surgery, and still only able to drive with one foot, was anxious to get back on the track and start racing. Fresh off his 2nd place victory at the previous round in Las Vegas, Rodrigo was excited to be racing on a new track in front of new fans.
“This is what it’s all about, going to a new market and showing new fans how cool short course racing is!” commented Rodrigo.
Saturday Rodrigo started with mediocre results during qualifying. Rodrigo was stuck behind lap traffic and never got to really stretch out his Papas and Beer/Lucas Oil Pro-2. He qualified 5th, fortunately placing him on the outside of the front row. Todd Leduc managed to pull the hole-shot, but Rodrigo stayed right with him maintaining a solid 2nd place for several laps. Right before the caution Rodrigo made a mistake biking his truck up on 2 wheels allowing Ricky Johnson the opportunity to pass him. After the restart Rodrigo stayed in third with Todd and Ricky just in front of him until Ricky went out with mechanical issues. With two laps to go Rodrigo put a move on Todd passing him in corner four gaining the lead. Rodrigo held the lead and crossed the checkered flag first. Although Rodrigo has stood on the podium multiple times already this year, this was his first first-place finish in Pro-2.
“This win really meant a lot to me. It’s my first number one finish in Pro-2. Me, my team, and my family have worked hard for this, it feels great!” stated Rodrigo.
Sunday would pose more challenges as Rodrigo was sent out first on the freshly watered track to qualify. Due to the sloppy track conditions Rodrigo never got up to speed, qualifying 7th, placing him 4th row for the start. Despite the poor start position Rodrigo fought his way up through traffic to 4th position by the caution lap. After the mid-way restart Rodrigo continued to pass trucks until he was up to second place with three laps to go. During the third to last lap Robbie Pierce rolled in a corner causing a full course yellow. The decision was made to restart the race in current positions with 2 laps to go. The entire field was bunched up turning the race into a 2 lap off-road crash up derby. On the drop of the green flag Rodrigo was hit multiple times and knocked off course by Carl Renezeder. Falling back to 10th Rodrigo did not give up, he battled his way back passing four trucks within one and half laps to finish 6th.
“I thought I had 2nd locked up. That restart was crazy. Everybody went for it all at the same time. There was a lot of contact, but that’s part of racing to. The fans love seeing us battle and give it everything we’ve got, and that’s what we did out there. I had a blast and I hope the fans did to.” Commented Rodrigo.
Rodrigo’s next race will be Lucas Oil Off-Road Round 9-10 at Glen Helen Raceway, in San Bernardino, CA June 26-27
Rodrigo Ampudia is sponsored by:
Papas & Beer, Lucas Oil, Tecate, BFGoodrich, Mastercraft Safety, Fox Shox, and Simpson
About Papas & Beer:
Papas & Beer is the original Mexican nightclub, bar, & restaurant established in Ensenada, Baja California in1983. Currently Papas & Beer has three locations in Rosarito, Ensenada, and La Paz but is undergoing an expansion with more locations set to open in the United States and Mexico.
Check out Rodrigo’s website for race results, photos and video at:http://www.papasracing.com/
About Mad Media: www.madmedia.com
Mad Media is San Diego based marketing and creative agency offering professional print, web, and film production. They specialize in producing culturally relevant brand messaging using professional athletes, musicians, and artists. Mad Media focuses on sports and cultures that they are passionate about, including skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, motocross, FMX, BMX, off-road racing, rally racing, Hip-Hop, Punk Rock and Mixed Martial Arts. Mad Media has produced over twenty major commercial and viral film projects this year for clients such as Subaru of America, DC Shoes, Monster Energy Drink, and Harley-Davidson. Mad Media has been executing immersive marketing campaigns since 1996.
