Monster's Jerry Whelchel Sweeps Sunday Race Action with Two Big Win
April 22, 2007
Lancaster, CALIFORNIA - Jerry Whelchel won back-to-back races here at Antelope Valley and capped the big weekend with a victory in the Jason Memorial Cup race that featured Robby Gordon, Ricky Johnson, Jerry Whelchel and Rob MacCachren.
Robby Gordon started in the second position, but it didn't take him long to jump to the lead. As the race started LeMans style, Gordon cut inside of Whelchel and jumped to the lead immediately allowing him to make big time on both Whelchel and MacCachren. Ricky Johnson hung way back in the mid-pack and waited for the door to open before making a hard charge.
With Gordon way out in front the battle was truly between Rob Mac in the Red Bull #29 truck and Monster's Whelchel in the #41 truck. Gordon railed his #41 Monster sponsored truck in the front of the pack until he suffered what appeared to be a broken Sway-Away shock on the left rear of his suspension. That ended the day for the NASCAR / SCORE Baja 1000 Champion and the race continued with Robby nursing his truck to the pits.
Whelchel wasted no time in jumping to the lead and battled with Rob MacCachren for six laps before Rob Mac suffered a blown ring and pinion that took him out of the race. Ricky Johnson and Jerry Whelchel ran together during the last half of the race battling back and forth until Whelchel pushed the Monster / Wide Open Pro-2 to the extreme and held off the SuperCross Moto and CORR Champion Ricky Johnson to take the win. This win captivated a huge crowd that braved the ice cold wind blowing across the barren desert land of Lancaster, California.
Renezeder Takes WAR Torn Round 2 Pro-4 Victory
April 22, 2007
Lancaster, CALIFORNIA - The Pro-4 race was filled with a wild start that put CORR Pro-4 Champion-Johnny Greaves out of the race when he was pushed to outside of the second turn and then punted into a telephone pole head on where he destroyed the front end of his truck.
The race was red flagged and restarted after they got Johnny Greaves Monster / Potawatomi / Toyota Tundran off the race course and behind the safety barriers.
A flurry of action occurred in the pits when Cenni, Huseman, and Barlow all pitted. Huseman returned to the race track for the start but then suffered a driveline problem when he was staging and that took him out of the race.
With the CORR Champion out of the way, the battle continued and Carl Renezeder drove his #17 Lucas Oil Pro-4 to victory pushing his truck to the ragged edge as he waged war amongst his competitors.
Renezeder drove the wheels of his truck capturing a huge victory that will jumpstart his season in the Pro-4 ranks.
Whelchel Fires Off Victory in Round 2 over Rob Mac in Reunion Race between Gordon, MacCachren and Johnson.
April 22, 2007
Lancaster, CALIFORNIA - Jerry Whelchel triumphed in the battle of the Pro-2's in Sunday's Round 2 at here in Lancaster. Whelchel ran the Wide-Open Baja / Monster Energy Pro-2 door-to-door with Rob MacCachren driving the #29 Red Bull race truck. In the mix was Robby Gordon driving CORR/Toyo Tires/Baldwin Racing Pro-2, Ricky Johnson driving his CORR/Toyo Tires Baldwin Racing Pro-2. The start was wild and that lasted three laps until Robby Gordon lost a right front spindle. The real battle in the end was the war of the energy drinks, Monster versus Red Bull. Whelchel savored his win when he celebrated and stood on the roof of the truck victoriously.
MONSTER Jam at CORR!
Robby Gordon Qualifies 2nd in Pro-2 behind Jerry Whelchel
April 22, 2007
Lancaster, CALIFORNIA - Robby Gordon drove his Monster Energy Pro-2 to the second qualifier here this morning at Antelope Valley. Gordon jumped inside the black Pro-2 and blasted across the racetrack ending any speculation that Gordon would be a field filler in today's race.
A Robby Gordon insider told DIRTnewz last week that he was coming strong and expected to vie for the win in both the second round and Jason Baldwin Memorial Pro-2 Cup race scheduled for today.
Gordon, sponsored in part by Monster Energy Drink, raced in the Nextel NASCAR Cup race Saturday night in Phoenix, Arizona where he placed 24th.
Rob MacCachren finished in sixth place after his #29 Pro-2 suffered a engine problem during the Saturday's opening round race. RockStar's Todd LeDuc claimed the fifth spot among the energy drink wars.
Today's action is expected to be wide-open as the Pro-2's race two races.
CORR Season-Opener Race Runs Wild in Front of Big Crowd
Robby Gordon To Race Two Pro-2 Races Today
April 22, 2007
Lancaster, CALIFORNIA - The 2007 CORR season-opener exploded on the closed course short track in California's high desert Saturday in front of thousands of fans. With the grandstands packed with the CORR Nation to watch the biggest names in off road racing battle it out in the dirt of Antelope Valley.
Johnny Greaves led contingent of ultra competitive off road racers and came out as the victor after racing door-to-door in what many have relegated as one of the top ten best ever races in CORR.
In the Jason Baldwin Memorial Cup Pro-4 race, Greaves raced hard with Carl Renezeder, Scott Douglas, Rick Huseman, Adrian Cenni before emerging as the winner after drag racing Carl Renezeder down the front stretch side-by-side before taking the checkered flag by a mere half of truck length. Johnny's win comes only after he stalled the truck at the start line after waiting an inordinate amount of time while CORR offiicials and television crews set their positions for the race. Greaves gave the competition a nearly 7-second lead after he had trouble at the start line.
Greaves later told DIRTnewz, "I looked over to my left while I was coming into turn 2 and saw the leaders way out in front and thought I better get going."
The crowd watched Greaves throughout the race as he weaved his Monster / Forest County Potawatomi / Toyota Tundra through the field before taking the checkered flag for the win.
The CUP race was staged only two hours after the 2007 CORR Round 1 season-opener race that sparked a debate not only in the pits, but in the stands when Scott Douglas and Johnny Greaves raced hard and Douglas destroyed his truck in one of the most spectacular crashes in recent years.
Sunday morning Scott Douglas told DIRTnewz that his championship winning truck that he captured the 2006 Borg-Warner Championship was not going to be able to be repaired for today's race. The truck suffered major damage that will relegate last year's multi-winner to his back-up Pro-4.
Sunday's action will see NASCAR Team Owner/Driver and SCORE Baja 1000 Champion, Robby Gordon, race the Balwin Racing Pro-2 against top Pro-2 racers in the world. In yesterday's opening round, Rob MacCachren shined as he battled with Monster Energy's Jerry Whelchel in the final lap before taking the win of the energy drinks.
Red Bull won CORR round one over Monster and RockStar finished third while No Fear finished fourth.
Today, Monster's Robby Gordon will join Monster's Jerry Whelchel to take on the lone Red Bull sponsored driver, Rob MacCachren. Stay tuned as we bring you the action all day long.
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