Team Red Bull/BOSCH battle to a first place finish at CORR Primm

Primm, NV (May 19, 2008) — Team Red Bull/BOSCH battled for a hard fought first place finish in Pro-2 Trucks during the third round of CORR season at Primm, NV. The stands were packed with fans braving the triple digit temperatures of Primm, NV. Forty minutes south of Las Vegas, Primm, NV is home to the Las Vegas International Off Road Raceway. The track consists of four completely different turns two whoop sections, four solid jumps including a large jump directly in front of the grand stands and the giant table top at the back of the track where the CORR trucks soar a distance of over eighty feet.

Qualifying Saturday
Ricky Johnson, in the number nine Red Bull/BOSCH Pro-2, had a clean practice and qualifying, attacking the corners and jumps with his signature aggressive style. Ricky managed to qualify 2nd fastest, putting him in the front row for the main event. Steve Barlow, in the number two Red Bull/BOSCH Pro-4, had a little bit of trouble with the drive train but still managed to qualify 9th.

Racing Saturday
CORR threw a curve ball at the field deciding to invert the top eight qualifiers putting Ricky Johnson in the 4th row back on the inside. 
As the field of twenty-five Pro-2’s charged into first corner Johnson made a critical mistake spinning the truck. He quickly recovered and began what would become one of the most impressive displays of off- road driving to date. Johnson started moving his way up through the pack picking off the competition one at a time. When the competition caution came out on lap eight Johnson had already moved up to 7th place. On the restart Johnson passed two trucks moving him to the 5th position. A caution came out on lap 13 so the track could be watered; two laps were added to the race, making for a nineteen-lap race. 
Johnson took advantage of the change and went outside in turn four of lap sixteen taking the lead from Renezeder. With only two laps to go Johnson maintained the lead finishing first in the ultra competitive Pro-2s.

Steve Barlow would have a challenging race from the outset. Starting the race in the 5th row back Barlow fought his way up to 3rd by the 10th lap. Barlow’s luck would go from bad to worse as he lost his transmission during lap ten. Barlow didn’t give up continuing to limp his truck around the course in first gear in an effort to gain points.

Qualifying Sunday
It would be Ricky Johnson who would be dealt a bad hand with mechanical issues during qualifying. The DNF would put Johnson in the 21st start position for the main event on Sunday. Steve Barlow would have a better day purposely holding back to qualify 7th based on the idea CORR was once again going to invert the top eight vehicles.

Racing Sunday
Ricky Johnson once again proved the impossible doesn’t apply to him. 
Starting in the 11th row back, Johnson started passing people right off the start. Even when Johnson was temporarily blocked by number 28, Alan Pflueger, but he did not back off and eventually climbed to 6th by the 7th lap. Johnson was now well within striking distance of the podium. Unfortunately Johnson’s charge was stopped due to transmission failure. Johnson also did not give up limping the truck around the track in first gear in an effort to complete additional laps and gain points.

Barlow’s strategy of holding back in qualifying would pay off, as CORR did invert the top eight qualifiers, putting Barlow on the pole for the Pro-4 race. As the checkered flag dropped and the field charged into turn one, it was apparent that contact was going to be the theme of the race. Josh Baldwin charged wildly through the pack coming into contact with Barlow in the whoop section, then again slamming into him in turn two. The contact broke Barlow’s front axle causing him to loose 4-wheel drive. Barlow managed to keep it together racing with only two-wheel drive until he was t-boned by Johnny Greaves in turn four. Barlow fell back into the pack, but managed to complete eight laps until he blew his engine throwing a rod through the engine housing into the starter.

“It’s frustrating when you have to deal with a combination of mechanical issues and people taking you out. I really felt like I should have been on the podium both days. We will go back to the shop and focus on getting ready for Pomona,” stated Team Red Bull/BOSCH owner/driver, Steve Barlow.

Ricky Johnson had this to say about the weekend racing: “ I wanted to win both days, but I ran into some mechanical issues on Sunday. I was my way up to the front when we had problems. Winning Saturday felt great and I think I proved you can never count me out. We will be ready for Pomona.”

About CORR
CORR (Championship Off–Road Racing) is the most thrilling type of off- road racing in the world! Referred to as “Supercross with trucks”, CORR takes place on both permanent and temporary tracks in San Diego, Pomona, Antelope Valley, Dallas, Primm, and Charlotte. The CORR trucks have over two feet of suspension travel and 850+ horsepower, making them capable of jumping over 160 feet while racing. Tracks are built out of dirt with jumps, whoops, tabletops and hairpin turns to keep the racing exciting for the fans, and challenging for the drivers. CORR racing is a “full-contact” sport, and fans are treated to non-stop action as the competitors bump and grind their way through the course. Pro-2 and Pro-4 Trucks are the premier classes. 
Event attendance averages over 20,000 plus fans per race. TV coverage consists of nine races on NBC and The Speed Channel. CORR has a large online community, and the primary demographic being is males between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five.

Check out the Team Red Bull/BOSCH website for race results, photos and video: http://redbulloffroad.com