All four of Carl Renezeder’s races last weekend at the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing event in Las Vegas had bright moments. One even had a stellar result: career win number 92. Unfortunately, one race that was on its way to being win number 93 ended in the final corner of the final lap in a flash of flames. The other two races rounded out the weekend nicely with podium finishes, but not on the top spot.

“After the race weekend is over, it’s easier to look at the big picture and see that the overall results were great,” reflected Renezeder this week. “But in the moment, second place doesn’t feel much better than climbing out of a truck that just lost a motor on the last lap. All three were victories that eluded us.”

The weekend began well with a pole in Pro-4 on Friday afternoon, followed by a third-place qualifying effort in Pro-2. With shortened daylight hours, the qualifying sessions were the last time the teams had a chance at the track until racing began on Saturday afternoon, so the drivers and crew chiefs had to prove their ability to read a track without laying down any additional laps.

The first race of the weekend for Renezeder was in the Pro-4 class on Saturday, where he would start outside second row, next to Adrian Cenni, after a two was drawn for the invert. Mike Johnson and Kyle LeDuc would lead the field to the green flag. Renezeder had a decent start but got turned around by Cenni in turn four in the opening laps, and the entire field went by before he could get the nose pointed back in the right direction. He showed patience and mettle as the laps ticked off, passing truck after truck, until he found himself in second place as the checkered flag flew. Renezeder definitely made the most of a less-than-ideal situation.

Next up was the first Pro-2 race of the weekend, with the hope that the track had come around as predicted to suit his truck’s set up. More than 24 hours had passed and several races had run on the track since the two-wheel drive truck had last thrown around some dirt. But Renezeder had confidence that they’d made the right set-up call. He was right. It was a three-row invert for the start, meaning he would start outside second row next to Todd LeDuc and behind Robbie Woods and Rob MacCachren. By the time he and Woods came around to complete the first lap, the battle that would last the entire race was already in place. Renezeder settled in behind Woods in second place and they left the rest of the field behind. Woods held his ground and kept the lead through the mandatory yellow and well into the second half of the race, but as Renezeder heard his spotter tell him there would be two to go at the stripe, he made the pass stick inside turn eight and took the lead. Both General Tire drivers put down their best laps of the race in the closing two laps, but it would be Renezeder that would post another win in his career notebook.

Sunday’s fields were set according the Saturday finishing orders, and the invert was drawn by the winners of each class. Renezeder lined up to next to Rick Huseman in row three and the first two rows were made up of Kyle LeDuc, Jerry Daugherty, Travis Coyne and Kent Brasho. The race itself didn’t pose much drama for Renezeder, and when he inherited the lead from a limping Huseman with two laps to go, it looked like win number 93 would be recorded. But unbeknownst to Renezeder, a hole in the radiator was going to take away that win with just a straightaway to go. It made itself know on the backstretch on the white-flag lap as the motor began to seize when it finally ran out of water, and then a final burst of flames in the final corner forced Renezeder to pull off the track, finishing the race one lap down in the fifth position. Disappointment ran through the team, but they rallied for the final race of the weekend.

A three-row invert in Pro-2 meant Renezeder and Woods would make up row three, while Robert Naughton and Rob MacCachren formed row one, and Rodrigo Ampudia and Brian Deegan made up row two. The race started, then restarted, and when the it finally settled into a rhythm, Renezeder found himself battling with Pro-2 first-timer, Deegan, and it took several laps to get around him. MacCachren took the opportunity to open up a lead that Renezeder was never able to overcome, thus settling for another second-place finish of the weekend. His two podiums moved him into second place by three points ahead of Bryce Menzies in the championship chase with just one round to go.

Seven-time national short-course champion Carl Renezeder has often said, “It’s all about the battle.” This past weekend in Surprise, Arizona at Speedworld Motorsports Complex, that’s exactly what he got. With the bad-luck gremlin seemingly gone from his pit and his trucks back on the top of their game on Saturday, Renezeder was given the opportunity to focus on driving to the front, which is just what he did in both classes.  While fighting triple-digit temperatures, he secured wins in both Pro-4 and Pro-2, bringing his career short-course win total to 91.

“There are two things that got me here today,” explained a rather relieved Renezeder from the top spot on the podium after the Pro-4 win on Saturday, “my team and my sponsors.  I wouldn’t be here without them.”

The crowd saw action on the track that made the Arizona desert heat seem tame. After qualifying third in his Lucas Oil/General Tire Pro-4, then starting outside second row because of the three-row invert, Renezeder settled into his groove and showed patience, which allowed him to stay out of the tangle-up in turn four that resulted in a complete restart.  At the second drop of the green, he got a better start and was able to settle into third place behind Mike Johnson and Travis Coyne.  Renezeder got around Coyne when he got sideways coming out of turn five, then great battles with Johnson ensued.  Adrian Cenni kept him honest from the third-place position, but Renezeder made the pass on Johnson stick before the mandatory yellow.  The restart found his front left tire going flat, but it hung on for the remainder of the race, as did Renezeder, to record win number 90 in the books.

Less than an hour later, Renezeder climbed into the #17 Pro-2, ready fight the good fight again.  Fresh off the Pro-4 win, confidence was high as he lined up on the inside of points leader Rob MacCachren on the third row.  The two had to get around Mike Johnson, Bryce Menzies (row one) and Rodrigo Ampudia and Greg Adler (row two) if they wanted a shot at winning round 11 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.

Renezeder found himself in fifth place at the completion of lap one and worked his way to fourth behind Menzies, Adler and MacCachren before a full-course caution bunched up the field.  The green flew again and Renezeder got around MacCachren in turn three to put himself in third for the mandatory caution.  The second half of the race was some of the best action the class has seen all season.  Renezeder worked his way around Adler and Menzies, as did MacCachren, setting up a three-lap dogfight to the checkers.  Renezeder held his ground and found himself in winner’s circle one more time, relishing in all the things he loved about off-road racing.

“That was fun.  Great job guys,” commented Renezeder on the radio just after the checkered flag flew.

After the elation of Saturday, a second-place finish to MacCachren in Pro-2 on Sunday felt less celebratory than it should have been.  And when Renezeder lost front-wheel-drive in the Pro-4 on the last lap, forcing an eighth-place finish, the team lost a little wind out of their sails.  But with the best results overall of the season for the team, they headed back to the race shop with the confidence that the program was headed back in the right direction.

Three more rounds of racing are left in the points chase, followed by the second annual Lucas Oil Challenge Cup on December 12th at the new Firebird Raceway venue in Chandler, Arizona, to close out the 2010 season.

(Attached photos courtesy of Jeff Nemecek)