Off Road

Abrams, WI (July 11, 2011)—The Off Road Championship (TORC) Series Sportsman class headed to Antigo, WI, located just south of Crandon for rounds 5 and 6 this past weekend. TORC also planned to make-up the rounds 1 and 2 races from Red Bud, MI, which were rained out. These races were slated for Sunday, but they were once again postponed due to rain.

CJ Greaves, the defending Super Buggy Champion, was looking to improve on his second place finish in the only Super Buggy race at Crandon. He squeezed out another second place podium spot on Saturday and hit the top spot on Sunday for his first win of the season. He narrowed the points gap between he and front runner, Larry Job, to a 1 point margin.

In the Sunday race, CJ and Job started on the back row due to an inversion based on points. CJ drove his number 33 Traxxas/ Monster Energy/Maxxis/Oakley sponsored buggy through the field along with Job to the front in just a couple laps. They tandem caught John Frana, who had started from the pole position. At the competition caution, it was Frana, Job and CJ leading the pack. As the three racers pulled away from the field by a sizable margin, Frana lost a wheel that took him out of the competition. CJ tried to no avail to pass Job and settled for the runner-up podium position.

Sunday's race featured a repeat performance of the Saturday race. CJ and Job, starting from the back once again, went straight to the front when the green flag flew. This time, it was Job who was in the lead following the competition caution. Frana and CJ battled back and forth for the number 2 position and hoping Job would make a mistake to give them a chance to lead the race. The opportunity came when Job over rotated his machine and broke something in the transmission. Frana, in second, and CJ in third at the time, passed Job who continued to fall back, all the way to the fifth spot.

With only 2 laps remaining in the race, John Frana, driving the only 4-wheel drive vehicle on the track, blew his motor, taking him out of the race for the second time of the weekend. Frana's bad luck turned into CJ's good luck as it sent him to the top of the podium for his first win of the season. Job limped in for a 5th place finish, salvaging a lot of points, but not until Greaves pulled within 1 point in the standings.

The plans for the Red Bud make-up races were dashed when a rain shower muddied the track. Later, however, the track did dry up considerably, almost good enough to have the races. By then, the race had been canceled. The Pro Light drivers were given the opportunity to have an exhibition race. This gave the teams a chance to test their machines and get in some valuable seat time.

CJ lead the pack the entire race and took the win. No points were gained, but it was a great confidence builder and a little more experience for CJ behind the wheel of the V8 Traxxas/Monster Energy/Maxxis/Oakley Pro Light truck. This is his first year racing in this class and has already made his presence known and sits 3rd in the points.

The next sportsman class races will be a Bark River, MI, on August 13th and 14th. Check out the latest photos and videos on the team website: JohnnyGreaves.com and on Facebook.