King Rules Short Course Racing In Primm

Primm, Nevada, As the inaugural race of the 2009 Lucas Oil Off Road Race Series waved its final checkered flag at the Primm Valley Motorsports Complex, King Shocks once again dominated the winner’s circle. Round one of the highly anticipated short course series earned King Shocks-equipped racers the top podium positions in the Unlimited 2, Unlimited 4, Super Lite, and Limited Buggy classes.

Saturday’s action brought the nearly sold-out crowd to its feet as two of King Shocks most notorious racers, Carl Renezeder and Jerry Whelchel, battled back and forth for the first place finish in the Unlimited 2 class.  Successfully holding off Rodrigo Ampudia, Renezeder brought home the first Unlimited 2 class win of the Lucas Oil series, while Whelchel finished a close second.

Not satisfied with just one win for the day, Renezeder followed up his earlier performance by dominating the Unlimited 4/2 race and once again taking the highest place on the podium during the main event.  Rounding out second and third place was the equally infamous and also King Shocks equipped Travis Coyne? and the “Flyin’ Hawaiian,” Alan Pflueger, respectively.

Catching up with the Carl Renezeder after his impressive back-to-back first place wins in both the Unlimited 2 and Unlimited 4 classes, Carl attributed much of his success to the performance of his King Shocks and the grip of his General Tires.  “My King Shocks allowed me the momentum to out-perform the competition in the rhythm sections and the table-tops and gave me a competitive advantage.  I was able to load the suspension and get the grip of the tires to work in my favor and pass Whelchel on the inside of turn two for the win.”

The newly emerging Super Lite class has brought with it recognizable desert racers such as Chuck Dempsey and John and Johnny Harrah.  Other high-profile and legendary racing family names, such as Joe Granatelli, have also recently gotten involved in the growing program.

While the Super Lites are technically a spec-class, the rules allow for a single-reservoir shock of the racer’s choosing.  King Shocks-equipped racers once again earned the two highest podium positions as Chuck Dempsey took the checkered flag, followed by Chad Leising hot on his tail, and John Harrah trailing closely behind for a third place finish.

Adding to the brand dominance in Saturday's round one of the Lucas Oil Off Road Race Series, Sunday's round two racers bearing the King Shocks brand took home the largest number of trophies in the Unlimited 2, Super Lite, and Limited Buggy classes.    The Unlimited 2 race was a sweep for King Shocks, as Renezeder, Schovajsa and Whelchel claimed the podium for the gold, silver and bronze. Rodrigo Ampudia once again found himself caught up in the middle of a three-way battle between Carl Renezeder and Jerry Whelchel during Sunday’s Unlimited 2 race.  Ampudia 's brief lead quickly came to an end due a throttle cable failure, giving way to Renezeder with Whelchel following closely behind.  A spin-out by Whelchel late in the race provided Carl Renezeder a comfortable lead and allowed Scott Schovajsa, another King Shocks racer, the perfect window to slip into a second place finish ahead of  Whelchel , who claimed third . Johnny Harrah’s King Shocks-equipped Speed Technologies Super Lite took home a well-deserved first place finish after successfully dodging David Reyes’ riveting barrel roll crash that came to rest in the in-field.  After the race, Harrah commented “The idea of a spec-class is to level the playing field and for the most part equip all racers identically. We have a choice in the brand of shocks we run on our Super Lites and I chose King Shocks because of their superior performance.  I feel their product provides me with an upper hand in short course racing.”

Battling back and forth with Bruce Menzie, Curt Geer successfully steered clear of Menzies mid-race spin out and piloted his King Shock-equipped Limited Buggy to a hard fought first place win.  Earning back-to-back checkered flags during Saturday and Sunday’s season opener of the Lucas Oil Off Road Race Series has provided Geer with the points lead in the Limited Buggy class.

King Shocks was proud to be on-hand as an event sponsor and offer continued racer support at the historic renewal of short course racing. Look for the King Shocks racer support trailer at the next Lucas Oil Off Road Race, May 2nd and 3rd at Speedworld in Surprise, AZ. 

2009 Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series Winners fitted with King Shocks

Round 1 Carl Renezeder Unlimited 2 Carl Renezeder Unlimited 4 Chuck Dempsey Super Lite Curt Geer Limited Buggy

Round 2 Carl Renezeder Unlimited 2 John Harrah Super Lite Curt Geer Limited Buggy