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BIG CRASH, BIG SAVE AT WSORR SEASON OPENER AT THE LUCAS
OIL SPEEDWAY!
(New Lenox, IL,)—May 30, 2008— Probst Motorsports headed
south to Wheatland, MO. For the first two rounds of racing
in the 2008 World Series of Off Road Racing (WSORR) Tour.
The team was looking to showcase the newly signed Team Lucas
partners, E3 Spark Plugs and Dixie Choppers who were primary
for the weekend. Kevin Probst’s #99 Pro 2wd, and Jon’s
Probst’s #5 Pro Lite race trucks were ready to go and the
excitement was high for a successful season of WSORR events.
The team showed up Late Thursday night, with a practice
scheduled for Friday evening. Jon’s Pro Lite was first up on
the practice list, and after the 3 laps of practice, Jon was
only .400 of a second off the fast time. Kevin was up next,
and after the session, the #99 pulled out the fast lap of
the day in the new truck. With video in hand and time to
review, changes were discussed with crew chief Bill Smith
from Pro Fab Motorsports, who had been brought in as a
consultant for the build and test of the Pro 2. Many changes
were discussed and completed prior to the next days events
scheduled for a Saturday evening race.
Saturday came and went with monsoon rains on and off all
day. The Race was finally officially cancelled at 10:30 PM
with the grandstands packed with rain soaked spectators.
Kevin’s daughter Kara sang the National Anthem earlier and
at least that portion of the day was dry.
Sunday saw a shortened schedule to get 2 days of racing in
one day. The first race of the day for the team was Pro Lite
and Jon started his first 2008 race in the #2 spot on the
line. At the green, Jon came through turn 1 in 2nd and the
extra muddy conditions gave him his first taste of “slippery
when wet”. Coming into turn 3, Jon could not make the turn
on the tight line, getting outside in the muck, Jon gave up
7 spots. Battling back, Jon ended the day in 4th (one off
the podium) after finding the groove and getting the #5
around well. “The mud was a good thing to learn for Jon”
said Kevin, “that one race gave him a season of experience
in racing the slick conditions that we usually find at the
beginning of a race”.
The Pro 2wd was the last race of the morning. Kevin’s luck
of the draw starting position had him starting 8th on the
grid of 12. Starting 4th row inside, Kevin pulled a hole
shot and got past the first row trucks by the time they left
the oval to the outer part of the race track. The #99
drifted right due to mud that turned the truck slightly.
When Kevin crested the oval to make the pass stick, he had
drifted in front of another truck and slight contact made
the #99 turn right causing a spectacular barrel Roll.
Rolling 3 times, Kevin was unhurt due to the new seat and
head and neck restraints. “I did not feel a thing” said
Kevin, “I am sure glad I had these new safety features for
this roll, the Rage Hybrid and Cobra Seat did a fantastic
job of keeping my neck from taking a beating.” The truck
looked bad initially, but the team decided to try to make
the second round later in the same day. After a close look,
all the damage was to body mounts and bolt on suspension
parts. The Uweld designed chassis was undamaged, and the
whole Uweld team came to the pits to help rebuild the #99
for the second race. With a lot of help from them and the
whole team, and parts from Carl Renezeder, Ron Schreiner,
Dan Vandenheuvel, and Jerry Daugherty, the #99 was going to
make the second race, only 3 hours later.
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We could not have made that race without the help everyone
gave. It was a testament to the team and the design of the
truck.
Round 2 of Pro Lite started when we were still working on
the Pro 2 to make the show. Jon started in the 2nd row and
made the move to 3rd and was maintaining that spot until a
vibration developed. Keeping the truck alive to the end, Jon
finished 6th and is 4th in the championship points
standings. Overall a good start for his first full season in
Pro Lite.
The second round of Pro 2 saw Kevin show up at the line just
as the trucks were going on the track. The body was gone,
only right side panels were pieced on, due to the time frame
and no body mounts left to use. Kevin started last. At the
green, #99 took it easy for a lap to check out the handling.
Seeming OK, Kevin increased the pace and started passing
trucks. With no bumper or body, the #99 looked like a
vehicle from Road Warriors. Lap after lap, Kevin passed
trucks, and gained on the leader. By the end, Kevin finished
2nd on the podium and the crowd went nuts. No one could
believe that the truck would make the next race let alone
finish on the podium. This was a great effort from everyone
on the team and very special thanks to those that helped us
to make that race.
We have to thank the whole team and all our supporters. The
weekend ended up on a high note and we look forward to the
next event in Crandon, Wisconsin.
Probst Motorsports thanks our team partners!
