Elk River, Minn. – Racing at ERX Motor Park brings out the best in off-road racing, and that proved to once again be the case on Saturday four round six of AMSOIL Championship Off-Road, presented by the U.S. Air Force.
Multiple lead changes, a sand-filled split section, and more twists and turns than a roller-coaster highlighted a spectacular sense of showmanship and sportsmanship. Off-road fans cheered on their favorites but also stretched their vocal cords in support from start to finish on Saturday.
Greaves Picks Up Fourth Pro Stock SxS Win
CJ Greaves broke the tie atop the Pro Stock SxS standings with an impressive win on Saturday.
Greaves had to work through some early traffic in fourth, but after the first lap, he led the remaining 13 as he motored to his fourth class win of the 2023 season.
Jeb Bootle joined Greaves on the podium for the second time this weekend, finishing second. Bootle and Greaves had entered the day tied in points. Tyson Marquardt is only five points behind Boole in points thanks to a third-place finish on Saturday.
Van Eperen Wins AMSOIL Pro Turbo SxS
Owen Van Eperen has been winning races this season, but not in AMSOIL Pro Turbo SxS. He won’t have to worry about that moving forward.
Van Eperen took the lead on the third lap and kept the top spot despite heavy pressure from Ronnie Anderson. It would come down to the wire for Van Eperen and Anderson. With a full course caution in place, the race would end with a restart and a one-lap sprint to the finish line. Van Eperen reached the checkered flag first, taking his first win of the season by less than two-tenths of a second.
With Anderson in second, Brian Waszak took his first career podium finish in AMSOIL Pro Turbo SxS. Waszak started tenth and held off the late race charge from Kyle Chaney and Andrew Carlson.
Pro-AM SxS: Cody Jones led every lap but the first one, but he was there at the end for his first Pro AM-SxS win of the season. Sitting second in points, Jones held off a quick Rory Navin by one second for the victory. Navin started 15th on Saturday and didn’t get into podium position until lap ten before moving past Friday winner Derek Liebergen on the last lap for second.
570 SxS: Corbyn Wassenberg came to play on Sunday as he took the 570 SxS win, his third victory of the 2023 season. Wassenberg started eight and didn’t take the lead until there were two laps to go. The win puts him all alone atop the points standings. Friday winner Grant Dresel led a pair of laps before finishing second. Bryce Powers started back in seventh and needed a last-lap pass to finish on the podium in third.
Sportsman SxS: Lucas Houle brought out the broom at ERX this weekend. Houle started fifth in Saturday’s Sportsman SxS race before taking over the race lead with four laps to go. The round-five winner completed the weekend sweep by picking up his third win of the season. The rest of the podium finishers came down the final lap. Trent Peetz made a clean move in the sand section to get past Tyle Wusterbarth for second, and then Jacob Blemke tucked inside of Wusterbarth for the third position on the second to last turn.
170/200 SxS: Thirty cars lined up for Saturday’s 170/200 SxS race, but it was a familiar face out front at the end. Raymond Deininger led a total of five laps, including the final two, as he completed the weekend sweep. Kody Krantz had the lead with three to go but ended up just behind Deininger in second. Points leader Tanner Thibeault rounded out the podium.
Youth SxS: Libby Nielsen went wire-to-wire for her third Youth SxS win of the season and took over the points lead in the process. Layne Peterson knocked out a pair of runner-up finishes at ERX, narrowly missing out on his first win of the year after crossing the finish line a half-second behind Nielsen. Livy Hentges also had a pair of podiums this weekend, finishing third both days.
Up next for AMSOIL Championship Off-Road, presented by the U.S. Air Force: The Dirt City Motorplex Off-Road National in Lena, Wis. on Saturday, July 29-30.
With a subscription, you can watch all 14 rounds of the AMSOIL Championship Off-Road season plus live on FloRacing. For more information on how you can follow along this season, click here.
