Lena, Wis. – AMSOIL Championship Off-Road presented by the U.S. Air ForcE has officially hit the season mid-point and the competition has been extremely tight in 2023.
Points have been at a premium this year. Through six rounds, eight of the 18 classes are eight points or less between the top two, and only two classes have more than a 20-point difference (170/200 SxS and Pro Lite).
With competition this tight, the fourth full weekend of racing is a racer’s paradise. The Dirt City Motorplex in Lena, Wis, was built by racers for racers. The nearly one-mile-long track brings elements from short-course tracks across the nation, with tight turns, tabletop jumps, and racing so close that it will challenge the most experienced drivers.
Chaney Cleans Up in Pro Turbo SxS
CJ Greaves grabbed a big hole shot off the start but quickly pulled to the side of the track. That put points leader Kyle Chaney at the front of the pack, and the former champion took care of business on Saturday.
Chaney felt some early pressure from Andrew Carlson, but it was a day when the Can-AM driver was flawless. He found the smoothest lines around the Dirt City track instead of the historically fast lines. That paid off as he brought home his third win of the season.
Round six winner Owen VanEperen started the day in fourth and took a couple of laps to find his lines. Once he found them, he moved into the runner-up spot on lap six and never gave the spot back. Brian Waszak followed VanEperen into podium contention on the sixth lap and kept pace for his second straight third-place finish.
Greaves Again in Pro Stock SxS
Jeb Bootle is looking for a second-half surge to overtake CJ Greaves in the Pro Stock SxS standings, but Greaves continued his hot streak as he pushed his Polaris to his third straight win.
Bootle grabbed the lead off the jump on Saturday, but he pulled off to the side in a puff of smoke one lap later, ending his day and giving the lead to Greaves. After that, Greaves would be a tough beat as he pulled away from the field. He would not be matched in the Dirt City opener, taking his fifth win in 2023 and his third straight Pro Stock SxS victory.
Owen VanEperen rebounded from a tough weekend of racing at ERX to finish second in Dirt City. Andrew Carlson has been on top of the box in Pro Turbo this season but has just missed out on a podium visit in Pro Stock. He flipped the script on Saturday, finishing third after a race-long battle with VanEperen.
Pro-AM SxS: Kolton Krajicek started the year with three straight wins and was trying to hunt down number four, but some bad luck and a great race from Rory Navin would win the day.
Navin would go wire-to-wire for his first career Pro-AM SxS win. He had heavy pressure from Krajicek for much of the race but kept him from getting a clean run. Krajicek was in position for the runner-up spot with just a few turns remaining before he pulled over after losing power. That put round four winner Tyler Remmereid into second and points leader Bill Berger into third.
570 SxS: Ellah Holtger started third but took the lead before the mandatory restart. She didn’t miss the mark during the race’s second half and held off a hard-charging Grant Dresel for her first win of the season. Dresel, who won in round five, moved into the runner-up spot on lap eight before catching Holtger on the final lap. Bryce Powers finished third, and with Corbyn Wassenberg leaving the race early, he should enter round eight with the points lead.
Sportsman SxS: The Sportsman SxS class was the first race of the day, which meant they were responsible for slinging any mud off the track after heavy rains fell on Friday. Tyler Wusterbarth was up to the challenge, starting second before dipping into the lead and driving to his first win of the season.
There was an impressive, back-and-forth battle for the runner-up spot on Saturday. Trent Peetz and Lucas Houle went door-to-door on the tight Dirt City racetrack, with Peetz holding the advantage by .070 of a second at the finish line for second place. It was the third straight podium for both Peetz and Houle.
170/200 SxS: Points leader Tanner Thibeault set the quickest lap of the 170/200 SxS race on Saturday, and after starting sixth, he drove to his first win of the season. William Holtger led the first four laps before crossing the finish line in second, his third trip to the box in 2023. Ashton Dreher now has two podium finishes this year. Dreher started 11th on Saturday, working into the third position on lap four.
Youth SxS: Ryker Remington took the lead early and drove to his third Youth SxS win of the season. In doing so, Remington also took over the points lead from Libby Nielsen, who finished fifth at Dirt City. Layne Peterson finished second for his fifth straight podium. Carter Jutila started fifth and held off Livy Hentges for third, his first podium of the season.
Up next for AMSOIL Championship Off-Road, presented by the U.S. Air Force: Round eight at The Dirt City Motorplex Off-Road National in Lena, Wis., on Sunday, July 30.
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