Elk River, Minn. ~ The holiday break gave competitors of AMSOIL Championship Off-Road, presented by the U.S. Air Force, a chance to collect themselves and fix what needed fixing for the rest of the busy summer schedule.
Teams left the Badger State and four rounds of racing behind for the North Star State and two rounds of tight, fast action at the popular ERX Motor Park in Elk River, Minn. The racing can get as hot as the mid-July sun at ERX, and door-to-door competition was a heated affair on Friday’s opening round.
Carlson Chases Down Second Pro Turbo SxS Victory
Andrew Carlson has his Polaris dialed in over the past three rounds. The Elk River native and round three winner was on a mission Friday. After starting fourth, he worked through traffic, stayed clean, and found himself in the mix with CJ Greave and Kyle Chaney.
Greaves was fast on Friday, leading until the final laps when Chaney and Carlson snuck past. With Greaves in third, Carlson took control of the race, moving away from Chaney to pick up his second win in the past three Pro Turbo SxS races.
Round four winner Kyle Greaves kept pushing, finishing second behind Carlson, marking his fourth straight podium. Greaves missed the podium in both races at Crandon but was able to pick up his third trip to the box at ERX.
Greaves Gains Third Pro Stock SxS Win
CJ Greaves has a tough battle in Pro Stock SxS this season, but he made up some necessary ground in the points battle on Friday.
After a difficult round four in Crandon, Greaves bounced back into the points lead with a win in round five. Greaves moved into first on the second lap and left no doubt as he drove to his class-leading third win.
Jeb Bootle led the first two laps before Greaves found his way around. But Bootle didn’t lift as he drove to his third podium finish of the season and kept his share of the overall lead. He and Greaves will enter Saturday tied in points.
Scott Wasz started seventh and worked his way into a podium spot, finishing third.
Pro-AM SxS: Bryer Pingel was just a few turns away from his first win of the season, but a late crash back in the field brought out a restart, and Derek Liebergen played the role of spoiler. Pingel was fast all race, leading from the start, but he pushed a bit wide on the restart and left the door open for Liebergen. It was Liebergen’s first win of the season and second podium overall. Pingel did finish a tight second, just .281 of a second behind the race winner. Jared Jadin notched his first trip to the winner’s circle by finishing third.
570 SxS: Grant Dresel followed up his first podium finish of the season with his first win of the year at ERX. Dresel led the 570 SxS race from start to finish for his second straight podium run. Bryce Powers slotted in seventh off the start but found his way into the runner-up spot by the end of the race. He held off Ryker Remington, who finished third.
Sportsman SxS: It was a bit chaotic during the last two laps of Friday’s Sportsman SxS race, but Lucas Houle took the lead and the win, holding off Bruce Carlson for his first win of the year. Carlson’s runner-up finish was his third straight trip to the podium. Tyler Wusterbarth had held the point for most of the race before Houle could get around. He would finish third.
170/200 SxS: Raymond Deininger led the final five laps to secure his third straight 170/200 SxS win. Axel Dreher started seventh and worked his way into the runner-up spot, his first podium finish in 2023. Points leader Tanner Thibeault led the first lap before crossing the finish line third.
Youth SxS: Ryker Remington has won every opening-day race at the three stops of the Champ series this season. Remington led every lap on his way to his third victory and unofficially has retaken the points lead. Layne Peterson made it three podiums in a row by finishing second, just ahead of Livy Hentges.
Up next for AMSOIL Championship Off-Road, presented by the U.S. Air Force: The ERX Off-Road National at the ERX Motor Park on Saturday, July 15.
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