Farr Wins Again, Greaves Nabs 10th Straight Victory
TORC Round 11 Crandon Race Report

Tim Farr came back to win his second race this season and CJ Greaves notched his 10th consecutive victory during the TORC Off Road Championship presented by AMSOIL UTV races at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway. Farr won the Pro Modified race, while Greaves was again the class of the field in the Pro Stock event.

Muddy conditions were prevalent during the race due to heavy downpours overnight and throughout the morning. Temperatures were in the mid-50s at race time, making for chilly, but comfortable conditions for the capacity crowd. The events kicked off with two-row land rush starts for the 12-lap races on the track’s short course. Track workers made quick work on the track. The track went from soft and muddy during the Pro Stock event to rough and racy in the Pro Modified race.

In Pro Modified, defending TORC champion Treavis Poynter took a commanding holeshot in his Bikeman Polaris at the start. Though he began checking out immediately, a mechanical problem spun his ride on the first lap, handing the lead to the Can-Am of Tim Farr. Kyle Chaney then came in hard on Thomas Reihner, muscling his way past Reihner and Farr to take the lead.

On lap six, Farr won a three-car battle for the lead, taking the lead from Chaney. Rodney VanEperen followed Farr, dogging him in second after the midway competition caution. VanEperen’s runner-up finish combined with a sixth by Chaney tightened Chaney’s points lead to just seven. Reihner finished third, earning his first podium of the season in his Can-Am, ahead of Elliot Burns and Brad Minerick.

The victory was Farr’s second the season after winning round two at Chicagoland Speedway. Farr held off VanEperen’s every move to score the victory.

“I’ve raced for a long time and I know he has, too so I drove smart, checking up on some of the corners and carried more momentum,” said Farr. “The track came around pretty well, but if you got outside of the main line, you just lost time. I did that a few times, getting out into the heavy stuff and he made time on me. I really had to slow down a little bit to go faster and the last couple of laps I hit everything perfectly.”

VanEperen’s runner-up finish put him in prime position for a championship run. He did everything he could to try to pass Farr. While he could get a wheel on him, Farr was just fast enough coming out of the turns to relegate VanEperen to second at the finish.

“He was leaving us off of the corners and we were catching him in a few spots; it was cat and mouse,” said VanEperen. “My hat is off to him. He didn’t waiver once today. I thought he hit a hole or swing wide—something, but he didn’t. No excuses today. We gave it everything we have. He was just a little bit better today.”

Despite contact with Chaney on the first lap, Reihner held strong and put in an impressive charge. The third-place finish marked his first TORC podium.

“The Can-Am handled phenomenally,” said Reihner. “I finally got to keep it together and get a good finish. We come from woods racing and we like these kind of conditions a little bit more.”

In Pro Stock, Greaves, who started on the inside pole of the event, went to work after a slow start. He was quickly up to second on lap two and then took the lead for good from Dillon Pointon on lap three. Jake Lunderby finished second, earning his third consecutive podium. Zach Martin was third, ahead of Pointon and Robert Loire’s Polaris.

Greaves did his best to not make mistakes on the damp racing surface. Though the racing line was fast, getting off line meant getting into heavy mud and losing valuable time. The victory continued his perfect streak in the Pro Stock class in his Yamaha.

“If you got outside the groove, it was definitely muddy and heavy, but if you stayed in the main line it was dry and had some good bite,” said Greaves. “There were a lot of soft pockets in it and they were starting to break apart. It was a no mistakes kind of race. It’s easy to get outside the groove and there is nothing you do about it; you’re just stuck in the mud. This thing is doing well and we’re continuing the streak.”

Lunderby continued to show his growth in the series with his third-straight podium finish in his Greaves Motorsports-prepared Yamaha. Though he was shuffled back at the start, he was quickly on the racing line and took second when Pointon bicycled into a left hander on lap nine.

“On the start it was pretty tough,” said Lunderby. “We got stuck right in a puddle and came out 11th. In turn one I got pushed out really wide, but I made some passes, capitalized on people’s mistakes and made it up to second.”

Martin had his own troubles early in the race, suffering a stall in his Yamaha. Despite moving back to eighth, he also made a tour of the field and took the final spot on the podium from Pointon on the last lap.

“The track was really one line today,” said Martin. “In the turns, it was really tight. We came in really hard on Dillon when we were running second and he checked up early. We stalled for a good five or six seconds and came back from eighth. On the last lap, he left the door open and we took it.”

The TORC Series will finish up the 2017 season during a special triple-header weekend at ERX Motor Park in Elk River, MN. The events are scheduled for September 23-24.