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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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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!
