Ontario, Calif. - ITP-sponsored ATV and side-by-side racers took part in several racing series over the weekend across the country. ATV racers won seven classes at round two of the 2014 Mtn. Dew ATV Motocross National Championship Series in Tennessee. SxS racers competed in three separate series, posting victories in all three series.
"We had a great showing at the Muddy Creek ATV Motocross National, winning seven classes and totaling more than a dozen podiums,” Pat McGuire, Public Relations/Race Support, said. “We netted a fifth-place finish in the Pro class Saturday with Jeffrey Rastrelli, and then went 1-2 in the Pro-Am class Sunday behind ITP racer Ronnie Higgerson and Rastrelli. We also had an overall win for JB Off-Road/ITP driver Larry Hendershot Jr. at the American Woods Racing Series in Pennsylvania."
ATV Motocross Nationals - Tennessee
ITP had both Pro and amateur racers competing on tires and wheels at round two of the national ATV Motocross series held at Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, TN. ITP racers came away with seven class wins and 16 total podiums. Rastrelli was the top Pro class finisher for ITP, earning a 5-5 moto scorecard for a career-best fifth-place ride. ITP racers tallied 10th (Josh Creamer), 12th (Higgerson), 13th (Sean Taylor) and 17th (Silas Lamons) as well. In the Pro-Am class, Higgerson piloted his BCS Performance/Can-Am/ITP-backed ATV to the overall win with a 2-2 scorecard. Rastrelli put up a good battle, posting 1-3 moto finishes, but had to settle for second. Taylor (Root River Racing/ITP) edged fellow ITP racer William "Duck" Lloyd for fifth.
ITP amateur racers won six other classes. Dylan Tremellen won two classes (450 A and Production A) with a convincing 1-1 moto sweep on his Root River Racing-backed ATV dressed with ITP Quadcross MX 2 front and Quadcross MX Pro rear tires. Women's class racer Megan Manshack also posted a 1-1 moto sweep to win her class. The other victories went to Alex Gillette (450 B), Noah Mickelson (Super Mini 12-15) and JB Racing's Logan Peters (50 Single Speed 6-8). Lloyd (Open A), Mickelson (Schoolboy Jr. Open 13-15), Mike Barnhardt (Vet 30+), Dalton Hicks (Production A), Maddie Guyer (Schoolboy Jr. 13-15 and Girls Sr. Shifter 12-15), Grayson Eller (Schoolboy Jr. 13-15) and Jay Huckabey Racing's Alex Huckabey (Open C) earned the other podium finishes at Muddy Creek. Round three of the Mtn. Dew ATV MX series is May 17-18, in Mount Morris, PA.
AWRCS - Pennsylvania
Team JB Off-Road/Hendershot Performance/Can-Am/ITP driver Larry Hendershot Jr. took home the UTV Open class victory at the 2014 AWRCS opener held at Scrubgrass Village OHV Park in Templeton, PA. With ITP Terracross tires on his Maverick side-by-side, Hendershot, who also competes regularly in the Grand National Cross Country XC1 Modified SxS class, completed the seven-lap race in just more than an hour to win by roughly two seconds. A total of 23 total side-by-side vehicles competed in the class, which featured a dead-engine start, on a course highlighted by steep hills, tight woods and high-speed turns. Round two is May 3-4, at Crow Canyon in Uhrichsville, OH.
LOORS – Elsinore
Team ITP had several SxS racers competing at round two of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Regional Series (LOORRS) held at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park in Lake Elsinore, CA. R3 Motorsports/Cognito Motorsports/ITP driver Cody Rahders had a good weekend, posting two podiums in two classes. He won the Walker Evans Racing RZR class and took second in the Production 1000/Unlimited UTV class with his XP 1000 with ITP Terracross tires.
"Cody Rahders absolutely dominated in the Lucas Oil short course Saturday, winning the XP class and taking second in the Production 1000 class with ITP Terracross tires," said Ryan Edwards, ITP tech support representative/West Coast race coordinator. "We also had great results at the PURE 175 race as racer Cain Smead won using our 30-inch ITP Ultracross tires mounted on SD Beadlock wheels."
ITP racers tallied three other top 10 finishes at the LOORRS event. IMG Motorsports-backed racer John Pacheco was eighth in the Production 1000/Unlimited UTV class. The other two ITP-supported pilots to notch top-10 finishes were Blake Malgren and Ken Benson, who took fourth and seventh, respectively, in the Optima Batteries SR1 Championship class. Round three of LOORRS is May 17, at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park in Lake Elsinore, CA.
PURE 175
The second round of the 2014 AVE Racing/Lawrence Equipment PURE series, the PURE 175, was held in California City, CA. Taking the victory was Dirtwheels magazine editor and off-road pilot Cain Smead. Running 30-inch ITP Ultracross tires with SD Series Dual Beadlock wheels on his car, Smead looped the roughly 43-mile course four times in 3:45:22 to win by more than 10 minutes over second place. It was his second straight win, after he and co-pilot Shannon Powell won the opening round as well. ITP team member Dave Lytle was fourth in his Kawasaki clad with ITP Bajacross tires. In the Production 1000 class, Kimberly Dunn took third using ITP tires. The PURE 200 will be held June 27-29, in California City.
