2017
TORC Series
Round #13
Twin Cities Take Down
Elk River, MN
September 24, 2017 |
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ERX Motor Park TORC Pro Stock
UTV Race Report
::Continued::
In Saturday’s Pro Stock race, newly-crowned champion
Greaves led from the front row, taking the lead
from Jake Lunderby and was never seriously challenged
from there in the caution-filled race. Dillon
Pointon drove from the back of the field to take
third late in the race, but crashed hard coming
out the whoops section, handing third to Zach
Martin at the end. Ben Enloe and Scott Wasz completed
the top five. All were driving Yamahas.
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Yamaha's
CJ Greaves clinched the TORC Pro Stock
UTV Championship on Friday & Yamaha
awarded him a $15,000 Championship Bonus
on Sunday
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“That was like giving second place one more shot
at you every time,” said Greaves of the multiple
restarts. “You’d get out to a little bit of a
lead and then they throw a caution. Then we got
another lead and then we have another caution.
I think that was one of the longest UTV races
I’ve ever been in.”
In Sunday’s Pro Stock race, Martin and CJ Greaves
had a furious battle during the final six laps
with Greaves taking the lead briefly on the final
lap. Greaves bobbled just before the finish line
due to transmission issue and Martin held the
lead, winning by just three-tenths of a second.
Kenny Masch was third, ahead of Blake Enloe and
Lunderby. All were driving Yamahas.
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Sunday's
TORC Pro Stock SxS / UTV Podium (left
to right)
CJ Greaves (2nd), Zach Martin (1st), Ken
Masch (3rd)
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“I kept telling myself that it was my race to
lose,” said Martin. “We missed a gear and let
him gain some ground on me. The next corner, he
missed a gear and that let us get back out in
front. Nothing personal, but it feels great to
end CJ’s streak. I’ve been telling people all
year that CJ is a great driver, but I wanted to
be the one to knock him off.”
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Bikeman Performance's
Zach Martin was able to end CJ Greaves
win streak by claiming the TORC season
finale win after an intense battle
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CJ Greaves credited Martin for breaking his win
streak. The pair put on a great show in the waning
laps of the event, running wheel to wheel to the
finish.
“I was keeping the pressure on him the whole
time and he didn’t make one mistake,” said Greaves.
“He had a bobble out there in the whoops and I
was able to get inside of him. I shifted from
second to third and there was just nothing there
so we only had fourth gear. I got a decent run
coming to the finish, but fourth wasn’t going
to pull it up the hill. He ran an awesome race
and I can’t wait to do battle again.”
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Yamaha's
CJ Greaves passed Zach Martin several
times, but Zach Martin quickly passed
him back to regain the lead
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Dominance doesn’t quite summarize CJ Greaves’
2017 season. Whether he started at the front,
started in the middle of the pack, or even toward
the back in one instance, he just kept winning.
So dominant was his championship run, that he
beat Martin in the title chase by 54 points. Lunderby
was third in the title chase, ahead of Pointon
and Kenny Masch.
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Monster Energy's
CJ Greaves
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“This was our goal,” said CJ Greaves. “We set
out this year to build our cars and our team to
win the championship. We worked on these cars
after ever race to try to get them better and
it worked. We worked our butts off on these cars.
These Yamahas just continued to do their thing.
They run every lap and live at 110% every time.”
Lunderby had a slow start to the season, but
began clicking off podiums later in the season.
In the final six rounds, Lunderby finished on
the podium five times, and impressive feat for
the young driver from Sydney, MT.
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Yamahalube's
Jake Lunderby moved into the third spot
in points on Saturday when Dillon Pointon
wrecked
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“The beginning of the year was rough,” said Lunderby.
“The first day in Chicago I crashed and bent my
car and the second day I was just out there trying
to finish the race. After that, my pace got better.
At the first ERX I got third and kept my momentum
going. Sydney is a small town and no one races
around there. The closest race track is 70 miles
away. I’ve been living in Green Bay rooming with
CJ Greaves, I work out the Greaves’ shop and I
drive the Yamaha trailer for them.”
Pointon would likely have been in the top three
in points hadn’t been for his crash on Saturday.
The TORC rookie won the RMURA title last year
in his first year driving a UTV. He finished second
in Friday’s race, and he drove the hastily repaired
car to a sixth-place finish on Sunday.
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Weller Racing's
Dillon Pointon finished out the year 4th
in points with a 2nd place finish on Friday
at the TORC season finale
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“I was happy with how the season went in my rookie
year,” said Pointon. “We’re hooked. You can count
on us to be back in 2018. We’ll come back with
a new car and be more competitive. We’re looking
for the championship.”
Masch was also in his first year of TORC competition
and was pleased with the progress his small team
made this season. Masch started out the season
with a pair of second-place finishes and scored
two additional podiums this season, including
a third in the final race Sunday.
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Ken Masch
rounded out the Pro Stock UTV Podium on
Sunday
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“It’s been a long time and it’s been a rough
season,” said Masch. “I started like I know how
to drive and trust my car. I was way too aggressive
and it cost me a lot this year. This is such a
mental game. This is our first year, we’re a young
team, and we’ll be back.”
In the Sportsman Class, CJ Greaves’ cousin Kyle
Greaves won both races, while Jacob Rosales won
the championship. Rosales’ teammate Vince Lamendola
finished second in points, ahead of Stetson Robison.
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