2014 TORN Racing Round #3 April 12-13, 2014 Crafton, TX

Crafton, TX (4/17/2014) - The third round of the Texas Off Road Nationals Series took place this past weekend just Northeast of the Dallas/ Ft. Worth area in the town of Crafton, Texas. Over 500 racers converged on the location over the weekend to experience the very rocky, rugged terrain that the Crafton location is famous for. The sharp edged rocks mixed with a considerable amount of dust in some sections reeked havoc on many teams, as numerous were slowed by flat tires and wheel changes. But when the dust cleared in the premiere UTV class, it was Shawn Hess who prevailed in the rugged conditions, earning his first UTV Expert class victory during the 2014 season.

In the Open A class, Lexie Coulter methodically worked her way to the front of the pack aboard her Honda TRX 450 ATV and extended her class winning streak to three-in-a-row against the men.

The TORN crew also ventured into exciting unknown territory this past weekend by also hosting their first ever night race event on Saturday night. These multiple 45-minute races are run the darkness in addition to their regularly scheduled weekend series events on slightly abbreviated race course. Proper lighting would prove to be a key element to success in this innovative event.

In the premier UTV Expert class daytime race, Shawn Hess driving his Hess Performance backed Polaris RZR  jumped out to an early lead and used the dust to his advantage, as he literally ran off and hid from the competition. Hess convincingly lead the one hour UTV race from start to finish and in the process, put an end to the Miller Brother’s 2014 two race winning streak in the UTV Expert class. Hunter Miller started off the race in fourth position in his Can-Am Maverick just behind Curtis Kirchmeier and his Polaris in second and brother Cody Miller in third in his Can-Am Maverick. As the race progressed, Hunter Miller benefited a position when

Kirchmeier retired early from the race due to a mechanical issue. Then a lap later, Miller moved into second place after Cody rolled his machine onto it’s side in a sand wash. Cody Miller recovered to maintain third at the finish, behind second place Hunter Miller and class winner Hess.

In the Open A class, it was the Lexie Coulter show as she once again proved that she was better than the men by convincingly earning herself her third class win this season. Coulter sat in third place at the end of lap two, behind early leader Garrett Dangelmayr and second place Michael Fleitman. After patiently reeling in the lead pair, Coulter made her way past Fleitman on lap three and then in the closing final laps she blasted by Danglemayr and into the lead. At the wave of the checkers, Coulter took her third Open A class win of the season by more than 1:30 over second place Danglemayr, distantly followed by Fleitman in third.

The Pro ATV class proved to be another epic battle between the Louis Powersports backed Miller brothers aboard their factory supported Can-Am machines. Off the start, Cody Miller jumped into the early lead trailed by older brother Hunter Miller. The pair stayed close to each other for the first five laps until the riders fell victim to the sharp rocks on the challenging Crafton course and both flattened a tire. Much like NASCAR, the Pro ATV race would inevitably be decided in the pits, as both riders would limp their machines back to same pit area and change their flat tires at the same time. In the end, it would be Hunter Miller getting the edge over Cody, as he would take over the lead during the final four laps of the 90 minute race. At the finish, Hunter Miller would increase his overall lead to 40-seconds over second place Cody Miller, with Shawn Hess and his Honda finishing a little more than two minutes behind in third.

Chris Robinson notched another Utility ATV class win and improved his perfect win record aboard his new Team UXC supported Polaris Scrambler. This was Robinson’s third Utility ATV class win, making him undefeated this season in the Utility class at all three rounds. Other riders with a perfect three win season after this weekend are Brian Hill in the Over 30 A class, Micayla Jenkins in Ladies and Travis Jenkins in the UTV 800 Amateur class.

For the second race in row, Cross Kirchmeier topped the UTV 800 Expert field in his Skip’s Cycles backed Arctic Cat Wildcat Trail SxS. Kirchmeier finished almost a minute ahead of the Polaris machines of Randy Rogers in second place and Matt Horton in third.

Caleb Ramsay dominated the Pro motorcycle class aboard his KTM, setting a fast pace right from the start followed by the winner of the previous two rounds, Bobby Garrison on a KTM in second, with KTM mounted Dillon Green close behind in third. Garrison would keep the pressure on the leader Ramsay, keeping within ten seconds until just past the midway point. During the sixth of ten laps the riders completed during the 80-minute race, Ramsay turned in the fastest lap of the entire race and increased his lead to more than 20 seconds over second place Garrison. When Ramsay reached the checkered flag first, he had pulled away to a huge 1:46 lead over Garrison finishing in second and Green rounding out the Pro podium in third. 

In the first ever TORN series night race, Manuel Esquivel drove his Polaris to a win in the UTV Expert class over the Polaris machines of Travis Jenkins in second and Curtis Kirchmeier in third. In the night UTV Amateur class Jake Klima took the win in his Polaris, finishing ahead of second place Carl Nichols and Doug Nichols in third.

The night ATV Expert class was won by KTM mounted Cole Fisher only 30 seconds ahead of Utility hero Chris Robinson on his Polaris, with Bill Pierson in third on a Yamaha. In the ATV Amateur class, Jody Jones rode his Yamaha to a narrow win over Kade Watson in second and Thomas Jordon aboard a Honda in third.

The second exciting round of the special new TORN series night racing events are scheduled on May 31 in St Joe, Texas. Round four of the ten race TORN series motorcycle schedule is on May 3-4 at T Tops Ranch in Chico, TX. The following weekend, on May 10-11 the ATVs and UTVs will be racing at T Tops Ranch in Chico, TX.

To view the complete TORN series results and to find out more information on the TORN series, along with a complete TORN series schedule, please visit the TORN website at: www.tornracing.com.