2017 WORCS Racing Round #8 - Iron Mine Race Park May 21, 2017 Cedar City, Utah

In Pro Stock, Matthew Hancock took the lead from the start in his Polaris, but electrical issues with his cooling fan took him out of contention, handing the lead to Beau Baron, who took the win in his Polaris. Cody Bradbury was second, also in a Polaris, ahead of the Yamaha of Nic Granlund. Sierra Romo and Piplic finished fourth and fifth, respectively, both in Polaris RZRs.

Round 8 WORCS Racing Pro Stock UTV Podium (left to right) Cody Bradbury (2nd), Beau Baron (1st), Nic Granlund (3rd)

The points race also took a turn in Pro Stock. Baron’s win, combined with Ray Bulloch’s 17th-place finish, puts Baron just five points behind Bulloch in the title chase.

ELKA's Beau Baron scored his third win of the season, which moved him to within 5 points of Ray Bulloch in the points lead

“You have a few tough races, you shrug your shoulders and then, all of the sudden, you win a race and it gets you pumped,” said Baron. “I’ve been second all along in this points chase and I gained quite a few points. We’ll take this with a grain of salt, keep pushing and hopefully we can come out with a championship at the end of the year. The dust was hard to recover from. I started off third and I was fortunate to get into the lead. It was difficult to see.”

Bradbury started last on his row and fought dust all race. Granlund had an axle failure on the final lap and Bradbury capitalized to take second. It marked his best finish in Pro Stock this season.

HOLZ Racing's Cody Bradbury claimed his first Pro Stock SXS podium finish of the season, which now has him 3rd place in points

“I just tried to keep my car together so I could charge toward the end,” said Bradbury. “Beau had a good lead and I got Nic on the last lap. It’s good to come back with a second. I love this place. You have to push, but you also have to be smart in the dust.”

Granlund nearly crashed early in the race in the dust. Recovering quickly, he and Bradbury battled during the waning laps of the event before he finished third. It marked Granlund’s fourth podium this season.

GBC's Nic Granlund claimed his 4th Podium finish in the Pro SXS Stock Class at Iron Mine WORCS

“I was just trying not to crash in the dust; I had a pretty gnarly get off and almost went over,” said Granlund. “I was keeping up with Beau and Bradbury gave me a few love taps. On the last lap, I broke a front axle. I slowed down a little and the car was really squirrely. So here I am with a Yamaha on the podium.”

In the Pro Women’s race, Amanda Sorensen worked her way from the back and stopped Jennifer Broughton’s win streak at five. Sorensen put a thrilling pass on Broughton just before the finish to score the victory in a Yamaha. Broughton was second in a Polaris. Giuliana Flowers came out ahead of a hard-fought battle with Emily Green to take the third spot. Both were driving Polaris RZRs. Claudia Romo was fifth, also in a Polaris.

Amanda Sorensen scored her third win of the season at Iron Mine WORCS after an intense battle with Jen Broughton in the final lap

“With the dust, it was really challenging today,” said Sorensen. “The finish was so close, but it was a great race. I pulled an outside-inside pass on her. We worked so hard for this and it was a good weekend. I love the Yamaha. I feel more in control and more involved. It makes for a better race.”

Broughton was not pleased having the win snatched from her just feet from the finish line. The consolation is her 31-point lead in the championship.

KMC's Jennifer Broughton finished in the 2nd spot at Iron Mine, but she still holds a 31 point lead heading into Glen Helen

“We had a good battle,” explained Broughton. “Rubbing is racing, I guess. I saw the checkered flag and then I saw it blow away.”

The WORCS Series will next head to Glen Helen Raceway in Devore, CA for a Father’s Day weekend race June 16-18.

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