June 29, 2016 at 1:04 p.m.
Greaves family has big weekend in Crandon
Greaves family has big weekend in Crandon
Wisconsin drivers C.J. and Johnny Greaves cleaned up over the weekend. C.J. Greaves won Saturday's PRO 4WD event, while his father, Johnny, took Sunday's race in the class. C.J. Greaves swept both days' action in the PRO 2WD class.
PRO 4WD
C.J. Greaves took an exciting, worst-to-first victory at The Big House Saturday, sliding into top spot in the closing laps of the race as his father pulled off course with a rare mechanical failure.
The younger Greaves was nowhere to be seen in the opening stages of the race after a spin put him to the back of the pack. But the 21-year-old Wisconsin native worked his way through the field to challenge his father for the lead.
"We just took it one lap at a time," said Greaves. "We tried to ease back into it and make sure nothing was broke and this thing held together."
C.J. Greaves also broke the historic track's fastest-lap record, set by his father five years ago, with a pass of 1 minute, 18.865 seconds - the first-ever official sub-1:19 lap at the raceway.
Mike Jenkins took the runner-up spot, his best finish of the season so far, after the team worked overnight on the engine. Ross Hoek rounded out the top-three Saturday.
Johnny Greaves, a three-time PRO 4WD champion, came back from Saturday's disappointing result to dominate Sunday with a wire-to-wire win. His son stood beside him on the podium despite a poor start that forced him to rely heavily on his spotter to navigate through the roost to the front of the field.
With a strong start, Johnny Greaves had a clear view and drove to save his equipment while son C.J. made up time. After the mandatory caution, the field stretched out, with the younger Greaves trailing his father. The racing was close, but experience won the day and Johnny Greaves earned another checkered flag.
Said the victor: "Once we got started and I got a little bit of a lead I said to my spotter, 'I'm going to save my truck as much as I can. Let me know when C.J. gets in second: then it's on!' I even switched (the radio) on between (C.J. and I) and said 'Are you ready for this, buddy? Let's go get it!'"
Jenkins fell into line behind Johnny Greaves at the start and held on for third - his second podium of the weekend.
PRO 2WD
C.J. Greaves claimed the PRO 2WD victory in Crandon after local favorite Keegan Kincaid suffered a transmission failure that forced him out of the contest early.
The pair of young rivals battled hard at the start of the race with Kincaid taking the holeshot, followed by Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Greaves. The champion made short work of Luyendyk Jr. and began harassing Kincaid for the lead. The two had gapped the pack by nearly 10 seconds when they became entangled in the Hairpin Turn.
Greaves got back on track to hold the lead to the checkers, while a transmission failure unrelated to the incident ended Kincaid's day. That left Brad Lovell and Rodney Van Eperen to battle for the remaining podium positions. Lovell finished second and Van Eperen claimed third, his best-ever class finish.
C.J. Greaves and Kincaid were the drivers to beat Sunday in the PRO 2WD class as well.
Kincaid got the early lead, but a slight bobble before the mandatory caution was all defending champion Greaves needed to make a pass and shut the door.
"He just made one small mistake and that's all it took today," said Greaves. "He got me on the start, so I really need to work on my starts in both classes."
Kincaid had to settle for second, while Van Eperen returned to the podium for a second-straight race.
"He was the better one today," said Kincaid at the finish. "I made a mistake and let him by me and that's all it took. I tried saving my tires a little bit for the end of the race and then started driving hard, but the track was rough. It was survival."
Atturo Tire PRO Light
Kyle Hart extended his points lead on Saturday with his fourth win in five rounds of Atturo Tire PRO Light racing in 2016. Hart led from start to finish, fending off a charging Travis Dinsmore.
Dinsmore racked up his third career victory in the class Sunday with a hard-charging Luke Johnson earning second and Andrew Carlson rounding out the podium in third.
Next, the 2016 championship moves to a brand new track in Elk River, Minnesota, for the first-ever Twin Cities Takedown doubleheader. Championship racing is slated to take place July 16 and 17 at the ERX Motor Park.
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