The SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks made their return to off-road racing tonight when they competed at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Dirt Track. One of the undercard races for TORC: The Off Road Championship, the event was the series’ first race on a dirt track since their stop at Valvoline Raceway in late 2015.
Defending series champion and current points leader Sheldon Creed won the race after he took the lead on lap three and never relinquished it for the remainder of the race. Creed, the fastest qualifier for the event, started at the rear of the field due to the grid being inverted per series rules. As such, Bill Hynes started in first alongside Robbie Pierce, the two slowest drivers during qualifying. Hynes led a portion of the first lap before he was overtaken by Pierce, Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Creed. Luyendyk, driving the No. 20 SPEED Energy truck in place of Dustin Scott (who elected to skip the race due to injury concerns after suffering a suspension failure during practice), took the lead from Pierce as lap three began. However, Luyendyk lifted the truck on two wheels as he entered a corner, allowing Creed to pass him. As rain fell on the track, Creed led the rest of the race to record his 8th win of the season and his 22nd career SST win. Creed’s Traxxas teammate Matt Brabham finished second and Robby Gordon rounded out the podium.
“I love the short course off-road stuff,” Creed stated. “When Robby told us we were racing here, I was like, ‘Man, can’t get any better than that.'”
Late in the event, Luyendyk lost his left rear tire, forcing him to retire from the race and finish last. Hynes, after starting on the pole, finished ninth, while Pierce finished seventh. Former NASCAR drivers Brian Ickler and Kenny Wallace finished sixth and eighth, respectively. The two drivers, making their series debuts, became the 14th and 15th drivers to compete in both NASCAR and the Stadium Super Trucks. Wallace will not compete in the second Charlotte round tomorrow due to TV obligations as a reporter for the NASCAR Cup Series pre-race show at Bristol. In his place, Chris Hecht is scheduled to drive the No. 36 SafeCraft Safety Equipment truck. Sara Price, the first female SST driver in history after competing in Toronto last month and making her debut for United Fiber & Data Racing, finished in fifth. Paul Morris, who was replaced by Luyendyk during practice earlier today after suffering rib injuries in a crash, was able to recover in time for the race, finishing fourth.
Tomorrow, Creed hopes to sweep the weekend, record his ninth win of 2016 and his third consecutive victory. If he succeeds, he would tie his record set last season. Likewise, Brabham hopes to close the gap between him and Creed in the championship battle.
Featured image courtesy of @TORCOffRoad
