For the fourth consecutive year, the SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks made their stop at the OC Fair in Costa Mesa, California for the Sand Sports Super Show. An SST event since the series’ first season in 2013, two rounds were held on Friday and Saturday nights.
Two 12-lap heats were run to determine the starting grid for both nights’ feature races. After Friday night’s heats, SKUSA karting driver Troy Diede, making his SST debut, started the feature on the pole.
Robby Gordon, in the wake of his parents’ deaths on Wednesday, won the race after starting 7th. P. J. Jones, substituting for Pat O’Keefe in the #14 SafeCraft Safety Equipment truck, overcame a last-place start to finish 2nd, while Matt Brabham completed the podium.
Sara Price and her UFD Racing teammate Paul Morris finished 4th and 6th, respectively. Arie Luyendyk Jr., who started 10th, was able to run as high as 3rd before losing his hood; he finished between Price and Morris, finishing 5th. Kyle Leduc, running the Toyo Tires truck in his first SST race since X Games Austin 2015, finished 7th. Points leader Sheldon Creed broke a right rear axle shortly before the halfway competition caution, but was able to finish the race in 8th. Bill Hynes and Diede finished 9th and 10th, while McQuarrie retired from the race with a brake line failure.
On Saturday, Traxxas teammates Creed and Brabham started the night on a strong note when they won the two heats of the night. As a result of the field inversion, the two started at the rear of the field.
The duo worked their ways up the field, culminating in a Traxxas 1–2 finish, including finishing in those positions for the overall weekend results. Leduc finished 3rd to record his first career podium. With a 4th-place finish, Jones finished 3rd overall for the weekend. Gordon, Price, Hynes, Diede, Luyendyk and McQuarrie rounded out the field. McQuarrie’s weekend struggles continued on Saturday during his heat race, when he was hit by Leduc, causing his truck to roll over on its roof. Morris wrecked in his heat race and did not start the feature.
For the Sand Sports Super Show, SST hosted three support events. In addition to the return of the Arctic Cat Side-By-Side (SXS) Series, SST introduced the Class 1400 Truck and Open UTV Shootout categories. After the SST heats, the UTV and 1400 classes hosted Last Chance Qualifier races of 6 and 8 laps, respectively. After an intermission, the SXS Series ran an 8-lap event, followed by the 10-lap 1400 and UTV features, with the Stadium Super Trucks running their 12-lap main event to end the night.
The next stop on the series’ schedule is the inaugural Mike’s Peak Hill Climb Challenge at Mike’s Sky Rancho in Baja California on October 13–16.
Featured image courtesy of @SSuperTrucks
