Charlotte, NC (August 19, 2016) — The Greaves Duo headed to the East Coast this weekend for rounds 11 and 12 of TORC – The Off Road Championship to the Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway. CJ rolled into the land of NASCAR carrying an incredible 10 race winning streak but locked in a very tight points battle in Pro-2 and a close battle with the elder Greaves in Pro-4. Johnny was looking to rebound from some trouble in Bark River and apply more pressure to CJ in the points standings.
The southern heat, humidity and the threat of rain was a challenge for the team as they prepared to tackle the converted oval track. The course resembled a small horseshoe in the middle of a large horseshoe and provided a large sweeping turn and some tight turns — but with limited passing opportunities. Friday night, CJ had is Monster Energy/ Maxxis Tire / Toyota up front most of the race but lost the lead late to Keegan Kincaid to take a hard fought 2nd place podium in Pro-2. CJ took the lead on lap 2 in the Pro-4 race and, after relinquishing the lead for a few laps to Mike Jenkins, took his 5th consecutive Pro-4 win. Johnny on the other hand was battling Chad Hord for 3rd when he checked up in the hairpin to avoid contact which caused him to spin-out. He recovered and salvaged a 5th place finish. Saturday CJ ran a flawless race, taking the win from a relentless Kyle Hart in Pro-2. With the win he mathematically clinched his 3rd Pro-2 championship in a row. The duo did not fair well in Saturday’s Pro-4. Johnny was hampered from damage caused by Mike Jenkins and CJ experienced mechanical issues. Johnny was able to get a 3rd place podium due to a penalty on Mark Kvamme. CJ ended up 6th. The points raced tightened up considerably with only 6 points separating CJ and Johnny.
CJ took to the track first Friday night under the lights at Charlotte. He started in the familiar row 3 of the 7 truck field due to the inversion. He nosed his Toyota into 3rd in turn one behind Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Keegan Kincaid. By lap 5 he had passed Keegan and Luyendyk for the lead which he held up-to the competition caution, midway through the 18 lap race.
On the restart, CJ and Keegan went door-to-door in the long sweeper. Keegan found enough cushion to get around CJ for the lead. CJ tried every line possible to get around Keegan, sticking the nose of his machine inside of Keegan several times but could not make the pass. The two put on a great show and carried their battle all the way to the checkered flag, with Kincaid prevailing.
Following a exhibition race by Stadium Super Trucks and famed former NASCAR driver Robby Gordon, the Pro-4’s took the track as rain began to fall.
The Duo of Johnny Greaves and CJ started from row 3 of the 9 truck field. CJ took his orange and black Maxxis Tire/ Monster Energy / Toytota to the lead when Scott Douglas and Ross Hoek got together on the second lap. Johnny was in 5th and battling with Chad Hord. Up front, CJ was having his own battle with Mike Jenkins, who was able to get around him for the lead when CJ had to maneuver around a lap vehicle. With CJ in 2nd and Johnny now in 4th, the 2nd half of the race was shaping up to be exciting for both Greaves as they took the competition caution.
On the restart, CJ got a great run on Jenkins, using the cushion to propel himself to the lead. Johnny, on the other hand, spun-out in the hairpin turn trying to checkup to avoid hitting Chad Hord. He watched as the entire field passed him before he could right the truck.
CJ cruised on to his 5th win in a row in Pro-4 followed by Mike Jenkins and Chad Hord. Johnny worked his way back up to 5th.
With only 3 races to go, CJ Greaves needed to have a great race in Saturday’s Pro-2 race to solidify his championship run. Keegan Kincaid made it interesting by winning round 11 to give himself an outside chance at the title. CJ was up for the challenge.
The two contenders lined up on row 3. When the green flag flew, CJ showed a lot of patience and worked his way up to 2nd by lap 6, doing battle with Brad Lovell along the way. Kincaid was in 3rd and Kyle Hart, who had just clinched the Pro Light championship, was in the lead and running strong leading up to the competition caution.
The 2nd half of the race would prove to be a definitive moment in both CJ and Keegan’s championship run.
“Keegan had a great race last night, so I just wanted to be patient and not make any mistakes,” said CJ following the race.
CJ didn’t appear to be playing it too safe. He went right to work on Kyle when the green flag flew for the final 9 laps of the race. While the inside line did not produce very many passes on the weekend, CJ was finally able to make it work. His Maxxis tires were the difference as he ducked inside of Hart in the infield turn to take the lead. Hart did not back off and continued to pressure CJ. Having Hart between him and CJ, Kincaid knew it would ruin any chance he had at the championship. Anxious to get to the front, he made a mistake that took him out of contention for the win.
CJ was able to hold off the relentless Kyle Hart and take the win. With Hart in 2nd, it mathematically eliminated Keegan from the championship and allowed CJ to clinch his 3rd Pro-2 title in a row.
The Pro-4 race did not turn out the way the Greaves Duo wanted it to. The 2nd place running Scott Douglas bicycled in the long sweeper allowing Johnny to take the spot. CJ also went to work on Douglas and took 3rd. Mike Jenkins was being overly aggressive and caused several heavy impact contacts with Johnny. The incidences created some drive train issues for Johnny but he was able to continue around the track off the pace. Meanwhile, CJ also experienced mechanical issues that took him out of contention altogether. Mike Jenkins, also had to pull out of the race with damage caused earlier in the race. The race ended with Johnny in 4th and CJ 6th. Race officials penalized Mark Kvamme and moved him down a position which moved Johnny up to the 3rd spot on the podium.
The 6th place finish for CJ tightened up the race considerably between Johnny and CJ. CJ will now roll into Crandon with only a 6 point lead in the standings over his dad.
The final racing weekend will be at “the Big House”, Crandon International Raceway on September 2-4th–Labor Day weekend–for the 47th running of the Off-Road World Championship. If crowning the Pro-4 champion in another father/son showdown weren’t enough, there will also be drivers from the West Coast series participating in the opportunity to be crowned the World Champion and the annual AMSOIL Cup race which adds another level of excitement to the season end.